Roger Federer's announcement not to compete in the remainder of 2020 to fully recover from the injury he is dragging in his right knee will not only affect the ATP circuit, which will lose one of its great figures on its return after the coronavirus pandemic, It will also have an impact on the Swiss sports performance.
Federer's position in the ATP ranking will be greatly diminished, since he will not be able to defend a good part of the 6,630 points he currently holds in the classification. Below we review the points that Federer could lose due to his injury.
Will retain Indian Wells and Miami points
Federer will not be able to defend the great results achieved last year in the first American hard court tour, where he added 600 points as finalists of the Indian Wells Masters 1,000 and 1,000 as champion of the Miami Masters. However, Federer will not lose these 1,600 points, as both the Indian Wells and the Miami Masters have been canceled in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic.
Could lose more than 1,000 points on clay
The Swiss could lose more than 1,000 points on clay. Federer defended 180 points at the Madrid Masters, 180 at the Rome Masters and 720 as Roland Garros semifinalist. The Parisian major is the only appointment that currently has a fixed date, while you will have to wait to see when Madrid and Rome are played … if they are finally celebrated.
Will save 1,700 points on grass
As with the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1,000, Federer will also retain the 500 points earned as champion in Halle and the 1,200 points as Wimbledon finalist last season. The reason for this retention is that both Halle and Wimbledon have canceled their 2020 editions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Yes you will lose points on fast track
Where it does seem like Federer will lose points on the end-of-season fast track tour. The Swiss will lose 90 points at the Cincinnati Masters 1,000, 360 at the US Open, 180 at the Shanghai Masters 1,000 and 500 as champion of the Basel Tournament. To this we must add the 400 points collected in the Nitto ATP Finals.
Total balance
If we count the 1,600 points of Indian Wells and Miami and the 1,700 of the grass tour and the 720 that he has added this season at the Australian Open, Roger Federer would keep 4,020 points in the ATP ranking and lose 2,610 points in tournaments that he will not be able to play in the 2020 season. In this way, Federer will have to wait to re-opt for a number 1 of the ATP ranking that he has not held since June 25, 2018, when he won the title on the grass of Sttugart before giving it up a week later in favor of Rafa Nadal.