London, UK - Roger Federer has confirmed he will end his glittering tennis career later this week by playing doubles only at the upcoming Laver Cup, and not singles.

Federer (41) told Swiss media in an interview the sda news agency published late Tuesday he had asked captain Björn Borg to be picked for the doubles at the team event between Europeans and athletes from the rest of the world. The competition runs Friday to Sunday in London.

"It was clear beforehand that I can't play singles," Federer said, stating this was also the reason why he wasn't ending his career at his Swiss home event in Basel next month."

"With the Laver Cup format I believe I can play the doubles on Friday night. I asked Björn Borg whether that was OK. He said it was a dream just seeing me again on a tennis court. I will give it a try," Federer said.

Athletes Lindsey Vonn to launch ski racing return in Colorado

The 20-time grand slam winner and long-time world number one player said he trained well with team member Stefanos Tsitsipas Monday and Tuesday, and was "quite surprised by my level of play."

Federer announced his retirement last week on social media in the wake of several knee operations. He last played at 2021 Wimbledon, losing in the quarter-finals of the major he won a record eight times.

Federer told sda he would "probably never" disclose the exact nature of his knee problems because "it is a private matter."

At the Laver Cup, three singles rubbers and one doubles rubber are scheduled each day.

Apart from Federer and Tsitsipas, the European team includes record grand slam winner Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Casper Ruud.

Team World is made of Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime; Argentina's Diego Schwartzman; Australia's Alex de Minaur; and the US' Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Jack Sock.