"I'm sorry for them that they had to go through this" - Roger Federer on the stress his friends & family went through to keep news of his retirement secret

Roger Federer has reflected on the stress his family and close friends were in till he announced his retirement from the sport last week. He's calling time on his illustrious career following the Laver Cup at the O2 in London this weekend.

Federer, 41, is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the sport's history. He has won 20 Grand Slam titles, six ATP Finals and 28 Masters 1000s and has spent a record 237 consecutive weeks as World No. 1. However, Federer's legacy goes beyond numbers, and his greatness transcends the sport.

Renowned for his signature single-handed backhand in the era of power-hitters, Federer more than held his own during his 24-year illustrious career. However, he hasn't been in action since Wimbledon last year due to a knee injury that required surgery.

Having suffered multiple setbacks in his quest to return to court, Federer realized that his career had run its course and announced that the 2022 Laver Cup would be his final tournament.

In a press conference ahead of the fifth edition of the team competition, Roger Federer said that he's at peace with his decision, as he has not taken it in a hurry.

"I mean, one, I'm not satisfied. I'm happy. I'm happy with the decision, because it's the right one. I thought about it. I have had a lot of time to let it sit," Federer said.

He added that the last few months have been stressful for his family and inner circle, as they strived to keep the news of his impending retirement a closely guarded secret.

"It's been a few months now, been rather stressful not having it leak out and was more worried about everybody around me who knew about it, who was getting asked every single day: 'How is Roger, how is Roger's knee, and when is he coming back?' They all very well knew what the situation was. I'm sorry for them that they had to go through this. So I think we are all relieved at this point it's out," he added'.

Roger Federer is set to partner up with his arch-rival and good friend Rafael Nadal in the doubles arena. Team Europe have a star-studded lineup comprising the Big 4 of Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

World No. 2 Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas are the final two players in the star-studded lineup and Matteo Berrettini is the alternate player.

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"I didn't plan it through exactly every step of the way what was going to happen" - Roger Federer on timing of his retirement announcement

Roger Federer at the 2022 Laver Cup press conference

Roger Federer has said that his retirement announcement was made a week before the Laver Cup to allow fans the opportunity to plan their visit to catch him in action one last time.

Federer - who has dropped out of the ATP rankings this year due to inactivity - said he wasn't planning every step of his announcement.

"I didn't plan it through exactly every step of the way what was going to happen. I just said I think it's a good moment to announce it on Thursday last week, because it gives people the time to either travel to London or just give a bit of a heads-up instead of announcing it, like, say today," Federer said.

As for his plans in the days leading up to his final tour appearance, Roger Federer said that he intended to do some practice and fitness exercises and spend some time with his kids.

"I had no plans for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. All I had was practice, fitness on Friday, tennis on Saturday. I said, we'll see if I have to do press, but apparently the letter had enough in it for it seemed like for everybody that I could push the press all the way to today and yesterday, which I'm very happy about, which allowed me to spend time with my kids, with going after my daily life and having wonderful dinners and looking back and celebrate, to be honest," he said.

Regarding his immediate post-retirement plans, Roger Federer said that he hopes to catch up with his fellow players and then go on vacation.

"So that's what I want to do next is catch up a little bit, see everybody, and then go on vacation a little bit with the family," said Federer. "I think it's a perfect moment for me to then spend time with Mirka and get on the phone with the team and just talk a little bit about the Laver Cup, you know, how has this week gone and where do we go from here?"

The Swiss maestro added that he intends to read up on a lot of stuff that has been written about him in the last few days, which he hasn't done much yet.

"What I'm going to do next is I want to read a lot of what maybe a lot of you have written and a lot of TV stuff. I haven't seen stuff that have been produced and put together for me, I haven't seen really, to be honest."

Roger Federer last played in the Laver Cup three years ago and will hope to help Team Europe continue their dominance over Team Europe as he wades off into the sunset.

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