Roger Federer has been in the public eye in recent times, despite having retired from tennis last year. The 20-time Grand Slam champion seems to have found the right balance to enjoy post-retirement life, spending time with family and friends as well as notching up more air miles than he did as a player for work commitments. Such is his marketability as an athlete and personality that Federer’s global stardom is set to remain strong for years to come.
His appearance seems to be the most sought-after in the tennis world and one event that is extremely fortunate to grace his presence is the Wimbledon Championships. Roger Federer’s love affair with the iconic SW19 in London is a story for the ages, having won 8 out of his 20 Grand Slam titles there.
Roger Federer likely to stay in London for the entirety of Wimbledon 2023
Recently, Roger Federer was featured in several posts on the official Wimbledon Championships’ social media accounts. The Swiss maestro won hearts by spending time with ball boys and ball girls, as his supporters know about his humble beginnings as a ballboy himself in Basel. Apart from that, Federer also played some fun tennis with the Duchess of Cambridge in what could be called the ‘Battle of Tennis Royalty vs UK Royalty’.
As per multiple media reports, Roger Federer has been invited to watch some of the Wimbledon 2023 matches purely as an enthusiast. It is believed that the organizers of the tournament are zeroing down on a particular day to felicitate Federer for a remarkable career, highlighting his journey at the Wimbledon Championships as well. Federer’s presence is all set to draw tremendous media and public attention besides sponsors. It is also worth noting that he is the global brand ambassador for Rolex, the Swiss luxury watch brand, which is also the official timekeeper of the Championships.
Co-incidentally, 2023 will mark the 20th anniversary of Roger Federer’s first-ever Wimbledon men’s singles title win, as he famously defeated Australia’s Mark Philippoussis in the final at the Centre Court on July 6, 2003. Speculations were rife about Roger Federer potentially donning the commentator’s hat this year. However, the man himself shot down all the rumors courtesy answering a fan question on Twitter regarding the same.
Any plans to do commentary on TV? Like joining BBC during Wimbledon etc? #AskRF #tennis #Federer
— Aoki Masaru (@mazzy0108) May 23, 2023
no plans to commentate this year!
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023
Wimbledon Championships tournament director, Ian Hewitt was quoted as saying to The Daily Express –
“He is a very great champion. We have a very close association. I am delighted to say that Roger will be making a visit here as a (honorary lifetime) member. He is very welcome any time, and yes, we will be celebrating his achievements in an appropriate Wimbledon way in due course.”
When Roger Federer made fun of Wimbledon organizers
Towards the end of 2022, Roger Federer revealed in a light-hearted interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah that he was actually denied entry into SW19 since he did not carry a membership card with him, which a security personnel asked him to produce at the famous gate.
Federer hilariously claimed that he had to even brag about winning the men’s singles title a record 8 times to plead with the security to allow him inside the club. Fortunately, some tennis enthusiasts and other security guards spotted him and as a result, the Swiss legend was denied major embarrassment.
Besides Roger Federer, media personality Sue Barker has also been invited to watch the matches as an enthusiast. Barker is renowned for being the lead TV presenter for the Wimbledon Championships from 1993-2022 with BBC Sport, taking some iconic interviews on-court with the biggest names of the game.
