Roger Federer commits to play Swiss Indoors Basel through 2019

In late December, ahead of the Hopman Cup in Perth, Roger Federer told reporters that he’d like to play for at least two or three more years.

He put that plan into action on Tuesday when the Swiss Indoors Basel, Federer’s hometown tournament, announced that its iconic son has agreed to play the event through 2019.

Federer, 35, will be 38 when his commitment with the tournament concludes.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion missed last year’s tournament—which will take place on hard courts from Oct. 23-29—after knee surgery sidelined him for the second half of the season. He’ll make a grand homecoming this fall.

“I can barely wait to play in front of my home crowd this autumn,” Federer said in a statement in German on Tuesday. “Playing in Basel is always one of the highlights of the year.”

Federer has a long and storied history at the Swiss Indoors. A former ball boy at the tournament, he’s a seven-time titlist in Basel, winning in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015.

In January, playing in his first tournament since Wimbledon, Federer—the 17th seed—stunned the tennis world by winning his fifth Australian Open. It was his 18th major singles title, and first since 2012, when he triumphed at Wimbledon.

The world No. 9 hasn’t played since his two-week run in Melbourne, but he’ll return to action next week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.