Roger Federer pranked tennis rivals with cheeky trick that 'sent them crazy' - The Mirror

Tennis fans loved Roger Federer for his sheer skill and conduct off the court, though there were also moments when the Swiss ace showed a more mischievous side

Roger Federer used to drive his tennis rivals crazy by reportedly pranking them through hiding their rackets. Tennis insider Giorgio Di Palermo, a one-time ATP Tour manager who now works as an executive with the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, knew Federer and his contemporaries very well.

He watched the Swiss maestro transform from a talented youngster into one of the sport's all-time greats, regularly battling it out with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. But Di Palermo also got to see a different side to the Basel-born champion away from the court - one which fans might not know about.

"Federer, who is a joker, used to play legendary pranks in the changing room," he revealed to Corriere della Sera. "He would typically hide the rackets of his close colleagues, such as [Stan] Wawrinka. Stan would arrive and go crazy looking for them. But in the changing room, where no one can see them, many players revert to childhood."

Federer and Wawrinka would later go through a difficult patch during the 2014 Davis Cup. However, the pair remained close friends throughout their careers, teaming up to deliver Switzerland's maiden Davis Cup victory that same year.

Following Federer's retirement in 2022, Wawrinka paid tribute to his compatriot's influence on his own career.

"When I arrived, Roger was already at the top of tennis," Wawrinka said in 2022. “He took me a little like a big brother. He helped me, we trained a lot together.

"I was lucky to be able to rub shoulders with him a lot, in training, in tournaments. In the Davis Cup, we shared a lot of things. Afterwards, he simply became a friend. We were a little at the same level, not career, but behaviour, mutual aid.

"I owe him a lot in my career. There was something positive. I grew up and improved thanks to him. He helped me a lot. Thanks to him, I won the Olympic Games and the Davis Cup. These are two of the biggest headlines of my career."

Di Palermo also praised Federer for his conduct as a tennis icon and a role model within the sport. He reminisced about his early encounters with Federer in the late 90s and how long-time rivals Nadal and Djokovic would eventually follow his lead.

"They needed to understand what the ATP was and what it meant to belong to it," the Italian said. "Roger was president of the players' council for many years: an extraordinarily normal leader."

He continued: "Federer immediately understood that it was his duty to represent the image of tennis as number one. He became a perfect ambassador to the world.

"Nadal and Djokovic followed his example. [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz are following in the footsteps of the Big Three with absolute fidelity to their values of loyalty and respect."