This morning, as I woke up and checked my notifications, a story from ESPN appeared on front screen stating that 41-year-old Roger Federer announced his retirement. Being someone who is not a tennis fan in any way, I immediately discarded the notification and went on with my day. If you or a loved one is a fan of tennis, this news may have been a bit more significant and caused a bit more of a stir. It certainly did for iconic ski racer Lindsey Vonn, as she posted a retirement congratulations for Federer on her Instagram.
As it turns out (there’s a very real chance you already knew this), Roger Federer is actually a pretty massive fan of skiing himself. At the 2022 Lenzerheide World Cup, Federer could be seen taking photos with and cheering on the Swiss ski team while also paying the team from the United States a visit. As tennisnet points out, Federer and Mikaela Shiffrin did, at least at one point, share a sponsor.
In 2021, Federer backed out of the Australian Open due to issues with his right knee, citing how he wanted to be able to do new things and ski with his children as a reason.
“I want to be able to go skiing with the children and with Mirka. Or go hiking, play basketball or start ice hockey – I still have so many dreams. For that, I need a good body and I don’t want to hit it against the wall” – Roger Federer in 2021, according to Tennis World
Unfortunately, do to concerns surrounding possible injury, Federer decided to take a break from skiing back in 2008, so we don’t have any videos of him shredding hard. Hopefully, now that he’s decided to step away from tennis, will see him enjoying the ski world a bit more, and maybe actually return to being active in it!
Image Credit: Lindsey Vonn on Instagram
