Roger Federer and a ball girl corrected Kate Middleton’s mistake during a game, while on the Wimbledon court.
The Princess of Wales teamed up for a game with the tennis star on Sunday, while visiting the Ball Boys and Girls program at Wimbledon. In a video shared by the tennis competition on YouTube, Kate threw the ball over to Federer, as he was standing on the opposite end of the court.
As Federer’s teammate served the ball towards Kate, she caught it with one hand. While the ball girl, Mollie, told Kate that this was a “good catch”, Federer stepped in to question this move. “Are you allowed to do that?” he asked.
Kate also wondered if she was able to catch the ball, as she responded: “Oh yeah, are you allowed to do that? That’s a good point.” Federer explained the game rules to Kate, as he pointed out that in Australia, players “would catch” the tennis ball, but in Wimbledon they wouldn’t.
Mollie chimed in to agree, adding: “Yeah, you’re not meant to catch it. You’re meant to let it bounce and then catch it, but good catch.”
The snippet of Kate catching the ball has quickly gone viral on TikTok, where it has racked up more than 8.4m views. In the comments, many fans went praised Kate for the way she caught the ball, despite the fact that she wasn’t supposed to.
“It was a good catch though…,” one wrote, while another added: “You have to admit it looks so damn smooth when she catches it.”
A third joked: “She’s Princess Kate, so yes, SHE’S allowed to catch it.”
Others applauded Kate for how she reacted to being corrected on the court.
“She’s so gracious, ‘Oh yeah, are you allowed to do that?’ I’d have been all ‘of course I am,’” one wrote
“See how nicely she takes criticism or correction? She was just like oh sorry *smile* She could teach a master class on decorum,” another added.
Over the weekend, Middleton and Federer met with the 250 teens of Wimbledon’s Ball Boys & Girls (BBGs), who will work at The Championships in July. According to the organisation’s official website, these teens, who are usually around 15-years-old, first began their training sessions at the Raynes Park Community Sports Ground in February.
In Wimbledon’s YouTube video, Kate also praised the teenagers for working so hard during the training sessions.
“To see the training and the dedication and the amount of time that is put into the training and making sure this goes well on the day for the champions who are playing at Wimbledon,” she told the group. “It’s incredible to see it.”
Meanwhile this isn’t the first time that Kate and Federer have paired up. In September 2022, the pair hosted the Laver Cup Open Practice Day, as proceeds for the event went to the Action for Children and the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (LTA).
