World men’s tennis number three, Roger Federer of Switzerland, has pulled out of the Rio Olympics and said he would miss the rest of the season.
Federer said this was because following knee surgery earlier this year he needed “more extensive rehabilitation’’ if he wanted to prolong his career.
“I’m extremely disappointed to announce that I will not be able to represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Rio.
“I will also miss the remainder of the season,” the 17-times Grand Slam champion and former world number one said on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
“Considering all options after consulting with my doctors and my team, I have made the very difficult decision to call an end to my 2016 season as I need more extensive rehabilitation following my knee surgery earlier this year.
“The doctors advised that if I want to play on the ATP World Tour injury free for another few years, as I intend to do, I must give both my knee and body the proper time to fully recover. It is tough to miss the rest of the year.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Federer, 34, had knee surgery in February before missing May’s French Open with a back problem.
Federer twice required treatment during a five-set semi-final defeat by Canada’s Milos Raonic at Wimbledon this month, but found a “silver lining” in his injury-troubled year.
“This experience has made me realise how lucky I have been throughout my career with very few injuries,’’ he said.(NAN)