The retirement of Lord Federer: All that Federerverse will miss, and more

Roger Federer announced his retirement from professional tennis at age 41 after winning 20 Grand Slam titles

David Foster Wallace’s definitive piece ‘Roger Federer as a Religious Experience’, came out in the New York Times in August 2006. The year he wrote it, was RF’s best season ever — one where he won 12 singles titles, three Grand Slams, reached the finals in an astounding 16 of the 17 tournaments he took part in and ended with a season record of 92-5. Sure, watching Federer compete that year was mind boggling, simply because it was rare to see aesthetics and efficiency so gloriously come together in one sentient being. But even then, that very year he’d lost to Nadal four times. He was human, channelling something close to divine. 

The piece of course never told you any of these facts. It wasn’t so much a story of journalistic excellence, as it was an outstanding essay about an everyday tennis fan watching Federer play. If you hadn't ever seen the great man play live, then this piece would make you want to. 

Eight years later, when he visited India as part of a team for the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), his heavenly powers had drained (if only a bit). The religious fanaticism surrounding him hadn’t. The Indira Gandhi Stadium was packed to the rafters for a tennis match! An ultimately meaningless tennis match with no ranking points, competitive necessity (beyond the obvious) or title on offer — between Federer and Djokovic. Pete Sampras, Goran Ivanisevic, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Sania Mirza, all featured in the spectacle. And because this is India, so did Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone and Aamir Khan. When Khan made a hash of a ceremonial inaugural game, unable to get his serve to cross the net (it took 12 goes, for anyone keping count), the crowd grew restless, almost booing, definitely laughing at every attempt. ‘Get the amateurs off the court’ was the overall feeling in the stands. There was no disguising the reason they were there — to ogle at the lord, and partake in the religious experience. To take in the backhand, and that smooth two action serve, and say later, ‘I was there’. 

And so, now that it is done, memories are all that remain. 

Take a moment, a long moment if you wish, but try and be precise, because Roger^TM would like that. What will you miss the most? You, an essential, but invisible cog that made up the Federerverse, and the assorted diaspora it sprung. We knew this would stop sometime, because after all, the Serena machine — the GOAT machine — did ‘evolve away from tennis’ just a few weeks back. What remained though was how he would say it. And what we would miss most, once the great man put his professional career away for good.  

The announcement was simple. There was no wordplay, no in-betweens, no pause left to make space for a comeback. Whoever wrote this either didn’t understand PR wordplay well or is currently unemployed for having got it wrong. Roger Federer is retiring from professional tennis, after his participation in the Laver Cup — a tournament that is just two years older than Covid-19, which is really saying all you need to know about it.

This is obviously a big boost for the Laver Cup itself. This team tennis tournament, which pits the best male players from Europe against the best male players of the world has routinely served as an end of season soother. A chance for everyone to let their hair down, and pose for laughing, smiling, camaraderie pictures. Its first three editions were a riotous success, with Federer the constant presence in Team Europe, his supporting cast changing each year — curiously enough his two great rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have never played the tournament together. 

The 2021 edition — the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the pandemic — was a minor blip. None of the Big three attended the event, and in their absence, the ratings surely suffered. Gone were the days of fun and frolic. Viewers were more interested in gruelling sport.  Which is where Federer’s retirement comes in. Team Europe’s line up is already immense. Nadal and Djokovic are both scheduled to play in it, and joining them will be Andy Murray. The event kicks off on September 23 and is guaranteed to be a success. Due to Federer of course. 

And for Federer, too. The Laver Cup, after all, exists pretty much as Federer’s brainchild, and is owned and run by his management company Team8. The tournament may go on, and to be fair, it does attract some of the best in the business, but whether it will survive the end of this decade when — shocker — even Nadal and Djokovic may be through, is for anyone to guess.

It's simple economics after all. There is no one like Federer, an icon, a brand, a glory machine and profit machine rolled into one. An unremarkable man — outside of his 20 Grand Slam titles, an unreasonable talent to hit a backhand and proficiency in five different languages — from a small village in Switzerland, whose Nike RF caps are the backbone of every tennis parent’s wardrobe. They don’t make them anymore of course.

It will be interesting to consider what Uniqlo makes of all this. The Japanese clothing brand had signed on Federer after his 2018 Australian Open triumph — breaking him away from a two decade partnership with Nike. The $300-million ten-year deal was one of the biggest things to have happened in tennis that year, and came about at a time when Federer had topped Forbes’ list of highest paid tennis players in the world. Federer, alas, never won a Grand Slam with Uniqlo, and has in fact worn them on court in a mere two Grand Slams since 2020. Safe to say, that despite Federer, no one is queuing up to wear Uniqlo on the tennis court, just yet. 

Brand building is but a small part of the Federerverse, a vital, if ultimately unproductive solar system in it. Ultimately and honestly, Federer has been away from tennis long enough to be considered ‘retired’. His public appearances are rare, and social media engagement negligible. The Federerverse survived on an aura of the minimal. Minimal movement, seemingly minimal effort, minimal whip, minimal spin, and maximum reward.  And therefore it becomes crucial to examine the question: what will you miss most?