“Thinking About These Ideas for About Five Years”: Roger Federer Opens up About His Future After Tennis

Former World No.1 Roger Federer is quite active off the court. As he is recovering from his knee surgeries, the Swiss Master has been a rather common sight in commercials and interviews. And now, as he nears the age of 40, talk of retirement and life outside of tennis has risen.

Retirement is inevitable, and so players have to think about their future at some point in their careers. Right now, Federer has his priorities set on tennis, but when it changes, he will step aside from the game.

In a recent interview with Schweizer Illustrierte, Federer revealed that he has been thinking about different ideas outside the sport for five years now. And he also revealed that his focus points will be his family, his foundation, and his sponsors.

“I have been thinking about these ideas for about five years. But as long as I have fun and it’s right for all of us, I’ll keep going. After that, I will focus on my family, my foundation, and my sponsors.”

Roger Federer on Entrepreneurship

Another interesting thing that Federer mentioned was entrepreneurship. He has shown his keenness in business ventures as well. Federer in the last couple of years has sped up his investment in various companies. And last year, Federer invested in Swiss sneaker Brand ‘On’ and a few months back launched a new line of sneakers as well.

“I am very interested in business ideas and entrepreneurship. But I definitely don’t want to plan everything now.”

(Quotes have been translated using Google)

Currently, Federer earns a whopping $100 million through endorsements which made him Forbes’ highest-paid athlete of 2020. His biggest deal is with the Japanese apparel brand Uniqlo. He also holds huge deals with sports equipment maker, Wilson, Swiss watchmaker Rolex, and German carmaker Mercedes-Benz.

On the business front, Federer headlines a lot of brands. But the Swiss maestro also indulges in various philanthropic work through the Roger Federer Foundation. Founded in 2003, the foundation has strived to provide education to underprivileged children around the world, with the foundation raising over $50 million to educate children in Africa.

Furthermore, he has hosted a lot of exhibition matches to aid various charities around the world. Also during the coronavirus pandemic, Federer donated $1 million to support various families in Switzerland.

Over the course of his career, Federer has become a bankable brand. His huge list of sponsors and the fact that he is the highest-paid athlete right now speaks volumes. Many have even touted him to become the first billionaire tennis player.

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