How Roger Federer Has Defied Age and Stayed On Top

When Roger Federer eventually retires he will no doubt be considered as the greatest tennis player to ever have graced a court. The stats don’t lie and taking Grand Slams alone, Federer has won more than any other player in history with 20, which is no mean feat considering he has played in the generation of Djokovic and Nadal. Indeed if you look at bookmakers odds at a site like Novibet for the coming year, Federer is 2nd and 3rd favorite for every Grand Slam, despite the fact that he has just turned 38. So How Roger Federer Has Defied Age and Stayed On Top? Let’s take a look.

Trimming the Calendar

Just after he turned 34 Federer began winding down many of the events which he had played in the past, and instead focusing his efforts on between 12-14 tournaments per year. This change has helped the Swiss player to look after his body better, allow more time for recovery after tournaments and ensure that he is at his best for the biggest competitions.

Early Training Regime

In the early days, Federer played the game very differently and his shot preparation was very different indeed. That all changed when he began working with physio Pierre Paganini, who helped Federer to get a much more fluid shot style, especially on the backhand, which both improved his shotmaking and reduced the toll that his shots would take on the body. They may not have known this at the time but these changes have drastically helped Federer in the last couple of years.

Working Smarter, Not Harder

When Federer burst onto the scene he was a strong baseline player who would use his fitness and strength to bully players. Over the years this has been something that had to change as it just wasn’t possible to continue with this aggressive and high energy style. Federer has transformed into an all-court specialist who picks shots well and comes to the net to deliver killer volleys. Federer has worked with Stefan Edberg to improve his volleying and he now uses his range of shot selection to minimize how much he needs to move.

His Greatness

Whilst Federer has taken advantage of modern medicine and smart trainers to help him achieve longevity in his career, he doesn’t have a particular recipe which any other player could use. The reason for this is that he is one of the greatest players to have played the game and also one of the smartest. Because of the sheer ability he has played fewer games than many, with straight-set victories rather than long and drawn-out games, he is smart enough to not have to move as much on the court and his serving ability alone has helped him to rack up big points with little effort.

Federer could easily keep going until he is 40!