Roger Federer has just tried his hand at acting and has taken on the leading role in a short film. In it, he and US comedian Trevor Noah accidentally get on the wrong train that takes them through a beautiful Swiss landscape. The two stars joke around a lot, an elderly lady pays for the ticket that they don’t have with them. She is a “big fan” of Noah.
The film is intended to advertise Swiss tourism in order to boost it again after the slump in the corona pandemic. Federer had already been in front of the camera for the campaign with US stars Anne Hathaway and Robert de Niro, this time with his buddy Trevor Noah. Both have known and appreciated each other for a long time. What they have in common is that they each have a South African and a Swiss parent. Of course they joke about it too.
When Federer shot the first two commercials, he was still an active professional. In September 2022, the greatest tennis player of all time for many finally ended his extraordinary career at the age of 41. Three knee surgeries had left him almost consistently out of action for the past two years.
What does a guy like that do with his life now after a quarter of a century of touring around the world as a professional? What is the life of a tennis superstar just after retirement? “It’s a special time,” Federer said to RTL during filming. “I was in tennis for 25 years and then all of a sudden it’s over, but you could see in the last few years that it wouldn’t go any further. It’s been 100 days since I said goodbye and I’m looking around, what could come now.”
But Federer is not the type to get bored. He has enough tasks, and then there are the four children. “Sure, I have the foundation and many advertising partners for which I am an ambassador and then of course I also want to spend time with my four children. I have twin girls – 13 – and twin boys – 8. There’s always something going on. And of course I want to too continue to stay in tennis. Will continue to do (charity) tournaments and maybe also comment on them,” he said.
Life after a career has advantages. For example, Federer can ski again. He has renounced this for 15 years because of the risk of injury. “My kids saw me on skis for the first time. I was wary of my career until then, but we just had the best day.”
Federer does not think about living somewhere else: “I have never left Switzerland and have always kept my roots here and all my friends
A large villa on Lake Zurich, which he is currently building, is to serve as the new center of his life. It should cost around 64 million euros. “We are also currently building here in Switzerland. And we also have a house in the mountains. I will always come back and my children will grow up here. But I will always want to travel.”
You can see more of the interview with Roger Federer and Trevor Noah on Friday in the RTL TV magazine. Editor’s note: The star is part of RTL Germany.
