Prince George impressed former Wimbledon champ Roger Federer with his tennis skills

Duchess Kate’s love of tennis (see what we did there?) is on display almost every year when she attends the Wimbledon championships in London. The mom of three has become quite the celebrated spectator, and has taken in dozens of matches at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, of which she’s a patron. And just like her enthusiasm for photography, she’s passing her passion for tennis on to her kids!

While Kate was at Wimbledon on July 2, she reportedly told British tennis player Katie Boulter and retired former British tennis player Anne Keothavong that her eldest child is keen on their sport, according to Wimbledon Morning Coffee.

She revealed to Katie and Anne that Prince George had played a game with world No. 3 and eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who is also George’s favourite player. Kate and Prince William have a tennis court at their country home of Anmer Hall in Norfolk, so there’s plenty of space for George and his siblings to learn!

And Roger thinks the future King is already pretty great on the court! After winning his second-round match at Wimbledon on July 4, the current world No. 3 confirmed he has been meeting with the little prince, who he called “cute.”

“At that stage it’s all about just touch the ball, it’s already good,” he said, according to HELLO! UK. “Same with my boys.”

As for being George’s favourite player, Roger was a bit more self-deprecating.

“I think I have a little advantage that I actually spent some time, you know, with him,” he said. “I’m the only player he’s ever met. Then you have a little head start in who is your favourite player.”

This isn’t the first time Kate has spoken about how she’s trying to instill her passion for tennis in her children. In 2017, when she visited the Lawn Tennis Association, she shared that George was just learning how to play the sport, and asked one of its coaches, Sam Richardson, for advice.

“She says with George just being four he wants to whack a ball, so she was asking what sort of stuff she should be doing,” Sam said at the time, according to HELLO! UK. “They will struggle at that age to hit a ball. She said he’s interested in it, but more in whacking the ball.”

The coach went on to say Andy Murray’s mother Judy had been giving Kate tips about how to deal with the issue.

“She said she spoke to Judy Murray and she suggested taking away the racquet and do more of the basic stuff, which absolutely right,” Sam continued. “But four-year-old boys want to swing the racquet around.”

Roger said he thinks it’s great that Kate is getting her kids out on the court.

“I love to see that they’re into tennis or into sports ... his mum has always enjoyed their tennis ... I hope that he’ll still say the same in a few years’ time,” he said.

On July 2, Kate, Katie and Anne went to Court 14 to watch Britain’s Harriet Dartplay American Christina McHale. From there, the duchess went to Centre Court and sat in the royal box to watch Roger himself play Lloyd Harris. She looked stunning as usual in a crisp white bespoke dress with black buttons by London boutique Suzannah, which she accessorized with a black Alexander McQueen belt and Ray-Ban sunglasses.

That likely wasn’t the only time we’ll see Kate at the championships this year. In 2018, she and Duchess Meghan attended the women’s final to watch Meghan’s good friend Serena Williams play against Germany’s Angelique Kerber. There’s a good chance we could see a repeat of their appearance over the next few days! They might even step Kate's friendship with Andy, who has just been named Serena's mixed doubles partner.

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