Today, August 8, tennis legend Roger Federer celebrates his 43rd birthday. The Swiss celebrates this holiday in the company of his beloved wife Mirka, with whom he raises four children. Roger began an affair with her during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Federer even had to lie a little about his age to win the heart of a girl who was three years older than him after their first kiss. We remember how Roger’s relationship with the love of his life began.
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Roger Federer became close to Miroslava Vavrinec at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where they represented the Swiss team. Roger has just turned 19. He already showed great promise, although he had not yet reached a truly dominant level. At his first Olympic Games, Federer reached the semi-finals, where he lost to Germany’s Tommy Haas. And in the bronze medal match he lost to France’s Arnaud Di Pascual.
Roger Federer at the 2000 Olympics
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Miroslava, often called by the abbreviated name Mirka, did not have enough stars from the sky in tennis. She started playing this sport not at such an early age and partly thanks to a happy accident. In 1987, when Mirka was nine years old, her father decided to go to cheer on the legendary Martina Navratilova at a tournament in Filderstadt, Germany. I took my daughter with me. The tournament coincided with Navratilova’s birthday. Mirka’s father managed to break through the crowd of guards and give Martina a gift. He told her about his Czechoslovak origin (the Vavrinec family moved from Slovakia to Switzerland when Mirka was two years old). Navratilova decided to talk to him more closely. Among other things, I asked the girl if she played tennis.
“No, I’ve never tried it,” Mirka replied.
“You have the data, it’s worth a try,” Navratilova said.
Martina called her friend in Zurich and asked her to arrange Mirka’s first lesson. She later sent her one of her rackets. Mirka Vavrinec decided to become a professional tennis player largely thanks to Navratilova. Roger likes to mention this point in interviews and thanks Martina. Mirka was in the top 100 of the WTA rankings (her highest was 76th) and received the right to play at the 2000 Olympics. She was not considered a candidate for medals, but even the very fact of participating in the Games was an honor for her. The 22-year-old Vavrinec suffered a crushing defeat in Sydney in the first round to Russian Elena Dementieva (1-6, 1-6), which did not become a big sensation.
Miroslava Vavrinec at the Australian Open – 2001
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Roger and Mirka’s performance at the Olympics was not the best, but they quickly forgot about it due to romantic feelings. Of course, Federer and Vavrinec knew each other even before the Games, but they never really communicated. In addition, Mirka felt some aversion towards Roger. She first saw him in 1997. Then 15-year-old Roger was already shining at the junior level, but the boy’s behavior left much to be desired. During his playing career, Federer was distinguished by his gentlemanly manners and restraint on the court. However, in his youth, Roger often suffered from emotional breakdowns. He broke rackets and yelled at judges and spectators after unsuccessful plays. Mirka watched all this from the sidelines and naturally did not feel much sympathy for him.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, things changed. Roger began to behave more calmly on the court, and Mirka had the opportunity to get to know him better during a couple of weeks of living together in the Olympic Village. Federer began to court Vavrinec. Roger’s first attempts were rather awkward. He asked some representatives of the Swiss national team for advice. He wanted to know how best to win her heart and whether it was worth going on a first date with her.
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More often than not, his fellow athletes discouraged Federer from getting involved with a girl, but nothing stopped the young man. Roger fell in love and was ready to take bold steps. One of the Swiss wrestlers may have jokingly told Federer to approach Mirka and just kiss her. Roger overheard him. Vavrinec was a bit shocked by Federer’s action. He told Roger that he was too young for her. In response, he tried to hide his age a bit and gave himself six months of status to win her heart.
“Mirka was older than me. When I kissed her for the first time at the Sydney Olympics, she said, ‘You’re so small.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m almost 19 and a half.’ You know how sometimes you try to add up those six months? And she said, ‘Yeah, you’re just a kid.’ When I met Mirka I had 0 titles, now I’m 88 and she’s been with me all this time. I used to train for five to six hours straight. Her parents worked very hard. Mirka was very tough and taught me how to work. We were at the tennis centre and I watched her practise for six hours and I thought, ‘I can’t do this.’ An hour later I was already breaking down psychologically, it’s so boring. And I was kicked out of training for bad behaviour,” Roger said in an interview with The Guardian in 2016.
