Roger Federer to be celebrated on Centre Court at Wimbledon 2023, Serena Williams declines invitation due to pregnancy

Roger Federer’s career is set to be celebrated on the second day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Serena Williams, meanwhile, has declined the invitation due to pregnancy.

Federer, who retired from tennis last year, will be present at SW19 on Tuesday, July 4. He will be honored on the Centre Court before the Day 2 play begins. The Swiss has been SW19's most successful men’s player so far with an impressive eight singles titles to his name, on the back of 12 final appearances.

On Monday, July 3, the All England Club's chief executive Sally Bolton shed light on the impending ceremony.

“I’m pleased to say that Roger will be with us tomorrow and we will have a special celebratory moment on Centre Court before play starts, just to honor him as the man holding the most gentlemen’s singles titles here,” Bolton said on Monday.

“We’ll have a moment just to celebrate his achievements and to say thank you for all the memories,” she added.

Roger Federer's legacy is intertwined with the Wimbledon Championships. The tournament is Federer's most successful Grand Slam event. He clinched the first of his 20 Grand Slam titles at SW19 in 2003.

It is worth noting that the eight-time champion featured in seven consecutive Wimbledon finals between 2003 to 2009 and won five consecutive titles from 2003 to 2007. The tournament also saw him feature in his career's last Major final in 2019.

While Federer drew curtains on his tennis career at the Laver Cup in September 2022, he played the final official match of his career against Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2021.

---

"Maybe we might see her next year" - Sally Bolton on being unable to celebrate Serena Williams and Roger Federer together at Wimbledon

Roger Federer (L) and Serena Williams (R) in 2012.

Serena Williams, who also retired from tennis in September 2022, was also expected to be honored by the All England Club at the ongoing Wimbledon Championships. The seven-time winner, however, declined the invitation due to her pregnancy.

Sally Bolton gave her best wishes to Serena and stated that the organizers will look forward to seeing her in 2024.

“We invited Serena similarly this year but as you’ll know she’s pregnant so understandably couldn’t travel. We of course wish her lots of luck with the remainder of her pregnancy and we hope maybe we might see her next year,” Bolton said.