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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.”
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.
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 .