For two athletes, is any place for a love story to start more fitting than the Olympics?
That was the case for tennis legend Roger Federer and his wife, Mirka, who met while representing Switzerland at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Nine years on, the pair tied the knot in a sweet ceremony in Roger’s hometown of Basel. They have since welcomed four children; identical twins Charlene and Myla in 2009, and another set of identical twins, Leo and Lenny in 2014.
We’ve all seen her courtside at her husband’s matches over the years, but what you might not know is that Mirka was actually a tennis player herself—and she was pretty successful, too. In fact, after her own retirement she would continue to play a major role in Roger’s career, according to one of his coaches. Her impact was so significant that the couple’s dynamic actually helped to inspire Art Donaldson and Tashi Duncan, the characters played by Zendaya and Mike Faist in Challengers.
Scroll on for fun facts you probably didn’t know about Mirka Federer, including how she influenced Luca Guadagnino’s hit tennis film.
She Was Born In Slovakia, But Played Tennis For Switzerland
Mirker Federer was born Miroslava Vavrincová in April 1978, in Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia).
Her family moved to Switzerland when she was two years old.
Mirka started playing tennis at nine-years old and went pro in 1993. She competed in all four Grand Slams from 1999 to 2001, as well as the 2000 Summer Olympics, where she played for Switzerland. She reached her highest world ranking of 83 that same year.
She Is Four Years Older Than Roger
Roger Federer is actually four years younger than his wife and when he first met Mirka, he was nervous to make a move.
“We spent two weeks together in those dorms. We were together with the wrestlers and all the other cool athletes. I guess over the two weeks, we built up some chemistry,” Federer recalled in an interview with CNN in 2019, adding that one of the wrestlers had to give him some encouragement to kiss Mirka, who was 21 at the time.
Roger added, “She told me I was so young when she kissed me. I tried to tell her I was almost 18-and-a-half. I tried to sneak in a quarter year!”
Roger and Mirka Once Played Doubles Together
At the 2002 Hopman Cup, the pair teamed up for their country once again.
This was where their relationship went public, too. Despite taking a loss, Roger and Mirka’s chemistry was undeniable in interviews and the press soon picked up on their relationship.
She Was Forced To Retire Due To Injury — But Got A Gig With Roger’s Team
After the Hopman Cup, Mirka was forced to retire in 2002 due to ongoing issues with her foot.
While her career was uncertain, Mirka’s future with Roger seemed certain. Ultimately, she accepted a role as her beau’s PR manager, which meant the duo could travel and be together on tour.
Over the years, Roger has spoken about the important role his wife has played throughout his career.
“She still plays a huge role and has great input and impact,” Paul Annacone, Roger’s co-coach, told the New York Times in 2012. “She understands the big picture extremely well and does a great job in terms of letting us work but also shares invaluable information. This is a tricky balance. She’s been there since day one, so she knows very well what it takes and how to get there.”
When he won the Australian Open in 2017, Roger told reporters, “She’s been there when I had no titles and she’s still here 89 titles later, so she had a big part to play in [the win]. She had a big part to play in it – she knows it, I know it, everybody knows it.”
When he announced his retirement in 2022, Roger thanked his wife in his speech, too. He said, “She has warmed me up before finals, watched countless matches even while over 8-months pregnant and has endured my goofy side on the road with my team for over 20 years.”
She Helped Inspire Challengers‘ Tashi Duncan
Writer Justin Kuritzkes may have gotten the idea for Challengers while watching Naomi Osaka verse Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open, but different tennis champs inspired his protagonists.
In an interview with GQ, Kuritzkes recalled watching Roger play at Wimbledon in 2019 when he noticed Mirka in the grandstands.
“She looked so stressed out, every point,” he told the magazine. “I was watching her and just thinking, ‘Why are you so stressed out? You guys have all the money in the world. You’ve won 20 grand slams. What’s so stressful to you? It has to be something else.’”
He began digging into her story and the rest is history, it seems!
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