When Roger Federer retired in 2022, one question followed him everywhere: What comes next? Among the many possibilities, coaching was a very doable idea. However, Federer made it clear that coaching doesn’t appeal to him. Fast forward to now, as he is back at Rod Laver Arena, he seems to have changed his mind.

“Never say never! Despite being very busy – I have four children – now the chance is zero. But (Stefan) Edberg said the same thing,” the 20x Grand Slam winner said, referencing the Swedish great who later became his coach.

The Swiss Maestro responded to Sebastian Varela of Clay, who asked the 44-year-old whether he could ever see himself training Joao Fonseca. On Thursday, Federer made his return to Melbourne Park, six years after playing his last match in Rod Laver Arena, and was quite honest in his opinions about the Brazilian.

“You don’t want to be the third guy. You want to be the guy,” Federer said after being asked whether the Brazilian could become the third name challenging the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. “For anybody… I would think, hopefully, that’s what he’s thinking. Of course, you don’t want to get carried away and think too far ahead.”

Seemingly, Federer has been following the teenager for quite some time as he noted down powerful forehand, backhand, and a strong serve as his strengths.

Indeed, Joao Fonseca’s rise has been nothing short of rapid. Ranked outside the top 100, he won the Canberra Challenger and qualified for the Australian Open last year. In his Grand Slam main-draw debut, he shocked No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev and later picked up his first tour title in Buenos Aires. The success kept coming.

He went on to win the ATP 500 in Basel and captured the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals. The Brazilian teen also climbed as high as world No. 24 before slipping slightly to No. 30.

Praising Fonseca’s presence, Federer added, “He’s exciting. He has a good aura. I feel like he’s a very likeable character as well. I like watching him play.”

While he still likes being connected to the sport, another place where Federer’s name has popped up is as world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz’s next head coach. He parted ways with his longtime coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, last year after a reported fallout between the latter and his father.

Nevertheless, while the 44-year-old didn’t give a concrete response on taking up the coaching role, he has often addressed the coaching speculations in the past.

Roger Federer’s bold coaching confession

Four years ago, when Roger Federer hung up his racket, speculation began almost immediately about his coaching debut. After all, several legends before him: Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, and John McEnroe, had successfully made that transition. That same year, during a visit to a tennis clinic in Tokyo, Federer was met with similar curiosity from fans. His response was clear:

“I don’t see myself coaching,” he said at the time. “If a junior comes around and needs some support or advice, I’m happy to do that.”

Fast forward to Thursday at Rod Laver Arena, and the question resurfaced, this time with a new name attached. So while Federer hasn’t completely closed the door on coaching, for now, fans are left holding onto his familiar refrain: never say never.

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