Roger Federer talks about life after tennis

Roger Federer has a range of business interests, a charitable foundation and of course, a family—he and his wife, Mirka, have two sets of twins, 13-year-old girls, Myla and Charlene, and 8-year-old boys, Lenny and Leo
Roger Federer has a range of business interests, a charitable foundation and of course, a family—he and his wife, Mirka, have two sets of twins, 13-year-old girls, Myla and Charlene, and 8-year-old boys, Lenny and Leo

Summary

A conversation with the Swiss legend about his future—and that teary moment with Rafael Nadal—just hours after the final match of his career

Roger Federer has yet to play pickleball.

“Never," he said. “Never held the racket in my hand. You don’t have that stuff in Switzerland."

As for tennis, the gentleman legend has closed the book. I met Federer Saturday in a small office on the ground level of the O2 Arena, where, the prior night, he’d played the final match of his career, a doubles loss alongside his rival turned pal, Rafael Nadal. Federer was still dressed in his blue Team Europe sweatsuit, but his competitive career was officially over, at age 41.

What did he feel when he woke up in the morning?

“A sense of happiness," Federer said.

That post-match ceremony had been a heart-tugging weeper. By now you’ve surely seen the images: Federer in tears, sobbing at the microphone and alongside Laver Cup teammates and competitors, especially Nadal, who appeared overcome.

Nadal’s tearful reaction “hit deep," Federer said. So had emotional responses and words from Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.

“I’m happy I’m the first to go," Federer said. “I know how I would have felt if Rafa had gone first, or Novak, or Andy. It would not be the same. Something would be missing."

Federer’s retirement had been a closely-kept secret since late summer. A knee scan after Wimbledon proved to be concerning, and Federer faced a choice: yet another surgery and rehab, or moving on to his next chapter.

There was heartbreak, but he could get his mind around the latter. He’d never wanted to play into his mid-40s, a tennis Tom Brady. Time off recovering from prior injuries had foreshadowed his athletic afterlife.

“I’d had a glimpse," Federer said, “and it wasn’t scary at all."

He will remain busy. Federer has a range of business interests, a charitable foundation and of course, a family—he and his wife, Mirka, have two sets of twins, 13-year-old girls, Myla and Charlene, and 8-year-old boys, Lenny and Leo. Mornings in the Federer home in Switzerland remain “lively," he said. “It’s always a question of how loud can the kiddies be from the beginning?"

As for tennis, he emphasized he did not want to become a “ghost." Federer had spoken poignantly earlier in the week about Swedish idol Bjorn Borg’s estrangement from the sport after his retirement. The silver-maned Borg is now a Laver Cup captain, prominently returned, mixing it up once more. Federer is eager to maintain his own connection.

Could tennis ask for a better statesman? After Federer announced his retirement plan on Sept. 15, tributespoured in, praising Federer for his success, style and mien. He was tennis’s James Bond. Its Baryshnikov. Depending on whom you talked to—and tennis nuts will debate it until the end of time—he has a case as its GOAT, a virtuoso expression of accomplishment and aesthetic.

At the Laver Cup, he was surrounded by idols like Rocket Rod, now 84, and Stefan Edberg, as well as veterans who’d played him at his peak. Then there were the up-and-comers who’d worshiped him since they were youngsters—talents like the Americans Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock, who would narrowly beat “Fedal" in a spirited match that went to a tiebreak decider.

Federer won 20 major titles, but when the pros talk, they talk about the way he won them—the unruffled manner in which Federer carried himself on and off the court.

“No one is bigger than the sport itself," said Borg, “but what he did for the sport around the world? It’s amazing."

He’s left an indelible mark. Would he consider coaching? Federer said there was no way he’d leave his family to go right back out on the road full-time. But he liked the idea of players visiting him for mini-sessions, like he did with Aussie coach Tony Roche in Sydney, tinkering with his game in Roche’s backyard court.

“I’d be open to something like that, especially with young players," he said.

As for television commentating, he was curious, though he’s explored no formal plan. Networks would surely leap at the prospect of Fed in the booth, but there was a question: Could the sport’s most courteous diplomat be critical of his contemporaries?

“The point is to say how it is, and if it’s critical, it’s critical, but it isn’t personal," Federer said. He added: “I’m not here to destroy players, I’m here to promote the game and make it better."

He believes he is leaving tennis in a good place. He spoke enthusiastically about young talents like the 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, recent winner of the U.S. Open. He waved off worries the sport would plunge into a fallow period. He remembered how the media and fans panicked about instability in the wake of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi—or groaned when a young ponytailed Federer began dominating the sport.

“‘Now we only have one guy winning,‘" he said, repeating that early complaint.

