Whilst retirement is not in sight for 37-year-old Roger Federer, it doesn’t mean that hasn’t already planned what he wants to do in the future.
As the second oldest player in the world’s top 100 after Ivo Karlovic (40), the former world No.1 has pledged to focus on both his family and foundation post retirement. Last week Federer won his 100th title at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Becoming only the second player in history to do so on the men’s tour after Jimmy Connors. Shortly after achieving the milestone, he insisted that he has no intention to retire in the near future. Although the prospect of having to do so one day doesn’t faze him.
“I want to keep it as flexible as possible when it is all said and done,” Reuters News Agency quoted Federer as saying on Wednesday.
“My priority will always be, as it is now, my family, my kids and my wife. I just want to have enough flexibility in our lives to decide how much is too much, how much is not enough, and how much is good for everybody.”
So far in Federer’s career, he has won a record 20 grand slam titles and spent 310 weeks as world No.1. Establishing himself as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. In 2018 Forbes Magazine listed his annual earnings as $77.2M with $65M coming from endorsements alone. Last year he signed a 10-year deal with Uniqlo that has a total value of an estimated $300M.
Outside of tennis, the former world No.1 serves as the president of the Roger Federer Foundation. A charity set up to support education projects in both Switzerland and Southern Africa.
“The foundation will only continue to grow in terms of time that I am going to be putting into it but then again, how much more time remains to be seen.” Federer said about his future plans with the foundation. “But I cannot sit still. I always want to travel and I always want to do stuff but there’s a way to go about it and to prioritize.”
‘Everybody has their flaws’
Despite being one of the most recognisable faces in the world of tennis, Federer is determined to stay grounded. Whilst reflecting on his 100th title triumph, the Swiss stated that he is by no ways ‘superhuman.’
“People always elevate superstar athletes to a status like we’re superhuman, but you get to meet them and realise he’s just another normal guy. It just happens that he does great in what he does,” he explained. “Being perfect doesn’t exist. Everybody has their flaws and so do I. But if I can make the game more popular, be good for fans or have them enjoy the sport more through me, then that’s great.”
Whilst Federer plays down his achievements on the tour, other players have praised him. Kei Nishikori has played the veteran 10 times on the ATP Tour, losing seven of those meetings. During media day at Indian Wells, the Japanese player praised the work ethic of his opponent.
“It is something incredible to see, how [often Roger] plays at a high level and does not have many injuries,” said Nishikori. “For sure, he works so much harder than everybody. You don’t see much, but I am sure he works really hard. The way he plays is very smooth. It doesn’t look like he puts any stress on his body when he plays any shots. I think that is the biggest [reason] he doesn’t get too many injuries.”
Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens was just as complementary towards Federer. When speaking about his 100th title, the American has described the achievement as ‘absolutely insane.‘ On the women’s tour, only Steffi Graf, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have have ever got to three digits in their title collection.
“I think that in every sport there’s somebody that does something that’s just absolutely outrageous, and obviously in our sport now he’s someone who’s done something insane. That just doesn’t make any sense,” the LA Times quoted Stephens as saying. “But it’s Roger Federer, so what do you expect? For him, that’s normal. For everyone else it’s holy … but for him, it’s just, keep going.”
Federer will return to action at the BNP Paribas Open later this week. Seeded fourth in the draw, he will kick-off his campaign against either Andreas Seppi or Peter Gojowczyk.
