Tennis legend <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/roger-federer">Roger Federer</a>, 41, revealed ahead of his last match that he would have retired years ago if he couldn&#8217;t take his kids on the road with him.
Federer, who has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/roger-federers-superhuman-humanity">won 20 grand slam titles</a>, homeschools and travels with his young kids — two boys and two girls — whenever he plays. When asked by the <a href="https://www.today.com/news/sports/roger-federer-recalls-how-becoming-dad-of-4-changed-tennis-career-rcna48694">TODAY Show</a> why he did that, he revealed that it was what he had to do to continue in the sport.
&#8220;Oh, it was the only way,&#8221; said Federer. &#8220;I said, &#8216;Never would I go on the road without my kids.&#8217; And then I&#8217;d rather retire. Then I would&#8217;ve had to retire 10 years ago.&#8221;
Federer became a father in his late 20s, when his twin girls, Myla and Charlene were born. Several years later, his wife Mirka gave birth to twin boys Lenny and Leo. He recalls that becoming a father changed his Tennis game for him.
&#8220;I remember changing diapers, bathing the girls and just being a dad. But then when the boys were born, I mean, that rocked the boat, obviously, because going on the road with four kids every single week was hard,&#8221; he said, <a href="https://www.who.com.au/roger-federer-kids">reports</a> Who Australia. &#8220;And from being maybe the dominator I became the challenger. And I liked that role, as well. I actually really stayed hungry throughout.”
Federer also called having kids the &#8220;most incredible thing in the world&#8221; and a tremendous responsibility.
The Swiss tennis star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/roger-federer-announces-his-retirement-from-tennis">announced his retirement</a> last week, noting his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-important-that-i-listen-to-my-body-roger-federer-withdraws-from-the-french-open">recent history of injuries</a> and age.
“As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries. I’ve worked hard to return to full competitive form,” Federer said. “But I also know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear. I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
To my tennis family and beyond,
With Love, Roger <a href="https://t.co/1UISwK1NIN">pic.twitter.com/1UISwK1NIN</a>
&mdash; Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) <a href="https://twitter.com/rogerfederer/status/1570401710685945856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Federer’s titles rank third among men, behind only Nadal (22) and Djokovic (21). He is also the oldest men’s tennis professional to be ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings at 36 years old in 2018, <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/34596649/roger-federer-announces-retirement-play-laver-cup-final-event" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> ESPN.
In 2009, Federer won the Roland-Garros to achieve a coveted Grand Slam. He also won eight championships at Wimbledon, six at the Australian Open, five at the U.S. Open, and one at the French Open.
Dillon Burroughs contributed to this report.

Laver Cup 2022 – Previews

‘It Was The Only Way’: Tennis Legend Reveals The Decision He Made After Having Kids

Tennis Legend Roger Federer Reveals He Would 'Never' Have Continued Playing Without His Kids With Him

