Roger Federer Offers Tennis Tips to Fans Practicing Solo At-Home Drills

Roger Federer

Tennis enthusiasts practicing at home could get some tips from one of the best tennis players in the world.

Roger Federer shared a video of a solo drill for players of the sport who are practicing social distancing or following stay-at-home orders amid the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic — and offered some of his own advice to those who uploaded videos of themselves practicing the drill.

“Here’s a helpful solo drill. Let’s see what you got! Reply back with a video and I’ll provide some tips,” the athlete wrote alongside the video, in which he volleys a tennis ball against a wall.

The athlete wore a white Panama hat, an all-white track suit and matching sneakers for the at-home workout.

“Choose your hat wisely,” he jokes in the video, adding the hashtag “tennis at home.”

Fans of all ages from across the world answered Federer’s call in droves by sharing videos of themselves practicing the same drill from home — and he in turn responded with some hilarious commentary.

One fan, sporting a cowboy hat, lost the control of the tennis ball almost immediately.Roger Federer

ROGER FEDERER/TWITTER

“I guess the problem is the hat,” the fan joked in the caption, to which Federer offered a laughter emoji and wrote, “good try though.”

Federer applauded another at-home player, also noticing a remnant of a tennis session clearly gone wrong elsewhere in the room.

“Nice work,” he wrote, “I Like the broken racket in the back!”

Another fan — sporting a big sombrero — admitted that she interrupted her dad’s Zoom conference call in order to practice the drill.

“That was the right choice of hat, Love the effort, sorry to your dad!” Federer responded, adding a string of emojis.

Yet another fan emulated Federer’s own style of headwear, practicing the drill over his sleeping dog.

“Love the confidence not to drop the [ball] on the [dog],” Federer told the fan.

Over on Instagram, Federer offered the same challenge — which was answered by none other than fellow tennis star Novak Djokovic.

“Good enough @rogerfederer?” Djokovic wrote on his Instagram Stories atop a video of himself practicing the drill.

“You’ve beaten me with that volley more than a few times, I don’t think you need any tips,” Federer wrote back in his own Instagram Stories.

The focus on at-home tennis practice comes as most of the world is practicing social distancing or under a stay-at-home order amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to offering tennis tips online, Federer and his wife recently donated $1.02 million to families who may be affected by the virus in his home country of Switzerland.

“These are challenging times for everyone and nobody should be left behind,” he shared in an Instagram post on March 25. “Mirka and I have personally decided to donate one million Swiss Francs for the most vulnerable families in Switzerland. Our contribution is just a start. We hope that others might join in supporting more families in need. Together we can overcome this crisis! Stay healthy!”

The tennis legend also offered some words of encouragement last week, as well as another glimpse into how he is staying in shape while staying at home.

“Another glimpse into the stay at home practice routine 🧤🧣🎾👊,” he wrote on Instagram. “I hope everyone is safe and healthy. Stay positive. Keep active. Support one another. We will get through this together🙏 #stayhome”

In Switzerland, there are at least 22,242 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 641 deaths related to the contagious respiratory virus as of Tuesday. Worldwide, there have been more than 1.3 million confirmed cases with at least 77,000 deaths.