Throughout his celebrated tennis career, Roger Federer had two constants in his life. One was his performance, which had everyone on the edge of their seats, and the second was his girlfriend and now wife, Mirka, who experienced his journey side-by-side. “Mirka was very supportive,”– said Roger Federer in his memoir, Federer: Twelve Final Days. While reminiscing about the start of their journey as partners, Federer opened up on Mirka being “His Rock,” since the beginning.
Mirka and Federer’s love story might not be new to fans. However, what unfolded after that- Mirka retiring, and accompanying Federer on tour, and becoming the perfect tennis couple- would certainly pick everybody’s interest. During the latest episode of ‘What Now? With Trevor Noah Podcast’ on 19th September, Federer opened up about “the most beautiful synchronicity” between him and Mirka.
The comedian, Noah, enquired Federer about Mirka’s qualities that helped him become the greatest of all time. In response to this, Federer went on a trip down memory lane, back to the Sydney Olympics in 2000, when they got together. While he was at the beginning of his tennis career, Mirka was already in the middle and was having issues with her heels. When the issue wasn’t remedy even after being on crutches and rehab. The Swiss tennis star expressed his worry about her condition. He said, “Oh my god, how long will you have these crutches for?” For Federer, surgery meant that the issue was sorted and the player could get back on the court.
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Following Mirka’s regular struggles to come back to tennis, Federer made a life-transforming suggestion to his then-girlfriend. He said, “Why don’t you retire? This is not the idea of playing tennis in pain all the time. And then we can be together on the tour.” For a better view of the situation, Federer was rising in rankings, winning Wimbledon, and looking at being the World No.1. As tennis players, they both had to follow different schedules. And Mirka’s response came as a surprise for everyone.
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In a beat, she agreed to take a step back and support him throughout his career. He said, “She was like, yeah, you are right, I’m done. And here we are.” Though, at the moment Federer might not have been able to relate to Mirka’s decision to retire. But years later, in 2022, when he took retirement, it was a difficult moment for the Swiss legend, as he was thinking of deferring it to the next year or more. “It’s hard to retire! And I’m thinking of her, she just went like, “Oh, ok, I’m done, what’s the big deal?” And here I’m like, it’s the biggest deal in the world.” – he remarked.
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Since her retirement from tennis, Mirka followed Federer on the tour. He further remarked, “She loved the tour through my career, the travels, and the logistics behind and being my rock, really through thick and thin.” It’s no wonder why Federer credited Mirka during his 2017 Australian Open win.
When Roger Federer gave Mirka credit for his longevity in the circuit
Mirka warmed-up Federer during the finals of the tournaments, and watched his matches even when she was 8 months pregnant with their twins. Mirka and Federer stuck together throughout everything, with her being Federer’s biggest supporter. Hence, he never shied away from giving her credit for all the efforts she has put in the background to help him be at the top.
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After the Australian Open 2017 win, Federer dedicated his win to his wife. He said, “She’s been there when I had no titles and she’s still here 89 titles later, so she had a big part to play in [the win].”
Roger Federer and Mirka certainly have a perfect tennis love story, which only grew stronger over time.