Roger Federer ‘pressured’ to return to action – ‘People want to see you play again’
Roger Federer’s agent has given another big indication that the tennis great could soon return to action to compete in some “senior things” along with Rafael Nadal and other big-name players who retired recently.
Swiss Maestro Federer hung up his racket after the 2022 Laver Cup and Nadal played his last match at the 2024 Davis Cup in December while Andy Murray called it a day after Paris Olympics last August.
When Federer waved goodbye to the tennis world he vowed that he wouldn’t disappear from the sport and he has kept his promise as he remains actively involved in the Laver Cup and makes regular appearances at the Shanghai Masters.
But fans of the 20-time Grand Slam winner are keen to see their hero return to action, albeit not in a professional stage, and they would love nothing more for him to team up with Nadal and revive the Fedal rivalry.
Tony Godsick, who has been Federer’s agent for the past two decades, says pieces of the puzzle will probably start to fall into place once Federer is fully fit again.
“I’ve been pressuring him a little bit, saying, ‘Come on, people want to see you play again. You can play a couple of senior things,'” Godsick, who is also the chairman of the Laver Cup, said on the Tennis Channel.
“We’ve been talking with Rafa a little bit about putting together a tour together. So, Roger just wanted to make sure that his knee was fine. He didn’t want to be totally broken after his career, so he gave it a little bit of time. He’s not there yet but he’s in the gym a lot.
“I think Rafa’s interested, I don’t want to speak for Rafa. But it would be great to see these guys out there.
“Plus, there’s a lot of other guys of their generation that I think would be willing to play too. Some of the biggest names are these guys who just retired, so we can probably fill some nice stadiums and venues.”
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Federer himself hinted at the Laver Cup in San Francisco that a reunion with the Spaniard is on the cards.
“I love Rafa! I played four hours of tennis the other day here in San Francisco and in LA for another hour and half,” the 44-year-old said. “Before that, I’ve been playing a lot, so I’ve been trying to keep in good shape.
“I know that Rafa is also totally open to maybe play some tennis. It sounds terrible, seniors tennis, to us, but maybe we can create a tour, like a ‘Fedal Tour’ or something like that. It would be cool.”
Despite no longer being active on the ATP Tour, Federer is keeping busy and he is always “looking for the next thing” and that “next thing” could well be a seniors tour.
“He is travelling a lot, he has four kids, he really wants the kids to see the world so after this event they are off to Asia – all of them to immerse themselves in different cultures,” Godscik added.
“He’s looking for the next thing. We’re kind of perusing around, what else can we do. At the same time, he’s very hands-on with this event.
“He will come on a Monday, he has a little book he keeps in his bag, and he will come with 25 things we either did really well or could do better, different ideas.”
