Roger Federer bought for pizza for every ballkid who worked the Basel Open in Switzerland on Sunday. Federer won the tournament handily, beating David Goffin in the final. He has unsurprisingly dominated his home country’s tournament during his long and storied career.
However the pizza wasn’t to celebrate a victory. The pizza tradition is something that Federer does every year. According to Federer, he buys pizza for the kids because he identifies with them due to the fact that he used to be a ballkid himself:
“That’s how it all started with me. I would ride my bike from home – about five to 10 minutes away – and I was a ballboy here all day long and would go back home and do it again the next day. So I always have a tradition where everyone has a pizza with me after the final. It’s been 11 times now. I do it win or lose, regardless.”
The only thing better than the sweet taste of victory is the sweet taste of victory and pizza so Federer definitely chose his tradition wisely. Hopefully, he bought a truckload of pizzas because that looks like a ton of mouths to feed.
