Roger Federer turns back time as he whips out his racket again post-retirement
Roger Federer delighted his fans with his latest update on Thursday, showing them that he has not, in fact, moved on from all things tennis despite his retirement from the sport a couple of years ago.
A winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, the Swiss maestro bid farewell to tennis at the 2022 Laver Cup. He has stayed out of the game for the most part since then. Except for a few appearances as a spectator in select tournaments, such as Wimbledon and the Shanghai Masters, tennis has not been a visible part of Federer’s life over the last few months.
On February 22, however, the former World No. 1 took to Instagram to show he can still wield his racket like a magician. In a short clip he shared on his stories, Federer was seen hitting forehands and backhands against a wall, his footwork as elegant as ever.
The clip, screen-recorded by a fan (thanks to ‘@Olly_tennis_) and uploaded to Twitter, can be seen below:
🥹 Roger practising against a wall today 😭
📸 Roger Federer’s IG pic.twitter.com/7a3W40rCdC
— Olly 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) February 22, 2024
“It’s been good honestly” – Roger Federer on post-retirement life
Speaking in an interview last year, Roger Federer said that he was glad to finally have more control over his own schedule unlike back in his playing days.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion added that he had been trying to make sure he didn’t stretch himself too thin in his post-retirement life. At the same time, he had been keeping himself busy and spending as much time with his family and friends as possible.
“I think now, since six months, I feel like I am more in charge of my schedule,” he said. “Whereas before, I was still just, how do you say, it was more the afterburn of having just retired.”
“It’s been good honestly, I have to be careful I don’t do too many things, you know? But at the same time, I am really happy to be busy and I like being with other people, love being with my family, and I love to travel. But I guess sometimes, I try to make sure I get the right balance and I feel like I have that, so, things are great,” Federer added.
Among the 20 Slams Federer won over his career, eight came at Wimbledon and five at the US Open, with the Australian Open accounting for six more and the French Open for one. The 42-year-old also reigned as the World No. 1 for 310 weeks, the second-most in ATP history behind Novak Djokovic.
