Tennis icon Roger Federer has urged his three greatest rivals to ‘keep on playing forever’ so that he can continue to enjoy the sport as a fan. The 42-year-old retired in September 2022 amid emotional scenes at the Laver Cup, and bid farewell with many considering him the greatest player to have ever stepped on a court.

He made the decision after failing to fully recover from a third bout of knee surgery, leaving him unable to compete regularly on the ATP Tour.

But the three men with whom he shared many of his most intense battles, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, are all still going despite speculation over the future of the Scotsman in particular.

Murray, 37, has been tipped to bow out this year after struggling for form throughout the 2024 season. Nadal has also hinted he will not play beyond 2024, although the 38-year-old has now confirmed he’ll compete at the Paris Olympics in late July.

Djokovic meanwhile, is showing no sign of hanging up his racket. The Serbian now stands alone in the men’s record books with 23 Grand Slam titles, and at 37, was still ranked as world No.1 before being overtaken by Jannik Sinner after this month’s French Open.

And in an interview with the BBC the Swiss maestro, speaking ahead of the release of the Amazon Prime documentary Federer: Twelve Final Days, was asked about whether he felt Murray should walk away from the sport. “This is so deeply personal, retirement,” he replied.

“At that moment when you take that decision, everyone is in a completely different circumstance, family, life, body wise, mentally, whatever the state is. So, this is where only himself and is closest people can give advice.”

Federer does not want to see the three-time Slam winner leave tennis. And the same seemingly applies to Djokovic and Nadal, adding: “I hope Andy, like Novak, like Rafa can keep on playing forever. Like a fan I see it that way.”

Asked if he felt there was a point when each player knows they have to retire, he said “Of course you do, but still you want to see them out there because the tour is better with them than without them.”

Murray’s first match of the grass-court season ended in defeat by American Marcos Giron at the Stuttgart Open this week, and he has also cast doubt on his participation in Paris. The two-time gold medalist has been denied the chance to play doubles with brother Jamie due to his older sibling’s world ranking.

Many have touted SW19 as the ideal stage for him to bow out. But he’s refused to put an exact timeframe on his time left in tennis, frequently implying he would continue to play for as long as he felt he could compete against the top players.