Roger Federer, a genius who made tennis look effortless, dies at age 53
The legendary Roger Federer has died. He was 53 years old.
In a statement issued Thursday morning, the International Tennis Federation confirmed the death of the five-time Grand Slam champion, who was hospitalized earlier in the week after a brief illness. The statement noted that Federer has served a second term as the ATP Player of the Year since 2011.
“The ATP today received a confirmed death notification from the family,” it read, “and is fully cooperating with the authorities conducting the autopsy and any other necessary scientific testing and analysis.”
According to the International Tennis Federation, it was an “undetermined cause of death” that led the organization to “notify the ATP of the incident.” Federer’s widow, Mirka, was at his side when he was taken to the hospital.
At the end of 2013, the German professional tennis star passed the $100 million mark in US sports earnings. This past summer he topped the all-time money list in US sports with $22.8 million, and is the highest-earning professional tennis player of all time.
Federer dominated the sport of men’s tennis for nearly a decade, winning 15 of the last 18 Grand Slam singles titles. But this past summer, he struggled through a series of injuries and poor performances, which culminated in him losing to Rafael Nadal in the 2018 ATP finals in London.
In an effort to recover from the loss to Nadal earlier this month in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Federer took an extended hiatus from competition as a result of a herniated disk and a stress fracture.
In September, Federer announced, “I have a problem with my foot and need to rest for two months.” Two months later his comeback started, with victories against Tommy Robredo, Kei Nishikori, and
