Kate Middleton had great fun playing tennis this weekend. In a new video, the 41-year-old Princess of Wales challenges tennis legend Roger Federer on the court. She also got a behind-the-scenes look at Ball Boys and Girls at Wimbledon, a program for youth catching balls during the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
Princess Kate prepares for Wimbledon
The Wimbledon Championships are the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. The 136th edition will take place this year from July 3rd to 16th, 2023. The defending champions in singles are Novak Doković for men and Jelena Rybakina for women.
Kate Middleton is a big fan of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. Since marrying into the English royal family in 2011, she has been spotted in the stands cheering on the tennis pros.
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The video begins with Princess Kate – clad in a white tennis top, matching tennis skirt and high ponytail – greeting Federer on the tennis court and chatting with him for a bit before the pair compete in doubles.
Kate Middleton challenges Roger Federer to a duel
“Would you like to play some tennis?” he asks her, to which she replies, “Yes, please.” The two then duel for a few sentences before being allowed to watch the ball boys and girls play. A ball girl named Mollie even shows Kate how to stand on the sidelines and hit a tennis ball back at a player with her arm outstretched.
Afterwards, she and Federer chat with the ball boys and girls. “When I look at practice, what should I look for?” Kate asks a ball boy named Alex, who replies, “First of all, discipline and order.”
Princess Kate and Roger Federer will then speak to the coaches and train with the youngsters at the Wimbledon facility. “If you look at the outdoor courts, the most worn area is the ball boy and ball girl position,” Jamie Baker, director of the Wimbledon tournament, explains to Kate and Federer.
Wimbledon: Princess Kate receives tutoring from ball girls and ball boys
“To see the training and dedication, the time you put into training to make sure everything goes smoothly on the day the champions play Wimbledon… Yes, it’s incredible to look behind to throw the scenes,” says Kate at the end of the video.
According to the Wimbledon website, there are around 250 youngsters in the Ball Boys and Girls at Wimbledon, with an average age of 15. They begin training in February at Raynes Park Community Sports Ground. Over the course of several months, they learn how to correctly signal rallies, roll balls to the net or throw them to the tennis players.
Incidentally, the Swiss tennis champion Roger Federer wrote an impressive success story on the “sacred lawn” of Wimbledon. The 41-year-old won the traditional Grand Slam tournament in London eight times. That’s a record for men. Federer ended his career on September 23, 2022 with his final game at the Laver Cup in London.
2023-06-27 09:40:20
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