GENEVA, Switzerland – Twenty Grand Slam titles and an indelible mark on tennis history: at the age of 41, Swiss legend Roger Federer announced his retirement on Thursday at the end of the Laver Cup, a competition it is inspired by and which will be held by September 23 to 25.

Less than a month after Serena Williams, another monument to the game bows as a new generation moves on, epitomized by Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, crowned US Open and world No. 1 at just 19 years old.

“Next week’s Laver Cup in London will be my last ATP event,” the Swiss champion, who underwent a third surgery on his right knee in a year and a half last summer and has been fighting to make a comeback, posted on social media.

“I will play tennis in the future, of course, but it will no longer be in Grand Slam tournaments or on the circuit,” added Federer, winner of 103 career trophies but having played just six matches in 2020 and thirteen in 2021.

Basel has not played competitively since being knocked out in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon 2021 and for several months he has cast doubt on his chances of returning to the courts.

“A bittersweet decision”

Apart from the Laver Cup, which will therefore be his final appearance on the circuit, the former world No.1 was announced in his hometown from October 24-20 and was hoping to push until 2023 with the Swiss daily Tagesanzeiger.

But if he “worked hard” to rebuild physically, his body sent him “a clear message,” he explains: “I’m 41 years old. I have played more than 1500 matches in 24 years. “Tennis has been more generous to me than I ever dreamed of and I have to recognize when it’s time to quit.”

“It’s a bittersweet decision because I’m going to miss everything the circuit has given me. But, at the same time, there are so many things to celebrate,” said the former Grand Slam titleholder after being overtaken by Rafael Nadal (22) and then Novak Djokovic (21).

Roger Federer, who has eight Wimbledon trophies to his name, considers himself “one of the luckiest people on Earth” in his message first posted on Instagram.

“I was gifted with a gift to play tennis and I took it to a level I could never have imagined and for much longer than I thought possible,” he explained.

A legendary career for Roger Federer

The most successful Grand Slam players in history

24 Grand Slam titles: Margaret Court

23: Serena Williams

22: Steffi Graf, Rafael Nadal

21: Novak Djokovic

20: Roger Federer

19: Helen Wills Moody

18: Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova

14: Pete Sampras

12: Roy Emerson, Billie Jean King

11: Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver

10: Bill Tilden

9: Monica Seles, Maureen Connolly

8: Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Fred Perry, Ken Rosewall, Suzanne Lenglen, etc.

7: John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, Henri Cochet, René Lacoste, Justine Hénin, Venus Williams, etc.

6: Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, etc.