What would Roger Federer have done if he never picked up a tennis racquet? It is a question fans love to ask because it opens a door into how the Swiss great sees sport, joy, and talent. An HITC Sport feature, published on September 21, 2023, looked right at that question by tracing Federer’s early years across many sports and the one game he says he would have chosen as a pro.

The answer is clear: football (soccer). Federer played football as a boy and often says it was the sport he loved right behind tennis. The HITC piece places football as his “second sport,” the one he would most likely have pursued if tennis was not there.

That choice makes sense when you look at how he learned and played as a kid. Federer grew up in a home and system that let him try many different games, not just tennis. This broad base shaped his body, his mind, and even the way he sees angles and space on a court.

Why football was Federer’s ‘second sport’

Federer has long talked about the joy he found in football during his youth. He played it alongside tennis and kept that love close even as his tennis career took off. In the HITC feature, football appears again as the one path he most often names when asked what he would have done otherwise.

The link between his tennis brain and football is easy to spot. On a tennis court, he uses space, movement, and timing like a playmaker. His quick feet and vision could translate into midfield craft in football. We will never know how far he would have gone, but the choice is not random. It fits the way he thinks about sport.

“Of course it’s football — his court vision screams playmaker.”

Inside Federer’s multisport childhood

Federer did not grow up in a one-sport bubble. A detailed profile of his development shows he sampled many activities. That long list includes:

• skiing
• wrestling
• swimming
• skateboarding
• basketball
• handball
• table tennis
• badminton
• soccer

His family even allowed a photo of him as a six-year-old holding a rugby ball to be used in that profile. It is a simple image, but it tells a big story: this was a kid who loved all kinds of games.

Federer believes in this path for the next generation too. He once said: “I would tell all the juniors and kids out there, do other sports too, for fun. Go play squash, go ride your bike, go play basketball, go ski, whatever it is…until you are in the mid-teens I think you can really do everything, and even later on too, because if you only start focusing too much on one sport only I feel like you can get burned out and start seeing the sport for a job, rather than actually a hobby, and I still see tennis as my hobby — that became my dream job, you know. I think it’s really good for the mind to do different sports.”

That last line is key: tennis stayed a hobby at heart, and that joy carried him through the grind. The same path might have kept football fun for him too, had he gone that way.

“This is the blueprint: play everything young, specialise late, love the game longer.”

Cross-sport respect: why athletes study Federer

Federer’s story does not just resonate with tennis fans. It also carries weight with top athletes in other sports. A feature on cross-sport inspiration noted that he played badminton and basketball as a child before focusing on tennis. That echoes the same multisport base and helps explain his balance, touch, and patience.

Golfer Justin Rose, who has earned over £30 million in his career, has said, “Roger is the sporting athlete I look up to and can try and model myself on.” Rose added, “Everything he does is pretty much spot on, the way he handles himself, the grace in which he plays the sport I think is incredible,” and, “I scrutinised him and mentally how he doesn’t give much away. I think is a style that’s well suited to golf, too, I think.”

This is not just flattery. It speaks to habits that travel across games: calm under pressure, clean technique, and smart routines. In the same vein, a comparison point set Federer’s 19 major tennis trophies alongside Tiger Woods’ 14 major championship titles across an 11-year stretch. That is a measure of greatness, not just in tennis, but in the wider sports world.

The echo carries into badminton too. Lee Chong Wei, who has 66 career titles, once said, “I saw Federer battled Nadal in the Australian Open final for more than three hours, I really admired both players, especially Federer’s ability to sustain his mental toughness and fighting spirit,” adding, “Federer proved that the age was just a number, and if he can do it, so can I.” Lin Dan called him “really an incredible role model especially to older players.” At the time of that piece, Lin was 33 and Lee 34; the message is clear: his longevity inspired them to push on.

“Federer turned ‘aging’ into an edge — imagine that mindset in a football dressing room.”

What parents and coaches can learn

Federer’s path offers a simple lesson. Let kids play many sports. Keep it fun. Only narrow the focus when they are older. He warns about burnout and losing joy if a child is pushed too soon into one lane. The body also benefits: different games build different skills and reduce overuse.

His advice is not theory. It shaped him into a player who moved smoothly, handled pressure, and kept calm. Those are tools that fit any sport. They also keep a career fresh. In one profile, Federer was noted as being 35 years old at a moment many thought he would step back; instead, he kept adding chapters. That staying power is tied to the joy he talks about.

The big what-if: Federer the footballer

Would Federer have made it in football? We cannot know. But the choice of football as his alternative is telling. It suits his eye for space, his balance, and his feel for tempo. Football also matches the community side of sport that he clearly enjoys: teammates, shared plans, and quick reads under pressure.

In the end, tennis got a once-in-a-generation artist. Football, perhaps, missed a clever midfielder with quiet class. What the HITC feature makes plain is that Federer’s love of football was not a side note. If tennis had not become his dream job, football is where he likely would have chased the dream.

Conclusion: A champion’s compass

Federer’s answer — football — is more than trivia. It points to how he sees sport: as play first, and work second. His multisport childhood built a base of skills and a state of mind that carried him to 19 majors at that comparison moment and kept him inspiring stars from golf to badminton. The blueprint is simple and powerful: try many things, learn from all of them, and keep the joy alive. That is how hobbies become dream jobs.