Stan Wawrinka jokingly demands Belinda Bencic and Jill Teichmann to "pay copyright" for copying his and Roger Federer's famous celebration
Belinda Bencic and Jil Teichmann's recreation of Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer's iconic celebration at the Olympics caught as much attention as their performances that helped Switzerland clinch the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup title. One of the creators of the celebration, Wawrinka himself recently reacted to Bencic-Teichmann's recreation, joking that he and Federer want "copyright" fees.
Federer and Wawrinka first brought out the now-iconic celebration when they won the doubles gold medal for Switzerland at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. After first watching the historic moment as 11-year-olds, Bencic and Teichmann revisited the celebration after winning the country's first Billie Jean King Cup title in November 2022.
Watch the original celebration and the one by Bencic-Teichmann here:
A cultural reset https://t.co/Tpx5hgpjoC
@BJKCupBencic and Teichmann recreating Federer and Wawrinka’s gold-medal winning moment at the 2008 Olympics - ICONIC 🇨🇭
🎥 @BJKCup https://t.co/p7WNun78Ae
While Federer recently bid farewell to the sport, Wawrinka, Bencic, and Teichmann are now teammates for the first time as they are set to represent Switzerland in the inaugural United Cup.
Ahead of the start of their campaign on Thursday, three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka, who is also Team Switzerland's captain at the United Cup, joked that he would hold a meeting with Bencic and Teichmann for copying the celebration.
"We going to have a meeting about that. There is some copyright to pay," Wawrinka said with a smile, during a press conference at the United Cup.
The 2016 US Open champion also lauded the duo of Bencic, who herself is an Olympic singles gold medallist, and Teichmann for their performances that earned Switzerland another big tennis title at the Billie Jean King Cup.
"I think it's great. What they did was amazing, watched them play, winning the Fed Cup was really something special. We've been there, so we know the feeling. It's amazing what they did. Congratulations to them," Wawrinka added.
"It's so iconic for us in Switzerland, we see it everywhere" - Belinda Bencic on Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer's Olympics celebration
After recreating Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer's Olympics celebration, Belinda Bencic revealed that she and Jil Teichmann naturally thought of doing it as the celebration is very popular in Switzerland.
She further said that the unique celebratory move has been performed by many people back home since the 2008 Olympics and she was proud to have earned the opportunity to recreate it after winning a big title for the country, calling Federer and Wawrinka her role models.
"I think it was just in the moment, because it's so iconic, at least for us in Switzerland. We see it everywhere, and they are so amazing," Bencic said during a press conference at the Billie Jean King Cup.
"They were both our role models. I'm so glad we have the same picture now on the female side. I haven't seen it yet. Hopefully, we'll get the same picture, female and male," she added.
Meanwhile, Bencic will kickstart Switzerland's campaign at the 2023 United Cup on Thursday with a match against Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva. Stan Wawrinka is scheduled to face Alexander Bublik on Friday.