Roger Federer is widely considered the most elegant player to ever pick up a racket. While fans adore his calm demeanor and graceful one-handed backhand, his journey was not always smooth sailing. For instance, he was once a temperamental teenager who smashed rackets regularly. Furthermore, he holds a unique genetic record regarding his own children. Prepare to step onto Centre Court with the King of Grass.
Roger Federer
He was an incredibly angry junior player. Although he is famous for his cool attitude today, young Roger threw constant tantrums. In fact, his parents were often ashamed of his behavior and threatened to stop coming to his matches if he didn’t calm down.
He possesses incredibly rare genetic luck with his children. He and his wife Mirka have two separate sets of twins. They had twin girls, Myla and Charlene, in 2009, followed by twin boys, Leo and Lenny, in 2014.
He worked as a ball boy in his hometown of Basel. In 1993, he chased tennis balls for the players he idolized. After he became a superstar, he kept the tradition alive by buying pizza for the ball kids at the Basel tournament every year.
He received a live cow as a tournament prize. After winning the Swiss Open in Gstaad, the organizers gifted him a dairy cow named Juliette. Although he had no place to keep her, he used her milk to make cheese for charity.
He holds dual citizenship with South Africa. His mother, Lynette, grew up in the rainbow nation. Therefore, Roger has a strong connection to the country and supports early education there through his massive charitable foundation.
He became the first living person to appear on a Swiss stamp. The government honored him with a special postage stamp in 2007. This rare tribute is usually reserved for historical figures who have already passed away.
He refused to eat meat until he was sixteen. He grew up as a committed vegetarian. However, he finally tried steak at a tournament after a fellow player convinced him to expand his diet to get more protein.
He sleeps significantly more than the average person. To recover from his grueling schedule, he tries to get ten to twelve hours of sleep every night. He claims that if he sleeps less, he feels injured and sluggish on the court.
He met his wife at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Mirka Vavrinec was also a professional tennis player representing Switzerland. They fell in love in the athlete’s village and have been inseparable ever since.
He took piano lessons as a child. Before he dedicated his life to tennis, he studied music seriously. However, he eventually realized his hands were better suited for a tennis racket than a keyboard.
Roger Federer was declared unfit for military service. Every Swiss male must serve in the army, but Roger had chronic back problems. Consequently, he had to pay a special tax to the government for his exemption.
He refuses to follow a strict diet. Unlike rivals who avoid gluten and dairy, Federer loves cheese, chocolate, and pizza. He believes that enjoying his food is just as important as disciplining his body.
His father once left him in the snow. Robert Federer grew tired of Roger’s tantrums during a practice session. Consequently, he pulled the car over and made his son walk home in the freezing cold to teach him a lesson.
Roger Federer speaks four languages fluently. He can conduct press conferences in English, German, Swiss-German, and French without missing a beat. Furthermore, he knows bits of Italian, Spanish, and Swedish.
Finally, the city of Biel named a street after him. The “Allee Roger Federer” connects the national tennis center to the main road. He spent his junior years training there, so the city wanted to honor his legacy forever.
