Roger Federer steps down as ATP Player Council's President

Roger Federer will step down as ATP players council president after six years

17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has decided not to contest for the ATP Players Council Presidential elections after being at the helm since 2008.

Under Federer, professional tennis has witnessed a new era of financial success, but Federer feels that he will have to cut down on those responsibilities in order to spend more time with his family.

"It gets quite busy and I think that's one of the reasons now I think it's a good time for me to let it run its course and have somebody else lead the council from here on,” Federer told ATPworldtour.com. “I really enjoyed it and I'll still be involved in some shape or form. If I do it, I want to do it at 100 per cent and I feel like my life now, with my family and my tennis, that's a difficult part right now,” added Federer.

Federer also said that he has been proud of his work as President in the last six years.

“Leading by example, being there, putting in the time, showing the other players that you actually can find time for the council and for the tour... We achieved prize money increases. I hope I was able to make more players understand that this is a 50/50 organization with the tournaments. That's very important to understand” said Federer.

Todd Martin, a long-serving President in the late 90s, lauded the work done by Federer as President of ATP Player’s Council, in an interview with ATPworldtour.com.

"What Roger's done is remarkable because after generations of our very best tennis players not being involved in the sport from a governing standpoint, he took the bull by the horns and decided he was going to lead," said Martin.

ATP executive chairman Chris Kermode said, “The ATP World Tour is in terrific health today, not only as a result of the performance of our top players on the court, but also due to their considerable efforts off it.”

“Generous with his time and always willing to invest his energy away from the court for the greater good of the game, Roger and his leadership in the Player Council will be missed,” added Kermode.

The replacement for Federer will be decided later in the season when the newly elected council will meet in New York just before the commencement of the US Open.

The council will see some new faces such as Stan Wawrinka. Some of the other representatives in the council include the likes of Kevin Anderson, Gilles Simon, John Isner, Jurgen Melzer and Sergiy Stakhovsky fpr singles, Raven Klaasen and Bruno Soares for doubles, Yves Allegro for alumni, and Claudio Pistolesi as coach.

“It’s a very interesting time in our sport, and I’m looking forward to being able to contribute my time and energy to the Player Council in our efforts to continue to grow the ATP World Tour in years ahead,” Wawrinka was quoted as saying.