Roger Federer’s impact on tennis is unquestionable but his influence on social media is fast becoming just as legendary.
The 20-time major winner unwittingly sparked an online craze after posting a video of himself hitting a tennis ball against a wall, while wearing a fedora.
The Swiss ace explained that it was a good way to practice volleying and challenged others to share their own videos.
Captioning the video with the words, “choose your hat wisely,” Federer’s post kicked off a frenzy of responses from others keen to share their videos.
Here’s a helpful solo drill. Let’s see what you got! Reply back with a video and I’ll provide some tips. Choose your hat wisely.
The 38-year-old even responded to a lot of posts from fans, offering them free lessons around their volleying techniques.
Not content with the level of response from that online challenge, Federer has done it again after answering one of tennis’ great hypothetical questions.
Federer replied to a post from Tennis TV, which asks what scenario people would pick out of a list of possibilities.
The Swiss star chose the option to “bring back your favourite retired player”, with former professional Mardy Fish enquiring about whether it would be him.
The American then answered his own question with a hilariously self-deprecating claim that Federer would surely bring Fish back because he let the Swiss “win so often”.
Federer had a reply for a lot of the comments, revealing his thoughts on many of the tennis legends that were being put forward.
The Swiss ace praised Steffi Graf’s “attitude”, claimed Martina Hingis’ “tennis IQ was off the charts” and insisted “volley master” Tim Henman hadn’t missed a volley since 1986.
However, Federer’s biggest praise was reserved for Bjorn Borg, whom he described as the “king” of tennis.
The Swiss maestro even risked the ire of his wife with a less than convincing response to suggestions Mirka would be the player he’d like to see in action again.
Federer simply posted a gif of what appears to be a shifty-eyed Mickey Mouse, suggesting a doubles reunion with the mother of his kids isn’t his favourite idea.
