US OPEN

August 24, 2026

Roger Federer

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Roger has given us a bit of his time. Very gracious for that. So without further ado, we'd just like to turn it over to questions.

Q. What is your greatest memory in this building?

ROGER FEDERER: In this sport?

Q. In tennis in this building, Arthur Ashe.

ROGER FEDERER: Oh, in this building. Looking back, I guess it's just the streak of the five in a row. That I was able to string that together is kind of surreal, because I always knew how hard it is to win here. Last major of the season, everybody is gunning for it, everybody can play on hard courts, and with the humidity, the wind, I guess also the changes over the years here, it's just been a tough one, you know. So I think looking back, that's incredible.

My favorite one probably is, you know, the match overall with Agassi here. I don't know. Just felt like it was going to be a special occasion for him, and I was defending champion. That just kind of made it super cool. I think the year before, we played in five sets in some crazy winds over two days against each other already.

And I love the rivalry I had with Andre at the time, so playing him here in New York was extra special, yeah.

Q. Great to see you here. It's been a bit of a tricky season on the men's side with Carlos and Jannik struggling with injuries. Just in general, there is a lot of talk about players maybe running into burnout, mental, physical injuries. I wonder, having gone through it all on your side, what are maybe a couple of key things that you did to have longevity in this sport? How were you able to deal with it all, and what advice are you able to give these guys who are in the middle of this battle now?

ROGER FEDERER: I mean, look, every injury is different, right? Some are unfortunate. Some maybe you just, I don't know, pushed a little too far and then you got hit with something, accumulation of a lot of things. I don't know.

So I don't know the seriousness and how it all came about, but obviously the most unfortunate time to get hit with an injury is right before the French, and then you kind of miss French/Wimby, because that goes back and back. Obviously it's a struggle with the Open, and we have seen that with Carlos.

Obviously I always try to keep a good schedule in terms of enough breaks, but that's easier said than done. I took a lot of chances, as well, where I piled on maybe a couple more tournaments than I should have but kind of made it through the tournaments, you know.

So I think important also is to prioritize what's important to you. That could be American swing here or Australia for the Aussies. So everybody has different times of the year where you want to peak because you can't peak clearly 20 times a year. I think fans shouldn't forget that, as well. It's hard to peak every single match.

But I think now that we see the two weeks in the Masters 1000s, you know, that's an interesting new dynamic which I think the players are probably mentally and physically adjusting to with their fitness coaches and coaches in general.

But I'm proud of the fact that I was able to play from January to November throughout. I never really missed indoor season or, I don't know, Australia or any of the American swings. I kind of showed up everywhere. Obviously we were always very careful of what's next, you know, and I never really wanted to make it all about the slams, as well.

I remember Pistol talked a lot about how it was slams only for him towards the end of the career, and I didn't like the fact that that was going to be my case. I liked too many other tournaments and I love the ATP Tour. So from that standpoint, I really tried to keep everything a priority.

But obviously the body is No. 1, you know, to be honest, and also well-being, because if you keep on playing all the time, you obviously get a bit worn out, obviously.

Q. Congratulations on your imminent induction.

ROGER FEDERER: Thank you.

Q. What does it mean for you to be back at the US Open and playing in front of the US Open in a slightly different atmosphere?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it's nerve-racking, to be honest. I haven't played a single set in, I don't know, Hurkacz at Wimbledon maybe, so it's been five years (smiling). I don't know how it's going to go tomorrow, so there is a lot of uncertainty but a lot of happiness that I can return to Arthur Ashe, a place where I have had so many beautiful moments.

I don't know. I just get sort of a chance to be with Roddick and McEnroe and -- who else? Roddick, McEnroe, and Andre, of course, jeez, a blackout.

So it's just nice to connect with the tennis community again. That's why I try to go to four, five events throughout the season.

But this one is obviously special, you know, with The Icon Returns to New York, and then going to Newport, Rhode Island, and going for the first time over there, actually. Getting inducted right away is obviously super special. It means a lot.

Yeah, and it's nice to look back, I guess, one more time, because life goes quick, especially when you have four children. You stop remembering what you did or what you have been through.

So it's like going into a time machine and everything slows down for a second and you can actually look back one more time. Because I don't need it in my life, but it's nice when it does happen, because my life on tour was amazing. I loved it.

