Federer gives Wimbledon update amid injury woes as Djokovic and Murray make huge changes

Federer gives heartbreaking Wimbledon update as injury recovery continues

Roger Federer has been out of action since Wimbledon last year, announcing he was undergoing his third knee surgery in under two years shortly after crashing out of his most successful Grand Slam in the quarter-finals.

He is yet to return to the court and has given sporadic updates on his progress – and is now set to return to training on the tennis court for the first time this week by hitting with his wife, former pro Mirka Federer.

While it’s good news in his recovery, both Federer and his coach Severin Luthi admitted last week that the eight-time Wimbledon champion was unlikely to return to SW19 this year, casting doubt over whether the 40-year-old would ever be back at the All England Club again.

“At the moment I don’t see how he should play in Wimbledon either. I’m not the one who says ‘impossible’. But I can’t imagine it right now,” Luthi told Tages Anzeiger.

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At the weekend, Federer attended the Super G Alpine Ski World Cup in Switzerland moments from his home and also issued an update, echoing his coach’s worries that Wimbledon would be too soon for a comeback.

He explained: “Currently I’m in three parts. First the whole rehab, getting back on your feet at the beginning. Then afterwards learning to walk and building up the whole thing.

“It’s only now where I’m at the phase where I can start thinking about my comeback. I had a very good MRI a few weeks ago, which makes me feel very positive.”

The 20-time Grand Slam champion has already announced his participation in September’s Laver Cup at the O2 Arena and indicated that he would be ready in time for the Ryder Cup-style team event he co-founded as he targeted a return period.

“It will certainly be a while. The end of the summer, early autumn, where I’m aiming for a comeback,” he added.

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Murray reunites with super-coach Lendl

Andy Murray has faced some difficulty replacing his coach of five years Jamie Delgado after the British duo split in the off-season.

He trialled German coach Jan De Witt but did not extend their partnership after a disappointing early exit at the Australian Open, and was temporarily joined by his former mentor Dani Vallverdu – who is the full-time coach of Stan Wawrinka – in Doha and Dubai recently.

But he has now announced a reunion with eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl, who previously coached the 34-year-old from 2011-2014 and 2016-2017. Murray was teamed up with Lendel for all three of his Grand Slam wins, both Olympic gold medals and his ascent to world No 1.

With Murray already confirming he will skip the clay-court swing this year, the three-time Grand Slam champion will stay in Miami after the Masters 1000 tournament later this month to compete a training block with Lendl ahead of the grass-court season, with Wimbledon in his sights.

Svitolina and Yastremska play for something bigger

Ukrainian tennis aces Elina Svitolina and Dayana Yastremska were both in action this week, in Monterrey and Lyon respectively.

The latter had fled her home of Ukraine with her sister, leaving their parents behind after Russia invaded their home country.

She made it all the way to Sunday’s final in Lyon before losing to Zhang Shuai, saying in her trophy ceremony: “The prize money I won here, I’m going to give to the Ukrainian foundation to support Ukraine.

“And if Ukrainian people are watching me, I wanna say you guys are so strong, you have an amazing spirit and I tried to fight for Ukraine and I wanna say thanks to every single person from Ukraine for standing by Ukraine and show the people that we have a really strong spirit.”

Meanwhile, Svitolina started her week in Mexico by refusing to play any Russian or Belarusian player – including her first-round opponent Anastasia Potapova – unless the WTA made them neutral athletes.

After the ATP, WTA, ITF and four Grand Slams announced their decision to make all players from both countries compete neutrally without mention of their respective countries or flags, the former world No 3 took to the court and won through 6-2 6-1 before eventually losing in the quarters.

“Today it was a very special match for me. I’m in a very sad mood, but I’m happy that I’m playing tennis here. I was focused. I was on a mission for my country. From the beginning, it was important to be ready for anything that comes my way,” she said after her first-round win over Potapova.