Late spring in 2026 must be the time for tennis immortals to return. Serena Williams announced her unretirement, and then connected with rising star Victoria Mboko to play doubles at the HSBC Championships. That won't be the last of Serena, though; she will be playing at the Berlin Open in doubles as well.
But she isn't the only legend coming back. Sort of. Roger Federer, who retired in 2022, as Serena Williams did initially, has plans to play a somewhat competitive match, but not a sanctioned event. Instead, he will form a foursome that includes Andy Roddick, John McEnroe, and Andre Agassi on August 25 to participate in "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York."
The event is part of the US Open this year, though, to be sure, an exhibition match. Days later, Federer will be enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. The player some see as arguably the best ever is going to have a busy week.
Roger Federer will return to the 2026 US Open to play a high-end exhibition match
What isn't completely clear is whether the exhibition match will take place in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The main draw of the final major of the year doesn't begin until Sunday, August 30, but qualifying will be happening during the time the Federer match is scheduled. That said, qualifying shouldn't disrupt a match on Arthur Ashe involving four all-time great players.
Lots of other events will occur at the US Open the same week, but many of those have not been announced. How big a role Roger Federer plays in the tournament overall isn't fully known either, though expectations should be high that he has some involvement.
The Swiss great has been retired for nearly four years, but he remains one of the best ambassadors of the sport. His Q rating is also higher than most professional tennis players, which works well to help sell the sport.
Federer last played the US Open in 2019, and he won the major five times, which all happened consecutively, from 2004 through 2008. Between the Australian Open in 204 through the same event in 2010, Federer reached at least the semifinals of every Grand Slam except for one. He missed reaching the final only four total times. He won 15 titles in those 25 majors.
In total, Roger Federer won 20 Grand Slam titles. That is the third-most all-time, just behind Novak Djokovic's 24 and Rafael Nadal's 22.
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