Roger Federer and the Princess of Wales have starred in a film to celebrate the ballboys and girls at Wimbledon. The duo shared a rally on one of the courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club before learning about the practice the ballkids are put through ahead of the tournament.
Federer, who revealed he was once a ballboy in his hometown of Basel, rallied with Princess Kate. At one point, the tennis icon was impressed by a shot made by the royal.
The short film celebrates the work done by the ballboys and girls. One girl is seen teaching Princess Kate – who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club – how to properly throw and catch the balls.
Each year, there are around 250 children aged between 13 and 15 chosen to be ballboys and girls at Wimbledon. They are picked from around 1000 applicants from local schools who participate in training sessions at the All England Club’s Community Tennis Centre.
The cohort at each edition of the Championships is split between around 170 new participants and 80 from the previous year. Federer was left impressed by the work that goes into preparing for the tournament.
During the film, the eight-time Wimbledon champion says: “This is proper practice, I’m really impressed at how much effort and training goes into being a ballkid during The Championships.
“I used to be a ballkid in Basel when I was nine or 10 and as I have always said: ‘once a ballkid always a ballkid’.”
Princess Kate added: “Wimbledon is renowned for its amazingly professional ballboys and ballgirls, the amount of work it takes, it’s incredible to see it behind the scenes… With all the discipline and everything you’ve learnt, you’ll be able to take it into so many other parts of your life, things like confidence and that feeling of pride with being on any of the courts is such a big moment.”
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