Is tennis the most stylish sport? It’s a matter of debate. Certainly, the fashion world seems increasingly to be courting it. Many top players are ambassadors for luxury brands, and not a tennis championship goes by without an on-court style choice making headlines.
Roger Federer is, arguably, the ne plus ultra of modern tennis style stars, with his refined, timeless look offering a 21st-century take on the sleek glamour of Fred Perry and René Lacoste. But the first thing I notice when I meet the winner of 20 men’s singles titles is his bare ankles. If anyone will be able to answer that lifelong “to sock, or not to sock?” dilemma, it will be Federer.
“I’m in between,” he says. “It depends a little bit on the shoe and a little bit on the weather. Sometimes when they are too small, they make me feel funny. Today, I’m wearing sockettes, as you can see. I used to wear a 46, my correct size, and would be dying at the end of the day. I thought, why am I doing this? Now, I go one size bigger and wear a 47, and only buy [shoes that are] comfortable.”
It’s fitting that comfort holds such importance, even for a man so renowned for his fashion, as it does for so many of us these days. We still wear trainers to the office and prefer our polo shirts and trousers to come with stretch. “It’s incredible how we’ve ended up in this place of working from home more, being comfortable, wondering if we really have to wear a suit jacket on Fridays, or whether we can come into the office looking looser,” muses Federer. “But we don’t want to come in looking completely casual. It’s not easy to put that sort of look together. That’s why a lot of people in the workplace need very strict rules. Otherwise, it gets crazy.”
In 2026, we’re as exacting about our leisurewear as we are about our tailoring. Perhaps Federer, 44, sensed this instinctively when he signed up to work with Uniqlo rather than a design house like his former tennis rivals (Jannik Sinner works with Gucci, Lorenzo Musetti with Bottega Veneta and Carlos Alcaraz with Louis Vuitton). Since joining in 2018, he has collaborated on collections that give its minimalist, functional clothing a design-led yet sporty edge.
“It’s about understanding our technology and how that can be worked into the items whilst still looking like Roger looks today, super chic and smart,” says Clare Waight Keller, now Uniqlo’s creative director but once at the design helm of Chloé and Givenchy, where she designed the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding dress. She gestures at Federer in his neat navy polo shirt and trousers. “You could wear his outfit to an office, or out to dinner. But you could also go and play a warm-up on court. Roger embodies this sort of timeless style for men.”
As someone whose performance was very much affected by what he wore on court, Federer understands more than most how the right clothes create the right mindset. “I always felt like the better you feel, the better you play. No doubt about it. Especially early on in my career, I felt if I could wear cool clothes, or had the better-looking outfit [on the court], it would make me very proud. Then later on, when I had my own brand and started designing clothes, it definitely made it feel very special, because you know that the other player likely doesn’t have that.”
Tennis is having a fashion moment, and Federer’s collection is a tight edit of black, green and various blues. “We added a bit more [colour], while still keeping it chic and classy,” says Federer. “I like the nod to Wimbledon Championships and the grass season, which has been my favourite one throughout [my career].”
Being a neat, understated dresser himself, I wonder what he makes of all the bold fashion statements worn on court by other players. “I like it. Are they trying too hard? Maybe. But I like that they’re stepping out of the comfort zone. Of course, we want tennis to be about forehands, backhands and the beauty of the game. But tennis fans can also get to know the sport through other ways [such as fashion]. Anything that highlights their personality gives us a better chance of understanding the player, so we know who to cheer for. There’s nothing worse than going to watch any sport, tennis or otherwise, when you don’t care who wins.”
In person, Federer is warm and friendly, talking with affable ease and humour about his youthful experiments with baggy clothes in the Nineties, as well as with the skateboard look that was prevalent at the time. Music was a big influence, too. “I was obviously into the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears and the Spice Girls,” he says, seemingly oblivious to the notion that most people likely wouldn’t have pegged him as a pop fan. “I came through in that time, also with some Michael Jackson and Queen and Luciano Pavarotti [influences] from my dad.
“The Eighties were big. Every time we were driving towards tennis tournaments, it was Eighties music from my parents all the time. Now I’m the DJ in the car for my own children. Sometimes they’re like, ‘Can we not play our music?’ ‘Absolutely,’ I say. Then they also play Seventies, Eighties and Nineties music,” he laughs. “It’s coming back, right?”
He and his wife, Mirka Federer, have four children, twin girls aged 16 and twin boys aged 11, all of whom have opinions about fashion. “They’ll look at me and go, ‘I don’t like those shoes’, or ‘I really like that jacket’,” he smiles. “I like my kids being into fashion. My girls care very much how they look on the golf course, or anywhere they go. One son, he doesn’t care. He’s a super sporty guy. Then my other son, he’s more into the skateboarding look, with the flat hat. It’s very cute. I’m happy that Mirka and I inspire them a little bit.”
In 2018, Federer made waves when he ditched his 24-year partnership with Nike and signed a 10-year partnership with Uniqlo in a deal reported to be worth $300 million. A year later, he acquired shares in On, which went on to create a trainer named after him. Could fashion turn into a second career?
“Yes! I like this space. I always have, ever since I went to see my first runway show with Anna Wintour at New York Fashion Week.” He and the global editorial director of Vogue, an avid tennis fan, have been close friends for decades. He’s also made two appearances at the Met Gala, the annual fundraiser Wintour has turned into a high-fashion spectacle. In 2017, he sported a daring (for him) Gucci jacket with a cobra embroidered on the back, and for his second appearance in 2023, he was a suave co-chair in Dior tailoring, his first major post-retirement project.
“She’s invited me to Milan to meet Giorgio Armani at his place, or to [meet] Donatella Versace, or have lunch with Miuccia Prada,” Federer says of the fashion doors Wintour has opened for him. “Having the role I’ve had in tennis, being able to look elegant on a tennis court, and hopefully pull tennis fashion in the right direction, has been important to me. I have no grand mega-plans, but I really enjoy collaborating with Clare Waight Keller, so hopefully there’s more of it to come.”