Roger Federer announces his retirement from the ATP Tour and grand slams
With an unprecedented six grand slam titles to his name, Roger Federer will announce his retirement from the ATP Tour and grand slam series in the coming days.
However, the news comes as no surprise to the Swiss star, who said that he will not be playing any more tennis events for the next two years. The 31-year-old will instead concentrate on raising his two surviving sons, who are now aged 17 and 16, and on his new coaching team.
“It’s very difficult,” said Federer in a press conference at the Tennis Masters Tournament. “I’m not talking about physical or mental fatigue. It’s about something bigger. It’s not about tennis only, it’s about my life as a human being. I need a change.
“I have to think about my family, my team and my life.”
And when asked if the reason behind changing his mind was an announcement about his retirement from tennis, Federer replied: “That’s a good question. That’s something to discuss with my team, if we have time.”
Federer was asked repeatedly whether he could see himself playing at the next two slams – the Australian Open and the French Open – which will come up soon.
“The time has come, the last season of the season, to say: ‘this is it, I will no longer be here’, and you have to take a decision.”
It is Federer’s ninth Grand Slam event, and the first time he will not be playing a tournament between now and the end of the Australian Open. After that, he will be out of the tour for a year and a half.
Federer’s decision to retire will come as a bit of a surprise, especially since he won six titles this year, including the US Open at Flushing Meadows, the French Open, the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, which he won for the third time.
Federer has been the world No.1 at all four grand slams this year for a record-breaking 16 consecutive seasons.
The Swiss also announced that he will no longer be playing with his former coach, Boris Becker, who he says has “disappeared”. He is currently being
