Roger Federer’s Diet & Fitness Programme

Every point in a Tennis match is played at high intensity, but the match itself can last up to five hours so professionals have to be incredibly fit, well-rounded athletes.

Although he looked far from his best at Wimbledon this year, Roger Federer has cemented himself as an all-time great through his creativity and talent on the court.

A key reason he’s been able to showcase his skills for such a long period of time is his commitment to fitness levels throughout his career.

Federer has an impeccable diet and spends up to 10 hours a week working on his physical conditioning.

Here, Built for Athletes takes look at how he does it.

Roger Federer’s Diet

Federer makes sure he enjoys his food, so variety is at the heart of his nutrition programme.

He’ll try to eat regularly - every two to three hours - and get plenty of lean food in to fuel the many hours of training, but he’s not overly strict on what he eats.

A typical breakfast is waffles topped with fruit, plus coffee and a shot of vinegar on the side.

Lunch is often pasta. Federer has never waivered from his pre-match meal of pasta with a light sauce two hours before going on to court.

Then dinner could be anything from curry to sushi or traditional Swiss cuisine.

Roger Federer’s Fitness Workouts

Federer has worked with his fitness trainer Piere Paganini since 1994 and the pair have developed a structured training regime that targets several areas.

During his off-season, Federer will largely focus on weight training and coordination drills to try and build his power and stay sharp.

During the competition season, the focus is on tennis-specific workouts to maintain stability, balance and fitness.

High-intensity intervals of 15 seconds on with 15 seconds rest are used to mimic the short bursts of a match situation.

Federer also does some fairly innovative drills, like volleying from a trampoline, to hone his balance.

A lot of ab exercises, often involving a medicine ball, helps with stability and some steady-state jogging is maintained too to ensure adequate cardiovascular fitness for those long five-set matches.