“There’s way too many obstacles” – Roger Federer rules out a comeback and reveals why the goodbye at the US Open took seven years

For one night, Arthur Ashe Stadium belonged to Roger Federer again. The 20-time Grand Slam champion returned to Flushing Meadows on Monday for the first time since 2019, headlining a Fan Week exhibition billed as “Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York.”

Federer, 45, opened with a one-set singles throwback against old rival Andy Roddick, before pairing with John McEnroe for a doubles set against Roddick and Andre Agassi. Played on deciding points, it was theatre rather than contest – trick shots, needling banter and standing ovations from a packed house that once watched him win five consecutive US Open titles from 2004 to 2008.

The legend who won 20 Grand Slam titles between 2003 and 2018 was quick to temper any speculation: there is no professional comeback. “It’s nice to look back one last time,” Federer said of the venue where he made so much history.

The exhibition is the curtain-raiser to the biggest date of his week. On Saturday, Federer will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, headlining the Class of 2026 alongside broadcaster Mary Carillo. The New York night, then, was equal parts celebration and farewell tour.

The following exchanges are taken from the press conference Roger Federer gave at Flushing Meadows on the eve of his return to Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Serena is doing it, Venus is doing it, and you are younger than Venus. Do you ever wake up and say maybe I should consider a wild card, just on a limited basis?

Roger Federer: No, no, no, no. No, not at all. Thanks for asking. I wasn’t sure if the question was going to get asked, but I’m happy you did, so I can clarify in case anybody thought. No, no, no. Not at all. And anyway, you have to enter the doping pool. Like, God, there’s way too many obstacles, and I’m too busy. I’m barely finding time to play any exos. So imagine a tour, and the body is done. But I’m very happy how I’m feeling, so all good, and just a fan now, just enjoying watching.

You were playing so well those last few years of your career. When you lost here in 2019 (Dimitrov, quarter-finals) it kind of seemed like we’ll see you next year and you’ll go far. Did you miss out on having a proper last time, the way Serena or Agassi had? And just the fact you’ve been gone this long, I would have thought with all your business commitments you would have had so many requests to be here. What’s the reason now?

Roger Federer: Look, I didn’t want to push for it either, and things just happened the way they did, because I could feel, after Wimbledon that summer (2021), I could feel on vacation that this was it. This knee can’t do it any more. It’s tired, the mind can’t be patient any more and wait for another couple of years and see what happens. So then ending it at the Laver Cup (2022) in London was the right thing to do.

And then I didn’t want to go right away to each tournament and do a farewell. So I kind of let it come naturally to me. I was here a couple of years ago, briefly. I went to centre court, watched, I think Grigor was playing, Sabalenka was playing those nights. But it wasn’t my night. They gave me an ovation because they saw me on the big screen. But I just feel like it really gives me a true opportunity to say thank you and goodbye, which I think is important for some. For me it is, and it’s a nice thing to do, for sure. But I don’t know why it hasn’t happened earlier. It’s just life – life was family and life on the road. And I didn’t want to look for it right away. I let it come naturally.

What is your greatest memory in this building?

Roger Federer: In this building – now, looking back, I guess it’s just the streak of the five in a row (2004-2008). That I was able to string that together is kind of surreal, because I always knew how hard it is to win here. Last major of the season, everybody is gunning for it. Everybody can play on hard courts, and with the humidity, the wind, and I guess also the changes over the years here, it’s just been a tough one. So I think looking back that’s incredible.

My favourite one probably is the match overall with Agassi here (2005 final). I don’t know, it just felt like it was going to be a special occasion for him. And I was defending champion, and that just kind of made it super cool. And I think the year before we played in five sets, and some crazy wins over two days against each other already. And I loved the rivalry I had with Andre at the time. So playing him here in New York was extra special.

Congratulations on your imminent induction. What does it mean to you to be back here at the US Open and in front of the New York fans again?

Roger Federer: A lot of happiness that I can return to Arthur Ashe, a place where I’ve had so many beautiful moments. And I get a sort of chance to be with Roddick, McEnroe and Andre, of course. Just nice to connect with the tennis community again. That’s why I try to go to four or five events throughout the season. But this one’s obviously special, with the Icon Returns here in New York, and then going to Newport, Rhode Island, going for the first time over there, actually, and getting inducted right away is obviously super special. It means a lot.

it’s like you go into a time machine and everything slows down for a second and you can actually look back one more time.

And it’s nice to look back, I guess, one more time, because life goes quick, especially when you have four children. You stop remembering what you did or what you’ve been through. So it’s like you go into a time machine and everything slows down for a second and you can actually look back one more time. I don’t need it in my life, but it’s nice when it does happen, because my life on tour was amazing. I loved it.

And now the kids are also getting older, so they can maybe enjoy it a little bit, seeing their dad play, because the girls are seventeen and the boys are twelve. I don’t think they remember a whole lot of the US Open, to be quite honest, because it’s been a while since I last played, and when I did play, I wasn’t playing super long. Night sessions were tough at the time. It was late for them.

As you’ve reflected back on your career, looking at the induction on Saturday, have you thought about anything differently, in terms of realising certain moments were particularly impactful or influential, that you hadn’t realised before?

Roger Federer: When I retired, there was a lot of talk also about maybe my personality and what I brought to the game overall when I wasn’t on court, which I was a little surprised by. I thought it was about, in the moment still, forehands, backhands and saving break points and victories and all that stuff, but actually that becomes a little bit not irrelevant eventually, but it’s about what were you remembered for. How did you behave in the locker rooms, or in the corridors, or maybe with the media, or with the tournament directors, the ball kids. I don’t know.

For me, if I look back, that’s kind of what I’m very happy about: that I went through twenty-five years on tour and I actually felt like I’d met a lot of friends, and a lot of people miss me. Same with fans. They come up to me and tell me, oh, what a shame you’re not playing any more. And then I get a flashback, saying like it was an amazing time, and I say it every time. I loved it, and it’s a shame I can’t be on the tour any more, but it was a great, great time and I miss it dearly.

And then that I actually had the opportunity to play, yeah, let’s say night sessions here in a US Open final, even one would have been plenty, because when you enter into a final of this kind of magnitude tournament, it teaches you so much. It shows you how far you’ve come, and forever you can think of that moment. So thankfully I have many of those. Not that I needed it, but it’s just incredible, that when I look back at the US Open, as an example, it makes me so proud to have seen everything I experienced here.

And I think with the induction it gives me a chance to look back, and also being able to start a foundation that I used to have, still have, I guess, to a degree, the power of the microphone, being able to speak about subjects that I like to speak about, or if I want to show up I can, and if I don’t, I don’t have to. I’m in a very comfortable place today, but I’m still happy to be out there and being in the tennis world from time to time, because it is the glue to everything that surrounds me still today. And I had the best time, had a lot of friends on tour, from players to people who were organisers, et cetera. So I hope that a lot of the players who retire also feel the same way about the game, because I care dearly.