Los Angeles: Tennis star Roger Federer’s season came to an unexpected close when he announced on Facebook on Tuesday that he would miss the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the rest of the year.
Federer said he was shutting himself down for the rest of 2016 on the advice of his doctors in order to extend his career. That means he will miss the season’s final Grand Slam event, the US Open, in New York.
Federer, the 17-time Grand Slam singles champion, will turn 35 on August 8.
“Considering all options after consulting with my doctors and my team, I have made the very difficult decision to call an end to my 2016 season as I need more extensive rehabilitation following my knee surgery earlier this year,” Federer wrote on his Facebook page.
“The doctors advised me if I want to play on the ATP World Tour injury free for another few years, as I intend to do, I must give both my knee and my body the proper time to fully recover.
“It is tough to miss the rest of the year. However, the silver lining is that this experience has made me realise how lucky I’ve been throughout my career with very few injuries.”
Federer went on to write he is “as motivated as ever” to come back “strong” and healthy next year. He required knee surgery in February, having suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee. The injury did not happen on the tennis court but occurred when he was drawing a bath for his twin daughters, Federer told reporters in Miami in March.
His inability to win a singles gold medal at the Olympics is one of the few gaps on his sparkling career resume. He was a silver medallist — losing to Andy Murray in 2012 in London — and won gold in doubles at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
