Coach Severin Luthi admits Roger Federer simply “did not make enough progress” in his knee recovery and that’s why he is stepping away from professional tennis. Federer, 41, has had three knee surgeries since 2020.
His third surgery came last August, when he decided to again surgically address his knee issue. Federer was targeting to return to action at next week’s Laver Cup and then to play at the Swiss Indoors Basel next month.
On Thursday, Federer announced the Laver Cup would be the final tournament of his career. “He just did not make enough progress. He’s 41, been on the tour for so long, he’s played over 1500 matches. His retirement is a combination of these factors,” Luthi told Simon Graf.
I’ve had the chance to talk to Severin Lüthi about @rogerfederer. A few excerpts. About the decision to retire: «He just did not make enough progress. He’s 41, been on the tour for so long, he’s played over 1500 matches.
His retirement is a combination of these factors.» (1/8) — Simon Graf (@SimonGraf1) September 16, 2022
Luthi: Federer has taken it well
Retiring from tennis is certainly very emotional for Federer, but he has been handling the situation very well so far.
Since Federer appears to be in good spirits, it’s easier for his team as well to process the whole situation. Also, Luthi noted that this time should be used to celebrate Federer’s astonishing career. “Roger makes it easy for us,” Luthi said.
“Of course, it was an emotional decision for him. Otherwise, he would never have been able to achieve so much at this level. There’s a lot of passion behind it. But he is always so positive about everything. It would be harder for me if he was totally devastated.
How he processes the whole thing helps me, too. Roger has called me two or three times today to ask how I’m doing. He’s always thinking about the others, too. He’s fine, he’s with his family. I think we should now focus not only on the end of his career but above all on everything he achieved.
All these beautiful successes. People should not only be sad but also happy about all the things they could experience with Roger.”
«I think we should now focus not only on the end of his career but above all on everything he achieved.
All these beautiful successes. People should not only be sad but also happy about all the things they could experience with Roger.» (4/8) — Simon Graf (@SimonGraf1) September 16, 2022
