Roger Federer Set To Return In Basel At The End Of October: Organisers

Former men's tennis world number one Roger Federer, plagued by recurring knee problems for the last two years, is to return to the ATP circuit at the Basel indoor tournament in October, organisers said.

Federer, who hasn't played competitively since losing last July in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon to Pole Hubert Hurkacz, replied to the organisers' Instagram post with the message: "Looking forward to playing back home."

Federer, who turns 41 in August, hasn't played competitively since losing last July in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon to Pole Hubert Hurkacz. He then withdrew from the Olympics and underwent his third bout of knee surgery in 18 months, to "suture" his right internal meniscus and "treat (his) cartilage". Federer played just 13 matches in 2021, having  played only six times in 2020.

Federer has 20 career Grand Slam titles, tied for second with Novak Djokovic and one behind recordholder Rafael Nadal, who won the season-opening Australian Open. Federer's most recent Grand Slam title came at the 2018 Australian Open.

Promoted

The last major of the season, the US Open, is due to start on August 29. He is set to join Nadal in the Team Europe line-up -- captained by legend Bjorn Borg -- in the Laver Cup which takes place in London from September 23-25.

The three-day team competition, inspired by golf's Ryder Cup, pits six of the best players from Europe against six players from Team World.