Tennis fans are all saying how old they feel after the grown-up children of Lleyton Hewitt and Roger Federer were spotted sitting together at the Australian Open on Tuesday night. Cruz Hewitt – the 17-year-old son of Aussie legend Lleyton – was seen sitting next to Federer’s 15-year-old twin daughters Myla and Charlene.
The teenagers were sitting court-side at Rod Laver Arena during Jannik Sinner’s first-round clash with Hugo Gaston, which ended after only two sets when Gaston was forced to retire hurt. Cruz, Myla and Charlene were seen taking in the action and sharing a laugh.
Cruz Hewitt with Myla and Charlene Federer at the Australian Open. Image: Getty
Photos of the tennis legends’ kids have gone viral on social media, with many expressing their disbelief at how grown-up they look. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that Cruz, Myla and Charlene were little kids toddling along behind their parents at the grand slams.
One person wrote online: “I feel ancient”. While another commented: “How are they 16?”
The kids of Lleyton Hewitt and Roger Federer are all grown up. Image: Getty
The Hewitt and Federer families are close because Lleyton and Roger spent many years on the ATP Tour together. Federer and Hewitt played each other 27 times throughout their careers, with Federer winning 18 and Hewitt nine. They played twice at the Australian Open – with Federer winning both – although Hewitt beat the Swiss legend in Halle and Brisbane finals in 2010 and 2014 respectively.
Cruz Hewitt (L) and Myla and Charlene Federer (R) back in 2016. Image: Getty
Roger Federer and family back in Australia for grand slam
Federer is back in Australia for the first time since his retirement, and was honoured in a special ceremony before the grand slam started. He also teamed up with Andre Agassi in a legends exhibition doubles match against Hewitt and Pat Rafter.
Federer won six of his 20 grand slam titles at the Australian Open, and has many fond memories of Melbourne. “My parents are here too. We’re having a full family moment because they have great memories from Melbourne, so to relive them again and to visit the same places is fun,” he said earlier this week.
Reminiscing about his kids, the 44-year-old said: “They were too young to come out for the night session. So I think we’ve maybe got to bring back the day session final for the young children because all us players are having kids now and we want them to be a part of it.”
As for Cruz, the 17-year-old is set to play in the junior tournament once again in both singles and doubles. He was granted a wildcard into qualifying for the senior tournament, but lost in the first round to Michael Zheng.