Federer Family Welcomes Twins

Federer Family Welcomes Twins

The athlete that many consider to be the greatest tennis player of all time, Roger Federer, and his wife Mirka, welcome two baby girls, Charlene Riva Federer and Myla Rose Federer, on July 23, 2009. First, we at Tales of Tennis would like to take a minute to congratulate the Federer family on the beautiful new additions to their household.

Here's what Roger had to say about the photo his dad took: As promised, here is a family picture that my dad took. He thinks he's becoming a professional photographer. It was very funny as both girls had the hiccups while we were trying to take a decent picture. The girls and mom are doing great. Thanks for all your warm wishes.

Williams sisters Look out?

No doubt there's already speculation about the possibility of these twins becoming the Williams sisters equivalent in Switzerland. Sure it's possible, but if we look at the past how many tennis greats are the children of professional tennis parents?

The simple answer to this is that there are quite a few, given no doubt to the fact that up until recently tennis was a sport accessible primarily to the wealthy. Furthermore, because of the competitiveness of the sport, most successful pros begin playing at a very young age. For these two reasons, the chances are greater for a tennis professional to be born into a tennis background.

Does this hold true for the worlds' greatest players? Not for Roger Federer, it doesn't, given that neither of his parents were tennis players. Only time will tell in what direction life takes Charlene and Myla, but we have a feeling that unlike many tennis dads, Federer, having already accomplished the goals he set to achieve in his lifetime, while not feel pressure to live and experience them through his kids (in other words, have them succeed where he failed).

How Will Fatherhood Affect Federer's Performance at the U.S. Open?

Speculation abounds that Federer's new role as dad will impact his time and performance on the court. In our opinion, there's not much value in debating this at such an early stage, as time will tell, but one thing is for sure: we don't doubt that if given the choice between his kids and his work, Roger will choose the former (especially if Mirka has anything to say about it). A family of their means will have ample resources to cater to the needs of the children as well as the demands of Roger's tennis career.