Roger Federer Biography

Roger Federer

Birthdate: August 8, 1981

Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland

Roger Federer's sweet forehand and court smarts have made him one of the top-ranked tennis players in the world.

Roger Federer - The Beginning

Roger Federer began playing tennis when he was eight years old. By the time he was ten, people were already talking about Roger's sweet touch with the racket and his competitive attitude. Roger would sometimes beat other kids his age so badly they would start crying and Roger would often cry and smash rackets himself if he ever lost a match. Roger left home when he was 13 to train at a top-rated tennis academy in Switzerland and was the number one ranked junior player in the world by the time he was 16.

Roger Federer - The Swiss Master

In 1998, Roger Federer began playing on the professional tennis circuit. He won his first ATP tournament in Milan in 2001 and quickly worked his way up the men's world tennis rankings. In 2003, he won six tournments including his first Grand Slam tournament by defeating Mark Philippoussis at Wimbledon. By 2004, Federer was the number one ranked tennis player on the planet and won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments that year including Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. Federer has since gone onto win twelve more Grand Slam titles, bringing his grand total up to 13. Roger has won the US Open five times and the Aussie Open, three times. The only major tournament that he has not won is the French Open in Paris.

Roger Federer - The Best Ever?

Roger Federer's professional tennis career is still quite young, but some are predicting he could beat Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam tennis titles in 2009. Federer is an extremely intelligent tennis player who's known for his dominating forehand and rarely making mistakes on the court. He has already won 13 Grand Slam titles and his smart, consistent play means he'll be a favorite to win several more before his career is over.

Roger Federer - Did You Know?

• Roger Federer speaks three languages - English, German and French.
• Roger Federer is one of the few professional tennis players in the world that does not have a full-time coach.
• Roger Federer's favorite music is anything by AC/DC or Lenny Kravitz.
• In 2007, Roger Federer became the first living Swiss person to be featured on a Swiss stamp. The postage picture features Roger holding the Wimbledon trophy.
• Roger Federer is dating former professional tennis player Mirka Vavrinec. The pair met at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where they were both representing Switzerland.