After his emotional retirement from tennis at the Laver Cup in September, Roger Federer is set to return to the court soon as part of a promotional event which will also celebrate his career.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion is set to headline Uniqlo’s Life Wear Day which will take place in Tokyo on November 19th. Federer is a global brand ambassador for the company after signing a 10-year endorsement deal with them in 2018 which has an estimated value of US$300M. One of the purposes of the event is to ‘connect with the next generation’ to help ‘nurture their dreams.’
Besides Federer, wheelchair tennis star Shingo Kunieda will also be in attendance. The event will take place at the Ariake Coliseum which is the venue of the ATP 500 Japan Open, as well as the tennis events of the 2020 Olympic Games.
“Uniqlo Life Wear Day Tokyo 2022 with Roger Federer, an event to connect the next generation, will be held at Ariake Coliseum to celebrate the achievements of global brand ambassador Roger Federer, who retired from professional tennis in September this year,” Uniqlo said in a statement issued on Thursday.
“Through this event, Uniqlo will promote initiatives to inspire the next generation that will contribute to the sustainable development of society, nurture the dreams of children who will lead the future and achieve a better society.”
The schedule of the event will feature a ‘talk session’ with Federer and Kunieda. A junior tennis session, a ceremony to celebrate Federer’s career and a match involving the two players are also set to take place during the afternoon.
It will be the first time the Swiss Maestro has participated in a public event since the Laver Cup. Organizers of the Swiss Indoors, which will take place later this month, had previously expressed a desire to hold a special ceremony to mark his career. However, he declined the invite due to it being ‘too close’ to his retirement.
Federer, who has won 103 ATP titles during his career, has previously stated that he still intends to remain involved in tennis. Although he is unsure in what capacity. He is already a key figure in the Laver Cup which his management company Team8 co-founded.
“I just wanted to let the fans know I won’t be a ghost. It’s funny, I spoke about Bjorn Borg, he didn’t return to Wimbledon for 25 years and that hurts every fan,” Federer told reporters in London last month.
“But I don’t think I’ll be that guy. I feel tennis has given me too much. I have been around the game for too long. Have fallen in love with too many things.
“You’ll see me again. In what capacity, I don’t know. Still have to think about it a little bit, give myself some time.”
