{"id":82283,"date":"2025-04-14T10:30:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T14:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=82283"},"modified":"2025-04-13T17:24:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T21:24:53","slug":"federer-hints-return-to-play-exhibitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/04\/14\/federer-hints-return-to-play-exhibitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Roger Federer Hints at Return: \u201cI\u2019d Like to Play Exhibitions Again\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Less than three years after retiring, Roger Federer already misses the thrill of playing tennis in front of a crowd. The Swiss legend played his final match in September 2022 at London\u2019s O2 Arena during the fifth edition of the Laver Cup<\/a>. He partnered with longtime rival and friend Rafael Nadal<\/a> in an unforgettable doubles match that moved the world, especially when the two burst into tears at the end, holding hands.<\/p>\n

Though he\u2019s stepped away from professional competition, Federer has expressed his desire to play exhibition matches and fill stadiums once again.<\/p>\n

Life After Retirement<\/h2>\n

Since leaving the tour, Federer has embraced a new lifestyle centered on family, travel, and freedom. He recently attended The Masters in Augusta, Georgia\u2014one of golf\u2019s four Majors\u2014and earlier that week was seen at the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his current life, he shared how fulfilling it has been to dedicate time to his wife and children, and to explore the world without the pressure of matches or training. \u201cI\u2019ve completely settled into retirement and I\u2019m very happy. I feel full of energy,\u201d Federer said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always dreamed of revisiting certain places\u2014or discovering new ones\u2014just for the pleasure of being there.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Desire to Return to the Court<\/h3>\n

Despite his contentment, Federer admitted that he misses tennis and hinted at a possible return through exhibitions<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019d like to resume training a bit\u2014maybe two or three times a week. I hope to play exhibitions again, filling stadiums around the world. Nothing is planned yet, but I miss it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that he\u2019s barely played since retiring, giving his body and mind a much-needed break. \u201cI\u2019ve hit a bit with my kids, but I\u2019d like to get back into it seriously. During my travels, I\u2019ll slowly start again. Maybe you\u2019ll see me on court soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Family, Balance, and Giving Back<\/h3>\n

Federer also shared how retirement has allowed him to improve his time management and enjoy moments with his children. \u201cI often joke that I should have retired earlier\u2014I\u2019m so happy now. My boys are 11, my girls will soon be 16. It\u2019s a great time to strengthen family bonds. We have a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

He remains active off the court, primarily through his foundation\u2019s work in Africa. Recently, he visited South Africa with his family to support educational projects. \u201cWe\u2019ve been very busy traveling and working on the foundation. I\u2019d like to play tennis again. As for golf, I\u2019m taking a break\u2014I\u2019ve been playing a lot!\u201d<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane – USA TODAY Sports<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Less than three years after retiring, Roger Federer already misses the thrill of playing tennis in front of a crowd. The Swiss legend played his final match in September 2022 at London\u2019s O2 Arena during the fifth edition of the Laver Cup. He partnered with longtime rival and friend Rafael Nadal in an unforgettable doubles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5454,"featured_media":56459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,3],"tags":[259,3958,11457,2475,42736,2794,114,11455,6457],"class_list":["post-82283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-atp","tag-atp-tour","tag-exhibition","tag-exhibition-tennis","tag-federer","tag-news","tag-retirement","tag-roger-federer","tag-tennis-exhibitions","tag-tennis-news"],"modified_by":"Shane Black","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82283"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82330,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82283\/revisions\/82330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}