12 July 2023 , 06:00
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The Princess of Wales is well-known for her love of sports and exercise and keenly supports a number of important sporting organisations, such as the Rugby Football Union and the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
As their patron, Kate is a frequent visitor to Wimbledon and is often seen clapping and cheering the athletes on.
One tennis star who she is particularly close with is Roger Federer, 41. The Swiss tennis player is known to be good friends with the Princess and even attended her sister Pippa's wedding to James Matthews in 2017.
And it is clear that Prince George, nine, has inherited his mother's love of the sport after it emerged that Federer had been invited to the Middleton family home in Bucklebury to give the young prince a private lesson.
Prince George has inherited his love of the sport from his mum (2022 Karwai Tang)Federer went on to confirm that he was invited to Carole and Michael Middleton’s home to give the second-in-line to the throne a tennis lesson when he described George as a 'sweet boy', adding that he was already showing great skills as a player.
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"At that stage it's all about just touching the ball, it's already good. Same with my boys," Roger said. "I think I have a little advantage that I actually spent some time, you know, with him. I'm the only player he's ever met. Then you have a little head start on who is your favourite player."
Revealing his hopes that George would maintain his enthusiasm for the sport as he grows up, Roger said: "I love to see that they're into tennis or into sports ... his mum has always enjoyed their tennis ... I hope that he'll still say the same in a few years' time."
Roger Federer enjoys a close relationship with the Middleton family (Phil Harris)The Princess of Wales recently took the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the hard work and dedication that goes into becoming a Ball Boy or Girl in The Championships and joined eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer on the famous courts in South London.
In a professionally shot video released by Kensington Palace before the first game last week, the Princess, 41, said, "Wimbledon is renowned for its amazingly professional ball boys and ball girls, the amount of work it takes, it's incredible to see it behind the scenes.
The Princess of Wales learnt about what is takes to be a ball boy or girl (AELTC/Thomas Lovelock)"With all the discipline and everything you've learnt, you'll be able to take it into so many other parts of your life – things like confidence, and that feeling of pride with being on any of the courts is such a big moment."
Federer added, "This is proper practice. I'm really impressed at how much effort and training goes into being a ball kid during the Championships. I used to be a ball kid in Basel when I was nine or 10 and, as I have always said, once a ball kid always a ball kid."
Throughout the slick video, the Princess can be seen taking part in a doubles rally with the 20-time men's singles Grand Slam winner, before watching the children in a training session.
As she took a turn learning to be a Ball Girl, the Princess landed herself in hot water when she impressively caught the ball with one hand. But before her victory could be savoured, Federer asked: "Are you allowed to do that?"
Kate also wondered if she was able to catch the ball, as she responded: "Oh yeah, are you allowed to do that? That’s a good point." Federer explained the game rules to Kate, as he pointed out that in Australia, players "would catch" the tennis ball, but in Wimbledon they wouldn't.