“This ground gave me my biggest wins and my biggest losses. I hope I can come back one more time,” Federer told the crowd, absent from this year’s main draw for the first time since 1998 due to of an injury.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who turns 41 next month, was among a number of former winners who took part in a parade around the famous arena.
“I missed it here. I knew walking here last year it was going to be a tough year ahead. Maybe I didn’t think it would take this long to come back – the knee has been hard me, he said.
During his illustrious career, Federer has become synonymous with Wimbledon.
He heralded his arrival as a world-class player in 2001, knocking out the great Pete Sampras, and went on to dominate at the peak of his powers, winning it eight times.
“I had the chance to play a lot of matches on this ground,” he added. “It’s awkward to be here in a different role. It’s great to be here with all the other champions.”
The Swiss great is preparing for his comeback, confirming earlier this year that he will play at the Laver Cup in September and the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, Switzerland in October.
“It’s been a good year, regardless of tennis… I’m happy to be here right now,” he said.
