Federer tennis gear nets CHF4.3 million at auction

Christie's auction specialists handle a signed Nike tennis shoe that belonged to Roger Federer for the 2009 French Open. Keystone / Yui Mok

Rackets, T-shirts, sports shoes and other historic tennis equipment belonging to Roger Federer have raised £3.4 million (CHF4.3 million) at auction. The money will go towards his charity.

The combined proceeds of the Christie’s auction raised three times more than the initial target, the auction house said on Wednesday. The money will go towards the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports educational projects in southern Africa and his native Switzerland.

“I am overwhelmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the support from around the world,” Federer said in a statement.

The “Roger Federer Collection” sale featured items from the career of the winner of 20 grand slam titles and took place in two phases.

A live sale on June 23 in London had 20 lots which focused on Federer’s career at the four Grand Slams: Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens.

The subsequent online sale from June 23 to July 14 featured 300 lots from other tournaments spanning 21 years – dating back to his first Olympics appearance at the 2000 Sydney Games, when he was 19.

The items sold online found buyers from 44 countries across six continents, Christie’s said.

The highlight of the online sale was a set of three rackets used at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, which sold for £162,500, more than 23 times their estimate of £7,000-10,000.

“The prices achieved have been unbelievable,” Federer said.

‘Doing something meaningful’

Other lots included the outfit and racket from Federer’s 2009 French Open final victory over Robin Soderling which completed his career Grand Slam, including shoes still coated in red Roland Garros clay dust.

The sale also featured his 2007 kit and racket used during the second of his three Wimbledon finals against Rafael Nadal, including shoes decorated with Swiss flags denoting his Wimbledon titles.

Federer’s elegant white RF-emblazoned cardigan, worn before facing Britain’s Andy Murray in the 2012 Wimbledon final, was also sold, as were the shoes he wore when winning his third successive Wimbledon title in 2005 against Andy Roddick.

“We started collecting items which accompanied me on court because we thought that perhaps one day we could do something meaningful with them,” Federer said.

Federer, who turns 40 on August 8, had been hoping to secure his first Olympic singles gold medal at the upcoming Tokyo Games, but announced on Tuesday that he had withdrawn after picking up a knee injury during the grass court season.