Roger Federer is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Federer was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. He won 103 singles titles on the ATP Tour, the second most of all time, including 20 major men’s singles titles (among which a record eight men’s singles Wimbledon titles, and an Open Era joint-record five men’s singles US Open titles) and six year-end championships.

A lot of players are very superstitious. Is Roger Federer superstitious as well? If so, what sorts of things do does he try to avoid on the court or before a match? And what attachment does he have with the number 8?

8 is an extremely important number for Federer, who is said to be obsessed with it. He usually performs eight aces before each match, rubs his hands in a towel eight times at the end of the set, puts eight bottles of water at his seat and carries eight racquets with him. 8 is also the number of times Federer has won Wimbledon.

‘No, 8 only because I’m born on the 8th of the 8th (month) in 1981,‘ Federer clarified.

“I like that number. So not that much more to it, to be quite honest. And then, no, I’m not very superstitious. I don’t know how much I can tell you. I can try to dig and tell you — I just try to be on time, so I’m not late for my matches, because, you know, I go back to the junior days where all of a sudden, it’s, like, Okay, where is this kid, Roger? The match is on, and, I don’t know.

You’re nowhere to be found, and you’re, like, playing games with your friends in the forest and, they’re like, Okay, match, and, sure, here you come. I’m always scared I’m going to miss a match because I’m stuck in traffic.

I just like to be on time wherever I go. On the court itself, I have no superstitions, to be honest. I don’t mind stepping on lines. I don’t mind which side of the court I sit on or which racquet I start with. No, thankfully not.

I always told myself, also, the box doesn’t have to sit the same. You know, I know everybody has different — I’m not like that. I always said, if it’s another round, I can still play tennis. That’s better if they’re there. I just want it to be independent, to be honest.”