Roger Federer announces his retirement from the ATP Tour and grand slams
The ATP Tour announced today that Roger Federer has retired from his world number two ranking and from the grand slams. The Swiss legend had held the No.2 ranking for almost 10 years.
“I have been dreaming and working hard to become a Grand Slam champion for five years now, I thank my family and my many friends in each continent for being my inspiration, and I hope my current achievements will inspire other young men to follow their dreams.” -Roger Federer
Federer, the world No. 2 has had a long career during which he has won 24 Grand Slam titles (20 Grand Slam titles and 4 Olympic Gold Medals). Prior to competing on the Grand Slam stage, Federer won 21 singles and 3 doubles Grand Slam titles.
Federer had a brilliant career, in which he was ranked No.1 in the world for more than a decade and was the only tennis player to win an Olympic Gold Medal and a Grand Slam title (two Grand Slam titles and two Olympic Gold Medals). Federer received many accolades for his success on the tennis court including the 1996 Olympic Gold Medal for his performance at the Seoul Olympic Games and 2001 and 2011 Grand Slam titles (at Wimbledon and the Australian Open).
In June, Federer was voted to be the greatest sportsman of all time in an ESPN poll. The list, which named Federer as the greatest sportsman of all time, saw the Swiss legend receive a total of 1,944,051 votes.
In addition to his tennis successes, Federer has also managed to become one of the most decorated sportsmen in history, winning 12 Olympic Medals, 6 World Medals and 2 World League Championships.
On January 1st, 2012, Federer announced that he would retire from both the ATP Tour (in which he competes on the Grand Slam tournaments) and the grand slams. The retirement from the ATP Tour was part of a decision that Federer made regarding his participation in the 2012 Olympics in London. Federer had been slated to compete in the individual Olympic competition in the 50kg freestyle weightlifting event on August 9th. Federer’s decision to withdraw from the 2012 Olympics was announced by the International Olympic Committee on January 9th, 2012 as a result of his decision to retire from the ATP Tour in the wake of his Olympic participation.
For more information on the grand slams, here are the complete list of Grand Slam tournaments
