Roger Federer Withdraws from Dubai Championship due to Knee injury

Cairo – 20 February 2020: Defending champion Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after undergoing knee surgery in Switzerland on Wednesday.

Federer made a public statement on Twitter and revealed that he will be missing Dubai, Indian Wells tournament and the French Open. "My right knee has been bothering me for a little while, I hoped it would go away, but after an examination and discussion with my team, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday," He wrote.

"After the procedure, doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and very confident of full recovery. As a result, I will, unfortunately, miss Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota, Miami, and French Open. I am grateful for everyone's support. I cannot wait to be back playing again soon, see you on the grass," he added.

“We are very disappointed that Roger Federer, our defending champion, has been forced to withdraw from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this year,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free. “His victory here last year, the 100th title of his career, was a significant milestone, and he went on to enjoy another outstanding season. We wish him well in his recovery and look forward to not only watching his progress during the rest of the season but welcoming him back to Dubai in 2021.”

Tournament Director Salah Tahlak added, “We wish Roger Federer the very best, and despite this news, we still have a fantastic field including world number 1 and Wimbledon and Australian Open Champion Novak Djokovic and last year’s finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas as well as Gael Monfils to name a few. In the meantime, WTA week is going very well with great crowds at last night’s match to see top seed Simona Halep play Tunisian Wild Card Ons Jabeur.”

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The tournament continues with the WTA event until 22nd February and is then followed between 24th and 29th February by the ATP tournament which features Wimbledon and Australian Open champion and world number 1 Novak Djokovic, ATP Finals winner Stefanos Tsitsipas, 2020 Rotterdam and Montpellier champion Gael Monfils and 2018 Dubai winner Roberto Bautista Agut.