The exciting on-court battles and the endearing off-court friendship between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal defined tennis for close to two decades.
Not only did the two officially face each other 40 times, including nine Major finals, between 2004 and 2019, they also played a few exhibition events to promote the sport.
Swiss maestro Federer, a 20-time Major winner, retired after playing a farewell doubles match with Nadal at the Laver Cup 2022 in London. Last year, at the Davis Cup Finals, the Spaniard, who won 22 Grand Slams, also called it a day.
Will there be another chapter in this historic rivalry? Federer doesn’t rule out the possibility of one.
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The 44-year-old Federer recently shared that he’s open to the idea of launching a “Fedal” tour alongside Nadal.
“Yeah, why not? I love Rafa,” said Federer, 44, in an interview with CNBC. “I played four hours of tennis the other day here in San Francisco, and another hour and a half in LA before that. So I’ve been staying active, trying to stay in good shape.”
Federer believes Nadal, 39, would also be interested in the idea.
“I know Rafa is totally open to maybe playing some tennis,” he said. “It sounds terrible to call it ‘seniors tennis,’ but maybe we can create a tour—like a Fedal tour or something.”
He added that the concept aligns with the spirit behind the Laver Cup, an event Federer co-founded.
“One of the reasons I started the Laver Cup was to celebrate past greats in the game. We’ve had a version of a seniors tour before in tennis—maybe it’s time to evolve that idea.”
Published on Sep 21, 2025