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Grievous Development Clouds Roger Federer’s Close Circle as Ex-coach Forced to ‘Amputate’ His Toe

Published 10/17/2023, 8:20 AM EDT

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Bad tidings to the tennis world. The 58-year-old former tennis player and coach, Peter Lundgren, faces a major setback in his personal life. During his coaching tenure, he has trained many big names in the tennis world. He has played a major role in building a foundation of the illustrious career of the legend Roger Federer. But he has fallen into tough times recently.

The Swedish coach first adorned the headlines when he helped Marcelo Rios to reach the top spot in the ATP rankings. He was the first Latin American to do so. After that, there have been several knocks on his doors. He has coached some of the big names like Roger Federer, Marat Safin, Marcos Baghdatis, Grigor Dimitrov, Stan Wawrinka and the list goes on. But will he be able to extend his coaching career further?

The former coach of Roger Federer faces a case of Hobson’s choice

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Roger Federer had won his first Grand Slam under Lundgren in Wimbledon, way back in 2003. He has played a pivotal role in shaping Fed’s career at its initial stages. But his golden days seem to have passed as a new cloud of challenges awaits him. Here’s what Simon Graf had to say about this.

The media personnel tweeted, “Peter Lundgren, the former coach of Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and many other great players, had to have his left foot amputated due to an infection. Wishing him a speedy recovery and lots of courage in this difficult time. Stay strong, Peter!” 

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However, the news had already started to surface on social media when Lundgren posted a photo from his hospital bed. He revealed that he didn’t heal properly from his broken ankle due to his type 2 diabetes. As a result, he had suffered an infection which had no remedy. So he had no choice but to amputate it. But he has assured the tennis world that he’s quite better now and had started his recovery. 

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Federer’s former coach’s enormous contribution to the tennis world

Peter Lundgren has won six titles throughout his career. His doubles finals with Jeremy Bates in the Australian Open in 1988 probably was his best performance on the court. However, his off-the-court contributions are way bigger than this. His experience and expertise in the sport was next to none. The growth and success of the players he has coached make a statement.

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Now, this tragic news might have been a bolt from the blue to the aspiring tennis players under his guidance. But we’ll keep our fingers crossed and wish him a quick recovery. Tennis lovers would love to see him contribute more to the sport. How big do you think he has impacted Federer’s career?

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Written by:

Sayantan Roy

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Sayantan Roy is a Tennis Writer at EssentiallySports. He has been following tennis for almost 17 years. His sheer love and enthusiasm for the racket sport has been a major influence in him wanting to build a career in sports journalism.
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Edited by:

Tony Thomas