Roger Federer, the 20-time major winner whose relentless prowess defined an era of tennis, announced his retirement on Thursday. From the report: “I’m 41 years old, I’ve played more than 1,500 matches in 24 years and tennis has been more generous to me than I could have dreamed,” Federer said in a video on social media, “and now I have to admit when it’s time to end my competitive career”.
For most of this career, Federer looked like he would become the all-time leader in men’s Grand Slam titles. He surpassed his idol Pete Sampras with his 15th major championship in 2009 and topped the list until 2022. But by then his career had become inextricably linked with the other members of tennis’ Big Three, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. While Federer has struggled with injuries in recent years, Nadal overtook his tally at this year’s Australian Open and now holds the top spot with 22 major titles, also winning Roland Garros this year. Djokovic also trails Federer with 21, following his Wimbledon victory this year.
Federer, who will bid farewell to the Laver Cup in London next week, underwent knee surgery last year in the faint hope of returning to the professional circuit one last time. But as the recovery dragged on and tennis continued to unravel, the Swiss shot-maker realized it was time to call it quits. The man who once looked untouchable now retires in third place on the list of men’s major championships. His dizzying results table reads: eight Wimbledon championships, six Australian Opens, five US Opens and one Roland-Garros. He won 103 tour titles, one Olympic gold medal in doubles for Switzerland and at one point spent a record 237 consecutive weeks as the world No. 1 player. That earned him $130,594,339 in prize money alone, according to the ATP Tour.
