Former World No. 1 Federer was one of the dominant forces in the sport across the last two decades. The Swiss player has 20 Grand Slam titles to his name and is part of the celebrated Big Three along with Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
However, while he admitted that he has not picked up a racket that often since he retired twelve months ago, it seems as though his children have become very invested in the sport.
Federer keeps promise to Nadal
The Rafa Nadal Academy was founded in 2016 and Federer was among the guests who attended the opening ceremony. At the time, he joked that he would be sending his children to the facility. Now, it seems as though he kept his word.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the 42-year-old revealed that his 9-year-old twin boys spent some time at the Academy over the summer, while his 14-year-old twin daughters also attended some training academies.
“All four kids love it,” he said, “The girls didn’t love it in the beginning but as they get better, they’re enjoying it and playing points now. They were up at [John] McEnroe Academy in East Hampton, and the boys were in Mallorca at the [Rafael Nadal] camp for a couple of days,” he said.
After his children showed an interest in the sport, Federer has been trying to take some time to teach them himself, although he admitted it was a strange dynamic.
“It’s obviously an interesting dynamic, because I’m the dad, and not a former player. It is what it is,” he said.
Federer retired in September 2022 after the Laver Cup. Although he said that he wanted to compete at events like Wimbledon one last time, he ultimately had to listen to his body.
