Roger Federer announces his retirement from the ATP Tour and grand slams. “This is one that I had to make myself do,” said Federer, who turns 39 on May 23. “I have been playing this game for 14 years now and in my opinion I have had an incredible journey that I am proud of. I have been able to play tournaments, enjoy a life, be with friends and family and travel as much as I wanted. I love the game and I love to play it. But after looking at the big picture, and after a year (since taking on new junior coach Richard Veenstra) of thinking maybe I should step away from the game for a while, I have decided to retire.”
Federer will now take up the position of head coach for the ATP tour’s juniors. According to an announcement on Federer’s website, he will coach both juniors in 2013; a junior team will debut in February 2012, and, in their first year, they will be selected to participate in the main event (the ATP Finals). The tournament was initially scheduled for Aug. 28-29, but is now pushed back till March 13-15. The juniors will compete in the main singles draw, with the main doubles competition to be held the following day (March 14-15).
The junior team will be coached by Veenstra. “He has been great to me, since my junior days in 2000,” Federer said of Veenstra, who serves as assistant coach for the Australian Open mixed team. “He is very well connected, a good coach, a person for the younger groups, and I have already talked with him a lot about the senior events (Federer’s next grand slam tournament).”
Federer made the announcement in a personal note posted on his website. “As of today, I am announcing that I will no longer coach at the elite level,” Federer said. “I wish them nothing but the best and I would like to wish them all the best, which will unfortunately not be possible. I will continue as a coach at the juniors level as I am already doing, but
