Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time. He won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, spent 310 weeks as world No. 1 and won 103 tour-level singles titles. He retired after the Laver Cup in London in September 2022 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2026. This biography follows his life and career up to November 2026.
Roger Federer at a Glance
| Full name | Roger Federer |
| Born | 8 August 1981, Basel, Switzerland |
| Age | 45 (as of November 2026) |
| Profession | Retired professional tennis player |
| Grand Slam singles titles | 20: Wimbledon 8, Australian Open 6, US Open 5, French Open 1 |
| World No. 1 | 310 weeks in total, including a record 237 consecutive weeks |
| ATP singles titles | 103 |
| Olympics | Doubles gold (2008, with Stan Wawrinka); singles silver (2012) |
| Retirement | September 2022 (Laver Cup, London) |
| Spouse | Mirka Federer (married 2009) |
| Children | Four: twin daughters Myla and Charlene and twin sons Leo and Lenny |
Early Life in Basel
Federer was born in Basel to a Swiss father, Robert Federer, and a South African mother, Lynette, and he holds both Swiss and South African citizenship. He won the boys' singles and doubles titles at Wimbledon in 1998, and he turned professional soon afterwards.
Rise to the Top
Federer won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003, at the age of 21. He became world No. 1 and held the top spot for 310 weeks in total, including a record 237 weeks in a row, and finished the year as No. 1 five times. He won 28 Masters titles and six year-end championships, and his 103 tour-level titles are the second most in the Open Era.
Rivalry and Grand Slams
His rivalry with Rafael Nadal was one of the defining stories of the sport. Federer lost three consecutive French Open finals to Nadal before completing the career Grand Slam by winning the French Open in 2009. He finished with 20 major titles, eight of them at Wimbledon. In 2008 he won the Olympic doubles gold medal with Stan Wawrinka, and in 2012 he lost the singles final at the London Olympics to Andy Murray. In 2014 he led Switzerland to its first Davis Cup title with Wawrinka.
Retirement
Federer did not play competitively after Wimbledon in 2021 because of knee problems and surgery. On 15 September 2022 he announced that the Laver Cup in London, an event he helped to create, would be his final tour event. He played his last match in doubles alongside Nadal and said afterwards that his career had been a "perfect journey". Both Nadal and Novak Djokovic had passed his total of Grand Slam titles by then.
Family and Foundation
Federer met Mirka Vavrinec, a former professional player, at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and they married in 2009. Their identical twin daughters, Myla and Charlene, were born in July 2009, and their twin sons, Leo and Lenny, in May 2014. He also runs the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports early education for children in southern Africa and Switzerland.
Wealth and Hall of Fame
Federer earned more than $130 million in prize money, third on the all-time list, and he became the seventh billionaire athlete in 2025, helped by his stake in the Swiss sportswear company On. Forbes reported in August 2026 that he had dropped below the billionaire mark after On's share price fell. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2026, and his wife Mirka introduced him at the ceremony.
Legacy
Federer is admired for the elegance of his game and for the sportsmanship that he showed in his rivalries. His records for consecutive weeks at No. 1 and his eight Wimbledon titles remain among the most celebrated in tennis.
