Roger Federer puts retirement rumours to rest; confirms comeback to tennis in 2022

Swiss tennis superstar Roger Federer has put all rumors about his retirement to rest by confirming his return to the tennis court in 2022. Federer signed up to play at the Swiss Indoors in October, over a year of being away from the sport due to his right knee injury. The event-based in Basel took to its official website on Tuesday and confirmed that the 20-time Grand Slam champion has officially signed up for the tournament and will appear on the entry list with the protected ATP ranking of No. 9. 

The 40-year-old played his last professional game to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon championship in 2021, which he lost by 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-0. Following the loss, Federer underwent surgery to repair damage to his meniscus and cartilage in his right knee and has been recovering from it ever since. This was the third time in a span of 1.5 years that he underwent an operation on his right knee. As per the Basel-based event, Federer will play his first match after returning on October 25.

Roger Federer was won a total of 10 Basil titles

Interestingly, Federer has enjoyed immense success in Basel throughout his career as he is a 10-time champion in the tournament. In his last 13 appearances at Basel, Federer has made it to the final on all occasions. He last defeated by Juan Martin del Potro in the final of the tournament in 2013 and has won a total of five Basel titles since then. However, Federer signing up for the tournament doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be his first ATP event of the year, as it is highly possible that he returns sooner.

His knee injury has kept him out of action for over eight months now, during which he slipped out of the Top 20 in rankings for the first time in two decades. While he was forced to pull out of the US Open at the end of 2021, Russian player Daniil Medvedev clinched his first Grand Slam title by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. Federer was also unable to compete in the season-opening major at the Australian Open in January this year, as his long-time rival Rafael Nadal picked up his record 21st Grand Slam title, leaving Federer and Djokovic behind in the process.