NEW YORK — Roger Federer returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday, practicing before an unusually high-profile exhibition that will give New York tennis fans the farewell they never quite received when his competitive U.S. Open career ended seven years ago.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion is scheduled to play Tuesday night in a special event at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, joining Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and John McEnroe. The exhibition, billed as “Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York,” comes during U.S. Open Fan Week, ahead of the start of the men’s and women’s singles main draws on Sunday.
Federer’s appearance has become one of the defining attractions of the tournament’s opening week. On Monday, fans filled sections of Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch the retired Swiss star practice with Italian player Lorenzo Musetti, an unusually large turnout for a practice session and a reminder of Federer’s lasting appeal in New York.
The return carries particular resonance because Federer’s final U.S. Open match, a five-set quarterfinal loss to Grigor Dimitrov in 2019, was not understood at the time to be his last appearance in the tournament. He missed the 2020 U.S. Open, later underwent multiple knee procedures and played his final Grand Slam event at Wimbledon in 2021 before retiring from professional tennis in 2022.
As a result, one of the most accomplished champions in U.S. Open history left Flushing Meadows without the kind of formal sendoff that often accompanies the final appearance of a major star.
Federer said Monday that Tuesday’s event offers him the opportunity to close that chapter properly.
“It really gives me a true opportunity to say thank you, goodbye,” Federer told reporters.
His record in New York remains one of the most dominant stretches of the Open Era. Federer won five consecutive U.S. Open men’s singles titles from 2004 through 2008, a run no other man has matched since the tournament became open to professionals in 1968. He reached six straight finals at Flushing Meadows, losing the 2009 championship match to Juan Martín del Potro after winning the previous five.
Tuesday’s exhibition will place Federer on court with three other former U.S. Open champions. Roddick won the tournament in 2003 and developed one of the defining rivalries of his career against Federer. Agassi won in New York in 1994 and 1999, while McEnroe captured four U.S. Open singles titles.
The event has generated substantial demand. Reuters reported Monday that resale tickets on Ticketmaster were being offered for more than $2,000 in some cases, underscoring the commercial pull of Federer’s return even four years after his retirement.
Federer, now 45, also made clear that the exhibition should not be interpreted as a step toward a competitive comeback. Asked whether he would consider accepting a wild card into the U.S. Open singles draw, he rejected the idea emphatically and said the physical demands of professional competition were no longer realistic.
“The body is done,” he said.
That distinction separates Federer’s appearance from another major storyline developing at Flushing Meadows this week. Serena Williams, 44, is set to return to competitive play in mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz, adding another former champion to a tournament already drawing attention before the singles competition begins.
The combination of Federer’s ceremonial return, Williams’ competitive comeback and the start of qualifying has given the National Tennis Center an atmosphere more closely resembling the middle stages of the tournament than a traditional pre-event week. The USTA has increasingly used Fan Week to expand public access and build momentum around the U.S. Open, with qualifying matches, player practices and special events taking place before the main draw begins.
Federer’s appearance also comes days before another milestone. He is scheduled to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, according to Reuters.
For New York, however, Tuesday’s exhibition is less about adding another distinction to Federer’s résumé than about revisiting a relationship between a player and a tournament that defined a significant period in modern tennis.
From 2004 through the end of the decade, Federer was the central figure at the U.S. Open, combining sustained dominance with an effortless style that made him one of the tournament’s biggest international draws. His absence after 2019 left his New York career without a definitive final scene.
Now, seven years after his last match at Flushing Meadows, Arthur Ashe Stadium will have one more night with Federer on court — this time with everyone knowing what the moment represents.
