The celebration at home in Basel will have a very special meaning and is now too short for me after London,” Federer said in a statement published by Blick.ch. I’ve been trying to process everything that’s happened lately. “I would like to thank the Swiss Indoors for their willingness to welcome me in Basel this year. The 41-year-old ends his career with 103 ATP titles and has spent 310 weeks as world No.1. In a statement issued, Federer explained that he has decided not to attend this year because he is still trying to process recent events in his life. He was also a ball boy at the tournament in 1993 which was five years before he made his ATP Tour debut.

Federer has won the Basel title a record 10 times and was runner-up on five other occasions. The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who officially retired from tennis last month, had been invited to attend his home tournament which would have marked his record-breaking career in some capacity.