And now the kids are also getting older so they can also maybe enjoy it a little bit seeing their dad play, because the girls are 17 and the boys are 12, so I don't think they remember a whole lot of the US Open, to be quite honest, last time I played it's been a while now.

When I did play, I wasn't playing super long. Night sessions were tough at the time. It was late for them. So I hope it's all a special occasion for them.

Q. You were sort of playing so well those last few years of your career, when you lost here in 2019, it kind of seemed like we'll see you next year and you'll go far. Did you sort of miss out that you never had the "this is the last time" like maybe Serena or Agassi had? And just the fact you have been gone this long, I would have thought with all your business stuff, you would have had so many requests to be here. What's the reason now, I guess?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, look, I didn't want to push for it, as well. Look, things just happened the way they did, you know, because I could feel obviously throughout, after Wimbledon, that summer, I could feel on vacation, this is it. The knee can't do it anymore. It's tired. The mind can't be patient even more and wait for another couple years and see what happens.

So then ending it at the Laver Cup in London was the right thing to do. And then I didn't want to go right away to each tournament and do a farewell, so I kind of let it come naturally to me.

I was here a couple years ago briefly. I went to center court, watched, I think Grigor was playing, Sabalenka was playing those nights. But, you know, it wasn't my night. They gave me an ovation because they saw me on the big screen, but I just feel, like, tomorrow and I guess today, as well, and Monday next week, it really gives me a true opportunity to say thank you and good-bye which I think is important for some.

It's a nice thing to do, for sure. But I don't know why it hasn't happened earlier. It's just life, life with family and life on the road. I didn't want to look for it right away. I let it come naturally.

Q. Aside from this exhibition tomorrow, if you had the opportunity to come back and play one more main draw here at the US Open in 2026, who would you most like to play and why? In today's game.

ROGER FEDERER: In today's game. Yeah, well, maybe Carlos. I think he's exciting. I never got a chance to play against him. Or Sinner, the same. We only practiced together a little bit as they were coming up. So I missed that generation, unfortunately, a little bit.

There is a bunch of those guys I just missed just because of my knee issue. Obviously Novak would be cool too. He's still going strong. He's still hanging in there, which is cool. So I'm thinking mostly obviously about those guys.

It's nice to see Carlos back. I'm happy he made it in time. We'll see how he's going to feel. I don't have to worry about how I would play him, because I'm not there in the draw, but I wish him the best.

Q. If, at the time you were playing, there had been the mixed doubles with the format that there is today, how do you think you would have done?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, don't know if I would have played. Maybe I would have. I don't know. It's a good question.

I think it's an interesting, how do you call it, try? Or I don't know if it's a trial or it's a given it's going to be like this forever.

Look, it's a different concept for the fans and for the tournament. And now that I'm here in New York, after hearing about it last year and just kind of on the periphery, watching it, I'm going to be much closer checking it out.

But I think I would have done okay. I don't know who I would have played with, to be honest. I would have had maybe chances with Hingis or Belinda, obviously. I don't know who else I would have played with.

I mean, it's a cool concept. I like when top singles guys put themselves out there and play doubles. That was also the idea of the Laver Cup, to get guys together to match up that normally don't, and to see the top guys struggle, to be honest. It's not simple, those doubles or mixed doubles, especially when you're not used to it. It's kind of a cool concept. I like it.

Q. You didn't mention Serena. What would it have been like to play with Serena in the mixed doubles here, do you think?

ROGER FEDERER: It would have been very cool, but I think she would have been booked up with Roddick or someone, you know. They're too close. So maybe. I mean, I would have been totally okay and open for that, but yeah, that's why I didn't mention her, because I felt she had enough Americans to deal with before getting to me (smiling).

Q. In that regard, Serena is doing it, Venus is doing it, you are younger than Venus. Do you ever wake up and say maybe I should consider a wildcard --

ROGER FEDERER: No.

Q. -- just for a limited basis?

ROGER FEDERER: No, no, no, no. No, not at all. Thanks for asking. I wasn't sure if the question was going to get asked, but I'm happy you did so I can clarify in case anybody thought.

No, no, no. Not at all. And I think the doping, way too many obstacles. I'm too busy. I'm barely finding time to play any XOs, so imagine a tour. And the body is done. You know, but I'm very happy how I'm feeling. All good. Just a fan now. Just enjoying watching, yeah.

