Roger Federer called time on his glittering career back in 2022, hanging up his racket after that year’s Laver Cup.
But the former ATP number one has remained active in the tennis world, with Federer playing an exhibition match at the 2026 Australian Open.
Federer won the hard-court Grand Slam six times during his career, level with Australian icon Roy Emerson and behind only Novak Djokovic.
The Swiss star is set to attract plenty of attention upon his return to Melbourne, much like he did with his comments about on-court coaching back in 2018.
Roger Federer was against on-court coaching in 2018
As quoted by the Express, Federer was against the change, which was being trialled at the 2018 ATP NextGen Finals.
He said: “I really hope it doesn’t [enter]. I really do. Hanging on. If it does happen, it’s hopefully after I’m done playing.
“I really don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t think it’s fair maybe necessarily, because not everybody can afford a coach. It’s just not right. We’ll see girlfriends walking out, we’ll see parents walking out.
“It’s not going to be pretty, you know. It just won’t. It will look amateur‑like in my opinion. Yeah, I hope we’ll stay as far away from that idea.”
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What are the ITF rules on off-court and on-court coaching?
Interestingly, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) updated its coaching rules from the 2025 season onwards in late 2024.
Off-court coaching was introduced, with communication allowed verbally or via hand signals, and only briefly.
But in competitions other than team events where a team captain sits on court, on-court coaching is not allowed.
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Among the reasons for allowing off-court coaching, the ITF listed making tennis fairer and potentially more entertaining.
Such values should certainly be welcomed whenever possible, but tennis chiefs will never be able to please all players and fans with such introductions and changes.
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