Roger Federer Watched FC Basel take on Aston Villa—Announced Heading to 2026 Australian Open
A legend is on the move. Roger Federer was in attendance watching his hometown team FC Basel take on Aston Villa. Additionally, the Swiss tennis legend announced he’ll head Down Under next month to witness the Australian Open 2026.
Roger Federer will headline the Australian Open’s first-ever Opening Ceremony. A event taking place on Saturday, January 17, the night before the main draw begins. Roger will take to the court in the ‘Battle of the World No.1s’ joining Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt.
Tickets for the AO Opening Ceremony start at $149 and go on sale at 12:00 noon AEDT today. Federer is beyond enthusiastic about his return back to Rod Laver Arena for the inaugural Australian Open Opening Ceremony. He states,
“It feels like a lifetime ago that I coined the phrase the ‘Happy Slam’ for the Australian Open. And it still makes me smile when I think about all the moments I’ve had here.
I’ve experienced so many emotions on Rod Laver Arena … the joy of lifting ‘Norman’ six times, the honor of playing in front of Rod Laver himself, the challenge of competing against my biggest rivals, and always the overwhelming love and support of the Australian fans.
Coming back to win the AO in 2017 is one of my most treasured Grand Slam memories; and backing it up to win in 2018 was another dream come true in Melbourne. I can’t wait to come down under again to the AO and create more fantastic moments with all the Aussie fans.”
Roger Federer Watched FC Basel take on Aston Villa—Announced Heading to 2026 Australian Open
In the midst of all of this exciting news, Roger Federer also attended the WTA’s new partnership event with Mercedes-Benz, joined by the iconic Billie Jean King. At this event, Federer was kind and gracious to do a quick interview. He was asked what kind of advice he would give to young athletes chasing their dreams of greatness.
In response, Roger advised, “My advice for up-and-coming pros is to strive. Shoot for the stars, land on the moon, go for it, work hard, enjoy yourself, but really know it’s going to be a battle and you’re going to sometimes take one or two steps back. To then in the process take two or three steps forward again. So don’t worry about those moments you know they are going to come. Make sure you build a good team, listen to your coaches; listen to your parents and also be very strong minded, you are your own coach. You can’t ONLY be coached, you will be there on your own, on the court and you have to make decisions on your own and be relaxed about it all.” Sounds like excellent guidance and recommendations to us.
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