Rank Federer's seasons from best to last from 2008 onward

[Entername]

Federer stopped dominating tennis after 2007 but he was still a force at the top for a decade plus after. I don't know if we should put 2020 or 2021 because he played like 4 torunaments in total so if you only want to count 2008-2019, that's totally okay as well.

1. 2017 (easily)

2. 2009 (very historic season for Fed despite also suffering some heartbreakers)

3. 2012 (returned to number one)

4. 2014 (return to top 2, nearly won WI plus semis at AO & USO)

5. 2011 (great form all year but Nadal/Djokovic were usually just a bit better)

T6. 2008/2015 (would've been amazing years for Fed if not for peak Nadal/Djokovic, respectively)

8. 2010 (won AO & WTF, but lost to a couple zoning players ending his SF-streak)

9. 2018 (he won AO to become oldest ever N1, but the rest of the season was meh)

10. 2019 (genuinely, this was a decent year for Fed but it's now completly overshadowed by 40-15...he hits one more unreturned serve and 2019 would've shot up this list immediately)

11. 2013 (yeah this was his "off" year)

12. 2016 (made two semis at slams but didn't play at all after Wimby)

13/14. 2020/2021 (he was semi-retired here)

 

[Third Serve]

Ranking them by how much I personally enjoyed them or by how good Fed actually played in them?

 

[Entername]

Ranking them by how much I personally enjoyed them or by how good Fed actually played in them?

I was thinking results and form but no one's stopping you from making a list of enjoyment

 

[Kralingen]

Tried to rate on a mix of achievements and playing level

2009 (2 Slams, Channel Slam, all 4 Slam finals, easily best level of play)
2011 (good consistency, no Slam wins but for the RG '11/USO '11 performance and WTF win, it outranks all else)
2012 (regaining #1 at age 31 was epic. Wimbledon level unreal, 23-1 from Dubai-Madrid, bagels Djoko in Cincy, strong ATP finals level)
2015/2017 (going to say tied, very similar seasons performance wise. '15 better 2nd half, '17 better 1st half)
2010 (AO '10 pre injury would be up there with the top. Ruined by injuries for the most part, but start/end of the year were great levels. Finished with dominant indoor run, some of the best tennis he played after '09)
2014 (capable of a true masterpiece in Shanghai '14, in running for #1, Slam winning performance at Wimbledon imo)
2018 (similar to 2010 really, think he was better for what he was, but not too impressive after AO win)

Notice that even in his 8th best season after 2009 he won a Slam.

I'd say the below are around the same depending on how you rank consistency vs peak level etc. 2019 a bit better than 2013, 2016 showed promises of being better than '18/19 Fed but got hurt.
2019
2013
2016 (injured)

 

[Nadalgaenger]

1) 2009
2) 2017
3) 2011
4) 2012
5) 2015
6) 2014
7) 2019
8) 2018
9) 2010
10) 2016
11) 2013

 

[Entername]

1) 2009
2) 2017
3) 2011
4) 2012
5) 2015
6) 2014
7) 2019
8) 2018
9) 2010
10) 2016
11) 2013

I think 2010>2018 for sure. In 2010, he won the WTF and Cincy in addition to the AO, and his slam losses were acceptable because it was to zoning opponents (Berdych at W, & Robin at RG) and Djoker at USO. In 2018, Fed didn't win any event above 500 level after AO and he lost to Anderson and Millman at WI/USO...2010 Fed smokes both of those fellas in straights

 

[abmk]

Tried to rate on a mix of achievements and playing level

2009 (2 Slams, Channel Slam, all 4 Slam finals, easily best level of play)
2011 (good consistency, no Slam wins but for the RG '11/USO '11 performance and WTF win, it outranks all else)
2012 (regaining #1 at age 31 was epic. Wimbledon level unreal, 23-1 from Dubai-Madrid, bagels Djoko in Cincy, strong ATP finals level)
2015/2017 (going to say tied, very similar seasons performance wise. '15 better 2nd half, '17 better 1st half)
2014 (capable of a true masterpiece in Shanghai '14, in running for #1, Slam winning performance at Wimbledon imo)
2010 (AO '10 pre injury would be up there with the top. Ruined by injuries for the most part, but gets extra points for dominant indoor run)
2018 (similar to 2010 really, think he was better for what he was, but not too impressive after AO win)

Notice that even in his 8th best season after 2009 he won a Slam.

