The Evolving Sneaker Style Of Roger Federer

Roger Federer’s childhood bedroom came adorned with posters of American basketball stars. Nearly three decades later, the tennis legend’s sneaker and fashion style has evolved to the point he’s spent years setting trends in the tennis world, whether on or off the court, a far cry from the youthful basketball, tennis and skateboard culture he grew up in. 

“Growing up I remember, I don’t know why, I liked skateboarding,” Federer says. “I liked that whole vibe of skateboard’s loose, baggy, comfortable, oversize. I remember going from size ‘S’ to ‘XL’ in literally a year. I thought I was growing so quick, but the clothes totally outgrew me. It was a time in the ’90s when everyone was wearing more baggy stuff.” 

And that’s when his first sneaker interest, albeit small, started, initially with Airwalks and Vans. A young Federer’s enjoyment of basketball gave him another sneaker tact. “I thought the Reebok Pump was cool,” he says. “Shaquille O’Neal was Reebok at the time, Shaq was one of my favorite athletes with (Michael) Jordan together as basketball players, and I had a poster of (Shaq) in my room. That was my time a little bit when I got into the whole (sneaker) thing.” 

In the early days, though, Federer was more enamored with music and video games, so wasn’t unloading his money to buy sneakers. In fact, on the tennis side, he was pleased to get his hands on whatever he could, especially if it didn’t cost him money. “As you’re going through so many shoes, you are happy to get any type of shoes,” he says. “I remember Wilson hooking me up, Lotto hooking me up, then Nike came through. Basically, from an early age, I was with Nike.” 

Federer turned pro in 1998, but he’d already entered formal sponsorship deals with major brands by then. It was the late 1980s and early 1990s that saw Federer wearing both Lotto and Wilson for on-court shoes. His relationship with Wilson began in 1991 at age 10 and that relationship grew into a sponsorship deal that now includes a lifetime agreement that has Federer using a signature racket from the Chicago-based brand. But the Lotto-turned-Wilson sneaker style switched to Nike when the young Swiss star signed with the Oregon-based brand in 1994, a relationship that lasted longer than two decades. 

Federer’s interest in sneakers, though, really kicked in over the last decade, even if he has some previous memories. He recalls his early days with Nike having an interest in the Air Max 1 and Air Max 97. And he was all about the first Nike Shox release in 2000. “The initial Shox I liked, and they faded away,” he says. “I did some promos and then they left and came back three to four years ago, and I was laughing. I wore them again, actually.” 

The interest in sneakers grew through Federer’s final years with Nike. He had collaborations with Jordan and NikeLab, including two different stints wearing Air Jordan 3 collabs on the court at the U.S. Open, first in 2014 and then again in 2017. A 2016 NikeLab collaboration included Nike lifestyle tennis shoes and apparel. More releases kept coming.  

“You start looking around, you start traveling more, you are a little older,” he says of the evolution. “You have children, and you have to organize shoes for them, and you think ‘I want them to wear some cool shoes. I am going to make sure they have some cool shoes. I’m going to make sure I have some cool shoes.'” That’s when he started asking Nike for more pairs, started following the culture and started being “much more aware and looking around at who’s wearing what.” 

That interest led fully into the tennis legend joining with Swiss footwear brand On as a key investor in 2019 ahead of the release of The Roger off-court family, a lineup of three silhouettes, the Centre Court, Clubhouse and Advantage. Federer and the On design team worked together to then debut The Roger Pro, the on-court shoe he launched in Doha in 2021 and wore at Wimbledon later in 2021.

 “My urge to be in lifestyle was way bigger than a tennis shoe,” Federer says about getting the lifestyle designs to market first. 

On and Federer started with predominantly white sneakers across the Centre Court, Clubhouse and Advantage silhouettes, even if the Clubhouse has shown off a few colorful special editions since. “I’m fine with that,” Federer says about starting simple. “I love a white sneaker and we are still in that initial phase.” 

Next for The Roger family of sneakers, one of the fastest-growing silhouettes in the On stable of products, comes storytelling, especially around the sport’s “energy moments.” The line’s design moved so fast at first, they really haven’t had the time to share the meanings. Those stories will grow in 2022 and beyond. 

Federer’s interest in On is now both business and personal, as his relationship with the brand’s founders—Olivier Bernhard, Casper Coppetti and David Allemann—and his interest in design has sparked a fresh focus for both Federer and his wife, Mirka, who joins him on his dozens of trips to On headquarters. 

Federer’s sneaker story may have started with skateboarding, Shaq and the free swag a young player appreciates. That story has added many chapters over the years, but the conclusion is far from written as On and Federer continue to create.