Roger Federer Overview and Detailed Timeline History by Era

Roger Federer is a Swiss former professional tennis player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, having won 20 Grand Slam singles titles and held the world No. 1 ranking for 310 weeks. Known for his effortless playing style and versatile shot-making, he revolutionized the sport during a career that spanned over two decades from 1998 to 2022. 

Wimbledon 2007
Won by Roger Federer for the fifth consecutive time, a feat only before achieved in the Open Era by Björn Borg.

Career Overview Statistics

Won by Roger Federer for the 5th time

According to ATP Tour statistics, Federer concluded his career with the following major achievements:

Federer concluded his career with the following major achievements

Detailed Timeline by Era

1. Early Career & Breakthrough (1998–2002)

Federer transitioned from a dominant junior—finishing 1998 as the world No. 1 junior—to a rising star on the ATP Tour. 

  • 1998: Turned professional; won Wimbledon junior singles and doubles titles.
  • 1999: Youngest player to finish the year in the Top 100 (ranked 64th).
  • 2001: Won first ATP title in Milan; defeated 7-time champion Pete Sampras at Wimbledon to reach his first major quarter-final.
  • 2002: Won first Masters title in Hamburg and entered the world Top 10 for the first time. 

2. Peak Dominance Era (2003–2007) 

This period marked Federer’s absolute peak, where he reached all four Grand Slam finals in a single calendar year twice (2006, 2007). 

  • 2003: Won first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and his first Year-End Championship.
  • 2004: Won three of four majors (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open) and became world No. 1 on 2 February.
  • 2006: Career-best season with a 92–5 record, reaching all four major finals and winning three.
  • 2007: Defended three major titles and beat Rafael Nadal to win his fifth consecutive Wimbledon. 

3. The Rivalry Era & Career Slam (2008–2012)

Federer faced intense competition from the emergence of the “Big Four” (Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray). 

  • 2008: Battled mononucleosis; won fifth consecutive US Open; won Olympic Gold in doubles with Stan Wawrinka.
  • 2009: Won first French Open to complete the Career Grand Slam; passed Sampras’ record with a 15th major at Wimbledon.
  • 2010: Won fourth Australian Open.
  • 2012: Won 7th Wimbledon title and Olympic Silver in singles; reclaimed world No. 1 to break the record for total weeks at the top. 

4. Injury Struggles & Renaissance (2013–2019)

After several years plagued by back and knee injuries, Federer staged a remarkable late-career comeback. 

  • 2014: Led Switzerland to its first Davis Cup title.
  • 2016: Underwent first knee surgery; missed the second half of the season for recovery.
  • 2017: Returned after a 6-month hiatus to win the Australian Open (defeating Nadal) and a record 8th Wimbledon title.
  • 2018: Won 20th Grand Slam at the Australian Open; became the oldest No. 1 in history at age 36.
  • 2019: Won 100th career title in Dubai; reached 12th Wimbledon final. 

5. Final Years & Retirement (2020–2022)

Persistent knee issues eventually forced the conclusion of his competitive career. 

  • 2020–21: Underwent multiple knee surgeries; reached Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2021 as the oldest man in the Open Era to do so.
  • 2022: Officially retired on 23 September at the Laver Cup in London, playing his final match in doubles alongside long-time rival and friend Rafael Nadal.

Roger Federer Overview and Detailed Timeline History by Era

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Author: Mark Whitfield

Welcome to my site! After graduating in Computing in 1990, I accepted a position as a programmer at a Runcorn based software house specialising in electronic banking software, namely sp/ARCHITECT-BANK on Tandem Computers (now HPE NonStop). This was before the internet became more prevalent and so the notion of enabling desktop access to company accounts for inter-account transfers and book keeping was still quite a cutting edge idea (and smartphones only ever hinted at in Space 1999). The company was called The Software Partnership (which was taken over by Deluxe Data in 1994). I spent 5 years in Runcorn developing code for SP/ARCHITECT for various banks like TSB, Bank of Scotland, Rabobank and Girofon (Denmark) to name but a few. I then moved onto a software house in Salford Quays for further bank facing projects. After a further 23 years in the IT industry and now a Senior IT Project Manager (both Agile and Waterfall delivery), I thought I would echo out my Career Profile in this corner of the internet for quick and easy access.

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