It has been over two years since Roger Federer ended his professional tennis career, but the Swiss Maestro will return to the court at the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
Tennis is undoubtedly in a great place right now. The emergence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who have split all four Grand Slams this year, and Novak Djokovic’s continued presence mean fans continue to be treated to great tennis.
However, Federer is still much missed. The eight-time Wimbledon champion brought a grace and elegance to the top of tennis that had never been seen before, and became a crowd favorite worldwide.
He was also part of what many consider to be the greatest era in tennis history, when he, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic dominated, with Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka also winning Grand Slams and challenging them.
Several other great players in that era could not win the most significant tournaments because of the strength of the competition. This includes two-time Wimbledon semifinalist Richard Gasquet, who will retire next year.
The memories of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic competing against each other mean that many fans were emotional when Rafael Nadal announced he would retire from tennis after November’s Davis Cup Finals.
It would not be surprising if Federer attended Spain’s matches at the Finals to ensure he was there for Nadal’s farewell. The duo, who are close friends off the court, played doubles together in Federer’s final match at the Laver Cup.
For now, Federer is in Shanghai, where the penultimate ATP Masters-1000 tournament of the year is taking place. The 20-time Grand Slam champion won the title in China in 2014 and 2017.
Federer landed in Shanghai on Tuesday. Unsurprisingly, he was greeted by many fans and signed autographs for those gathered. That process was much smoother than the unfortunate situation where Djokovic missed fans at an airport in China.
The Swiss legend was also present at the tournament last year. In an on-court ceremony, Federer received an icon athlete award from the event, celebrating his incredible career and everything he has given to tennis.
Although he sometimes attends tournaments to watch matches, such as at Wimbledon and the US Open, that is not why Federer flew to Shanghai. He will be back on the court but in a different way than last year.
Federer plays a celebrity doubles match on October 11th. China’s top-ranked male tennis player Zhizhen Zhang, Olympic gold medalist in table tennis Fan Zhendong, retired table tennis player Wang Liquin, and pop music star Eason Chan will all be involved.
It promises to be an interesting event. Most charity matches or exhibitions involve other tennis players, but having figures from another sport and someone from the music world will provide a unique twist.
Regardless, the fans in Shanghai will be happy to see Federer on court again. Keeping former legends visible is healthy for tennis. This particularly applies to Federer, the most significant worldwide star in the sport’s history.
