Key Takeaways
- Roger Federer toured Shanghai Library East, marveling at the landmark by saying, “What a building.”
- The 20-time Grand Slam champion reflected on China’s deep heritage, noting, “Here in China, I mean, history runs so incredibly deep, you know.”
- Federer explained how visiting cultural sites helped during his playing career: “I just really get a chance to get out of the hotel room and away from the tennis site to just really experience the city a little bit more in depth.”
Roger Federer explores Shanghai Library East
Tennis legend Roger Federer took time away from the court environment to immerse himself in Chinese history during a cultural visit to Shanghai.
Arriving at the destination, Federer was immediately struck by the scale of the facility, exclaiming, “What a place.”
Looking up at the architecture, the Swiss champion added, “What a building.”
Upon hearing that Shanghai Library East holds the distinction of being the largest single-building library in the world, Federer took in the achievement.
“Oh, it’s the biggest. Okay, I’m not surprised. Very, very big. Amazing,” Federer remarked.
Reflections on history and family memories
Federer reflected thoughtfully on the ancient depth and legacy surrounding his surroundings in China.
“Here in China, I mean, history runs so incredibly deep, you know. I feel like there’s so much knowledge of the past and what I understood is that their history goes even back further, but they cannot actually not prove it that how far back it actually goes because at one point it’s so vast and so deep and that’s always been one thing I think about,” he explained.
Asked whether he traditionally visited cultural institutions like museums and libraries during his playing career, Federer looked back on family trips with his children.
“I mean, I used to go more to libraries then later on with the children not to like I remember really huge libraries like this one here in Shanghai, but you know, smaller ones with the children and we would actually spend some time there all around the world, you know, from time to time,” Federer said.
The visits provided memorable family routines during life on tour.
“So, it really reminds me of my kids’ very early days when we’d read a lot of books to them,” he recalled.
Experiencing local culture outside tennis
Federer explained that stepping away from sport venues offered valuable perspective alongside his wife when travelling across the globe.
“And then with my wife we used to like to go into theaters, music halls, museums. I just really get a chance to get out of the hotel room and away from the tennis site to just really experience the city a little bit more in depth, like you said. Feel the culture a little bit,” Federer noted.
During the walkthrough, Federer was introduced to the Chinese zodiac symbol for the year 2026, the year of the horse.
“The year of the horse,” Federer repeated before concluding the cultural visit with satisfaction: “Wow. Okay. Mission accomplished.”
