Federer pulls out of season-opening ATP Cup in Australia

Roger Federer of Switzerland wipes his face during the semifinal match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. (Alexandra Wey/Keystone via AP)

SYDNEY — Roger Federer has pulled out of the inaugural ATP Cup.

Organizers wrote on Twitter that Federer withdrew “due to family reasons and therefore Switzerland has been withdrawn as a country that qualified at the first entry deadline.”

The ATP Cup will open the 2020 season in Australia from Jan. 3-12, with two four-team groups in each of Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. The Swiss were drawn into a group with Belgium, Britain and one other nation.

Eight teams from the six-day group stage advance to the knockout rounds in Sydney.

The ATP Cup joins a crowded 2020 season. It includes two other team events — the Davis Cup and Laver Cup, which the 38-year-old Federer part-owns — and the Tokyo Olympics.