Federer: I was content and at peace simply watching Wimbledon from the stands

Roger Federer doesn’t miss stepping out on the SW19 grass

Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2023 (Action Plus/Panoramic)

September 12, 2023

Roger Federer may be the king of Wimbledon – but he has no lingering desires to still be on court in SW19.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the Swiss reflected on watching the 2023 tournament unfold from the stands – and compared it to the previous year’s Centre Court centenary celebration.

“My dad leaned over and asked me, ‘Wouldn’t you want to be on the court right now instead of just sitting here?’

“And I was, ‘Oh, my God, no. I’m so happy sitting here.’

Tennis Majors

“I felt very content and at peace, sitting and not playing. Because a year before [in 2022], when there was the 100th-year celebration of Centre Court, I felt that I maybe didn’t want to be there. It was important for me to be there, but it was a crushing feeling I had, a twisted feeling I had. This year, I was very happy to be back there. And the people were happy to see me happy.”

Federer became unranked for the first time in his professional career shortly after Wimbledon in 2022, having not recovered from knee surgery well enough to compete in the 12 months before that.

He also discussed his continuing rehab, despite retirement, saying: “I go straight to the gym [after dropping the children off at school]. I’ve had quite a bit of knee issues, so I’m constantly rehabbing. I haven’t been able to do much cardio — mostly weights, core exercises, exercises for my quad-strengthening. I have a physio I’ve been with for seven years, and we see each other four times a week. He does treatments, massages, stretching, and he also runs me through exercises.”