© Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
Roger Federer says everything is going perfectly fine in his post-tennis life as the Swiss tennis icon is “very happy” and has gotten adjusted to living a more slower and relaxed life.
Federer, who will be turning 43 in August, put the curtain on his career in 2022 September at the Laver Cup. But even before officially retiring from pro tennis, Federer was spending lots of time at home in the last two years and a half years of his career.
After undergoing knee surgery in 2020 February and another in June of that year, Federer returned to action in 2021 March and appeared in just five tournaments before having another knee surgery in 2021 August. Unfortunately, Federer’s knee wasn’t progressing as it needed and that led to the world No. 1 ultimately accepting that his comeback wouldn’t happen and he retired by playing just one doubles match at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.
“Life is great. I am very happy. The transition from an active career to life afterward was quite an adjustment, even if everything happened rather softly. I had been injured a lot in previous years and everything was already going slower. Added to this was the pandemic,” Federer told Simon Graf of Tages-Anzaiger.
Federer on the chances of being a LC captain; LC could take place in Saudi Arabia
In 2017, Federer and his long-time agent Tony Godsick co-founded the Laver Cup. Since then, the Laver Cup has had six editions, with every edition taking place in a different city – the event was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Federer featured in all of the three editions, before being forced to skip the event in 2021 due to knee surgery. In 2022, Federer returned to the Laver Cup as he famously retired by playing one doubles match with Rafael Nadal.
Although Federer is now retired from pro tennis, the Laver Cup is still his event and there is no doubt that he will remain heavily associated and involved with the tournament going forward. In the future, there is a strong possibility that Federer could be a team captain at the Laver Cup. However, that will likely not be happening anytime soon.
“I see myself as a team captain one day, but I would like to see someone in this position who belongs to the generation after Rod Laver. Someone in the 50 to 65 age group. These guys deserve it first, before it’s my turn,” Federer said.
Meanwhile, agent Godsick is leaving the doors open to the Laver Cup potentially taking place in Saudi Arabia in the future. In recent months, there has been a lot of talk about tennis getting involved more with Saudi Arabia. After securing the Next Gen ATP Finals through 2027 and likely getting the WTA Finals starting this year, Saudi Arabia could also one day host the Laver Cup.
“One day the Laver Cup could be in Saudi Arabia. We rotate between European cities and cities in the rest of the world. I expect Saudi Arabia will be part of this discussion at some point in the future,” Godsick told Tages-Anzaiger..
“Sport is a language that everyone speaks. Sport can enable dialogue and change.”
After Prague, Chicago, Geneva, Boston, London and Vancouver, the 2024 Laver Cup will be held in Berlin.
Federer a ‘motivational speaker’ at home
Nowadays, Federer is very family-orientated but admits that raising four kids at the same time is not the easiest job. After Federer and his wife Mirka welcomed a set of twin daughters in 2009, they also became parents to a set of twin boys in 2014. In his interview with Tages-Anzaiger, Federer funnily revealed that he feels like “a motivational speaker” at home but everything is great until the moment comes for his kids to listen to him.
“I feel like a motivational speaker at home. Sometimes I close and think to myself: ‘Wow, that was a really good speech, Roger!’ And five minutes later, nothing I said was done,” Federer said.
Also, Federer revealed that he doesn’t really talk about his tennis career or accomplishments at home unless some of his kids ask him something. Explaining why that’s the case, Federer simply noted that he is just not the type of person that would start speaking about him without being previously asked.
“Not otherwise. That’s not me,” Federer said.
Last year, Federer started making guest appearances in tournaments for the first time since retiring. After being a guest for one day at Wimbledon, Federer also visited the Shanghai Masters in October. This year, Federer will likely make more guest appearances. While Federer hasn’t confirmed where he plans to make guest appearances this year, there is no doubt that he will be at the Laver Cup later this year in Berlin.
