Roger Federer recently opened up about pushing his daughters and sons to play tennis.
He and his wife Mirka have raised two sets of twins. Mirka gave birth to twin daughters in July 2009 and five years later in May 2014, she and the tennis star welcomed twin boys.
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The power couple named their daughters Myla and Charlene and their boys Leo and Lennart (Lenny). Federer understandably focused more on his professional career till the time he called it a day in September 2022. Since his retirement, however, he has been paying more attention to what his children are up to.
In a recent interaction with GQ Sports, he revealed that he needed to press Myla, Charlene, Leo, and Lenny to play tennis because most of his contemporaries’ children do.
“We make them play… because I don’t want my kids to be the only kids in my circle not to play. And obviously, I live in a tennis circle, and otherwise, they’re the only kids not playing because all the other kids play tennis and this is their passion,” he said.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion further suggested that Myla and Charlene particularly were not interested in picking up the racket but eventually, the two and their brothers obliged.
“So that’s why I say to the girls, who were not super in love with it in the beginning, like, ‘Guys, I mean you have to play a little bit.’ So they all four play now,” the Swiss added.
In the same interview with GQ Sports, Roger Federer claimed that he had always acted as a general manager rather than being a tennis coach to his kids Myla, Charelen, Leo, and Lenny.
“I’ve tried to be more the GM than the coach, and I’ve told them I’m not the coach. And if I can be of help, great. And if you don’t want me out there, that’s okay too,” the Swiss added.
Federer, however, also conceded that there have been moments when he has not been able to contain his urge to share his two cents to correct his kids’ basics.
“But sometimes I can’t control myself. I come in and go like, ‘Let me just quickly teach a little fundamental thing’,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion added.
