Legendary Federer reveals for the first time the reason behind making a tough career decision

Roger Federer recently disclosed details about the challenging decision to retire from professional tennis, revealing the reasons behind this choice.

Federer battled persistent injuries

The tennis legend with 20 Grand Slam titles unveiled his ongoing struggle with knee and back injuries that tormented him during the closing stages of his career.

Appearing on the podcast Served alongside his friend and former rival Andy Roddick, the Swiss "Swiss Maestro" opened up for the first time about the severity of his physical problems, including the detail that he had to rely on crutches to move when his knee became chronic, a year before he announced his retirement.

Roddick recounted: "I knew his knee had deteriorated significantly by then. In 2021 in Boston, he even concealed his crutches for photos. His knee was genuinely in bad shape." Federer just smiled: "Those crutches shouldn’t have been in the pictures!"

Throughout his career with 20 Grand Slam titles, Federer was famous for never quitting a match. He admitted to hiding injuries in his later years and compared his approach to Rafael Nadal’s: "I was always considered a player with few injuries. I had issues with my back, hands, and feet, but never as severe as the knee problems at the end of my career. I didn’t want opponents or the media to know about my condition. Rafa is different; he is always honest about his injuries. I used to wonder why he was so open, while I couldn’t even stand due to back pain, yet people thought I was flawless."

Federer revealed he once “tricked” the media by performing at around 80% capacity but being rated at 100%. Still, the Swiss legend affirmed his career was complete, and everything ended when his knee injury became irreversible.

Recalling his final match at the 2022 Laver Cup, where he played doubles with Nadal, Federer said: "I felt relieved when the uncertainty ended. Accepting it made the ending beautiful. Sharing that moment with Rafa wasn’t planned but happened naturally. That made it even more authentic. It was a perfect conclusion."