"Mirka was always very elegant and always very into cars, watches, fashion"- Roger Federer on how his wife inspired him to be more outgoing and social

Roger Federer credited his wife Mirka for turning him onto the fashion scene, revealing that it was because of her inspiration that he became more outgoing and social in his later years.

After they noticed each other at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Mirka, three years older than the Swiss maestro, and Federer started dating when the latter was just 18. Even then, his wife was very "elegant" and into high-fashion things like cars and watches, Federer revealed in a recent conversation with GQ Sports.

It is thanks to Mirka that the 20-time Grand Slam champion also got into the practice of going to museums and visiting new places, which ultimately led him into the fashion world. The former World No. 1 has collaborated with UNIQLO in recent times to launch his own fashion collection, even offering design inputs along the way.

"Travels for sure. My wife, Mirka, is three years older and she was always very elegant and always very into cars, watches, and fashion. Those were her hobbies. And she was always very outgoing, visiting places, and I think she inspired me very much to also go to museums, meet people, be more outgoing, be socially stronger," Federer said.

"Because we started dating when I was 18 years old and we had met at the Sydney Olympics back in 2000. And so I think that’s what got me into the whole fashion world," he added.

Roger Federer joked about how when he had to visit different cities with Mirka, he quickly understood that he could not do it in just jeans and sneakers every day. With his tennis career gaining success at the same time, the 42-year-old amusingly hinted that he was all but forced to take up the habit of wearing a suit and a tie on his way to red carpets around the globe.

"When you go to all these different cities, I’m sorry, you cannot wear jeans and running sneakers and, I dunno, an oversized T-shirt every single day. And then as I was growing into a more successful tennis player, you were doing this red carpet. So you need a suit and you cannot wear the same tie every time," Federer said.

Roger Federer and his wife Mirka were most recently in attendance at the 2024 Academy Awards, turning heads in their stylish red carpet looks.

"Just staying in the narrow tennis mind is not enough" - Roger Federer

96th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

Speaking of attending red carpets at prominent events like the Oscars, Roger Federer felt that it was a valuable experience for someone like him who did not want to be constrained with just tennis all his life.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion did admit that making small talk and going out to such events used to fill him with dread when he was young. But now that he is older, Federer noted that he finds them rather appealing.

"I know some players who do hotel, club, hotel, club, room service, watching sports all day, and that’s it. Just staying in the narrow tennis mind is not enough. I feel like going out and meeting people and doing different things to me is very appealing, even though I used to dread red carpets and small talk and all that stuff," Federer said.