Roger Federer

Tennis

He is an extraordinary human being who modeled what the peaks of life can look like. His retirement should remind us that excellence never has to come at the cost of character.
There are an infinite number of ways to measure the longevity of Roger Federer’s tennis career.
In my own life, when Roger Federer defeated Pete Sampras in the fourth round of the 2001 Wimbledon and announced his coming reign over the tennis world in the process, I was a newlywed with only three years of teaching experience, half-way through my twenties. Today, as I listened to his elegant retirement announcement, I have been standing in front of students for a quarter of a century, my wife and I are both graying, and my oldest child is a sophomore in college.
Though, what tennis fans across the world should be celebrating today is not his longevity, or even his tennis greatness. Yes, many consider him the most graceful athlete, in any sport, ever. Yes, in his prime, he was able to conjoin artistry and athleticism in a way that transcends any superlative. And yes, the laws of Newtonian physics seemed to bend at times with his panoply of spins, speed, and superhuman slices. 
This is what the late David Foster Wallace was trying to explain with his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">piece</a> in the New York Times, brilliantly titled, “Roger Federer as Religious Experience.” He wrote: 
<blockquote>“Almost anyone who loves tennis and follows the men’s tour on television has, over the last few years, had what might be termed Federer Moments. These are times, as you watch the young Swiss play, when the jaw drops and eyes protrude and sounds are made that bring spouses in from other rooms to see if you’re O.K.”</blockquote>
It is as we watch Federer exit the world of professional tennis, however, that we realize that the most important “Federer Moments” of the past two decades have almost nothing to do with forehands and backhands. 
People who admire Rafael Nadal regal in his brute strength, his godly competitiveness, and the fact that he is a truly humble, gracious human being who, after every tournament when there are no cameras on, seeks out and shakes the hands of the people behind the scenes who make the tournament possible. 
People who love Novak Djokovic revere his unapologetic individualism, his taciturn and tortured quest to be the greatest of all time, his reverence for his country, and his humble background.
But the global love affair with Roger Federer is different.
Federer is also a gracious and kind human being, and he can also make claims of being the greatest tennis player of all time. However, the reason why Federer seemed unique, why he could sell out stadiums in every country and inspire <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Master-Brilliant-Career-Roger-Federer/dp/1538719266" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fawning biographies</a> penned by New York Times journalists, is because Federer seemed to embody an assemblage of capacities from ages past. His excellence and acute sense of style seemed aristocratic, his preternatural propensity to triumph echoed from a distant Homeric past, his zest for charity and family life embodied high Christian idealism, and his kindness to everyday fans radiated a truly democratic sensibility.
But this man, unlike any other political, athletic, or pop culture icon of our age, exuded a sense of eclectic grace like no other. Roger Federer loved being Roger Federer. There was never pretense or phoniness or pulp. 
There was Roger Federer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXs9mwKk6Hk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weeping during the awards ceremony</a> after he lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2009 Australian Open Final. There is Roger Federer taping a television spot with Nadal and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94xyOpETYYs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">getting the giggles</a>. There is Federer during a Spanish interview who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xlWJGECPHw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cannot contain his laughter</a>. There is Federer at the Australian Open getting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp5ycaYQl-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stopped by security</a> on his way to the locker room because he didn’t have his credentials. Instead of asserting himself or flouting his fame, he simply and humbly stepped aside and waited for his trainer to show his credentials. There is also Federer losing his temper, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZB9JfhzLzE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">angrily yelling at the umpire</a>, during the 2009 US Open Final, which he lost.
But he also had an inspiring capacity to contextualize his failures and disappointments. John McEnroe, for instance, took a mid-career hiatus and was never the same. Federer, though, could bounce back like no other. He was a point away from defeating Djokovic in the epic 2019 Wimbledon men&#8217;s final. He had two match points against Djokovic at the 2011 US Open, yet still lost the match. He was on the losing side of the most famous tennis match in the history of the sport—the 2008 Wimbledon Final against his friend and rival, Rafael Nadal. And, yet, every time he seemed to understand that tomorrow could and would be better than today. He seemed to understand failure was never unfair. He never raged against the Fates, the umpires, or his opponents.
To everyday people around the world, there was a didactic element buried deep inside his suffering: if a demi-god can endure the torture of failure before the world, we can do the same in our own lives with failed marriages, disappointing careers, or protruding bellies.
Roger Federer’s universal appeal is that he was a man for all seasons—he was magisterial in a tuxedo, eloquent in press conferences and awards ceremonies, funny in commercials, entrepreneurial in his off-court businesses, and endlessly good-natured to friend and foe alike. Whichever Federer you liked best, there was no one else quite like him.
Tennis fans have to wonder what effect the recent US Open victory by wunderkind 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz had on the timing of Federer’s retirement announcement. Maybe it nudged him to the finish line by reinforcing the fact that Father Time loses to no one, that he had walked with kings, triumphed atop mountains, and electrified millions of fans in the process. If the past is any indicator of the future, though, the best is yet to be for Federer.
Jeremy S. Adams is the author of Hollowed Out: A Warning About America&#8217;s Next Generation, recently released in paperback. He has taught American civics for 24 years in Bakersfield, California and was the 2014 California Teacher of the Year (DAR). You can follow him on Twitter @JeremyAdams6.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TENNIS-GBR-WIMBLEDON

