Roger Federer has revealed he will not play in any warm-up tournaments leading up to the 2020 Australian Open.
The 38-year-old usually takes part in a warm-up event to best prepare for the hard courts in Australia.
Federer has competed at the Hopman Cup in the previous three seasons, pairing with Belinda Bencic to represent Switzerland.
Prior to that, the 20-time Grand Slam champion had competed at the Brisbane International, winning the 2014 edition.
But Federer has announced that he will not play in a tournament before the Australian Open next year.
That last time he didn’t compete in a warm-up event ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year was back in 2013, where he was knocked out in the semi-finals.
Federer was speaking at the media day for the 2019 ATP Finals where he confirmed his schedule plans.
Part of the reason Federer may have decided against playing in a warm-up tournament is due to his long list of exhibition matches.
Federer has committed to a host of exhibition matches later this month, starting immediately after the ATP Finals.
The world No 3 will first touch down in Chile before jetting off to Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and finally Ecuador.
He will then take some weeks off over Christmas to rest before taking part in a three-day exhibition in China from December 27 to 29.
The mini tournament will also see Alexander Zverev and American doubles duo Bob and Mike Bryan take part.
Federer also took the decision to pull out of the inaugural ATP Cup in Australia in early January for “family reasons”.
“After much discussion with both my family and my team about the year ahead, I have decided that the extra two weeks at home will be beneficial for both my family and my tennis,” he said last month.
“It pains me to not be a part of the most exciting new event on the calendar, but this is the right thing to do if I want to continue to play for a longer period of time on the ATP Tour.”