I'd say the below are around the same depending on how you rank consistency vs peak level etc. 2019 a bit better than 2013, 2016 showed promises of being better than '18/19 Fed but got hurt.
2019
2013
2016 (injured)

If it is a mix of achievements and playing level, 2017 rockets right above 2015.
Playing level itself, I'd rate 17 higher, though not by a big margin (better FH, better BH, mental strength, stamina in 17; a little better serve,little better movement and little better net play in 15)
If we check achievements of 17 compared to 15, well its a no brainer

10 goes above 14 for sure.
AO 10 > Wim 14 level wise by some distance.

AO 10 >> AO 14 (prime level win in AO 10 vs losing in straights to Nadal in AO 14)
RG 10 >> RG 14 (took a GOATing soderling to beat him. only him or nadal could've beaten him at that RG. vs losing to gulbis in RG 14 in 5 sets)
Wim 10 << Wim 14 (obv injured in Wim 10)
USO 10 > USO 14 (played well in USO 10 from 1R to QF, mediocre 2 sets vs djoko, but atleast played good/better in other 3 sets. went 2 sets to love down vs Monfils in USO 14, had to save 2 MPs and then went down in straights to Cilic)

2010: won the YEC in dominant fashion (beating Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Soderling, Ferrer)
2014: dominant in RR, but had to save MPs vs Stan in the semi. withdrew from final

as far as the masters go,
2010: won Cincy, made 3 other finals (Shanghai, Madrid, Canada)
2014: won Cincy, Shanghai, made 3 other finals (IW, Monte Carlo, Canada)

masters is for sure better in 14.
but not enough to compensate for the dominant YEC 10 win, let along the clearly better slam performances

 

[Third Serve]

Let’s do level of play:

2009 - Fed was really good at the Slams this year with high quality performances throughout all four of them. He could have been more clutch in a couple of them but he was also quite clutch in the two he did win so it’s a tradeoff. Non-Slam accomplishments include two Masters won with pretty solid form, though as a whole, Fed was a little erratic aside from the Slams.

2008 - Fed was actually pretty terrible outside the Slams for the most part (except for the small titles he did win and in Hamburg) but his Slam performances elevate him somewhat. He had very strong performances at Wimbledon and the US Open, and okay enough performances at the AO and RG. It was certainly tough picking between this and 2012 but 2008’s superiority in the Slams carries it almost to the top of the list

2012 - Fed was great in Bo3 this year, winning three Masters (including one in which he never had his serve broken) and making the Olympics and WTF finals. His Slam performances were good, particularly that Wimbledon run, but they’re not as good as 2008’s or 2009’s and debatably 2017’s. This was also the year he ran into Del Potro like 8 times or something.

2011 - Underrated I think. Fed was good in all four Slams (he wasn’t the best except for probably RG, but he was solid) and even reached genuinely great levels in two of them and he was pretty consistent throughout most events, capping it off with a clean sweep of the indoor season. Just a very well-rounded season, though it lacks the signature Slam title win. His RG efforts did come close to achieving that level, but the final performance was a bit disappointing after that epic SF.

2017 - Fed was great in some select events here, namely the Sunshine Double, Wimbledon, and Shanghai. AO was a little up and down but he ended it on a very high note. The problem I have, though, is that Fed skipped the entire clay season which limits our sample size and he was also quite shaky after Wimbledon since he’d suffered an injury. Due to those factors, I put it just below 2012 and 2011 but his forms in a few of those tournaments were ce

2010 - Fed played a great AO (I generally call 2003-2010 his prime, and this may have been his last prime tournament that fit within that stretch) and capped off the season well with a great YEC win but he was quite mediocre throughout the middle, owing in large part to injuries. His form in the other three Slams was hardly convincing although he did have a bit of bad luck facing godmode Soderling at RG. And his level in Bo3 was basically 2008 level for the most part. He did also win Cincinnati but that wasn’t a super dominant win. Just a weird season all around but his AO win keeps it afloat and the WTF win props it up.

