The racket used by Roger Federer for his championship-winning point in his 2004 Wimbledon final victory over Andy Roddick, autographed to fashion executive Anna Wintour and her daughter, has hit the auction block for the first time at Prestige Memorabilia with estimates exceeding $100,000.
Used to secure his second Wimbledon title and third major of his career, the racket is one of the few to sell publicly accompanied by a photo-match, which can be notoriously difficult for rackets.
Prestige Memorabilia says it is the only photo-matched Federer racket from any slam he won and the only photo-matched Federer racket from any Wimbledon to come to light.
Federer’s racket from the 2011 French Open Final, which he lost to Rafael Nadal, sold at Prestige, along with photo-match documentation, for $31,126.80 in May 2024.
The tennis-focused auction house also sold a Federer racket from his 2006 season, widely considered among the greatest years in the sport’s history — he claimed three of four slams and an overall record of 92-5 — for $37,663.20. That racket was not photo-matched.
Many of the most significant and most expensive Federer rackets to sell publicly crossed the auction block at Christie’s in 2021 as part of the Roger Federer Collection, which raised around $1.6 million for Federer’s foundation. The collection was headlined by rackets and outfits worn during 2007 Wimbledon and the 2009 French Open, with both lots selling for $225,000.
The signature to Anna Wintour, who is best known as the editor-in-chief of Vogue, might seem like an odd association at first glance. But Wintour is a massive tennis fan and her two-decades long friendship with Federer is well-documented.
It began when Wintour, who is believed to be the inspiration for Meryl Streep’s character in “The Devil Wears Prada,” invited Federer and his wife, Mirka, to dinner parties.
“I realized she's a massive tennis fan,” Federer told US Weekly last year. “Oh my God, she loves my game.”
After Federer’s 2022 retirement announcement, Wintour took to the pages of Vogue to celebrate his career and their friendship. Becoming an “avid Federer fan” after seeing him play in the 2003 Masters Cup in Houston, Wintour says the two met soon after.
“He was interested in fashion and eager to talk about it,” Wintour wrote. “There was nothing I wanted to talk about less with Roger Federer than fashion. I wanted to talk tennis.”
Wintour’s tribute concludes, “It’s not a question of who will be the next Roger Federer: There is, and there will always ever be, just one.”
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.