Roger Federer was vegetarian until 16; then what changed?

Roger Federer became emotional as he celebrated one of the biggest honours of his illustrious tennis career last August, delivering a heartfelt speech at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.The Swiss legend, surrounded by his family, loved ones and fellow tennis greats, reflected on a career that brought him 20 Grand Slam singles titles, including a record eight Wimbledon crowns. Federer described his induction as one of the greatest honours of his life, adding that fame had never been his ultimate goal.“My goal was to spend my life doing something I love... with the people who love it as much as I do,” he said.

Retired since September 2022, Federer was inducted in his first year of eligibility, capping a remarkable journey that saw him spend 310 weeks as world No. 1.Away from his achievements on the court, however, an interesting detail from the tennis icon’s younger days reveals that his eating habits once looked very different.Federer was a vegetarian until he was 16, before a meal with his Swiss Davis Cup teammates introduced him to meat.

How Marc Rosset persuaded Federer to eat meat

In an interview with Coopzeitung back in 2017, Federer explained that he had avoided meat for years because the quality of food served at junior tournaments often left him unimpressed."At junior tournaments, you do not always have the best meat on the plate, so I gave up thanks until I was about 16," he said.That changed in 1998, when he joined the Swiss Davis Cup team for the first time. Switzerland were facing the Czech Republic, and Federer, then a young player in a supporting role, went to a steakhouse with his teammates.

While everyone else tucked into their meals, Federer ordered rice and salad. His decision caught fellow Swiss player Marc Rosset by surprise.“Hey, Roger, this is a Steakhouse here, you can not just eat green stuff!”Rosset responded by ordering ten small pieces of different types of meat for the teenager to try. Federer discovered that he liked about half of them, and the experience brought his vegetarian phase to an end.

How Federer developed a taste for fish

Meat was not the only food Federer gradually learned to enjoy. He said fish initially failed to appeal to him because of its distinctive taste.His wife, Mirka, helped change that, with the sauces served alongside fish making it more enjoyable for him.

"Fish I learned more by Mirka (Roger's wife). The pure fish taste did not like me at first, but by the many great sauces this changed quickly," he adeed.

Federer also admitted that cooking was not his strong suit, praising Mirka’s abilities in the kitchen."I'm really bad at cooking," he recalled. "Mirka is a fantastic cook. And back when I lived in a shared apartment with Yves Allegro, Sven Swinnen, and Michi Lammer, I was always the assistant."As he got older and his training routine changed, he said he had to pay more attention to his diet and maintaining his fitness.For Federer, then, a simple steakhouse meal became a turning point in his food preferences,, with Rosset playing an unexpected role in changing the future tennis great’s eating habits.