What Roger Federer ‘always thought’ was going to happen to tennis after he retired from the sport

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After two decades on tour, Roger Federer played the final tournament of his illustrious career at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.

The Swiss legend enjoyed one of the most successful runs in tennis history, winning 103 ATP titles, 20 of which came at Grand Slam events.

He shared historic rivalries with major champions such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka.

One star he never came up against in a professional match, however, was Carlos Alcaraz, who was enjoying his breakthrough season the same year Federer decided to retire.

Ahead of his last dance at the Laver Cup, he talked about the clash with the Spaniard that fans never got to see.

Roger Federer’s prediction in 2022 for the post-big three era

In his pre-tournament press conference, Federer said of Alcaraz: “It’s disappointing, I was never able to play against him.

“Of course, I watched him closely, what he did at the US Open and throughout the year. It’s been fantastic.

“I always said there will always be new superstars in the game, and he’s one of them, and the game is bright.

“I know sometimes people don’t tend to see that or think that. It was the same thing when Pete [Sampras] and Andre [Agassi] left; they thought, okay, what do we have here now?

“They got the same winners [at slams] every year with Rafa, Novak, myself, Murray and Stan. For me, it was nice to see, you know, because that’s what I always thought.”

The emergence of young stars after Roger Federer’s retirement

As Alcaraz continued to take the tennis world by storm in the months that followed Federer’s retirement, more young talent began to emerge.

Later that season, a 19-year-old Holger Rune stunned Djokovic in the final of the Paris Masters, beating the Serb in three sets to hoist the title in the French capital.

In 2023, Jannik Sinner burst onto the scene, making the semifinals at Wimbledon and clinching a maiden Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open, before reaching the finals at the year-end ATP Finals.

At the US Open that year, Ben Shelton announced himself to the tennis world, advancing all the way to the final four at Flushing Meadows, before suffering defeat to Djokovic.