When Roger Federer ended his legendary career in 2022, fans around the world were desperate because the former Swiss champion had transcended his sport to become an icon. The former world number 1 had serious problems with his knee for some time and the news of his retirement was not so surprising, but the impact of the King was so great that it could not be quantified only by the number of titles won.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has always loved to travel with professional tours around the world and the support of his wonderful family was key to extending his career until he was over 40 years old.
The Swiss Maestro would have liked to be more competitive in the last two years of his career, but his knee gave him no respite until the inevitable decision to say goodbye to professional tennis and start a new chapter in his life that is giving him just as much satisfaction.
Piatti on Federer and Hingis
Federer’s success – assisted by Stan Wawrinka and Martina Hingis – was almost surprising considering that the Swiss federation has never been considered among the best in the world.
In a long interview with ‘Tennis Majors’, top Italian coach Riccardo Piatti explained how Roger was an incredible exception: “The enormous success of players like Federer and Hingis surprised everyone, no one expected it when they entered the professional tour.
The rise of most players is linked to the development of the various federations. The main objectives of any federation should be to create the new world number 1, win Grand Slam tournaments, have as many players as possible in the top positions of the rankings, win the Davis Cup and the BJK Cup.
For the reasons I have listed, it is no coincidence that Italian players are having success right now.
Italy has many talented players and Jannik Sinner is the number 1 in the world. If we remove Sinner, then Italy is on the same level as France.”
