Roger Federer stunned the tennis world on Wednesday when he revealed he might not be back on the tennis court until late 2022.
The 20-time grand slam champion confirmed that he won’t be able to play the Australian Open in January and doubts he will be back in time to play Wimbledon in July.
While the news of his Australian Open withdrawal came as no surprise, the tennis world was shocked to hear that Wimbledon might be off the table as well.
The Swiss legend said he would be able to resume running in January and return to training on the court in March or April.
However the 40-year-old said he’d be “incredibly surprised” if he was ready for Wimbledon in eight months’ time.
“Even before the operation, we knew that a break of many months would be necessary afterwards,” he said.
“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 need to be very patient and give my knee the time to heal. The next few months will be crucial.”
Federer had two knee operations in 2020 that kept him out of action for more than a year and returned to the ATP Tour in March.
However he only played 13 matches this year before undergoing a third operation following his quarter-final loss at Wimbledon last July.
While many fans were left gobsmacked to learn that Federer might not be back in action until the end of 2022, an admission about his family shows why he has no desire to rush his return.
“I had this operation done so that I could ski with my children or play football or tennis in the future,” he said.
“My primary motivation was to get back in shape for my normal life.
