After being forced to miss Wimbledon 2022, Roger Federer warned that his tennis career would soon be over.
The 20-time major champion and eight-time Wimbledon champion missed the Championships this year for the first time since 1998 as he continues to recuperate from a third knee surgery.
With Novak Djokovic defeating Nick Kyrgios on Sunday to win his 21st Grand Slam championship, Federer, 40, has now fallen behind the Serbian in the all-time standings.
He is two points shy of Rafael Nadal’s total of 22, but he gave a hint that he would call it quits shortly after the ATP rankings were revised on Monday and he was left with zero points.
‘I am a winner lover, but if you’re not competitive any more, then it’s better to stop,’ Federer told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
‘I don’t think I need the tennis. I am happy with the little things, like when my son does something right and when my daughter comes home with a good grade.
‘Tennis is part of, but not my entire identity. I want to be and remain successful, and put a lot of energy into business probably give more than I should sometimes, but that can also be done outside of sports.
‘I know a professional career can’t last forever and that’s okay.’
In September, at the Laver Cup, the team competition he invented in 2017, Federer will make his ATP Tour comeback.
