Roger Federer is giving the tournament the cold shoulder – and the Swiss Indoors Basel is keeping him quiet
A stroll through Basel’s St. Jakobshalle reveals how messy the situation is between the Swiss Indoors Basel and Roger Federer. The record winner hovers over the tournament like a phantom.
Roger Federer ended the biggest and most formative chapter of his life with his retirement around two years ago. After his tearful farewell at the Laver Cup in London, he promised to become “no ghost and no stranger” in tennis. Federer kept his word.
At the beginning of October he traveled to Shanghai, where he picked up a racket in front of an audience for the first time since his retirement and played with the singer Eason Chan against Zhizhen Zhang and the table tennis player Fan Zhendong.
Federer returned to the tennis court for an exhibition match.
Economic interests of the sponsors
This time the official reason for the trip was the tenth anniversary of his first victory in the Chinese metropolis. Federer had already paid his respects to Shanghai the year before. Certainly also because he has obligations to his sponsors. Many of them have economic interests in Asia. Above all, the Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo, Lindt & Sprüngli, Rolex, Mercedes and the Swiss sportswear brand On, in which Federer is a partner.
As always, Federer was omnipresent at the Laver Cup in Berlin, the competition that he co-founded and which is his legacy to tennis. Before that he was at the US Open in New York and in the summer he graced Wimbledon with the whole family for several days, but was only seen on television and not in the audience.
In 1998 Roger Federer played at the Swiss Indoors for the first time.
A single reminiscence
It is all the more remarkable that the 43-year-old is almost hushed up at the Swiss Indoors. Only one reminiscence can be found when strolling through the hall. Significantly, the picture in the foyer of the main entrance shows him from behind. Depending on your perspective, Federer is giving the tournament the cold shoulder. Björn Borg, on the other hand, is shown from the front.
One might consider this a subtle observation. But it stands in stark contrast to the traditional heritage that is maintained in tennis and that tournament director Roger Brennwald also cares about.
The Federer poster in the foyer of the St. Jakobshalle in Basel.
No personality cult around Federer
In autumn 2022, the prospect of adoption the following year was announced. Federer rejected this request, which Brennwald found out about from this newspaper on his birthday in the summer of 2023. Federer said at the time: “I always like to come to Basel to spend time with my family and friends. At some point I’ll come back to the stadium to watch tennis. But no longer to perform there.”
Roger Federer is currently hovering like a phantom over the Swiss Indoors. Should he attend the tournament as a spectator at some point, he will find an occasion that looks to the future. And who doesn’t create a personality cult around him, the record winner, the son of the city of Basel.
- Topics: basel, Fast Retailing, Roger Federer, Sport, Swiss Indoors, tennis, tournaments, US Open
