Boris Becker reveals: "We wanted Federer to play for Germany" — the little-known anecdote about the Swiss legend

A border and a hope: Boris Becker reveals he wanted to make Roger Federer a German player.

le 03/12/2025 à 17h47

1 min to read

Could Roger Federer have represented Germany during his career? The native of Basel - a city located a few kilometers from the German border - was approached when he was young to change his sporting nationality.

"We wanted him to play for Germany"

Indeed, it was Boris Becker, a six-time Grand Slam winner, who admitted to having tried everything to pull Federer away from Switzerland, so that he would represent Germany in official competition.

"I know him very well, since he was very young. Given that he comes from Basel, a city that is close to the border, we wanted him to play for Germany, not Switzerland.

I spoke to him a little, but it was impossible. We had hope though, because he was only three kilometers from the border. I tried.", said the youngest Wimbledon winner for La Revuelta.

Becker Boris

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Federer Roger

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His mother's land is South Africa

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Vacations, Rest, and Nutrition for Stars During the Off-Season: Inside a Crucial Break

Arthur Millot 22/12/2025 à 12h33

Tennis never really stops… or almost. Behind the endless stream of tournaments, champions must learn to stop in order to last. From Federer to Alcaraz, an investigation into those decisive few weeks when everything is at stake: rest, release, and rebirth.

More Than a Match: Pay Inequalities Between Women and Men in Tennis

Clément Gehl 21/12/2025 à 11h59

From the Williams sisters to Alizé Cornet, from sponsors to the ATP and WTA tours, the debate over pay equality in tennis has never been more intense. Between undeniable progress and persistent inequalities, the king of racket sports finds itself facing its own contradictions.

Changing coach or reinventing yourself: the off-season, time for big decisions

Jules Hypolite 20/12/2025 à 17h03

Coaching changes, new methods, technological innovations: nothing is left to chance during the off-season.

The Rafa Nadal Academy: a model of expertise and professionalism for tennis’s future stars

Adrien Guyot 20/12/2025 à 09h00

Programs for all ages and a pathway to the professional world in major complexes that are increasingly modernized. This is the motto of the Rafa Nadal Academy, which discovers the champions of tomorrow and prepares them for the very highest level.

Becker revealed the reason why Djokovic contacted him to coach him in 2013

Clément Gehl 04/12/2025 à 10h25

In October 2013, Novak Djokovic was no longer world number 1. Unsettled by his defeats against Rafael Nadal, he decided to shake things up. Boris Becker recounts how a simple phone call marked the beginning of a historic collaboration.

"He should play one-handed": Boris Becker's surprising prediction about the young Nadal

Arthur Millot 04/12/2025 à 14h28

Boris Becker revealed a little-known anecdote linking his past to that of a very young Rafael Nadal.

The most mythical one-handed backhand? Mouratoglou reveals his top 5

Arthur Millot 03/12/2025 à 13h31

Patrick Mouratoglou has just revealed his top 5 of the greatest one-handed backhands in history.

Stakhovsky discusses the new generation: "Their results are much lower than those of the generation that preceded them"

Adrien Guyot 03/12/2025 à 07h45

Former world number 31, Serhiy Stakhovsky reacted to the comments of his compatriot Alexandr Dolgopolov, who had claimed that the current top 15 is weaker than about ten years ago.

As we move to the end of this month and also closing out the year I am wishing all of those following me a Merry Christmas and a Happy/Healthy New Year.

Let's make that wish for all 2000 plus players hoping for 5 wins each day. Hoping ŵhen we open the results page to see all green, and no red. And especially NO CANCELED matches.

From me and my rotti JAZ, I bid you all good night, and see you in...

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I love tennis

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why did tennis tonic void predictions on the match between Chwalinska and Huergo at the Quito tournament? The match was played to completion and on time. If TT feels the match is one sided, and of course it was, then don't put it up for prediction. This is getting irritating.

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The finals are here, and we scramble for the best finish. I've been chasing "King" all year and I was able to shrink the spread a little. Skelp is also closing the gap.

Seasons best to all the regulars in our league.

Will you all be back in the new year.?

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Steffi Graf completed a Golden Slam (not just a career Grand Slam) when she was 19. She is the only person to accomplish that, winning the four majors plus Olympic gold the same calendar year.

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