Roger Federer’s Superhuman Humanity 

Readers Pass

Sports

Tennis legend Roger Federer announced on Thursday that he is retiring from professional tennis at the age of 41.
Federer shared the news in a written statement and a video on social media, marking the end of the career of one of the sport&#8217;s top athletes.
&#8220;Of all the gifts that tennis has given me over the years, the greatest, without a doubt, has been the people I&#8217;ve met along the way: my friends, my competitors, and most of all the fans who give the sport its life. Today, I want to share some news with all of you,&#8221; Federer shared.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
To my tennis family and beyond,
With Love, Roger <a href="https://t.co/1UISwK1NIN">pic.twitter.com/1UISwK1NIN</a>
&mdash; Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) <a href="https://twitter.com/rogerfederer/status/1570401710685945856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The winner of 20 Grand Slam titles noted injuries and age as factors behind his decision.
&#8220;As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries. I&#8217;ve worked hard to return to full competitive form,&#8221; Federer said. &#8220;But I also know my body&#8217;s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear. I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years.&#8221;
His final match will include Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray competing with Team Europe on September 23-25 at the London Laver Cup.
&#8220;The Laver Cup next week in London will be my final ATP event. I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in Grand Slams or on the tour,&#8221; he revealed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
❤️ <a href="https://t.co/YxtVWrlXIF">pic.twitter.com/YxtVWrlXIF</a>
&mdash; Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) <a href="https://twitter.com/rogerfederer/status/1570402045085253632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The tennis great called his retirement &#8220;a bittersweet decision,&#8221; saying he would miss &#8220;everything the tour has given me,&#8221; but also looked forward to time to &#8220;celebrate&#8221; other areas of life.
Federer&#8217;s titles rank third among men, behind only Nadal (22) and Djokovic (21). He is also the oldest men&#8217;s tennis professional to be ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings at 36 years old in 2018, <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/34596649/roger-federer-announces-retirement-play-laver-cup-final-event" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> ESPN.
In 2009, Federer won the Roland-Garros to achieve a coveted Grand Slam. He also won eight championships at Wimbledon, six at the Australian Open, five at the U.S. Open, and one at the French Open.
Federer thanked his wife, Mirka, also a tennis player, in his retirement statement, which ended with a message to his fans and supporters.
&#8220;So, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart, to everyone around the world who has helped make the dreams of a young Swiss ball kid come true,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Finally, to the game of tennis: I love you and will never leave you.&#8221;

Roger Federer Announces His Retirement From Tennis

Even though we know it’s inevitable, it’s never easy to witness our sports legends age.
We recently watched LeBron James bow out of the first round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in his career — and look tired and old in doing so — and now another sports great is showing that father-time comes for us all. 
Following his third-round victory, tennis great Roger Federer has withdrawn from the 2021 French Open. 
Federer defeated Dominik Koepfer in four sets (7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5) Saturday night in a three-and-a-half-hour match that clearly took a lot out of him. 
“After discussions with my team, I’ve decided I will need to pull out of the French Open today,” Federer posted to Twitter on Sunday. “After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation it’s important that I listen to my body and make sure I don’t push myself too quickly on my road to recovery. I am thrilled to have gotten 3 matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on court.&#8221; 
&#8220;See everyone soon,&#8221; he concluded. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/70C8RYr69J">pic.twitter.com/70C8RYr69J</a>
&mdash; Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) <a href="https://twitter.com/rogerfederer/status/1401547332999692294?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Federer, who will turn 40 in August, was competing in just his third tournament this year and his first major since the 2020 Australian Open. 
After his last major tournament, Federer had surgery on his knee, and last month, he made it <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/31577005/roger-federer-withdraws-french-open-says-listening-body">clear</a> that he wasn’t going to be fully ready for this year&#8217;s French Open and would focus on Wimbledon, which takes place in late June. 
Roland-Garros, the home of the French Open, put out a statement regarding Federer’s decision to withdraw: “The Roland-Garros tournament organizers have learned that Roger Federer has withdrawn from the fourth-round of the tournament.”
&#8220;The Roland-Garros tournament is sorry about the withdrawal of Roger Federer, who put up an incredible fight last night. We were all delighted to see Roger back in Paris, where he played three high-level matches. We wish him all the best for the rest of the season,&#8221; said Roland-Garros. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
PRESS RELEASE<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RolandGarros?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RolandGarros</a> <a href="https://t.co/dYgPxLvovR">pic.twitter.com/dYgPxLvovR</a>
&mdash; Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) <a href="https://twitter.com/rolandgarros/status/1401545323475083269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
The 20-time Grand Slam champion was set to face Matteo Berrettini in the fourth round of the tournament, who will now face either Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals. 
Federer’s announcement is another blow to the sport of tennis, as women&#8217;s tennis player Naomi Osaka pulled out of the French Open last week to focus on her mental health. 
“I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,” Osaka <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/world-no-2-tennis-player-pulls-out-of-french-open-reveals-long-bouts-of-depression">posted</a> to social media. 
“I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer,” she continued. “More importantly, I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that. Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety.”

