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What Roger Federer had to say about sitting in the Royal Box with the Princess of Wales© WireImage

What Roger Federer had to say about sitting in the Royal Box with the Princess of Wales

The tennis legend joined the Princess at Wimbledon this year


AUGUST 3, 2023 4:20 PM EDT

Retired tennis player Roger Federer returned to Wimbledon this year as a spectator next to the  Princess of Wales . The eight-time Wimbledon champion opened up about sitting in the Royal Box with Her Royal Highness in a new interview with  The New York Times .

“It was so fun sitting next to Princess Catherine,” he said. “I know her quite well. She is an avid tennis fan, and she plays herself.”

The Princess of Wales and Roger sat next to each other at Wimbledon on July 4, 2023© Getty Images
The Princess of Wales and Roger sat next to each other at Wimbledon on July 4, 2023

Roger added, “Sometimes we have to be careful we don’t speak too much. You can talk, and then it’s super-quiet, and then you have to applaud.”

The Princess was joined in the Royal Box by Roger and his wife Mirka Federer  on the second day of the Wimbledon Championships last month. The tennis star, who announced his retirement in September of 2022, received a standing ovation from the Centre Court crowd as he made his way to his seat. After the match, tennis player Andy Murray said that it was amazing to have Roger there supporting the event. “It was amazing to have some royalty here, but also some tennis royalty as well,” Andy said, referring to the Princess of Wales and Roger.

The tennis star and royal played tennis in a short film that was released prior to Wimbledon 2023© Thomas Lovelock - AELTC via Getty Images
The tennis star and royal played tennis in a short film that was released prior to Wimbledon 2023

Ahead of Wimbledon this year, the Princess of Wales and Roger faced off in a friendly match in a short film that celebrated Wimbledon’s Ball Boys and Girls.  “The serve looks good,” he told the royal mom of three in the video.  The tennis legend—whom Catherine has previously revealed is her mother Carole Middleton’s “heartthrob”—hasn’t only played the sport with the Princess, but  also with her son Prince George