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Roger Federer has revealed that he plans on attending again three or four tournaments this season.
Federer, a former 20-time Grand Slam champion, declined several offers to be a special at a tournament shortly after retiring from pro tennis in 2022 September. But nine months after walking away from pro tennis, Federer felt ready to start visiting tournaments as he attended Halle in 2023 June - a German ATP 500 tournament where the Swiss is a record 10-time champion.
After attending Halle, Federer also visited Wimbledon, where he is an absolute icon and a record eight-time champion. Later that year, Federer was also a guest at the Laver Cup and Shanghai Masters. In Shanghai, Federer was honored as the "Icon Athlete of the 2023 Shanghai Masters."
This year, Federer's plans remain the same as the former world No. 1 will again make a guest appearance in a couple of selected tournaments.
"Yes, I follow tennis often. Last year I went to four tournaments, in Halle, Wimbledon, at the Laver Cup in Vancouver, in Shanghai. This year I will attend three or four events again," Federer said, via Gerald Kleffmann.
RF :
— Brian🇨🇭 (@camerlengo73_2) February 9, 2024
„Yes, I follow tennis often. Last year I went to four tournaments, in Halle, Wimbledon, at the Laver Cup in Vancouver, in Shanghai.
This year I will attend three or four events again.“
via @GKleffmann
How Federer felt being just a guest at Wimbledon?
When Federer retired, many wondered how would the Swiss' return to The All England Club look. At last year's Wimbledon edition, Federer was at The Championships on the second day of the event and he got to watch Andy Murray and Elena Rybakina's matches.
In September, The Wall Street Journal asked Federer how it felt to just watch Wimbledon matches from the stands instead of competing and the record eight-time Wimbledon champion delivered a very honest answer.
“My dad leaned over and asked me, ‘Wouldn’t you want to be on the court right now instead of just sitting here?’ And I was, ‘Oh, my God, no. I’m so happy sitting here,'" Federer said.