2021 French Open – Day Seven

‘It’s Important That I Listen To My Body’: Roger Federer Withdraws From The French Open

Can Roger Federer become the <a href="http://www.si.com/tennis/2016/07/06/wimbledon-quarterfinals-raonic-federer-cilic-murray-berdych">oldest man in the modern era</a> to win tennis&#8217; most revered trophy?
Federer, 34, who has won Wimbledon seven times, became the oldest man to reach the semifinals of the tournament since 39-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1974. The oldest man to win Wimbledon in the modern era was Arthur Ashe, who was 31 when he <a href="http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2013-06-29/20130629_201306171371466343940.html">defeated</a> Jimmy Connors in 1975.
The odds were against Federer after the first two sets of the quarterfinals; he lost them to Marin Cilic 6-7(4), 4-6, and Cilic&#8217;s record in the Grand Slam tournaments after winning the first two sets was an unbelievable 51-0. To make matters worse for him, Federer had rebounded from being two sets down only nine times before in his illustrious career. Still, the last time Federer had lost in straight sets at Wimbledon was in 2002, when he was a stripling of 20.
The players were at 3-3 in the third set, with Cilic up 40-0, but Federer refused to yield, winning the game and later, the set. Cilic acknowledged later, &#8220;I was a little bit unlucky in the third one. I had one game Love&#8209;40, the next game he broke me. That switched a little bit the momentum.&#8221;
After winning the third set 6-3, Federer faced three match points in the fourth set, but somehow overcame them to win 7-6 and force a fifth set, which he won, 6-3. Federer said after the match.
<blockquote>
I fought, I tried, I believed. At the end I got it done. So it was great on so many levels. I was just very happy that I actually felt as strong as I did, you know, mentally and physically when I was down two sets to love. Whatever, those three breakpoints, after I fought them off, I did believe. Next thing you know, I was serving for the match in the fifth. Everything kind of went very quickly. Sometimes you feel when you&#8217;re down two sets to love, the mountain to climb is huge, it&#8217;s monstrous. Somehow everything went very quickly and I had great focus. I was very happy.&#8221;
</blockquote>
One key difference in the match: Cilic&#8217;s seven double faults. Federer had none.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/36725266">commented</a>, &#8220;It was all there for Cilic to win; he had the chances &#8230; We talk so much about Roger Federer&#8217;s racquet skills. But how about his nerves? That&#8217;s what won it. When Federer had a chance in the fifth he took it.&#8221;
This will be Federer&#8217;s 11th appearance in the semifinals at Wimbledon. He has won 17 Grand Slam singles titles &#8211; the most ever by any man. Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras each won 14; Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson won 12.

Menu

Streaming Now

Roger Federer

‘It Was The Only Way’: Tennis Legend Reveals The Decision He Made After Having Kids

Roger Federer’s Superhuman Humanity

Roger Federer Announces His Retirement From Tennis

‘It’s Important That I Listen To My Body’: Roger Federer Withdraws From The French Open

Federer: Can The Legend Win Wimbledon One Last Time? He’s Close.