Tennis fans have been left heartbroken after Roger Federer confirmed he will not play the Australian Open and revealed he might not even be ready in time for Wimbledon.
Earlier this week Federer’s coach Ivan Ljubicic revealed it was ‘highly unlikely that the Swiss legend would play the Australian Open in January following a third knee surgery earlier this year.
On Wednesday, Federer confirmed that news while also dropping the bombshell that he would be “extremely surprised” if he was back in time for Wimbledon next July.
The 20-time grand slam champion said he would be able to resume running in January and return to training on the court in March or April.
“I would be incredibly surprised if I were to play again already at Wimbledon,” he Federer said in an interview carried by several Swiss media outlets.
“Australia is not an option at all. But that’s no surprise for me. Even before the operation, we knew that a break of many months would be necessary afterwards.
“I wanted to wait for the first major check-up before making a public statement, and the check-up was very encouraging.
“I have started a long rehabilitation process in which I put all my heart and soul. But the situation is not the same as in 2016. I have to be patient.
“I need to be very patient and give my knee the time to heal. The next few months will be crucial.”
Federer is tied on 20 grand slam titles with Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the race to become the most successful men’s singles champion of all time.
He had two knee operations in 2020 that kept him out of the tour for more than a year and returned to action in March, but played only 13 matches this year.
