The 20-time Grand Slam champion, Roger Federer, has withdrawn from the upcoming 2021 US Open. Two days back, the Swiss Maestro announced that he would undergo knee surgery and would be out of action for many months.

Federer, who turned 40 this month, has played a handful of matches over the last eighteen months. After the last year’s Australian Open, Federer underwent two arthroscopic right knee surgeries and sat out for the rest of the season due to rehabilitation.

After more than a year, Federer returned on the tour in March to compete at the 2021 Qatar Open. However, during the Wimbledon Championships, Federer’s knee issue resurfaced and now he will undergo a third procedure on his right knee.

Roger Federer is out of US Open

Announcing his decision on Instagram, Federer mentioned that he injured his knee during the grass-court season and after consulting his doctors, surgery is necessary.

“I’ll be on crutches for many weeks and also out of the game for many months. So it’s going to be difficult, of course, in some ways. But at the same time, I know it’s the right thing to do because I want to be healthy, I want to be running around later as well again and I want to give myself a glimmer of hope to return to the tour in some shape or form,” said Federer.

This will be the second successive year Federer won’t be part of the US Open. Federer, a five-champion US Open champion, hasn’t won at Flushing Meadows since his last title in 2008. Although he’s been in the final twice since then (2009 and 2015), he has finished as the runner-up on each occasion.

In the video, Federer also acknowledged that undergoing another surgery at his age and trying to come back on the tour is going to be an uphill task. However, the 103-time tour-level titlist still wants to give himself the hope of staging a return.

After losing in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, Federer skipped the Tokyo Olympics and subsequently withdrew from the two back-to-back Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati.

With the announcement, the end of Federer’s illustrious career presumably draws nearer. Fans will hope Roger has a speedy recovery and hopefully another chance of enthralling the world with his elegance on-court.