2015 / 2014 - I honestly think 2014 gets underrated in comparison to 2015. The two are just about level with 2015 getting the slight edge. Both were up and down in all tournaments, including Bo3 and Bo5. 2015 had two Slam finals and the best Masters tournament of the two while 2014 played the best Slam tournament of the two and took home two Masters with good looks at two more. 2015’s dominance was really concentrated on a very impressive streak from the grass season to the US Open while 2014’s was spread out a little more across different events. 2015 obviously had the better ATP Finals performance and I think the extra Slam final edges the tie, but the two are close. Ultimately, neither of them was good enough at the Slams in general to advance any further on this list, and their Bo3 records don’t help enough to balance it out.

2019 - Fed had some pretty good tournaments here, particularly Wimbledon, but he didn’t really hit the highs any of the other preceding seasons hit, except for perhaps that ATP Finals match against Djokovic. He was consistent enough throughout the season but his top level was ultimately not there most of the time.

2018 - Fed did win the AO (even though it wasn’t a necessarily convincing win by level) but his season dropped off sharply after Indian Wells. 2018 vs. 2019, while it seems similar, is not really the same case as 2010 vs. 2011 since Fed still played really well at the Slam he did win in 2010 while 2018 AO was probably his weakest Slam win (and I think he was a little better in Wimbledon 2019). I’m not sure if Fed had any noteworthy tournaments besides AO and Indian Wells.

2013 - Injury screwed up Fed’s season here, and as such he had a lot of painful matches (in both a figurative and literal sense). I do think his AO 2013 (which was before many of his problems this season) vs. AO 2018 form is actually a legitimate debate which is why this season is not too far off 2018. Ultimately, the random losses just do him in.

2016 - Fed’s base level was higher here than in 2013, though not by a lot. Still, he missed too much of the season due to injury for me to really put it any higher than here.

2020/2021 - It’s probably worth collectively referring to these seasons as one for Fed. Not much to add here that we don’t already know…

 

[MeatTornado]

Tried to rate on a mix of achievements and playing level

2009 (2 Slams, Channel Slam, all 4 Slam finals, easily best level of play)
2011 (good consistency, no Slam wins but for the RG '11/USO '11 performance and WTF win, it outranks all else)
2012 (regaining #1 at age 31 was epic. Wimbledon level unreal, 23-1 from Dubai-Madrid, bagels Djoko in Cincy, strong ATP finals level)
2015/2017 (going to say tied, very similar seasons performance wise. '15 better 2nd half, '17 better 1st half)
2010 (AO '10 pre injury would be up there with the top. Ruined by injuries for the most part, but start/end of the year were great levels. Finished with dominant indoor run, some of the best tennis he played after '09)
2014 (capable of a true masterpiece in Shanghai '14, in running for #1, Slam winning performance at Wimbledon imo)
2018 (similar to 2010 really, think he was better for what he was, but not too impressive after AO win)

Notice that even in his 8th best season after 2009 he won a Slam.

I'd say the below are around the same depending on how you rank consistency vs peak level etc. 2019 a bit better than 2013, 2016 showed promises of being better than '18/19 Fed but got hurt.
2019
2013
2016 (injured)

Change literally one point and I'd have 2019 above 2018. Either way I don't think it's fair to lump it in with 13 & 16.

 

[TheNachoMan]

1. 2009
2. 2012
3. 2011
4. 2014
5. 2015
6. 2017
7. 2010
8. 2008
9. 2018
10. 2019
11. 2016
12. 2013

 

[aman92]

Why is 08 so low? Federer was still in his prime in 2008, reached 3 finals and one semi final and ended far and away as no 2. Would definitely rank higher than his non slam winning seasons of 2011, 2014 and 15

 

[tsp_207]

2009 - Won the career slam at RG and channel slam at WIM while also breaking the overall male slams record. Was a set away from winning at both AO and USO and could've potentially won the calendar slam. Had a very good season overall winning a masters each on clay and hard courts.

2017 - 2nd best simply because this was the only other season he won 2 slams post 2007. Went 4-0 against Rafa and overcame the odds despite coming back from injury and not having age on his side. Won 3 masters including the sunshine double. But didn't play clay and got injured before USO so difficult to put in front of 2009.

2012 - Won Wimbledon and singles silver medal. Performed consistently across surfaces that year winning 3 masters including one on blue clay

2008 - Made 2 slam finals, Won USO and doubles gold medal

2010 - Won AO, WTF and Cincy

2015 - Two slam finals and won Cincy

2014 - Wimbledon final and 2 masters

2019 - 1 point away from winning Wimbledon and performed above expectations on clay too. Level was much better than 2018 and did finally beat Djokovic at WTF.

