Federer ‘not worried’ about future of tennis after the Big Three era

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Roger Federer has claimed that he was “never worried” about the future of tennis after the Big Three era came to an end last month. The 41-year-old became the first of the three rivals to retire at the recent Laver Cup and believes tennis is in good hands moving forward, despite concerns about whether young stars will be able to match the achievements of himself, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Federer’s 24-year career drew to a close at the recent Laver Cup as the former world No 1 returned for one last hurrah following more than a year on the sidelines. Federer teamed up with Nadal for one final doubles match before hanging up his racket, while Djokovic and Andy Murray were also by his side as part of Team Europe.

Even before the Swiss star’s retirement, there had been concern for the next era of tennis beyond the Big Three, with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic spending the best part of the last two decades pushing one another to new heights and breaking records in regards to both Grand Slam titles and time spent at world No 1.

But the first member of the Big Three to end his career isn’t worried about the future, as he noted that fans previously feared the same when the likes of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired. “I’ve always been a big supporter of the future of the game and I really think it’s been a great last few years,” the 41-year-old told the ATP.

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“The game always creates superstars and creates great stories and so for me I never worried about the game.” Looking back on his own emergence as one of the young stars when he started his own career, Federer continued: “People thought tennis was not so cool and great anymore once Sampras and Agassi retired.

“Here I was, I was like ‘I’m sorry, it’s kind of me also’ with [Andy] Roddick and [Juan Carlos] Ferrero and [Lleyton] Hewitt especially.” And the 103-time title winner had full confidence in the next generation of stars to take over once the Big Three era came to an end, extending his praise of the young stars to the women’s side too.

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“So for me to now look at the future I know it’s incredibly bright and we don’t have to worry about it on either side, men and women,” he added. “I think it’s going to be great and I will be following closely of course.”

Federer has already spent some time with the top young players, as Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas rounded out the original Team Europe lineup at the Laver Cup alongside the Big Four. Matteo Berrettini and Cam Norrie also joined as alternates to take Federer and Nadal’s respective places in singles as the duo withdrew following their doubles match together.

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