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The Swiss tennis player and one of the best in history, Roger Federer, reappeared at the centenary celebrations of the Wimbledon centre court. Obviously, he will not play the British tournament that he likes so much, because he is the biggest winner, for he is still recovering from a knee operation.
In interviews, he mentioned that his wish is to play Wimbledon one more time. In 2021, he was knocked out in the quarter-finals at the British tournament and has not stepped on a court since. At 40 years of age, it looks complicated, but it seems that it is very possible.
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A complicated 2022
Since his knee operation, he has not picked up a racket again. Many experts said the Swiss was officially retired, as there was no way he would return to play at the highest level.
The defeat at Wimbledon showed that he is not in the best shape of his career at the moment, perhaps fuelling speculation. But the Swiss never made an official announcement, on the contrary, he made it clear that he will play the Laver Cup in September and the Swiss Indoors in his native Basel.
Obviously, this is part of his comeback on what could be the retirement tour in the big time. Roger’s intention is to play all the Grand Slams at the highest level and try to compete at Wimbledon next year and win his ninth English trophy.
For this, the Swiss tennis player has undergone a change in his training and diet in order to extend his career a couple of years more. His tennis style helps a lot, as he is not as intense as Rafa Nadal.
Federer relies on his reading of the game and elegance, there are matches where he is in charge and does not need to run so much, so his body has also learned to adapt and has not suffered such severe consequences with injuries.
But the knee is complicated for a tennis player, so many changes of direction and speed put it under constant stress, and Federer couldn’t take it any longer and ended up having surgery. It remains to be seen if it really is OK or if he will suffer on his return.
Times are changing
Nowadays, it is normal to see players over the age of 35 competing at the elite level. This is due to advances in technology and new training and nutrition routines that make the body able to last longer under the demands of the competition.
If we go back many years, athletes retired or were considered old at the age of 30. Pete Sampras retired at 32 with many physical problems. Andre Agassi at 36 with the last years of his career not being so good.
In other sports, Ronaldo Nazario retired at 35 and Zidane hung up his boots at 34. Entering your 30s was the final stretch of your career as a sportsman. Even Jordan retired at 36. Age used to matter a lot.
That is not the case today. Rafa Nadal has just won his 22nd Grand Slam at the age of 36 and is still one of the best on the planet. Novak Djokovic is 35 and is still fighting at the top of the world ranking and is still an elite player.
Cristiano Ronaldo is 37, Messi is 35, Sergio Ramos is 36, Karim Benzema is 34, LeBron James is 37, Stephen Curry is 34, nowadays, age is just a number if the discipline in body care and training is the right one.
Currently, a lot of care is taken with the fuel that the body takes in. Food is essential in the care of the career of these athletes. A diet high in protein and low in sugar makes the muscles recover faster.
Training is also changed depending on the specific needs of the athlete’s discipline and age. In the past, they didn’t give so much importance to the gym and only trained enough. That made them prone to injury and shortened their careers.
Now weight lifting or isometric exercises help to take care of the muscles and strengthen the fibres that can tear, making their bodies an anti-injury wall.
Sports medicine has also come a long way. Detecting injuries before they can get worse has changed the way an athlete’s body is cared for and recovered. Specific cases such as Rafael Nadal who suffers from chronic injuries, and being diagnosed with Müller-Weiss syndrome have led his doctors to design a specific plan for him.
Among all the aforementioned aids now available to athletes, supplementation is also essential. The seasons are much longer, and sometimes they play matches without proper recovery. Sports science has formulated pills and supplements that help muscle recovery so that they can play without problems with little rest time.
It is also admirable that players like Federer, who is still active, and candidate to win everything when the seasons have become longer. Now there are more tournaments to play and more wear and tear. On average, the workload for a professional tennis player has increased by 30%.
This obviously wears the body down in a big way, but the factors mentioned above help a lot to keep their careers from coming to a complete halt.
Federer is ready to return to play, in what seems to be his last year as a professional. Will he win Wimbledon for the last time? Will it be the Swiss’ last dance?