By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, June 8, 2026
Photo credit: Antoine Couvercelle/ROLEX
Darth Federer will light up Gotham City again.
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will return to the 2026 US Open to play a doubles exhibition.
The five-time US Open champion Federer will play a doubles exhibition night match alongside fellow former Flushing Meadows champions Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Andy Roddick. Federer famously earned the nickname “Darth Federer” among New York fans when he played US Open night matches in all-black attire.
The doubles exhibition is set for Tuesday, August 25th. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, June 11th at 9 a.m. Eastern time via Ticketmaster and USOpen.org.
Federer famously out-dueled Agassi in the 2005 US Open final.
It was Federer’s second US Open championship in a run of five consecutive Flushing Meadows crowns that ended with his upset loss to Juan Martin del Potro in a spirited 2009 final.
The Swiss superstar returned to the US Open as a fan for a 2024 night match and received a rousing and sustained standing ovation from Arthur Ashe Stadium fans.
Two days later, Federer told Tennis Now in an interview at Wilson’s flagship Manhattan store that was one of the most “beautiful” receptions he’s received reinforcing the connection he feels with New York City’s festive fans.
“I was a little bit nervous in the beginning. Because I was feeling like everyone was looking towards me and I was also worried just to see how was it going to be for me, the experience?” Federer told Tennis Now. “Because I really hadn’t been back to the US Open since I retired. So I got into the stadium and to see everyone so happy that I’m there. I’m happy they announced me very quickly because once I was in the stadium that was done. And then I could enjoy the evening.
“The ovation I got was incredible.
“You know, I love playing in New York. And I know the New York people, the New York tennis fans, know that. So that’s why I think.
“But to get an ovation like that, it’s always beautiful.
“Nowadays, I don’t get it very often anymore because I’m driving kids around doing what I’m doing.”
Expect Arthur Ashe Stadium to be rocking again when four of the US Open’s most popular men’s champion convene for the doubles exhibition.
