Roger Federer withdraws from ATP Cup citing personal reasons

Roger Federer has announced that he will not be participating in the inaugural ATP Cup tournament which will be taking place in January, 2020. Federer, in an announcement via his Facebook page, cited family and personal reasons for the withdrawal. 

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'Right thing for the long run'

Federer, in the statement, said, "It is with great regret that I am withdrawing from the inaugural ATP Cup event. When I entered the event last month, it was a really difficult decision because it meant less time at home with the family and a fully intense start to the season. After much discussion with both my family and my team about the year ahead, I have decided that the extra two weeks at home will be beneficial for both my family and my tennis. It pains me to not be a part of the most exciting new event on the calendar, but this is the right thing to do if I want to continue to play for a longer period of time on the ATP Tour."

ATP Cup will be played for the first time between January 3 and January 12 next year. The tournament will be played in a team format and not individually. The tournament will take place in three Australian cities - Brisbane, Sydney, and Perth.

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The Swiss player also apologised to the fans for not being a part of the tournament and said that he will be seeing them in the first Grand Slam of the year - Australian Open, which is usually played in the second half of the month. He said, "I am sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment my withdrawal may cause for the fans, but I hope you can understand why I made it. For my Australian fans, I look forward to seeing you all at the Australian Open, fresh and ready to go."

Federer's withdrawal means that Switzerland will no longer participate in the tournament. The rules state that if the number one player of a country that qualified at the first entry deadline withdraws before the second entry deadline, the team is withdrawn from the top 18 countries unless the ranking of its number two player qualifies the team in the Top 18. Switzerland's next-highest-ranked player who committed to play the event at the first entry deadline was Henri Laaksonen, who was ranked No. 110 at the time.

Tuesday's announcement is Federer's second withdrawal in as many days since on Monday, he announced that he will not be playing in the Paris Masters in order to spend more time with his family. The rest will help the legendary player to prepare well in the lead-up to the ATP Finals in November. Federer won a staggering 103rd ATP title and his 10th Swiss Indoors Open title on Sunday.

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