Roger Federer is reportedly withdrawing from the Australian Open while he continues to recover from knee surgery.
Tony Godsick – Federer’s long-time representative and CEO of their management company, TEAM8 – said the former world No.1 won’t make the trip to Australia to play in the rescheduled Open in February.
“Roger has decided not to play the 2021 Australian Open,” Godsick said in a statement.
“He has made strong progress in the last couple of months with his knee and his fitness.
“However, after consultation with his team, he decided that the best decision for him in the long run is to return to competitive tennis after the Australian Open.”
Federer, 39, is currently training in his usual off-season home in Dubai.
He hasn’t played a tournament match since late January at the 2020 Australian Open, where he was clearly injured while losing in straight sets to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
Just weeks later, Federer announced he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
He later had a second procedure.