Has Roger Federer played pickleball? What does the Swiss maestro think about the fast-growing racket sport? All you need to know
Roger Federer has been busy since retiring from tennis in 2022. He has been hard at work on a variety of business ventures and entertainment projects and has even tried his hand at sports other than tennis, like pickleball.
Pickleball has often been compared to tennis due to logistical similarities between the two sports. Both involve rackets and a ball and are played on similar courts; the major difference is the size of all three elements. Pickleball is seen as the fastest-growing racket sport globally, particularly in the USA, with thousands of courts propping up across the world, even at the expense of tennis courts.
Several tennis stars have voiced their opinion on pickleball, with some even picking up the sport after their retirement. Roger Federer has also shared his thoughts on pickleball in his media interaction in the past few months.
In it, he confessed that he had not tried his hand at pickleball and only seen others play, especially mentioning American tennis star-turned-pickleball professional Jack Sock while acknowledging pickleball's growing popularity.
The former World No. 1 first discussed pickleball in an interview with NBC in March 2024. In it, he confessed that he had not tried his hand at pickleball and only seen others play, especially mentioning American tennis star-turned-pickleball professional Jack Sock while acknowledging pickleball's growing popularity.
"I have never played pickleball, believe it or not. In Europe we have a lot of padel – I only played that twice. And pickleball, I’ve only seen it. I know that Jack Sock’s on the tour there as well, and some other tennis players are trying it. I heard it’s a very popular, very fast-growing over here, so I might have to start playing it, who knows," he told NBC.
Roger Federer calls pickleball "big version of ping pong"
Federer's next comment on pickleball came during his promotional media tour for his recently released documentary, 'Federer: Twelve Final Days.' In an interview with ExtraTV in early June, the Swiss legend revealed that he played pickleball for the first time in Vietnam and called the sport a "big version of ping pong."
The 20-time Grand Slam champion said:
“I still have to play doubles. I only played quick singles, but it was unreal hot, about 110 degrees when I played, so I was more battling the circumstances than actually the game.”
Federer also mentioned Jack Sock and that he watches highlights of his pickleball matches on YouTube. The Swiss added:
“It’s an easier game than tennis, and it’s fun for sure.”
Apart from Jack Sock, other professional tennis stars such as Eugenie Bouchard, Sam Querrey, and Donald Young have joined the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), the professional tour for pickleball. Retired tennis legends John McEnroe, Steffi Graf, Maria Sharapova, and Andre Agassi have competed in an exhibition pickleball tournament in recent times.