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.

© AFP

Jules Hypolite

le 03/12/2025 à 17h47

1 min to read

Becker Federer

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.