eternal rehabilitation and muscle problems say goodbye to Wimbledon

On July 7, 2021, Roger Federer He played his last match as a professional tennis player so far. It was on center court All England Tennis Club from Londonwhere the third Grand Slam of the season, the tournament Wimbledon. It was the return edition of the great grass after it was not played in 2020 due to the pandemic of the Covid-19. Since then, the former world number one has not been seen on a track.

In that quarterfinal match, Roger was defeated by the Pole Hurkacz after having made a more than worthy tournament and having overcome important physical problems and some operation. Again his knees had been an ordeal that now, in this 2022, continues to haunt him to the point of not having allowed him to play and enjoy tennis again.

After that elimination, Roger decided not to go to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics despite the fact that he was going to be one of the great icons of the Swiss delegation. He didn’t go to the US Open of that year and finally, he decided to put an end to his season to try to recover for 2022. Months later it was learned that this break had not been enough and that, therefore, he could not be in the Australian Openthe big tournament with which the new course was opened.

The worst forecasts spoke of the return of the Swiss giant expected by the end of March. He had a road ahead of him to recover, gain sensations and face his great goal, the Wimbledon tournament. For this, the tour of United States with events like Indian Wells O Miami they could play a critical role before tiptoeing through the dirt tour and hitting the grass with rolling but no wear. However, Wimbledon will have to wait until 2023 to see his favorite tennis player again, now confirming the bad forecasts made at the end of 2021. That is if he manages to avoid the ghost of withdrawal.

Goodbye to Wimbledon

After a time away from the spotlight, Roger Federer reappeared this Saturday before the media by attending important ski events in his country. Specifically, to the races Women’s World Cup in LenzerheideWhere he lives. There, the Swiss tennis player left a few brief statements to shed light on his physical condition and when his return to the courts is expected.

Many believed that this could arrive in this month of March, but the truth is that there are many weeks left before the return of one of the most brilliant rackets in history. Roger underwent further knee surgery last year and the time he will have to be out will be longer than expected.

In fact, he does not plan to go through any tournament at least until the end of next summer. In this way, it will be impossible for him to attend the land tour and the Grand Slam of Roland Garros. However, the most painful stick for him will be his absence at Wimbledon, a tournament that, for various reasons, he has not been able to play in two of the last three editions. The dream of the ninth dims more and more.

And although he has not yet confirmed it, Roger also has a very difficult time being able to be in the next US Open which takes place in the month of August. Be in New York It will surely mean a race against the clock that, at 40 years old, could cause serious damage to his battered physique. The recovery, which is taking forever and is going to take more than a year, is not going along the expected paths.

An endless rehabilitation

Nobody expected that July 7 last year would be a historic day for world tennis. At the moment, it has been the last day that he has been seen on a track as a professional player. And who knows if, in time, it could become his last official participation in a tournament if he doesn’t make a full recovery. It would be the goodbye of one of the greatest legends of this sport of all time. For many, the best in history.

The truth is that Roger’s recovery is being long and hard. The rehabilitation process in which he is immersed has not advanced within the expected timeframes. He is going through really important problems that go beyond even the injuries that he has suffered in his knees.

After so much time out of the circuit, Federer has suffered a decompensation in his body and a loss of muscle mass that is costing him to recover. Therefore, he runs the risk of improving his joints and exposing himself to the risk of a serious muscle injury that ends up withdrawing him. And all this over 40 years.

After undergoing surgery in August, Roger confessed that his intention was to ensure future well-being in his life off the slopes. That, even before looking at the final stretch of his professional career: “I want to give myself a ray of hope to get back on tour somehow. I’m a realist, don’t get me wrong. I know how difficult it is at this age to do another surgery and try, but I want to be healthy.”

And now, that return begins to be more in doubt than ever. In statements to SRF in his reappearance, Federer has assured that he is still not thinking about retirement and that he fully trusts to return to 100%. However, time continues to pass and he continues to slip through his fingers.

This is how one of his current trainers also sees it, Severin Luthi: “I’m not someone who says it’s impossible. But I can’t imagine it right now. It’s still in the rehabilitation phase. Not only should the knee and leg muscles be developed, but the whole body should be strengthened. It’s a complete conditioning program.”

These serious problems that Roger is going through could mean that he would not play a Grand Slam again until 2023. And it would be necessary to see at what level he could do it if he returned. This gives a great opportunity to his historical rivals, Reef Nadal and Novak Djokovic, to take advantage of him in that race to finish with bigger ones. The Spanish has already left him behind after winning in Australia and both will have, at least, three more opportunities, Paris, London and New York, to get away from those mythical 20 wounded. All while Roger’s ordeal continues.

[Más información: El repóker de Carlos Alcaraz: el nuevo líder de España sin miedo a los grandes retos]

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