Roger Federer Practicing Again After Injury Hiatus

Roger Federer, the all-time leader in men’s grand slam titles with seventeen, continues to step up his practice sessions in his attempt to comeback from a knee injury he sustained at Wimbledon in July. Federer, the 35-year old former top-ranked men’s tennis player in the world, has been out of the public eye since his loss to Milos Raonic during the semifinals of Wimbledon this year.

He recently broadcast a high-impact practice session in Dubai on both his Facebook and Twitter accounts, where an estimated 500,000 people watched.

Watch me practice #RFLive https://t.co/KroGaKUtJ8

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) December 22, 2016

When Federer lost to Raonic back in July, he stated that he had no intention of retiring due to the injury. However, 2016 has been an injury-plagued year for Federer. After this year’s Australian Open, Federer had surgery on a torn meniscus, which was the first surgery of his illustrious career. He withdrew from the French Open due to a lower back problem, which was the first time since 1999 that Federer missed a grand slam event. Then Federer hurt his knee at Wimbledon, where he then decided to sit out the rest of the 2016 season.

Federer plans to return to tennis at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia on January 1st, where he will team up with Belinda Bencic in mixed doubles. From there, Federer plans to play in the first grand slam of 2017, the Australian Open. When asked about his comeback attempt, Federer stated that it does not feel like a comeback attempt. Federer pointed out that since he never had surgery before, his real comeback was in April of 2016 when he played in Monaco not long after having surgery.

As Federer returns to the scene, he can expect to face some old foes along with some young guns. Andy Murray is now the top-ranked player in the world and looks like he is hitting his prime, while his old nemesis Rafael Nadal is shaping his own comeback, coming off Olympic gold in Rio. Although Novak Djokovic fell out of the top spot in the world, he still has the game to wreak havoc on men’s tennis and knock out his old foe. Several young guns in the sport, including Lucas Pouille and Alexander Zverev, could be difficult roadblocks for Federer, as both have defeated him in the past.

If Roger Federer stays healthy, he still has the game to win several more tournaments and quite possibly his eighteenth grand slam title. He remains one of the most popular figures on the tennis circuit because of his desire and willingness to compete. Federer still wants to play tennis, and that clearly shows he is a long way from hanging it up.



Adam Hayes
USS Sports Machine

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