Q. Many players are retiring this year. Among them, I'd like to ask about Kei Nishikori, your opinion about his tennis, his play, his strong points.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, Nishikori is obviously a guy I played a lot against, and I had a lot of respect for him. I remember practicing with him, particularly in Miami when he was like 16 or even 15, as he was coming through I think Bollettieri's in Florida, the whole thing.

So I see him grow. I remember we did like a sort of a charity hit together. They asked me to bring another player I could play with. I remember that night, I said, And probably one day I'll lose against him.

I'm happy I wasn't wrong, because he was exceptional. Always got along very well with Kei. Thought he had a wonderful game. Super-respectful person, as well.

I mean, yeah, it's sad seeing the likes of Nishikori and Wawrinka and others go. From that standpoint, you know, it's been a pleasure having played against him, no doubt.

Q. Welcome back to your tennis house. "The Wolf in Winter" brought us some moments from the golden history. I'm talking about the Djokovic documentary. Have you had a chance to see it?

ROGER FEDERER: Not yet.

Q. What is your assessment on the possibility of him getting the 25th here? And can you share maybe an anecdote of when you and Novak played?

ROGER FEDERER: I mean, I feel like whenever Novak enters any tournament, for that matter, or a major, he'll have a shot. Anyway, that's my opinion. I have many high regards of Novak. I've see what he can do, not just once, not just here or there. He's done it in every place and at the highest of levels.

I always think that as long as he's in the draw, there's a chance. I think that's also one of the reasons he's still playing, because he actually truly must believe that he can still do it. That's my opinion, too.

I haven't seen the documentary yet, and we played each other almost 50 times on all different surfaces and all the biggest courts. He was a pleasure to play against. Incredible player, unbelievable fighter. Figured out his game, became bigger and stronger and better. It's amazing he's still going. I'm very impressed.

Q. What's been the biggest challenge for practicing to play singles, and what, if anything, have you missed about competitively playing?

ROGER FEDERER: Haven't really missed it, you know, because you're happy not to put the body through the grind. I don't know how to explain, or maybe it explains it, just not wanting to be out there and defending and scrapping.

The preparation has just been hitting more tennis balls again, because very quickly, when you're retired, I think you go through days and weeks and months all of a sudden where you're hitting very little. So you have to make it a priority.

My kids are getting older, so I get a chance to play more with them. Depending on where we are, I can also just, knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel which says doubles match, singles match, whatever it may be, you just have a reason to go back on court. Actually, it's very helpful.

I have been in the gym a lot. I love working out with my wife and with my friends whenever we hang out, so I have been doing a lot of that, but it's not like playing tennis. When you haven't played, you get unbelievable amount of muscle pain.

I feel like my body is ready for tomorrow, but again, we're not playing best-of-five. We're not trying to, God knows what to do to each other, hit the dropshots on every second ball. I think we're going to be respectful due to the fact we are not active players anymore, but I hope it's going to be a lot of fun for us, and same for the fans to just see us back and out playing.

Andy, from what I have heard, he's as nervy as me, because we just haven't been out there for that long, which could be maybe more funny overall.

Q. I'm wondering, as you have reflected back on your career, looking at the induction on Saturday, have you thought about anything different, realizing certain moments that were particularly impactful or influential that you hadn't realized before?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I think when you retire, I think I said it before, that there was a lot of talk also about maybe my personality and what I brought to the game overall when I wasn't on court, which I was a little surprised. I thought it was about in the moment, forehands and backhands and saving breakpoints and victories and all that stuff.

But actually, it becomes a little bit, not irrelevant eventually, but it's about what were you remembered for, how did you behave in the locker rooms or in the corridors or maybe with the media, or with the tournament directors, the ballkids. I don't know.

For me, if I look back, that's kind of what I'm very happy about, that I went through 25 years on tour, and actually felt like I made a lot of friends and a lot of people miss me. Same with fans. They come up to me and say, What a shame you're not playing anymore.

Then I get a flashback saying it was an amazing time, and I say it every time, I loved it, and it's a shame I can't be on the tour anymore, but it was a great, great time and I miss it dearly.

Then I actually had the opportunity to play, let's say, night sessions here in a US Open final, even one would have been plenty. Because when you enter into a finals of this kind of magnitude tournament, it teaches you so much, it shows you how far you've come, and forever you can think of that moment.

So thankfully I have many of those, not that I needed it, but it's just incredible that when I look back at the US Open, as an example, it makes me so proud to have seen, like, everything I experienced here, you know.

