Roger Federer Took a Break From Wimbledon to Give Prince George a Tennis Lesson

From left: Max Mumby/Getty Images; Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

London has Wimbledon fever at the moment, and the royals are no exception. Not even the littlest ones.

Tennis star Roger Federer told The Daily Star this week that, between matches at the championship tournament, he stopped by the Cambridge family’s palace in Berkshire to give Prince George a private one-on-one lesson.

“He’s a cute boy,” Federer said in the interview. “I love to see they’re into tennis or into sport. His mum has always enjoyed tennis. I hope he’ll stay the same in a few years’ time and this is not just an in-the-moment situation.”

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Federer said that the lesson was pretty basic. “At that stage it’s all about touching the ball,” he said.

But even though it may not have involved an epic volley, Prince George was likely starstruck at the lesson. Federer told newspapers that the young royal told him that he was his favorite player.

But don’t think that George is just some dilettante tennis player, only interested in the game to meet celebrities. Even though he’s only five years old, the prince has been playing for years. Back in 2017, a royal tennis instructor said that George showed up on the tennis court with his mom. “She said he’s interested in it but more in whacking the ball,” coach Sam Richardson said.

Prince George apparently has no idea he’s in line to become king of the United Kingdom, so perhaps he’s nursing dreams of becoming a tennis champion.

Mum Kate Middleton has long been a tennis fan. She’s appeared at several tennis events since becoming a duchess, maintains a court at her home, and is a patron of the Lawn Tennis Association, which hosts Wimbledon every year.