20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer will not make an appearance in the Australian Open, and will likely miss Wimbledon as well.

The 40-year-old tennis legend said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Le Matin that he has ruled out playing in the Australian Open, and further added that he “would be incredibly surprised if [he] were to play again already at Wimbledon“

“Australia is not an option at all,” he said. "But that's no surprise for me. Even before the operation, we knew that a break of many months would be necessary afterward.”

Currently ranked 16th globally, Federer has undergone four knee operations and has played 19 matches in tours within the last two seasons. He has not played at all since losing to Polish player Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2021.

Federer has stated that this knee operation is more serious than his previous ones, saying he potentially might not return to play until 2023.

“The simplest thing would almost be to say: ‘That’s it. I gave a lot, received a lot, let’s stop it all,’” he said. “But to give everything to come back one more time is also my way of thanking the fans. They deserve better than the image I left during the grass-court season this year.”

Federer is widely considered by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time, along with Spanish player Rafael Nadal and Serbian player Novak Djokovic. He has been ranked No. 1 in the world in the ATP rankings for a record 237 consecutive weeks. The Swiss player has won 103 ATP singles titles, the second-most ever behind former American player Jimmy Connors.

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