Sports icon Roger Federer bids professional tennis goodbye

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

After dominating the sport of lawn tennis for 22 long years, living legend Roger Federer announced that he is set to retire from the sport after the 2022 Laver Cup.

In a heartfelt letter posted by Federer on his official Facebook and Twitter accounts, the tagged “Swiss Maestro” officially announced that he will no longer participate in the next Grand Slam tours including the 2023 Wimbledon event.

“The Laver Cup next week in London will be my final ATP event. I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in grand slams or on the tour,” Federer wrote.

After three years of inconsistent Grand Slam appearances due to multiple injuries, Federer knew it was time to hang up his racket and pass the torch to the new generation of superstar tennis players.

Federer is a 20-time Grand Slam championship winner and will go down as one of the most dominant tennis players in history.

The 41-year-old legend is the record-holder for the most titles in the Wimbledon Grand Slam with eight championships and was the oldest player to claim the world no. 1 rank at the age of 36.

Federer first took the professional tennis scene by storm last 2001 when he halted Pete Sampras’ 31-match winning streak during the fourth round of Wimbledon.

After his major achievement on the grass court, everything came in perfectly for Federer and was quick to claim his throne as the new face of the sport.

The Swiss Maestro made an impressive comeback in 2021 and made it into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon but knee problems prevented him from finishing his tournament playing calendar.

Everyone including the tennis analysts expected Federer to have one last hurrah in the 2023 Wimbledon after reports of his rehabilitation progress showed great results.

However, on the evening of September 15, the tennis community was shocked by his announcement and offered their deep appreciation to Federer.

“As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries. I’ve worked hard to return to full competitive form. But I also know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear,” continued the Swiss Maestro.