And I think with the induction, it gives me a chance to look back on, and also being able to start a foundation that I used to have, still have, I guess, to a degree, the power of the microphone, being able to speak about subjects that I like to speak, or if I want to show up, I can, or if I don't, I don't have to.

I'm in a very comfortable place today, but I'm still happy to be out there and being in the tennis world from time to time, because it is the glue to everything that surrounds me still today.

I had the best time, had a lot of friends on tour, from players to people who were organizers, et cetera. So I hope that a lot of the players who retire also feel the same way about the game, because I care dearly.

Q. Thank you for the time. The most recent ATP Masters 1000 final featured two Black players with Arthur and Frances Tiafoe. You've done a lot of humanitarian work and worked with people and helped spread the game of tennis to people who are of underrepresented groups in the sport of tennis. Where do you see the game going, or how do you view the game, not just in terms of diversity, but the importance of specifically Frances and Ben Shelton and Arthur, Black male tennis players in growing the sport, and obviously what the Williams sisters and others have done.

ROGER FEDERER: Very important. I mean, you know, I think it's nice to see, and it's, I guess, what do you call it, a beacon of hope for a lot of people. Same when, I know it's very European and American-heavy, the tennis tour, but I would love to see African, Asian, South America become even stronger, because we have a very global tour, which has its advantages and disadvantages, of course, because you, again, back to the schedule, players can't be everywhere, but they can try, and they can try their best.

Tennis, I think, is really truly doing a good job of trying to be as global as possible. Having a moment like this in a big-time tournament, not just in a second round but actually in a finals, is a good sign, gives an amazing signal, and I hope it's going to happen more frequently that we see that also at other big events happening in the future.

Q. If no player with a one-handed backhand makes the semifinals at this year's US Open, it is said to be the first time in tennis history that it hasn't happened for an entire calendar year. What's your breakdown...

ROGER FEDERER: Majors?

Q. Just slams, yeah.

ROGER FEDERER: No semifinalists?

Q. No semifinalists. So if you look back at last year, Musetti at RG, for example, a long lineage of at least somebody gets there. So if that streak ends, what's your overall breakdown for why that shot has become so difficult in the modern game where we're seeing it so little?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, good, tough question. I don't know. That's why I'm maybe practicing with Musetti this afternoon in an hour, making sure he's ready, give him some wisdom, I don't know.

Of course, I love seeing one-handers do well. I was doing an interview this morning actually, and it reminded my coaches when I was growing up were, I would say, 90% one-handers. So I think when your coach is a one-handed tennis player, you will most likely be a one-handed tennis player too.

I don't know. That's just a little bit of a feel I'm getting. Nowadays, probably the coaches are mostly double-handed players, and it's just easier to teach a kid to have two hands on the backhand side. I have one of my kids is switching from a double-hander to a one-hander, and I just see how hard it is for him to hit it and control it.

Sure, eventually you get control, but it just takes time, and nowadays we don't have time. Everything has to happen immediately. If you do technical changes, it takes too long and it's too frustrating. Might as well just stick with what you have. I think that's also one of the reasons we see a lot of double-handers.

Then you add racquet and string technology, maybe the slowness of maybe the tennis balls and the courts nowadays, and just that we're working less maybe potentially on transition, less on volleys. Whereas maybe back in the day I used to do 50/50 volleys and net play and baseline game. Before my time, it was probably 80% net play and 20% baseline drills, and now it's like 90/10, right, just baseline.

That's why I think the double-hander just allows you, especially with the open stance, sliding, like what we've seen Rafa do and Novak do, it's amazing how you are able to defend out of that side, because before we had the feeling that you were short on the backhand side if you had two hands, that one-handed was an advantage there, which seems it's not naturally the case anymore.

Now, I don't know how much also people get injured more with double-handed backhands, because you always hear about left-handed wrist, if you're a righty, with the flick, how that ends up creating problems, as well, but I don't think that's going to stop anybody from hitting double-handers.

I just think the accumulation of all that has created that we see so many more double-handers. It's just an easier shot to learn I think when you're younger.

I'm still hopeful it's not the end, you know, (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Roger, thank you so much for taking the time. We truly appreciate it. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we're all looking forward to seeing you back on court tomorrow night.

ROGER FEDERER: Okay. Well, I hope I'll be okay. Thank you so much. Good to see you.