For his first Wimbledon appearance as a pensioner, Roger Federer received a royal welcome on Tuesday: the Swiss was admitted into the ‘King’s Box’ at Center Court, where he sat alongside Princess Kate of Wales.
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She arrived at 1.27pm in an apple green jacket to attend the screening of a short film recounting Federer’s exploits at Wimbledon.
AFP
AFP
Then the announcer called out “Ladies and gentlemen, Roger Federer!” and a standing ovation accompanied the appearance of the winner in a light beige suit and dark tie, who positioned himself to the left of the Princess of Wales.
Endless applause ensued, to which the princess finally sat down and urged the former player to do the same.
AFP
AFP
Defending champion Elena Rybakina and her opponent Shelby Rogers were then allowed to enter Center Court.
The first man to reach twenty Grand Slam titles (Australia 2018), Federer holds the men’s record of eight titles at Wimbledon (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2017).
AFP
AFP
Novak Djokovic, who is aiming for his 24th Grand Slam title and thus wants to equal Margaret Court’s record, can also be the most successful player on London’s lawn alongside the Swiss. Martina Navratilova holds the absolute record of nine titles there.
Federer, now 41, retired last September after a recent team double with arch-rival Rafael Nadal in the Laver Cup.
AFP
AFP
A few months earlier at Wimbledon he had attended a ceremony honoring the winners of the tournament and in the presence of most of them. But he hadn’t played.
So much so that the last game of his career dates back to the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2021, when he lost in his center court garden to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who inflicted a final defeat on him, in three sets and by a 6-0 in the final set of his career.