Roger Federer is opening up about his long-standing friendship with Anna Wintour.
While speaking exclusively with Us Weekly at Amazon’s upfront presentation on Tuesday, May 14, the 42-year-old tennis star revealed that the pair have been friends for two decades.
“I didn’t know who she was at the very beginning,” Federer told Us, adding that their common passion for tennis was what initially cemented their friendship.
“She invited me to dinner parties that she hosts always for all her friends and their partners and so forth,” he continued. “I realized she’s a massive tennis fan. Oh my God, she loves my game. And then she got along with Mirka, my wife, really well.”
Federer went on to reveal that Wintour’s love of tennis runs so deep that she even played hooky from work to keep up with his tennis matches.
“We saw each other from time and time and she started skipping some of those fashion shows to come watch my games at the US Open,” he said, adding, “I could lean on her for some amazing advice and she’s always been there for me more as a friend.”
Over the past twenty odd years, Wintour, 74, and Federer have been photographed at numerous events together, both fashion and tennis related. While she has loyally attended his tennis matches, he has sat front row with her at fashion shows.
In September 2022, Wintour penned a heartfelt essay in Vogue reflecting on her friendship with Federer following the news of his retirement.
“This is a hard day for me, as it is for all tennis fans, but one that comes with cause for gratitude and celebration, too,” she wrote. “It’s not a question of who will be the next Roger Federer: There is, and there will always ever be, just one.”
Earlier this week, on Monday, May 13, Wintour and Federer attended a special screening of his documentary, Federer: Twelve Final Days, at the Whitby Hotel in New York. Its official release date has yet to be announced.
With reporting by Andrew Nodell.
