Roger Federer, the record holder for men’s Grand Slam titles, said on Wednesday that he will remain out of the circuit until 2021, after undergoing surgery on his right knee.
“I plan to take the time to be 100% ready to play at my best,” the 38-year-old Swiss tennis player said in a statement on Twitter.
“I will miss my supporters and the beloved tour, but I look forward to seeing you all back at the start of the 2021 season,” he added.
Having surgery on the same knee in February, Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam winner, was originally scheduled to return to the circuit in the grass season this summer.
The Swiss claimed that he experienced “a setback during his initial rehabilitation.”
In 2020 Federer played only one competition, the Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals before bowing against Serbian Novak Djokovic, who would end up lifting the first Grand Slam of the year.
He subsequently played an exhibition match with Nadal in early February in Cape Town, South Africa, in front of 50,000 spectators, a record attendance for a tennis match. AFP (HN)