Do you know the worst athlete joke of the year?
Says a superstar to the rest of the world: I don't like throwing or hitting balls anymore, I'm breaking up.
The sports world is then shaken, at least until it gets the punch line delivered a few weeks later.
Ätsch, says the superstar, I didn't mean it that way, I'll keep going, haha.
Football star Tom Brady started fooling the public in the spring, and tennis star Serena Williams now seems keen to emulate him.
Just two weeks after she said goodbye to professional tennis, the American oracled about the "really cool trend" that Brady had set.
It is worthwhile for the athletes to be mocked by the public: Usually no one in their lifetime experiences as much praise, praise and crocodile tears as after the announced farewell.
Plus, the back-and-forth keeps you connected, which is all the more important when you have something to sell like serial entrepreneurs Brady and Williams.
It's a good thing that Roger Federer doesn't need such PR jokes at the expense of others.
But what a pity that the Maestro is serious.