How many pairs of shoes does Roger Federer own?
“I don't want to tell you,” he says with a laugh when I ask. “Let’s just say I have cupboards full of them.”
As if we needed any more reasons to like Federer. The first reason, beyond his tennis game, is the industry-wide fact that he’s an extremely nice guy. I should know. Last month I was meant to fly out to Zurich, Switzerland, to meet the twenty-time Grand Slam winner. He was to show me around On Running’s state-of-the-art innovation lab and walk me through his latest footwear collection over breakfast. Then I got sick. Then sicker.
And even after two last-minute cancellations, Federer was as warm-hearted as I’d heard he’d be. A demeanour matched only by his passion for footwear.
Federer is, and always has been, a self-proclaimed sneakerhead.
Growing up in Basel, northwestern Switzerland, a place the 42-year-old admits to having virtually no streetwear presence, Federer was forced to look further afield for inspiration.
He first started collecting footwear in the early 1990s, some eight years before he became a professional tennis player.
“Growing up I drew a lot of inspiration from basketball and from skateboarding footwear. Tennis shoes never really interested me,” he said.
“It was all about Vans, Reebok Pumps, and even AirWalks back then. I soon switched my focus to jeans and running shoes, like big Nike Air Max and all that stuff.”
When Federer turned pro in 1998, his passion for collecting sneakers was put on hold, albeit only temporarily.
“I started to get inspired by what I saw when I was travelling [and playing tennis],” he recalled. “As that progressed, I got into the whole sneaker world. At the time, we did some fun projects with Nike and even designed my own pair of Jordans. So that really got me into collecting again.”
Federer, who retired from tennis in 2022 as one of the most decorated players of all time, joined Swiss sports label On as a shareholder in 2019. Nearly five-years in, he’s played a big part in amplifying the brand, which has experienced exponential growth. For example, last year the brand revealed almost $500 million in net sales for the second quarter of 2023 and a sixth consecutive period of growth.
During this time, Federer, now creative director of his own in-house On footwear collection, has released ample On sneakers of his own, the most recent of which arrived last week in the form of THE ROGER Clubhouse Pro.
“Seeing the Roger Pro come alive as an evolution of the one is beautiful to see,” he said.“I wanted to make a good-looking tennis shoe. Of course you can say, well, what is a good-looking tennis shoe? For me, it’s one you look at and is immediately pleasing to the eye. It doesn't look like it comes from Mars.”
And that’s exactly what Federer has achieved with THE ROGER Clubhouse Pro. It’s sleek, predominantly white colorway makes for an objectively nice-looking sneaker, while the techy inclusions — a Hidden CloudTec cushioning, Helion superfoam midsole, and Speedboard for stability and responsiveness — makes the sneaker perfectly functional on-court, too.
“It's amazing how they [THE ROGER Clubhouse Pro] are able to control sliding. I was always a little bit afraid of too much sliding going on, to be honest,” said Federer. “I think that also requires a different design element to it, perhaps the herringbone we used as the outsole is very important.”
While On itself has changed dramatically since the day he arrived (in terms of sales, anyway), Federer’s goal remains the same as it did the day he joined: to create excellent and objectively great-looking footwear. That said, if he could strive for one thing alongside his On family, it’s to have a bigger presence in the world of tennis.
“Personally, if On can grow in tennis, that'd be great. To be a part of that journey, before the IPO and everything, has been pretty extraordinary. Looking at the Roger franchise already and seeing that growth has been unreal.
“I think if I look five years ahead, I think we're talking about something extremely special at On. Not only am I looking forward to all the ROGER models that are coming, but also the crossover things we can hopefully do. The hybrid shoes we did with the Clubhouse Pro. I think it's going to be pretty cool.”
