This is only the second surgery of Federer’s long career. He had the first in February 2016 to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, which he injured while making a sudden movement as he was giving his twin daughters a bath. Though he returned to competition in April that year, he continued to struggle, and eventually cut short his season to further rehabilitate his knee and recover full fitness.
He roared back after a nearly six-month break to play some of his finest tennis: hitting through his one-handed backhand with new power and conviction. He won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open again in 2018, shortly before returning to No. 1.
It has been quite a tennis renaissance, but he will now be forced to take another extended break from competition.
“I can promise you he is a very thoughtful decision maker,” Annacone said. “I think probably he approaches everything from the macro perspective: what gives him the best chance to do well and stay really healthy for a longer period of time.”
Federer said he would miss the hardcourt events in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami, as well as the French Open, the next Grand Slam event of the year, which is contested on red clay. Last year, Federer accumulated more than 3,000 ranking points in that phase of the season: winning titles in Dubai and Miami, reaching the final in Indian Wells and reaching the semifinals at the French Open in his first appearance at Roland Garros since 2015.
Unable to defend those points this year, Federer’s ranking will slip, but he should still be inside the top 10 in June, even after a four-month break from competition. He should also still receive a high seeding at Wimbledon, which uses a formula that takes recent grass-court results into account.
Federer also announced that he would be unable to take part in a rescheduled exhibition on March 24 in Bogotá, Colombia, against Alexander Zverev. That exhibition was originally scheduled for November but had to be canceled at the last minute after large-scale demonstrations in Bogotá led to the imposition of a curfew.
