The Princess of Wales became the focus of a viral video on TikTok on Sunday after taking to the tennis court with eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer to celebrate the Ball Boys and Ball Girls who go through rigorous training each year to assist with the world famous tournament.
Kate Middleton has attended the Wimbledon Championships in southwest London regularly since she married Prince William in 2011. In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II recognized the princess' passion for the sport by appointing her the patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which hosts the championships each year.
The royal has presented prizes to the men's and women's singles final winners for a number of years, most recently presenting the trophies to champions Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina in 2022. Ahead of this year's event, Middleton teamed up with Federer to draw attention to the hard work and dedication of Wimbledon's unsung heroes, the Ball Boys and Girls present at every game.
Each year, around 250 boys and girls are chosen from over 1,000 applicants sent in from London schools. The average age of the participants is 15, and the selected applicants go through competitive rounds of training to ensure they are knowledgeable about the complex rules of the tournament.
In their celebratory video, the princess and Federer took part in drills undertaken by the the selected ball boys and girls, which include a straight overarm throw, a kneeled underarm roll, and the famous Wimbledon "feed" that sees the participant present new tennis balls to the players on court.
In one scene from the short film, released on Sunday, Middleton is seen catching a ball during a practice session that was hit out of play. The royal was picked up on this by Federer and her mentor ball girl who told her that was against the rules of play for Wimbledon, differing from other world tournaments.
Uploaded to TikTok by @the.royal.watcher, the moment has been viewed over 7 million times in 24 hours, with the ball girl later complimenting the princess on her expert catch, despite it being wrong in Wimbledon terms.
The video has received in excess of half a million likes and over 1,000 comments, many of which have complimented the royal and the player for the humorous interaction.
"Kate and Roger in a Wimbledon setting is a match made in heaven," wrote one TikTok user.
"She's so gracious, 'oh yeah, are you allowed to do that?' I'd have been all 'of course I am,'" wrote another, with a further comment reading: "'But good catch,' aww the ball girl is so polite."
Speaking during the film, Middleton paid tribute to the hard work that happens during training sessions.
"Wimbledon is renowned for its amazingly professional Ball Boys and Ball Girls, the amount of work it takes, it's incredible to see it behind the scenes...With all the discipline and everything you've learnt, you'll be able to take it into so many other parts of your life, things like confidence and that feeling of pride with being on any of the courts is such a big moment," she said.
This is not the first time that Middleton and Federer have collaborated in public. Last year, it was announced that the royal and tennis pro would team up to attend an event for young people engaged with the sport ahead of the Laver Cup, a tournament co-founded by Federer, which hosted its first event in 2017.
However, the pre-tournament royal event was cancelled when Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, around the time it was expected to take place.
As an AELTC patron, the princess is expected to attend a number of Wimbledon games this year. In 2022, she attended several days accompanied on one by Prince William, and another by William and the couple's eldest son, Prince George.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
