"Retirement is great," says Roger Federer on life after Tennis

At his documentary premiere, Federer reflects on a happy shift from tennis legend to dedicated family man.

Tennis legend Roger Federer, who retired from professional tennis in 2022, is thoroughly enjoying his new life off the court.

The former world No. 1 shared his contentment with his post-career life during an interview with Extra at the premiere of his new documentary, ‘Federer: Twelve Final Days’, on Monday, June 10.

"Retirement is great. It was smooth,” Federer, 42, revealed. He expressed his happiness, being a devoted father to his four children and spending quality time with his wife, Mirka.

The family has been traveling and engaging in various activities that keep Federer busy and fulfilled.

“We have four beautiful children. There are twin boys that are 10, twin girls that are 14, and then my wife,” he continued.

“We’ve just been traveling around the world, having the best time, and obviously helping them with school, and then having projects like this one. So, I’m keeping busy with that and it’s been wonderful.”

Federer's transition into retirement was somewhat prefigured by health issues; he underwent two knee surgeries in 2020 and 2021, which limited his play during the last years of his career. "I had a little bit of luck — unfortunate luck — with my knee.

My knee was getting worse and worse, so I think I got a feeling and a taste of how life was going to be once I’m retired, being home more and so forth," said the Swiss player.

His new documentary highlights the emotional and poignant end to his illustrious career. Federer admitted to getting "choked up" when reflecting on his life post-tennis during the film's premiere.

"I always felt that career could always end with any injury — and it’s only tennis, I always tried to remind myself," Federer explained.

Reflecting on his mindset towards the inevitable end of his career, Federer added, “Every time I won a match or a tournament, especially a tournament, I knew it could be my last, and so you always have to live it in a life where one day you’ll be home and then you will not be a tennis player anymore. You will only be a former tennis player. And I think that mindset has helped me not being, like, too worried about the afterlife of tennis. It’s been a great transition. I’m very happy and I’m happy it was the way it was supposed to be for me.”