Parents play a pivotal role in the development of their children’s sporting careers, but it is crucial that they don’t interfere too much with Roger Federer revealing that approach was key to his own journey to becoming one of the best-ever tennis players.
Federer was tipped for big things from a young age, and he went on to fulfil his childhood promise as, when all was said and done, he had won 103 singles titles – including 20 Grand Slams and a Career Grand Slam – spent 310 weeks at No 1 in the ATP Rankings and broke numerous other records along the way.
Naturally, his parents Robert and Lynette played a significant role in his success, but when it came to the actual coaching, they often took a backseat as they allowed his coaches at the Swiss Tennis and his personal mentor, Pierre Paganini, to lead the way.
In a wide-ranging interview with Tagesanzeiger.ch’s Simon Graf, Federer was asked about the role his parents played in his career and replied: “I can learn so much from my parents. They didn’t interfere when it wasn’t necessary.
“They would call me, my coach at Swiss Tennis, and Pierre and ask: ‘How’s it going?’ And when everyone said it was okay, they stayed out of it. I can’t remember them ever visiting me in Ecublens (where he trained with Swiss Tennis from 14 to 16).
“I asked them recently: ‘Did you actually ever come to Ecublens?’ They said: ‘Two or three times.’ And that was in two years. Pretty incredible. I’m now trying to build a framework around tennis for my son Leo. He’s eleven now.”
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The 44-year-old and his wife, former tennis player Mirka, have two sets of identical twins with daughters Charlene Riva and Myla Rose born in 2009 and sons Leo and Lenny born in 2014.
There was always a high chance that one of their children would follow in their footsteps and take up tennis with Leo the one who has shown the most interest.
Asked if he coaches his son, the former world No 1 said: “No. If I’m needed, I’m there. I’m happy to help, with other kids too. But someone else should do the coaching.
“I see myself more as a general manager with Leo. I didn’t push him for a long time. But for about a year now, since I’ve noticed he wants to play more and more, I’m trying to make that possible for him.
“At this age you need enough practice and matches. I make sure Leo has good coaches and training partners. Organising all of that is quite a bit of work. You can’t just send him somewhere and then see what happens.
“I think Leo’s doing great. He now also plays the occasional tournament. For me it’s exciting to support him. I’m less concerned with results than with him having fun and making progress.”
But now that he is a tennis parent himself, he does have advice for other parents of young players.
“Put trust in the coaches, the way my parents did. But you still have to keep your finger on the pulse,” the Swiss Maestro said.
“That’s what I’ve been told with Leo too: Even if you stay in the background, you have to know what’s going on. That’s our job as parents: to support our children so they can learn to fly on their own.”