Roger Federer has admitted that he enjoyed being the “centre of attention” as he reflected on his playing career a year after retiring. The Swiss star was back at the Laver Cup over the weekend, 12 months after hanging up his racket at the same tournament. And he shared his verdict on being retired while sharing what he missed the most about tennis.
Federer famously retired at the 2022 Laver Cup surrounded by his biggest rivals – Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The former world No 1 had been struggling with a right knee injury for more than two years and was originally trying to mount a comeback before admitting that he had to listen to his body and stop.
Having co-founded the Laver Cup, the 42-year-old was back at the team event in Vancouver over the weekend but this time he was a spectator. Federer had already marked the anniversary of his retirement with an on-court Q&A on Friday but he got more candid about his retirement after Team World lifted the trophy on Sunday night, and admitted that he missed the ovations and attention.
“I miss the adrenaline but at the same time, you’re happy not to have it,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion told Eurosport. “Secretly I guess you like to be the centre of attention but at the same time it doesn’t matter any more, you know?”
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But Federer knew that he made the right decision as he confessed that he was “happy” in retirement. He continued: “So it’s good with the way it is now. And of course, I miss the big ovations, seeing the happy faces of people that hopefully I was able to entertain and stuff like that. The tour was good to me, I loved it, every moment, but I’m happy retired now.”
The 103-time title winner was still enjoying being around the sport from a new perspective as he took in the Laver Cup as a spectator this year. “It’s great to be back and being in that tennis family again, you know, having things to do. And also, for me, really the first time experiencing the Laver Cup from a completely different angle,” he added.
Federer also visited the tournament when it took place in Boston back in 2021. At the time, he was recovering following his third right knee surgery and still thought he would be returning to competition eventually. “In Boston I was there but I was injured and it was different,” he explained.
