It is no secret that Roger Federer is one of the biggest superstars tennis has ever seen. He is arguably the most recognisable face in the sport, and his influence extends to other fields. A couple of years ago, the International Cricket Council engaged in banter and made the Swiss the World No.1 batter in the sport.
Cricket’s following is largely limited to Commonwealth nations, but the international governing body is working on making it a global sport. It received a major boost when it was included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Federer, one of the most renowned athletes worldwide, is the perfect ambassador to further popularise the sport.
In 2018, Federer squared off against Adrian Mannarino in the Wimbledon fourth round. Early in the match, the defending champion exhibited perfect technique to play a forward defence shot, like in cricket, with his tennis racket. His previous return was called out but Mannarino had already hit it back. Hence, with the point already completed, Federer chose to play the ball like a cricket shot. London is considered the home of cricket, which could be why he decided to pull off the shot.
Wimbledon’s official X (formerly Twitter) account shared the clip and tagged the ICC, asking them to rate Federer’s defence. The cricket body responded light-heartedly with an image ranking the Swiss icon as World No.1 in Test cricket. The five-day format is the longest and original variant of the sport. The World No.1 Test batter is a highly coveted position in cricket.
Ratings for @rogerfederer's forward defence, @ICC?#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/VVAt2wHPa4
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2018
As cricket aims to increase viewership in Europe and the Americas ahead of its Olympic return, tennis players could be the perfect vehicles. This was not the first crossover between the two sports, and surely not the last.
Roger Federer leads the way for tennis-cricket relations
Tennis and cricket stars have often crossed paths over the years. It has become more frequent in recent years as the latter sport tries to break its Commonwealth boundaries and become truly global. In England, both sports are popular and multiple English cricketers have attended the Wimbledon Championships. A handful of players were seen at the 2019 Wimbledon amid the Cricket World Cup. Retired Indian icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni was spotted at the 2023 US Open, two years in a row. Both times, he watched Carlos Alcaraz play.
Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has met Roger Federer many times and is an ardent fan of the 20-time Grand Slam winner. When the latter retired in 2022, the former India captain wrote a heartfelt tribute. Tendulkar often attended Federer’s matches live.
Another Indian icon, Virat Kohli, also shared a video tribute to the former World No.1’s career. Federer thanked him and the two also met up later. Kohli, who recently set a record for most centuries in the one-day format, was congratulated by Novak Djokovic for this feat. The Serb also played tennis with late Australian legend Shane Warne as part of Australian Open promotions a few years ago.
Crossovers between tennis and cricket are not unheard of. Federer laid the foundation for a long relationship between the two sports with his global image. As cricket tries to break into new markets, expect more such interactions with tennis stars.
