Has Roger Federer retired? Is ex- Wimbledon champion playing in 2022, when did he last play, is he injured?

Fans have already been treated to an exciting first day at Wimbledon as The Championships returned to SW19 once more but the eight-time winner of the Grand Slam Roger Federer will not be present.

Novak Djokovic is on course to defend his title on the grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis club along after winning his first round and Rafael Nadal will hope to extend his Grand Slam wins to 23 but the third to make up the trio of male tennis greats will be missing.

Wimbledon 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini will also feature in SW19 and comes into the tournament off the back of winning the Queen’s Championship in London last week.

The Italian tennis star dropped just one set on his way to winning the Queen’s Club Trophy and this will have put him in excellent stead as he prepares for Wimbledon once more.

In the Ladies Singles’ tournament, fans were shocked to learn that 23-Grand Slam winner Serena Williams will make a return to the court after a year out.

Williams, 40, is just one Grand Slam away from equalling Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slams. She has yet to play a professional match since suffering a leg injury at SW19 last year and will play her first round match tomorrow, Tuesday 28 June 2022.

As fans look forward to watching Berrettini, Williams, Djokovic and Nadal, here is why they will not be seeing Federer...

Is Roger Federer playing Wimbledon 2022?

Federer is the most successful male player at The Championships with eight wins, five of which were consecutive, however he has not played since reaching the quarter finals of the tournament in 2021.

He has undergone a knee surgery which has left him unable to play and while fans were hopeful the Wimbledon great would return in 2022, it looks like a 2023 return is more likely. He has certainly not retired yet.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Roger Federer’s agent Tony Godsick said that the 40-year-old would like to feature again at SW19: “It was a great effort last year on one leg. And I think he’d like another Wimbledon. That place has been incredibly special to him.”

Why is Naomi Osaka not playing in Wimbledon?

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka will also miss out on Wimbledon after struggling with an Achilles problem.

After the French Open, the Japanese tennis star was already leaning towards not playing saying: “I’m not sure why, but if I play Wimbledon without points, it’s more like an exhibition. I know this isn’t true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. I just can’t go at it 100%”.

However, she recently took to Twitter posting an image of her alongside some thoughts on the quote ‘after the storm comes the calm’ saying: “my achilles still isn’t right, I’ll see you next time”.

Who else will not feature at Wimbledon?

It is currently unknown whether Andy Murray will feature. The former British and World number one reached the finals of the Stuttgart Open but then suffered an abdominal injury meaning he missed the Queen’s Club Championships.

Murray missed out on the French Open in preparation for the grass-court Grand Slam but is current situation is not known.

Venus Williams has said she will not feature in SW19 as a player but will support her sister. The 42-year-old has not played on the WTA tour since last August and confirmed on Instagram that she will not be returning to the grass court season this year: “Well, so no, I’m not playing. Will be watching, watching Serena.”

Williams last won Wimbledon in 2008 and most recently won the doubles with Serena in 2016.

When is Wimbledon?

Wimbledon begins on 27 June 2022 and will conclude with the finals on Saturday 9 July and Sunday 10 July 2022.