Roger Federer made a child cry at the US Open on Monday, after the tennis legend gifted a young fan a match ball during a training session at Flushing Meadows.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner is back in New York this week, preparing for a long-anticipated court comeback at the final Grand Slam of 2026. Federer was training with Italian contender Lorenzo Musetti when he made the kind gesture to the young attendee.
Federer's training gesture
Federer effortlessly flashed balls across the court with the current world No. 14, and displayed his trademark care for fans as he nonchalantly flipped a stray ball to the child in question. Cameras panned to the recipient, who instantly broke into a flood of tears as the act caught him off guard. A woman who appeared to be his mother was on standby to console him.
Exhibition match details
Federer and John McEnroe are set to team up to face Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi in a short-format exhibition late on Tuesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match will be contested over just one set, and takes place after Federer faces Roddick in an exhibition singles match.
“I haven't played a singles set in, I don't know, [Hubert] Hurkacz at Wimbledon [in 2021], maybe, so it's been five years,” said Federer on Monday. “I don't know how it's going to go tomorrow. So, there is a lot of uncertainty but a lot of happiness that I can return to Arthur Ashe, a place where I have had so many beautiful moments.”
This year’s US Open is also expected to be the staging ground for Carlos Alcaraz’s Grand Slam comeback. The Spaniard is set to team up with Serena Williams in the mixed doubles event on Tuesday, having missed both Wimbledon and the French Open earlier this year.
