It’s Wimbledon season, and once again, all eyes are on centre court – and so far, the action has been incredible, with stars such as Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu and Serena Williams showing us how a pro tennis player can move. But how do the tennis greats move when they are not on the court? We look closely at the cars of choice of some of the all-time tennis greats.
1. Roger Federer
The eight-time champion, who turns 41 in August, misses Wimbledon this year for the first time in 23 years. Wimbledon’s most successful male player, Roger Federer, is sitting out this time around due to a knee injury.
Arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, Federer has had a long-term sponsorship with Mercedes. Often seen behind the steering wheel of various Mercedes models, the AMG SLS Roadster seems to be his car of choice. The high-powered V8 engine of the Roadster reaches a top speed of 196 mph, more than 50mph quicker than the Fed Express’ fastest recorded serve (143 mph).
2. Serena Williams
It’s hard to decide what’s more impressive when it comes to Serena Williams – her car collection or her tennis championship record. To date, she’s known to have enjoyed owning an Aston Martin Vanquish and Valkyrie, a Bentley Continental GT, a Range Rover and a Mini Cooper, not to mention a Dodge Viper RT10.
Since becoming a mother three years ago, Serena has become a brand ambassador for the Lincoln Navigator, a large family car that is reportedly the very first type of car she ever owned as a teenager.
3. Rafael Nadal
He may be another of the greatest tennis players of all time, but Nadal has always had a reputation for his low-key lifestyle and has been sponsored by South Korean car manufacturer Kia for over a decade.
After winning the Mercedes-Benz sponsored Stuttgart Open in 2015, he was presented with a tennis ball-themed, yellow Mercedes AMG GT as a prize, famously commenting, “It’s not a Kia, but it’s still good!”
3. Novak Djokovic
Currently ranked world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, Novak has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total of 373 weeks and has finished as the year-end No. 1 a record seven times. He has an estimated net worth of more than $56 million (US$), with a great deal coming from his commercial sponsorships.
Djokovic has driven many luxury cars over the years, including models from BMW, Mercedes and Audi. He previously had a long-term partnership with Mercedes and took part in an Audi promotion while in Australia in 2013. He also filmed an amusing commercial for the Peugeot 308i back in 2016 when he was a brand ambassador for the company.
Andy Murray
In his own words, the British tennis great Andy Murray may be ‘getting on a bit’ – but most tennis fans would agree that he’s still got some mileage left in him.
In a 2016 BBC documentary Andy Murray: The Man Behind the Racquet, Andy revealed that he has owned a Ferrari F430, an Aston Martin and a Jaguar XKR, among others. When he sold his Ferrari, the reason the Great Scot gave was that he “felt like a prat”.
In an interesting twist, he still owns his first ever car – a Volkswagen Polo. As he said himself, “The only other car I have got is a Volkswagen Polo, which is my first car which I have still got. I had it when I passed my test at 21. Because it is my first car, I have kept it – it’s done about 30,000 miles now.”
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