Roger Federer is a retired player, but he doesn’t feel 'like an alien' when visiting events, which makes him very happy as he truly feels like he still belongs to the sport.
Federer's importance for tennis is very hard to explain. Some went overboard by pointing out that he essentially saved modern tennis, appearing at a time when there was a lot of uncertainty, and the sport was losing popularity.
He helped rejuvenate it and make it a global phenomenon. His rivalry with Rafael Nadal proved crucial in that, and even the appearance of Novak Djokovic, another legend, added more excitement to it.
These days, Federer is a retired player after saying goodbye to the sport at the 2022 Laver Cup. Ahead of the two-year anniversary of his retirement, Federer is still a significant name in tennis.
That will likely never change because, in many ways, his name is synonymous with the sport's name. For many people, he is the embodiment of tennis, and he's glad to still be accepted as part of the tennis community.
He retired abruptly, in a sense, at a time when most people were expecting him to return to the sport. He just announced that he couldn't play anymore, leaving many people without a proper chance to say goodbye.
Now that he shows up at events occasionally, people feel glad to see, and he feels happy about things being that way, as he revealed ahead of the 2024 Laver Cup.
"I'm happy I went back right away to some tournaments. I feel I ripped the bandaid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there."
"I don't feel like an alien, which is a good thing because you can feel like that very quickly. People (and) players ask you 'what are you doing here?' and you're like 'exactly -- if you keep talking like this, I will never come back'."
Federer doesn't spend as much time around the Tour as before because he has other things to do. He has his foundation, which does tremendous charitable work with kids, primarily in Africa.
He also has children who are quickly growing, and some of them have picked up a racket, so there is plenty to do for the Swiss Maestro.
He's still glad to stop by some of the tournaments at times and soak in that tennis experience, which has been part of his daily routine for most of his life. Being around still makes him happy because he could easily stay at home, where he's most comfortable, but he chooses not to.
"I'm happy I'm still able to feel comfortable in a setting like this because it would be so much easier just to stay home, get comfortable at home and realise you don't need to be on tour anymore."
This week's tennis schedule has him in Berlin for the Laver Cup. It's one of those commitments that will happen every year, as Federer is the co-founder of the exhibition event.