Roger Federer’s biographer has lifted the lid on the role that wife Mirka plays in his decision-making process, in a telling insight into how she might have affected his choice to retire from tennis.

Federer left the tennis world devastated last week when he revealed he will walk away from the sport after the Laver Cup – starting on September 23.

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The 41-year-old hasn’t played since a fourth round loss at Wimbledon in 2021, subsequently undergoing a third knee surgery and missing more than a year of action.

The Swiss legend was originally supposed to play the Laver Cup before also hitting the court at the Swiss Indoors in Basel next month for his first official ATP event since the surgery.

He had also expressed his desire to play at Wimbledon one more time next year, but recent reports emerged that his knee hadn’t responded well to training – forcing him to announce that he will retire after the Laver Cup.

Speaking recently, Federer’s biographer Rene Stauffer lifted the lid on how wife Mirka would have heavily influenced his plans to return to tennis after such a long time away – as well as his decision to retire.

“She is the person who supports everything, who takes care of her children’s education, something that Roger now takes care of very conscientiously,” Stauffer told Clay Magazine.

“The most important point is that when she says ‘Roger, enough with tennis, don’t try it anymore, take care of other things’, I think he would do it to please her.

“So she is a decisive factor, and she has to be ready for him to come back, she has to support him, otherwise it’s not going to work.”