How well do you know Roger Federer?
Roger Federer won 20 Grand Slam titles with a style many called effortless. These six questions follow his journey from ball boy in Basel to one of sport's best-loved figures.
Did you know?
- In 2007 Switzerland issued a postage stamp showing Federer, making him one of the first living people ever featured on a Swiss stamp. Along with the 2020 silver coin, it reflects how Swiss people see him as a national figure as well as a sports star.
- Federer's first coaching influence was the Australian coach Peter Carter, who worked with him in Basel as a teenager and helped shape his all-round game. Carter died in a car accident in 2002, and Federer has often spoken about how much he owed to him.
- Federer won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award five times, including four years in a row from 2005 to 2008. The award is voted for by a panel of sporting legends, many of whom described him as a model of how to win with grace.
The Swiss master
Roger Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1981 and played football and badminton before focusing on tennis. As a junior he was talented but hot-tempered, known for throwing rackets and shouting at himself. Learning to control those emotions became one of the key turning points of his career. He won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003, and over the following years his calm, graceful style made him one of the most admired athletes in the world.
Years at the top
Between 2004 and 2008, Federer was ranked world number one for 237 weeks in a row, a record that still stands. He won 20 Grand Slam singles titles in total, including six Australian Opens, five US Opens and one French Open, completing a career Grand Slam in 2009. His rivalry with Rafael Nadal, and later with Novak Djokovic, pushed all three to new levels and produced some of the most-watched matches in tennis history.
A style of his own
Federer's game combined an accurate serve, a powerful forehand and a one-handed backhand at a time when most players used two hands. He moved so smoothly that he seemed to glide across the court, and he could switch from defence to attack in a single shot. He was also admired for his sportsmanship and won the tour's sportsmanship award, voted for by fellow players, more than ten times.
Giving back
Federer set up the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003, when he was just 22, to support education for children in poverty. It focuses on early childhood learning and quality teaching in countries such as Malawi, Zambia, Namibia and South Africa. He also founded the Laver Cup, named after Australian champion Rod Laver, an annual team event in which Europe plays against a team from the rest of the world.