Roger Federer has floated the enticing prospect of a revival of his iconic rivalry with Rafael Nadal, in comments that will excite millions of tennis fans around the world.
While Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s exciting new rivalry has filled much of the void left behind following the retirements of Federer and Nadal, many tennis fans will always regard the battles between the Swiss maestro and his Spanish rival to be the best in tennis history.
So the prospect of seeing the duo back on court in the near future will set pulses racing and Federer has revealed in an interview with CNBC that he would be open to the prospect of returning to tennis for a seniors tour that could also feature Nadal.
When asked whether he would be open to leading a new tour that could feature the icons of tennis, Federer was quick to offer a positive response.
“Yeah, why not?” he said. “I love Rafa. I played four hours of tennis here in San Francisco and also an hour and a half in LA. I am playing a lot, I’m trying to keep in good shape.
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“I know Rafa is open to playing some more tennis. It sounds terrible… seniors tennis. Maybe we can create a tour. A ‘Fedal’ Tour.
“One of the reasons I started the Laver Cup was to shine a light on the past greats of the game and maybe a seniors tour, we’ve had it in the past.
“There is a lot of appetite to see past champions in tennis, so I could look into that, for sure.”
Federer spoke about life after tennis earlier this year, as he admitted he needed some time to adjust to his new life after he hung up his rackets following a doubles match alongside Nadal at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.
“I didn’t have any plans per se as I was always trying to come back and then all of a sudden I realised that was it,” Federer told the ATP.
“And then I was just ‘okay, it is over, what now?’ I think now I feel I am more in control of my schedule as before I was just… the afterburn of having just retired, so it has been good, honestly.
“I have to be careful I don’t do too many things, but at the same time I’m really happy to be busy, I like being with other people, love being with my family, I love to travel. But I guess sometimes you just have to make sure to find the right balance and I feel like I have that, so it’s great.”
“I am trying to go to the gym four times a week and I can’t believe I am actually doing that. I rent the space at home and put the machines in and I got it the week after the Laver Cup in London, so it was like, after my career I finally had a gym.
“A little bit weird once I had retired, so now I have to use it, so I do that well, and I don’t play so much tennis anymore so I have to be a little bit more careful with what I eat and stuff.
“I would still like to play some exhibitions down the road so I want to stay in shape and try to look good a little bit.”
Federer and Nadal may have hit their final balls in anger as professional players, but we might not have seen the last of their great rivalry after all.
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