Former World No 1 Roger Federer will miss the Rio 2016 Olympics and also the 2016 US Open as the tennis star will miss the remainder of the ongoing season as he continues his rehabilitation for the knee surgery he underwent earlier this year.
The 34-year-old was set to represent Switzerland in the summer Olympics in Brazil. However, the latest setback has forced him to withdraw from the 2016 Rio Olympics. The 17-time Grand Slam champion came close to winning his next Grand Slam in the 2016 Wimbledon, but a defeat to Milos Raonic in the semi-final crushed his hopes.
Following the defeat at SW19, Federer admitted that he will return to Wimbledon next year. He underwent a knee surgery earlier this year and he has to undergo extensive rehabilitation in order to prolong his playing career.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Federer said, "I'm extremely disappointed to announce that I will not be able to represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Rio and that I will also miss the remainder of the season.
"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.
"However, the silver lining is that this experience has made me realize how lucky I have been throughout my career with very few injuries. The love I have for tennis, the competition, tournaments and of course you, the fans remains intact.
"I am as motivated as ever and plan to put all my energy towards coming back strong, healthy and in shape to play attacking tennis in 2017. Thanks for your continued support."
