"Proof that he’s not actually retired and it was all a prank and he’s actually going to win AO23" - Roger Federer fans ecstatic after spotting the Swiss maestro back on the tennis courts

On September 15, Roger Federer shocked the tennis world by announcing that the 2022 Laver Cup would be the last professional tournament of his 24-year-long glorious career.

On September 23, the first day of the exhibition tournament, the Swiss legend teamed up with long-time rival and friend Rafael Nadal for Team Europe and faced Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock of Team World. Despite winning the first set and having a match point in the super tie-break, Federer and Nadal came up short.

Federer later revealed that he had informed Nadal about his plans a few days before telling the world. The Spaniard was originally set to miss the event in order to fully recover from his abdominal injury.

Yanik Kaelin of Switzerland recently shared a photograph of himself with Federer on a tennis court as both players held racquets in their hands. Fans who were still emotional about the Swiss leaving the sport took to Twitter to hypothesize what the picture meant.

"Proof that he’s not actually retired and it was all a prank and he’s actually going to win AO23," a fan tweeted.

"He can't stay away from the court," a user wrote.

"Australian Open preparation continues for Federer Yes I'm still in denial," another tweet read.

Here are a few more reactions:

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"My retirement could not have been more peRFect" - Roger Federer

Roger Federer acknowledging the fans after his last match

The 2022 Laver Cup marked the first instance when Team World, captained by John McEnroe, defeated Team Europe, captained by Bjorn Borg, in five editions of the tournament.

A few days after the event ended, Roger Federer took to social media to state that although he lost his last singles match, doubles match, and his job, he thought that his retirement could not have been "more peRFect."

"We all hope for a fairytale ending," Roger Federer said. "Here's how mine went: Lost my last singles. Lost my last doubles. Lost my last team event. Lost my voice during the week. Lost my job. But still, my retirement could not have been more peRFect and I'm so happy with how everything went. So don't overthink that perfect ending, yours will always be amazing in your own way."

The Swiss icon has been struggling with a knee injury for nearly three years. His last singles match came against Hubert Hukacz of Poland in the 2021 Wimbledon quarterfinals. Hurkacz beat Federer 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0.