Roger Federer played on Arthur Ashe Stadium Tuesday for the first time since 2019, in an exhibition alongside Andy Roddick, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi. He beat Roddick 6 to 3 in singles, then partnered McEnroe to take the doubles 7 to 5.
Asked afterward about a comeback, he did not leave room for interpretation. No, no, no, no. Not at all.
Why That Stadium Specifically
Arthur Ashe is the largest tennis stadium in the world, seating nearly 24,000, and it is a genuinely difficult place to play. The scale swallows sound, the wind moves unpredictably at that height, and players have described feeling isolated in the middle of it.
Federer’s last competitive appearance there in 2019 was not a farewell anyone planned. He retired in 2022 at the Laver Cup in London, in doubles with Rafael Nadal, which was a beautiful ending and not an American one. This closes a loop that had been left open.
The Four Men on the Court
Between them they have 34 major singles titles and a substantial share of American tennis history. Agassi and McEnroe are icons of separate eras. Roddick was the last American man to win a major, in 2003 at this tournament.
That last fact is the uncomfortable one and everybody in the building knows it. Twenty three years is a long drought for a country that once produced champions continuously.
Federer and Roddick Specifically
Their rivalry was one of the defining relationships of the 2000s and it was extremely lopsided. Federer won 21 of their 24 meetings, including four major finals, three at Wimbledon.
Roddick has spoken candidly for years about being the player who arrived at exactly the wrong moment in history. A 6 to 3 exhibition result twenty years later is a joke both of them are in on.
Why He Keeps Getting Asked
Because retired athletes come back constantly, and because Federer at 45 still moves in a way that makes the question seem reasonable to people watching.
The answer is the same as it was and the reason is his knee. He had multiple surgeries and his own account of the end was that the knee simply would not permit the training required to compete. Exhibition tennis and tour tennis are different sports in that respect.
The Hall of Fame Is Saturday
He is being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame this weekend, which explains the timing of the New York appearance. First ballot induction for a player with 20 major titles is a formality in the best sense.
What the ceremony will actually be about is the era. Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic between them defined roughly two decades, and this is the first of those inductions.
Why Exhibitions Are Suddenly Everywhere
They make money and they carry no risk. Legends events sell tickets to people who want to see names they grew up with, and nobody’s ranking suffers.
For tournaments they solve a scheduling problem, filling a session with something that draws a crowd. Expect more of them, not fewer, and expect the line between exhibition and competition to keep blurring. Sports has produced plenty of institutional stories this month that had nothing to do with the games, including the Jed York arrest.
What He Has Been Doing Instead
Retirement for an athlete at his level is mostly a business question, and he answered it early. He has commercial relationships, a stake in a footwear company, and the Laver Cup, which he co founded and which has become a permanent fixture on the calendar.
He has also been unusually visible as a spectator, turning up at Wimbledon and at other players’ matches without making it about himself. That is a harder trick than it sounds, and several of his contemporaries have not managed it.
What This Means for the Tournament
The US Open is underway, and an evening with four legends is a promotional asset the tournament used well. It also creates an awkward comparison, because the exhibition may generate more affection than most of the actual matches this week.
That is the tension in tennis right now. The current generation is genuinely excellent and it has not produced anything resembling the Federer and Nadal relationship, which was as much about the two men as about the tennis.
One more thing worth saying about the result itself, which nobody should take too seriously and which is not nothing either. Federer at 45 beat a man four years his junior who was himself a world number one, in front of a full stadium, without appearing to strain.
Exhibition tennis is played at maybe seventy percent and both men know the assignment. But movement is the first thing to go and his has not gone, which is precisely why the comeback question keeps being asked despite the answer never changing.
The knee is the answer. It permits an evening. It does not permit the six hour practice weeks and best of five sets across a fortnight that a major requires, and he has been consistent about that distinction since the day he stopped.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Roger Federer play at the US Open?
He played an exhibition on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, not a tournament match. It was his first appearance on that court since 2019.
Who else played?
Andy Roddick, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi. Federer beat Roddick 6 to 3 in singles and paired with McEnroe to win the doubles 7 to 5.
Is he making a comeback?
No. Asked directly, he said no four times and added not at all. He retired in 2022 following multiple knee surgeries.
When did he retire?
In 2022 at the Laver Cup in London, playing doubles with Rafael Nadal in his final match.
What is happening Saturday?
He is being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which is why he was in the United States this week.
What was his record against Roddick?
Federer won 21 of their 24 professional meetings, including four major finals, three of them at Wimbledon.