That is not how it turned out, of course. Along came a teenaged Nadal, Federer’s stylistic opposite, a left-handed powerhouse in muscle T-shirts and Capri pants. Federer vs. Nadal would evolve into one of sports’ greatest rivalries, and, over time, a beautiful friendship.

“When Roger leaves the tour, an important part of my life is leaving, too," the Spaniard said.

“He was forever connected with me," Federer said of Nadal. “I had Sampras, Agassi at the beginning, so for me it was different." As they grew to know each other, Nadal and Federer grew to realize that for all the differences in their games, they shared much in common off the court.

“We were always able to keep the rivalry going, through friendships, through problems, and come out the other side," Federer said.

Nadal, who is awaiting the birth of his first child with his wife, Xisca, had faced his own injury challenges and stretches away from the game. Federer admitted he was always “secretly happy" to see Nadal play his way back to top level, even as Nadal surpassed Federer’s major count to reach 22, the current record.

“As you grow older, you enjoy [a rival’s] success more," Federer explained. “You see how much they’ve given. The rivalry morphs into something different than the beginning, when you’re just trying to beat the guy."

He said he was on good terms with Djokovic, who at 35 is the youngest of the Big Three, with presumably more time to add to his major total of 21. Like Federer, Djokovic was balancing a family and touring life—not to mention vaccine restrictions which kept him out of the 2022 Australian and U.S. Opens.

“He’s very enjoyable to be around," Federer said of Djokovic. He and Djokovic kept a different relationship than he had with Nadal, but it was solid. “We never speak when we’re away from each other. But when we’re together, we have a great time. And we can talk about everything."

These three champions understood each other in a way nobody else could—all the physical and mental capital it took to reach the pinnacle and stay there. Tennis had never seen a trio of trophy hoarders like them. Federer generously added a fourth of Murray, a former World No. 1 who’d won Olympic gold over Federer and two Wimbledon titles, only to see his ambitions curtailed by a hip surgery and a long road back.

“Seeing him here, playing, having overcome all of that, only adds to his legendary status for me," Federer said of Murray.

If there’s a knock on the Federer/Nadal/Djokovic/Murray era, it’s that the sport leaned too hard on them, that tournaments slowed their surfaces and favored slower balls to encourage marathon rallies and protect the top players, who thrived on their endurance and baseline play. Enhanced racket and string technology, plus more evening matches—played in cooler air, creating slower conditions—fortified the same effect.

Today tennis is thoroughly dominated by what Federer calls the “fittest, fastest, biggest ball strikers." Clever tactics like serve-and-volley, the preferred strategy of champs like Laver, Borg and John McEnroe, was already fading as Federer began his rise. Today it is close to extinct.

Federer said he wouldn’t mind seeing more strategic variety. To bring it back, you would need faster courts—“lightning courts," he said—and tournament directors open to unpredictable play. He was skeptical this would happen, and even then, there was no guarantee of a serve and volley renaissance.

“It’s taxing," Federer said. “You have to have the mind-set: I’m going to run like a cat to the net in those first two steps. You serve, not knowing if you’re going to make that first serve, and if you miss, and then you have to walk back. So it’s wasted energy, whereas if you serve and just stand, it’s maybe two-thirds less energy for a missed serve.

“I think that’s what started happening—del Potro, the big guys, Johnny [Isner], stay back and just then hit huge forehands. It’s easier on the body."

Federer smiled. “That’s why I love young players," he said. “Alcaraz, [Jannik] Sinner, wherever they are." He got a kick out of watching these new phenoms throw their bodies around the court. “Yes! Fist pump and go crazy, because you will not be able to do that [forever.]"

Alcaraz will eventually become a different player, Federer assured. “A perfect example is Rafa when he was 18 to Rafa as he is now," he said. “I don’t want to say it’s day and night, but he’s a completely different mover, player, attitude."

Federer changed, too, conserving energy, shortening points, even adding little tricks (remember those “Sneak Attack By Roger" service returns circa 2015?).

“You have to be able to evolve," Federer said. He couldn’t stay the player he was in 2007, when he believes he was at his absolute best. “You become a different version of yourself. That was a huge challenge, and I loved it."

Tennis is a sport for life, but Federer knows nothing can replace the adrenaline he got from competition. There will be nothing quite like that final Sunday at Wimbledon or the roar of a rowdy New York City crowd in the fifth set.

He’s not looking to replace it.

“This is supposed to stay unique in my life," he said. “I will find fun in a lot of different ways."

There will be new adventures. Maybe he’d get around to pickleball.

“I would love to go to a place that has all racket sports," he said. “Table tennis, badminton, squash, pickle, touchtennis, you name it. That would be amazing! You could do them all."

He has time for it now. Roger Federer is a civilian.

“It’s almost like a new life," he said.

 

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