Love on the court! Roger Federer met his wife, Mirka Federer (née Vavrinec), while they were both playing the sport they love most: tennis.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner and the Slovakia native first crossed paths at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, while they were both competing for Switzerland. (Mirka’s family immigrated to the country when she was a toddler.)
Neither player medaled at the competition, but they hit it off with each other, sharing a kiss on their last night in the Olympic Village. “It was more than just a kiss, I guess,” Roger told CNN in 2019. “It was something that led to something extraordinary for us. We are still very happy.”
The duo secretly dated for two years before taking their romance public at the 2002 Hopman Cup, where they competed as doubles partners. Mirka retired from professional tennis later that year because of a stubborn foot injury, but she remained immersed in the sports world alongside Roger as he climbed the rankings, becoming his public relations manager.
When the athlete won the Australian Open in 2017, he credited Mirka — his “No. 1 supporter” — with helping him achieve his goals. “She’s been there when I had no titles and she’s still here 89 titles later, so she had a big part to play in [the win],” he told reporters at the time. “She knows it, I know it, everybody knows it. She’s a mum No. 1 and a wife, and only then later does she become the supporter.”
The duo, who tied the knot in 2009, later welcomed two sets of twins: Charlene and Myla (born in 2009) and Lenny and Leo (born in 2014). After becoming a father for the first time, Roger said that his kids made his tennis victories all the more enjoyable.
“Having kids and being a father now and being married enhances everything,” he explained to ESPN in 2010, shortly after winning his fourth Australian Open title. “I’m such a happy person today to see how well everything is working out for me. It just makes me extremely happy, extremely relaxed and it allows me to play good tennis, and I couldn’t ask for more.”
When Roger announced his retirement from tennis in September 2022, he again gave shout-outs to his spouse and their children for helping him on and off the court. “I would like to especially thank my amazing wife, Mirka, who has lived through every minute with me,” he wrote in a statement shared via Instagram. “She has warmed me up before finals, watched countless matches even while over 8 months pregnant and has endured my goofy side on the road with my team for over 20 years.”
Keep scrolling for a look back at Roger and Mirka’s complete relationship timeline: