Roger Federer takes to the court again but with padel

| by Tom Grant

The new year promptly brings the dawn of the new tennis season and for the sports top pros, all eyes are on the first major of the year with the Australian Open lurking on the horizon.

Not so for legend Roger Federer, who - for the first time since he turned pro 25 years ago - has no thoughts of returning to the court to compete, at least not a tennis one anyway.

The man from Basel, Switzerland broke many a heart in September when he announced the Laver Cup event would be the last competitive action of a glittering career, announcing his retirement shortly before the team event in London.

The Swiss twenty-time Grand Slam champion was spotted at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club playing a bit of padel - the racket game that combines elements of tennis and squash played on an enclosed court surrounded by walls of glass and metallic mash.

Federer shows he hasn't lost his touch with his familiar swagger and trademark pick-up skills on show in the video uploaded to Instagram.

Federer participation in padel should come as no surprise, as, at the start of the year, Federer's former coach Ivan Ljubicic revealed the 41-year-old still stays active playing tennis.

The great man is yet to outline what his retirement plans for the future look like, be it in a coaching or media punditry capacity, but it wouldn't surprise many if whatever he ends up doing - he does it very well.

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