Tennis fans have been treated to some welcome news about Roger Federer after the Swiss legend was a confirmed entrant at the Madrid Open.
Tournament organisers announced on Tuesday that Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are all on the official entry list for the Masters 1000 event.
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While entry lists can often be affected by withdrawals, it will be the first time since the 2020 Australian Open 15 months ago that the ‘Big 3’ will be at the same tournament together.
However Serbian media has previously reported that Djokovic may not play in Madrid.
The World No.1 is the defending champion at the May 2-9 event, which serves as a key warm-up tournament for the French Open.
For Federer, it will be the 20-time grand slam champion’s first tournament since playing in Doha last month.
That event was Federer’s first in 14 months after his 2020 season was derailed by two knee surgeries.
Fans were in a frenzy over the prospect of seeing Federer back in action, as well as the fact it means he’s likely to play at Roland Garros.
The entirety of the men’s top-10 are on the Madrid entrant list, with Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Diego Schwartzman, and Matteo Berrettini all named.
Serena Williams won’t play Madrid Open
However it’s a different story on the women’s side, with Serena Williams a notable absentee.
The 23-time grand slam champion won’t be playing in Madrid amid an ugly controversy surrounding tournament director Ion Tiriac.
Earlier this year the controversial Romanian billionaire suggested Williams was overweight, out of shape, and too old to compete at the highest level.
“At this age and the weight she is now, she does not move as easily as she did 15 years ago,” he said in January.
“Serena was a sensational player. If she had a little decency, she would retire.”
The comments were widely condemned by fans and angered Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian.
“Safe to say no one gives a damn what Ion Țiriac thinks,” he tweeted at the time, labelling Tiriac a “sexist clown”.
Others described Tiriac’s comments as “disgusting” and “offensive”.
The furore reared its ugly head again at the Australian Open in February when Ohanian celebrated a win by his wife by again taking aim at Tiriac.
“Good thing no one listens to that racist sexist (clown emoji) Ion Tiriac,” Ohanian wrote.
Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep have all been named to play.
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