Roger Federer appears to be parking any talk of retirement from tennis, with the 20-time Grand Slam champion expected to return to the court in his native Switzerland this October.
Federer has not played since Wimbleton in 2021 when he lost to Hubert Hurkacz and the Swiss Indoors in Basel would represent the 40-year-old’s first ATP Tour event since his injury.
A third knee surgery has kept Federer sidelined through the US Open and Australian Open, and will also keep him out of the French Open and Wimbleton in the coming months.
Roger Federer is preparing to make his return to the ATP Tour back home in Basel in October
The 40-year-old has been ramping up his physical work to get him ready for a return to action
But according to Swiss outlet Blick, Federer has told organisers in Basel that he is committed to playing in his hometown tournament in October.
Federer has won the Basel title 10 times before and is said to view the event as a springboard to boost his return on the ATP Tour.
The Basel event did not take place in 2020 or 2021 and so it will be a welcome publicity boost with Federer intending to feature.
Much will depend on how he navigates his troublesome knee through the Laver Cup in London in September, a month after he will have turned 41.
Federer resumed running in January and managed to ramp up to sessions on court with support last month.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has not played on the tour since Wimbleton in 2021
Federer has been Wimbleton champion eight times but it is unclear if he will play there again
Question marks remain if he will ever get another go at Wimbleton, a tournament he has won eight times in his career.
‚It is my ultimate dream to return,‘ he told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper in Switzerland last November. ‚I still believe in it. I believe in these kinds of miracles.
‚But what kind of image will people remember of me? My last set at Wimbleton last July? Or my Grand Slam titles? My money’s on the latter.‘
Basel holds great emotional significance to Federer having been a ball boy for the tournament in his younger days.
In 1993, following the final match, victor Michael Stich gave ball boy Federer a medal for his service to the event, tradition that has been part of the event for years.
‚I loved being a ball boy here,‘ Federer previously told Tennis TV.
‚I was able to see the best players in the world first-hand and see how they would prepare, how they would sweat, how they dealt with the pressure. They’re good moments for me.‘
Federer had to undergo three knee operations in 18 months but is set to hold off on retirement