Roger Federer announces his retirement from the ATP Tour and grand slams
The first week of May is never a good time for tennis players.
Especially for Roger Federer, who’s been going through one of the best months of his career. He’s been the top-ranked player in the world for nearly a year. He’s won Wimbledon and has reached the finals of his two grand slam events. He’s the first man in history to hold all four major titles in the men’s game.
But he’s also been playing with a lot of pain, and after his recent victory in Charleston, the world champion says he’s coming to terms with his physical condition. After playing his last match on March 10, Federer says he can’t wait to return to full training and to be fully healthy.
The first-time Grand Slam champion also reveals he had to fight with his wife about whether to retire. “It was very difficult,” Federer says. “I always said, ‘It’s not the end of the world if we retire.’ I had to think about it for a couple of weeks. It took me a month to decide. Then, on April 20, I said I will not retire.”
It’s also been an emotional week for Serena Williams. She won the Wimbledon women’s singles title on Saturday, and after Sunday’s final she announced she would retire at the end of the year at age 22. She also has not played a match since April 15.
The Wimbledon runner-up said it was “the hardest decision” she’d ever made. She says she never wanted to retire so soon after winning her fourth major title. “I love competing. I love playing. When it was time to step down, I knew I was ready to go,” Williams says.
Williams’s decision ended a remarkable run of success by an up-and-coming female player. Serena has won six major titles, including four in a row, and the previous year she became just the fourth woman in history to win Wimbledon. It
