"We had to say people stop taking pics of me or kids, it worries me" - When Roger Federer & wife Mirka were concerned about media spotlight on family
Roger Federer is one of the most popular tennis players on the planet, meaning that he's no stranger to media attention. Despite being used to fans fawning over him, and his family by extension, everywhere he goes, the Swiss once admitted that he was worried about the spotlight at times.
In an interview with Tages Anzeiger in 2018, the former World No. 1 revealed that he and his wife Mirka had to step in and stop people from taking photographs of himself or his kids. While Federer conceded that his kids often went along with it because they liked it, he had his concerns about their privacy.
Federer and his wife have four children - one set of identical twin girls, Myla and Charlene, and one set of fraternal twin boys, Leo and Lenny. While the girls were born in 2009, the boys were born in 2014.
During the interview, the 20-time Grand Slam champion noted that he would prefer that his children grow up normally, hoping that fans would understand that there are limits they shouldn't cross when interacting with them.
"Sometimes we had to say people to stop taking pics of me or kids. Many times they do it because they like it, but it worries me a little bit. You have to be respectful. I try to make my children grow normally. It’s normal that they want to take pics, but there are some limits that cannot be passed," he said.
Speaking to CNN in 2023, Roger Federer opened up about his role in his children's lives, saying that he didn't want to be their tennis coach. Instead, he just wants to be their father and let them treat him the way normal kids treated their fathers.
“I’m not the coach, I am the dad and the dad’s advice, as we know, only goes so far. It doesn’t matter if you’ve won Wimbledon or not, you’re still the dad and sometimes they don’t want to hear what you have to say," Federer said.
"I try to be funny" - Roger Federer on serving as a tennis coach for his children
In the interview with CNN, Roger Federer shed light on how he approached being a tennis coach as well for his children, saying that he tried his best to be "funny" with them while also helping them understand the sport.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion prided himself on the fact that he served as more of a technical coach for his kids, teaching them about tennis rackets instead of the basics of the game.
“I try to be funny, but at the same time I also try to be straight sometimes and just teach them. I come in more, I guess, as a technical coach, so I try to teach them about all the tennis rackets,” he added.