Federer still managed to charm Vavrinec. They started dating after the Olympics in Sydney. At the same time, Roger made rapid progress on the court, while Mirka, on the contrary, did not do well. In 2002, Vavrinec retired from the game due to persistent foot injuries. She immediately found something to do. Mirka took on the role of Federer’s PR manager, traveled with him to tournaments and resolved contractual issues with journalists and sponsors. In fact, for her beloved she became at the same time an agent, PR, psychologist, coach-consultant, sparring partner and costume designer. In short, the main support. Previously, Roger led a relaxed lifestyle, spent a lot of time in front of the game console and dressed, to put it mildly, poorly. Mirka turned him into a real style icon and instilled confidence on the court. The result was not long in coming.
Roger Federer and Mirka in 2003
Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon, after which he began to collect victories at all the majors almost uninterruptedly, except that Roland Garros did not submit to him for a long time. Between 2004 and 2009, he won 14 out of 24 possible Slams, reaching the final six more times and coming within a whisker of the title. The losses to Rafael Nadal in the decisive matches at Roland Garros in 2006 and 2007 were especially offensive for Roger. Then Federer won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. If it were not for the rise of clay specialist Rafael Nadal, he would have managed to collect the “Helmet” of the calendar for the first time since the legendary Rod Laver in 1969.
On April 11, 2009, Roger and Mirka got married. The wedding ceremony took place early on Saturday morning in Basel in the presence of their closest friends. In July of the same year, the couple gave birth to twins Mila and Charlene. And in May 2014, Mirka again gave birth to twins, this time boys Leo and Lenny.
In the 2010s, Federer slowed down when Novak Djokovic joined him and Rafa to form the “Big Three.” Roger was the oldest in the company of his main rivals and gradually lost competition to them. In the period from 2013 to 2016, he experienced a decline and was left without titles at the TBS, even thinking about quitting tennis. Fortunately, there was one person by his side who did not let him get discouraged during a difficult period. Mirka convinced him to continue his career. Despite all the difficulties, in the last 10 years the Swiss has managed to conquer five Grand Slams, three of them in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, when many were quick to write him off.
“If Mirka hadn’t agreed to take care of her family, I would have finished my career a long time ago,” Roger said after winning the 2018 Australian Open.
Roger and Mirka Federer in 2024
Photo: From Roger Federer’s personal archive.
At the end of his career, Federer suffered from frequent injuries and practically did not play. However, he managed to close the door quite loudly when he reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon 2021 and lost to the powerful serve winner Hubert Hurkacz. Roger officially retired from tennis at the 2022 Laver Cup at the age of 41, saying a nice goodbye to the public. A documentary was recently made about this. Naturally, Mirka took an active part in the filming.
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Roger has amassed 103 ATP titles, including 20 victories on TBS. He earned $130.6 million in prize money on the court, but earned even more off the court through numerous endorsement deals and the development of his own business empire. Federer’s net worth is now estimated at $550 million. There is no doubt that he would not have achieved such success without Mirka’s support. Roger says so himself.
“I am used to consulting with Mirka on various occasions. One day, on the eve of the tournament in Basel, I approached her and said: ‘Listen, I would like to play doubles here.’ To this she replied reasonably: ‘Then play. Why are you asking me? ’ I replied: ‘Habit… ’ I am happy to have Mirka. Happy that we can spend time together. The best day off for me is when we are both at home. Just us and no one else. I am happy when she is happy and I will do everything for that,” Federer said.
After retiring, Federer can finally enjoy life to the fullest. Roger regularly travels on holiday to different parts of the world. This year in particular he enjoyed an extended period of time in Thailand with his wife, children and parents.
Roger Federer and Mirka on holiday in Thailand
Photo: From Roger Federer’s personal archive.
In addition, Federer loves music and attends concerts of various artists. In July, Roger attended a performance by Taylor Swift in his hometown of Basel. Federer also regularly visits tennis tournaments. Roger pays special attention to Wimbledon, which he has won eight times – a record in tennis history. He has not missed any competitions in the past two years, when he was no longer an active player.
Of course, Roger now spends much more time with Mirka. His wife helped him become a successful person and remains his main support in life. Who knows what Federer’s fate would have been like if he had not shown determination and sought Mirka’s attention at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. This moment was definitely a turning point for Roger and helped him become who he is today.
