Federer to wait until after Wimbledon to decide on Tokyo Olympics

The Swiss tennis star said that he wanted to wait to see how Wimbledon goes before deciding on the Olympics. Free For Editorial Use. This Image Is Offered Licence Free For Editorial Use Only By The Aeltc. It Can Be Published On All Platf

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer plans to reassess whether he will compete at the Tokyo Olympics after Wimbledon, which begins on Monday.  

During a press conference on Saturday, Federer told reporters that he wanted to wait and see how the tournament goes before making decisions about Tokyo.

“Obviously, if I play really good here or really bad, I think it has an impact on how everything might look for the summer,” he said. “Still, my feeling is I would like to go to the Olympics. I would like to play as many tournaments as possible. But I think we decided now let’s just get through Wimbledon, sit down as a team, and then decide where we go from there.”

The Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed due to the pandemic, are scheduled to start a little more than a week after Wimbledon finishes. Federer, who has 20 Grand Slam titles, has won two Olympic medals for Switzerland at the London 2012 and Beijing 2008 Games. Federer sat out the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of a knee injury.

Federer missed most of last season because of operations on his right knee as well as the pandemic, which led many tournaments including Wimbledon to be cancelled or postponed.

In an interviewExternal link published in the German-language paper Tages-Anzeiger on Saturday, Federer said that he would love to go to the Olympics but that “as you get older, you have to select”.

Wimbledon is a different experience for the players and fans this year. Players are staying in hotel rooms instead of private houses. “It’s strange to stay in a hotel instead of a house during Wimbledon. It’s almost like being at a tournament for the first time,” Federer told the paper.

Although the restrictions and requirements for mask-wearing take some getting used to, Federer said that he felt privileged to be able to play in the tournament after everything that happened last year.

Meanwhile, the UK saw new coronavirus infections rise by the highest number since early February. The Delta variant first identified in India is said to be the main reason for the spike in cases.