IN CONVERSATION WITH ROGER FEDERER

Interview by Timotej Letonja & Samo Šajn

Few names have come to represent tennis quite like ROGER FEDERER. Since stepping away from professional competition, the Swiss icon has continued to shape the worlds of sport and style through his long-standing partnership with UNIQLO.

Federer was recently in Amsterdam for the latest edition of Around the World with Roger Federer, which took over the city’s historic Olympic Stadium. Young players from across Amsterdam took part in a tennis session led by Federer, before joining him for a conversation about tennis, his career and the lessons he has learned along the way.

The event also marked 50 years of wheelchair tennis, with young wheelchair tennis players taking part throughout the programme. At its heart, the event reflected the wider purpose of the global series: making tennis more accessible and using sport to bring people and communities together.

After the event, we caught up with Federer to talk about his eight-year relationship with Uniqlo, his personal approach to style, working with JONATHAN ANDERSON and the meaning of LifeWear beyond the court.

Your style on and off the court has always been very recognisable. How much of your personal style comes into your work with Uniqlo?

Definitely quite a lot. When I did my work together with Jonathan Anderson, or with CLARE WAIGHT KELLER, I tried to infuse it with what I like. Usually, I gravitate towards something classic and elegant, with attention to detail.

What we can also do at Uniqlo, perhaps more than at a traditional sports brand, is translate that into the street. I feel like tennis has a great heritage that should be worn beyond the court as well. At the same time, tennis has become so much more aggressive in terms of movement over the last 20 years. The shoes need to be tougher and bolder, and the shirts need to be breathable and have all the technology we need today. With Uniqlo, we try to strike a balance where almost everything I wear on court could also be worn off the court.

You have been a Uniqlo Global Brand Ambassador since 2018. What made you feel that Uniqlo was the right partner for you?

They come from fashion, so they’re not just a sports company, but they already had a presence in sports with KEI NISHIKORI and NOVAK DJOKOVIC. Their reach in Asia is also massive, and Asia has always been a place I really enjoy going to. From my first conversations with Uniqlo, there was a sense of trust and great communication. 

I was around 36 or 37 at the time, so we knew I was going to retire at some point. JOHN JAY said something that really stayed with me: The best days were still to come, and the best version of Roger would be after his playing days. Their belief in me, not just as a tennis player but especially as a person, really struck a chord with me. They believed in what I could do off the court and in retirement, and our relationship has been amazing.

You have also collaborated closely with Jonathan Anderson through UNIQLO. What did you enjoy about bringing your own style together with his vision?

Honestly, because he’s such a strong and amazing fashion designer, I didn’t have to do that much. I know him really well now, and the amount of time he spent on the collection, even though it wasn’t extremely extensive, was amazing. Just being able to work with him, spend time with him and understand his perspective was an experience in itself.

From an athlete’s perspective, I think it was important for him to hear what I like and don’t like: how I want a shirt to feel, how it should fall and how the cuts should work. He also understands sport very well. His father was an incredible rugby player and coach, so he comes from that heritage. I think that made it very natural for us to work together. I really enjoyed it, and I also went to his first show because I wanted to support him.

Uniqlo’s LifeWear philosophy is about creating clothes for everyday life. What does LifeWear mean to you personally?

It’s really about the essentials. Whenever I go into a Uniqlo store, I enjoy going through everything and understanding what they have because the range is so vast. Especially after Covid, I think people started looking even more for clothes that offer comfort and that you can wear every day. Uniqlo is incredible when it comes to that. There are no massive logos, and everything feels very understated. I think that speaks to a lot of people.