2011 - Made the RG final and won Paris+WTF

2018 - Won AO but his level post Indian Wells was quite bad and looked out of sorts in many matches.

2013 - Won just 1 title and had a shocking early round loss at Wimbledon.

2016 - Injured for the 2nd half and a heartbreaking loss in the semis at Wimbledon to Raonic. Couldn't win a title that year.

2021 - Played very few events coming back from rehab and suffered a beatdown at the Wimbledon QFs on top of withdrawing after his R32 win at RG.

2020 - Only played AO losing in the semis before his surgeries. Putting this below 2021 just because he only played one event.

 

[abmk]

Why is 08 so low? Federer was still in his prime in 2008, reached 3 finals and one semi final and ended far and away as no 2. Would definitely rank higher than his non slam winning seasons of 2011, 2014 and 15

Djokovic was literally 10 points behind Fed at the end of the year in 2008 (5295 to 5305).

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[King No1e]

2009
2017
2008
2012
________

the rest

 

[King No1e]

Djokovic was literally 10 points behind Fed at the end of the year in 2008 (5295 to 5305).

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It doesn't matter because Fedr himself said he peaked in 2015. Even he knew that his "dominance" during the 04-07 era was a fraud, and that the game is constantly evolving.

 

[aman92]

Djokovic was literally 10 points behind Fed at the end of the year in 2008 (5295 to 5305).

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Might be thinking of 2010..fair enough but that was still a high quality Fed season in his prime

 

[Wander]

1. 2009
2. 2017
3. 2012
4. 2010
5. 2008
6. 2015
7. 2011
8. 2014
8. 2018
9. 2013
10. 2016

 

[roysid]

Federer stopped dominating tennis after 2007 but he was still a force at the top for a decade plus after. I don't know if we should put 2020 or 2021 because he played like 4 torunaments in total so if you only want to count 2008-2019, that's totally okay as well.

1. 2017 (easily)

2. 2009 (very historic season for Fed despite also suffering some heartbreakers)

3. 2012 (returned to number one)

4. 2014 (return to top 2, nearly won WI plus semis at AO & USO)

5. 2011 (great form all year but Nadal/Djokovic were usually just a bit better)

T6. 2008/2015 (would've been amazing years for Fed if not for peak Nadal/Djokovic, respectively)

8. 2010 (won AO & WTF, but lost to a couple zoning players ending his SF-streak)

9. 2018 (he won AO to become oldest ever N1, but the rest of the season was meh)

10. 2019 (genuinely, this was a decent year for Fed but it's now completly overshadowed by 40-15...he hits one more unreturned serve and 2019 would've shot up this list immediately)

11. 2013 (yeah this was his "off" year)

12. 2016 (made two semis at slams but didn't play at all after Wimby)

13/14. 2020/2021 (he was semi-retired here)

I am torn between the top 2.
Obviously 2017 was magical. Coming back to win a slam after 4.5 years, had so many F, SF, QF losses in rhis period. Beat Nadal in slams after 2007 i.e 10 years.
Came back to win after a break in 5th set.

But achievment wise, 2009 was greater. Won RG in his only realistic chance. Thats a huge huge moment. Won wimbledon and should have won US Open. Became no. 1 after Wimbledon and finished no. 1

 

[roysid]

It doesn't matter because Fedr himself said he peaked in 2015. Even he knew that his "dominance" during the 04-07 era was a fraud, and that the game is constantly evolving.

I think ke peaked more in first half of 2017. Players are continuously trying to improve your game, else you are toast.

Lets see 04-07.

2004 : competition from hewitt and roddick only
2005: we have nadal, safin, nalabandian costing fed 3 big titles
2006 : Now rafa in full flow in clay and grass.
2007 : Along with Rafa , novak also comes to party.
In clay, fed couldn't touch rafa at all. At hard and grass, his backhand was ok and could be hidden.

He had it easy no doubt with Rafa still developing on hard and Novak just started. But cant be called a fraud era. You can only beat the players u face

 

[King No1e]

@TheNachoMan

 

[junior74]

Federer himself said he played his best tennis in 2015