Tennis: Tickets to see Roger Federer's final match reach absurd price after retirement news

Roger Federer will face off against fierce rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in his final event. Photo / AP

Tickets for next week's Laver Cup in London have skyrocketed to nearly £60,000 (NZ$114,424) after Roger Federer announced it as his final competitive appearance.

The 20-time major champion's retirement news was not completely unexpected due to his age and knee injuries, but the confirmation sent shockwaves across the sport. It has also made his final appearance, at London's O2 Arena next week, the hottest ticket in world sport.

Less than an hour after Federer's announcement, the ticket site was experiencing lengthy queues for the few seats remaining. Tickets in the stands closest to the court for the weekend sessions of the three-day event were being resold on Stubhub for as much as £23,900, and by Friday night had reached £59,000.

Although the event – billed as the Ryder Cup of tennis – is arguably a glorified exhibition, it has proved popular with fans who get a rare opportunity to see their favourite players on a team together.

Even before Federer's retirement news, this year's event was set to be groundbreaking as the so-called Big Three – Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal – as well as three-time grand-slam champion Andy Murray signed up to represent Team Europe together for the first time.

It will mark the final event Federer plays and his official farewell to tennis. But his retirement announcement suggested that we have not yet seen the last of him in the sport, as he wrote: "I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in grand slams or on the tour."

Exhibition events will likely form a part of his future. Federer has organised many exhibition matches throughout his career, using it as a big earner, but also as a form of philanthropy, raising millions for his Roger Federer Foundation, which aims to provide education opportunities for children across Africa and in his native Switzerland.

Twice he has organised events in front of world-record crowds, including most recently in 2020 when he and Nadal played an exhibition in Cape Town that drew a 51,954-strong audience and raised $3.5 million.

Federer is set up for a comfortable retirement regardless, as he has been one of the most marketable sportsmen in the world throughout his career. In this year's Forbes Athlete Rich List, Federer ranked seventh with earnings of $90.7 million despite the fact he has not played a competitive match since June 2021.