THE Princess of Wales served up a treat as she took to the court at Wimbledon with her tennis idol Roger Federer.
Sporty Kate, 41, played doubles against the eight-time Wimbledon champion on No3 court as part of a film shining a light on the tournament’s ballboys and girls.
Dressed in her tennis whites, Kate played a rally in the sunshine with Federer, also 41, before asking him for tips on her serve.
The pair then joined a training session for some of the youngsters hoping to be chosen as one of the 250 ballboys and girls for this year’s championships, which start on Monday, July 3.
Kate, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, said in the film: “Wimbledon is renowned for its amazingly professional ballboys and ballgirls. The amount of work it takes, it’s incredible to see behind the scenes.
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“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.”
Swiss champ Federer, who retired from the sport last year, said: “I’m really impressed at how much effort and training goes into being a ball kid during the championships. I used to be a ball kid in Basel when I was nine or ten and, as I have always said, once a ball kid always a ball kid.”
The pair could be seen learning skills such as how to signal ball changes, rolling balls up to the net and the correct techniques to bounce the balls to the players.
Each year, about 1,000 children aged 13 to 15 take part in training sessions at the club’s Community Tennis Centre in Raynes Park, South West London.
Those who eventually get to take to the courts will have completed several months of training sessions.
The final group will include 170 new participants and 80 returning from previous years.
