Roger Federer receives lengthy standing ovation on return to US Open

Roger Federer on Tuesday returned to the Arthur Ashe Stadium, one of many famous tennis venues around the world that the Swiss had made his own in his glittering career. Federer, who retired from the sport in September 2022, was at Flushing Meadows for the evening session of the day at the US Open featuring a women’s singles quarter-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen and a men’s singles quarter-final between Grigor Dimitrov and Frances Tiafoe.
Federer was at the season-ending Grand Slam after appearing on the Today show where he spoke about the doping-related controversy around Italian World No.1 Jannik Sinner. He received a warm ovation from spectators in Arthur Ashe Stadium when he was introduced to the crowd during the second set of the US Open quarterfinal between Sabalenka and Zheng.
Federer won five consecutive US Open titles between 2004 and 2008. He remains the last man to have won consecutive titles in Flushing Meadows. He also reached the final in 2009 and 2015 and holds an overall record of 89 wins and 14 losses at the US Open. The former World No.1’s last US Open appearance came in 2019 where he reached the quarterfinals.
This was the first time that the 20-time Grand Slam champion visited the venue since he hung up his boots. Federer announced his retirement in 2022; he played his last official match at Wimbledon the year before.
Federer said that inconsistency in handing out doping punishments seems to be an issue of concern as he voiced his opinion on the doping controversy around Sinner. The Italian away without a ban despiting testing positive twice for the banned substance clostebol.
Among the most common criticism directed at the authorities over the situation is that Sinner was allowed to play in competitions despite being under trial. Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill highlighted the disparity in resources available to top-ranked players like Sinner compared to lower-ranked athletes, noting that Sinner’s team was able to afford expert legal representation and scientific analysis to support his case.
Federer, who won 20 Grand Slams in a glittering career, also addressed the concerns about the fairness of the process. “I understand the frustration of, ‘Has he been treated the same as others? And I think this is where it comes down to. I think we all trust pretty much that Jannik didn’t do anything, but the inconsistency potentially that he didn’t have to sit out while they weren’t 100 percent sure what was going on, I think that’s the question here that needs to be answered. But look, it is what it is, and we need to trust the process as well of anyone involved here,” he said.