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Roger Federer’s Ex-Coach, a Close Confidante to Late Peter Carter, Gets Real About the Swiss Star’s Retirement – ‘…But His Body Said No’

Published 03/21/2023, 3:15 AM EDT

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It came as a major surprise when The Swiss Maestro Roger Federer announced his retirement. Tennis fans wanted him to keep going and he himself wanted to make a comeback on the court. However, there was one missing element. Peter Lundgren, his former coach, was apparently aware of what was preventing Federer from coming back.

Just before the Laver Cup last year, the renowned tennis player surprisingly announced his retirement from the sport, playing his last match at the tournament. The decision to put his career to rest came as fans awaited his return from a break.

Peter Lundgren on Roger Federer retiring

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The 20-time Grand Slam champion’s former coach, who was with him when he won his first Wimbledon title in 2003, said it was news to him like everyone when Federer made the sudden announcement that he was retiring. Somewhere, though, he knew the reason behind the big step. Lundgren was a dear friend of the Swiss maestro’s formative coach, Peter Carter and knows Federer from his early tennis days.

Simon Häring, a journalist, recently shared the 58-year-old tennis player-turned-coach’s statement explaining the Swiss Maestro’s retirement.

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Federer’s ex-coach said, “A Swedish journalist called me to ask whether I knew about his retirement. I said no. It was sad. I guess his head wanted to keep going, but his body said no.” Even though he was not aware of the retirement and knew that the former world number one wanted to keep going, he felt that he could guess what still prompted Federer to retire.

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Federer himself discussed his reason for stopping his career for good at a point in life where he wanted to play more tennis and achieve more on the court.

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When Federer explained the reason behind his retirement 

After playing his last tennis match, the 20-time Grand Slam champion in his first press conference since he announced his retirement spoke about what led to the life-changing decision. The Swiss Maestro recalled that it all started one summer, when he was in the process of taking his training to the next level. He started to feel things had stagnated for him and that he was not being able to move forward at the pace he expected.

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Federer revealed that he was getting more tired because of all the extra effort he was putting into getting back to normal to be able to hit the court again. He also stated that he had started getting pessimistic about his comeback. Understandably, the tennis legend decided to take a call based on what he felt was best for him.

Things are now clearer and the retired legend is as celebrated as ever. The star is also highly speculated to make a comeback into the tennis world as a broadcaster at Wimbledon this year.

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Written by:

Pratishtha Prakash

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Pratishtha Prakash is a Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. She has completed her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media and Journalism from MIT ADT University, Pune. In the past, she has interned at the sports desk of The Hitavada, a regional English daily newspaper.
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Edited by:

Aayush Kapoor