Roger Federer, a legendary tennis player from Switzerland, has announced his retirement from competitive play at the age of 41, citing signals from his body.

Federer has recently had to deal with surgeries, injuries, and a burgeoning field of new stars.

“I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years,” Federer said in a video message released Thursday, after stating that his body’s “message to me lately has been clear.”

To my tennis family and beyond,

With Love,
Roger pic.twitter.com/1UISwK1NIN
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) September 15, 2022

His final ATP event will come next week, at the Laver Cup in London. Federer has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, including eight at Wimbledon.

Over his career, Federer has won more than 100 titles total and amassed a 1,251-275 record, according the ATP, which adds that he never retired from a match, in singles or doubles.

Federer’s prodigious skills kept him at the top of the sport with astounding consistency. At one point, he spent 237 consecutive weeks as the world No. 1 — an ATP record. In 2018, he became the oldest man to hold that ranking.

Earlier in his career, he notched 41 match wins in a row — a sequence that started the year after he won 24 tournament finals straight, from 2003-2005.

Federer, who began playing tennis at age 8, recalled his early exposure to pro tennis as a ball kid in his hometown of Basel, watching players “with a sense of wonder.” It made him dream of his own future in the game, he said — and it drove him to work hard to achieve those dreams.

“The last 24 years on tour have been an incredible adventure,” Federer said, describing the highs and lows of playing his sport in more than 40 countries. “Finally, to the game of tennis: I love you and will never leave you.”

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