Roger Federer

Lore & Background

Federer was born on 8 August 1981 in Basel, Switzerland, to a Swiss father and a South African mother. He first played tennis at age three. As a junior, he won the Wimbledon boys' singles and doubles titles in 1998 and attained the No. 1 junior world ranking. He turned professional and won his first major singles title at Wimbledon in 2003 at age 21. For the next several years, Federer was the dominant player, playing in 20 out of 24 major singles finals between 2004 and 2009. He won three of the four majors and the Tour Finals in 2004, 2006, and 2007, as well as five consecutive titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open. Federer completed the career Grand Slam at the 2009 French Open after three consecutive runner-up finishes to Rafael Nadal. At age 27, he surpassed Pete Sampras's record of 14 major men's singles titles at Wimbledon in 2009.

Reader's Guide

For nearly two decades, Federer was a leading figure in men's tennis alongside Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, collectively known as the Big Three, and including Andy Murray, the Big Four, creating the Golden Era of men's tennis. He won 28 Masters titles and six year-end championships. Federer and Stan Wawrinka led the Switzerland Davis Cup team to their first title in 2014, following their Olympic doubles gold victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also won a silver medal in singles at the 2012 London Olympics. After a half-year hiatus in 2016 to recover from knee surgery, Federer returned to win three more majors, including the 2017 Australian Open over Nadal and a record eighth singles title at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships. At the 2018 Australian Open, he became the first man to win 20 major singles titles and shortly after the oldest ATP world No. 1 at the time, at age 36. He retired in September 2022 after an appearance at the Laver Cup. Federer was awarded the Laureus World Sports Sportsman of the Year a joint record five times and was twice named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World. He established the Roger Federer Foundation, which targets impoverished children in southern Africa, and became the seventh billionaire athlete in history in 2025.

Did You Know?

• Federer was a ball boy at his hometown Basel event, the Swiss Indoors, in 1992 and 1993.
• He won a record 13 Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Awards and a record 19 consecutive ATP Fans' Favourite awards from 2003 to 2021.
• Federer completed the career Grand Slam at the 2009 French Open after three consecutive runner-up finishes to Rafael Nadal.
• He became the seventh billionaire athlete in history in 2025, boosted by his minority stake in Swiss shoe and apparel brand On.