The Roger and Friends Celebrity Doubles Match is scheduled to take place on October 10th, coinciding with the Shanghai Masters, which begins on September 29th. The 20-time Grand Slam champion is set to play with Zheng Jie, who reached a ranking high of 15th on the WTA Tour and advanced to the semi-finals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon during her career. Also taking part will be footballer Zheng Jie, who currently ranks inside the top 10 for most appearances for his country in international football with 99 caps. Completing the line-up will be actor and film-maker Donnie Yen.
“Hello, this is Roger, and I am really happy to be returning to Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai for the Rolex Shanghai Masters,” the former world No.1 said in a promotional video published on Sunday.
“Shanghai has always been a special place for me, with great fans, unforgettable memories, and a real love for the game.”
During his playing career, Federer won two out of his 28 Masters 1000 titles in Shanghai. He beat Gilles Simon in 2014 to win his first trophy before triumphing again three years later, beating Rafael Nadal in the final. He was also the runner-up in 2010.
Details about the upcoming exhibition match are currently limited. No information has been issued about whether the event will be raising money for any charities or organisations. Nevertheless, the addition of Federer is a massive boost for the organisers of the event, considering he hasn’t played many events such as this since retiring in 2022.
Federer won 1251 matches on the ATP Tour, claiming a total of 103 titles. He still holds the record for the most consecutive weeks spent at No.1 in the ATP rankings (237), and his overall tally is 310 weeks. Furthermore, Federer holds the records for most titles won at events in Basel (10), Halle (10), Wimbledon (8) and Cincinnati (7).
