The Swiss tennis champ had two knee surgeries in 2020 and has played in only three tournaments in the last 16 months.
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer bowed out of the French Open after winning a third-round match this past Sunday.
Federer, seeded eight, was set to play against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, seeded ninth, in a fourth match.
The tennis champ had two operations on his right knee in 2020 The French Open was only his third tournament in the last 16 months.
Even with his recent surgeries and subsequent lack of court time, the 39-year-old won a tough match against German left-hander Dominik Koepfer.
Despite his goals of reaching Wimbledon, Federer gave a statement that showed he was prioritizing his health.
Though the player has withdrawn from four regular tour events — most recently the Italian Open in 2019 — he had never withdrawn from a tour-level match or Grand Slam singles tournament.
Many criticized this decision, including Patrick McEnroe, an ESPN analyst and former U.S. Davis Cup captain. “It’s just not a great look to pull out of a tournament in the middle,” he said.
“It’s one thing if you sprain an ankle badly and finish a match on adrenaline. Those things happen. But it’s another thing when you kind of go into a tournament knowing that you probably aren’t going to be able to really finish the tournament.”
According to the New York Times, some are not certain about the origin of his decision to withdraw and whether it was indeed connected to his right knee or more about conserving resources prior to the Wimbledon tournament, which is set to kick off on June 28.
