"I'd rather leave that to a professional coach" - Roger Federer on giving tennis lessons to his kids
Roger Federer is a man of many qualities and talents. However, due to the importance that the celebrated Swiss attaches to his privacy, not a lot is known about his life beyond the tennis courts.
Federer's fans usually rely on the occasional snippets from him or his close ones to know more about their idol. So it must have been refreshing for them to hear Roger Federer speak at length in a recent interview about his children, giving everyone a look at his sensibilities as a parent.
In the interview with NZZ am Sonntag, Roger Federer was asked to give his two cents on the topic of children benefiting from early admission in day-care centers. Federer was also asked about how he and his wife Mirka nurture their four children, to which he gave a fascinating answer.
We are almost always out together as a family: Roger Federer on his four kids
Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec-Federer are parents to two sets of twins - Leo and Lenny (boys), Charlene Riva and Myla Rose (girls). While the girls recently turned 10, the boys are all of six years old. It goes without saying that the right type of upbringing and care is very crucial during these early years.
Roger Federer talked about how he and his wife have had the opportunity to take care of their kids themselves, as opposed to sending them to daycare institutes. The Swiss also added that he makes sure that his kids visit many kindergartens and camps to interact with other children as he believes that ‘children learn best from other children’.
“Fortunately, we are almost always out together as a family,” Federer said. “That means Mirka and I can take on a lot of care ourselves. Our four children also visit a kindergarten, a school, or a camp as often as possible. In addition, other children are often visiting us on tour. Children learn best from other children.”
With both their parents being tennis players - and one of them arguably being the GOAT - it has often been speculated that the Federer kids will follow in their footsteps and pursue tennis as a career. However, Roger Federer revealed that he makes it a point for his kids to hone other skills as well, especially ones that they show interest in.
“It is important to me that they can pursue their own interests, and they are different for all four, although everyone actually likes handicrafts and painting. The older twins also learn an instrument,” Federer added.
When the topic of his kids playing tennis was raised, Federer confirmed that there will indeed be tennis lessons in place for them. But in a more surprising revelation, the Swiss made it very clear that it wouldn’t be him doing the coaching.
“Of course there will also be one or two tennis lessons,” Federer continued. “Not with me, by the way, I'd rather leave that to a professional tennis coach.”