World of sport reacts to Roger Federer’s retirement
World of Sport reacted after Roger Federer announced his retirement from tennis to express their dismay, saying he hopes he will play again, and hoping he is welcomed back.
Federer also thanked fans for their support.
He was widely praised for keeping his head during his two-year doping ban, but he announced his retirement on Friday after two-years and two-months of fighting to overcome the effects of doping.
“I can only say I’m disappointed to announce that I am terminating my professional tennis career,” Federer said in a statement. “Tennis has been a huge part of my life, giving me a chance to compete at the highest levels. I will always love tennis. My aim now is to get back in the game and I hope I can find another challenge to be excited about.”
Federer’s decision to quit is expected to be one of the few major sports ‘retirements’ that have come back on. In tennis, there has only been the one major retiree and he’s called it a comeback. However, there has been a long list of other sports.
Sports commentator and former tennis player Dick Bave said that, “For a generation of tennis fans, there is a special level of despair when a player with the best of them ends his career in the same manner that he began. Even though Roger Federer’s story has not been an ordinary one, it has at times been extraordinary in its nature.”
He continued, “It must also be noted that while Roger Federer’s story was a disappointment, his ability to go from the peak of his career to the point where he decided to end it shows a level of intelligence no-one has been able to match since he was a teenager. When his own father tried to encourage him to keep going, Roger was dismissive, stating that he should be the one to make the decision rather