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Tonight Kensington Palace released a video of the Princess of Wales playing tennis with Roger Federer and working with Wimbledon ball boys and girls.
More from this Sky News piece.
The Princess of Wales has joined tennis great Roger Federer for a behind-the-scenes look at the work of Wimbledon’s ball boys and girls.
Kate and the eight-time Wimbledon champion watched a training session where youngsters were hoping to impress selectors and bag one of the 250 spots for the tournament next month.
And from The Telegraph’s coverage:
The pair took to the club’s famous No.3 Court for a doubles rally to show their support for the Wimbledon ball boys and girls.
Federer, who is the most successful male grass court player of all time and an eight-time Wimbledon champion, and the Princess, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), showed off their tennis skills in the new video.
A Wimbledon ball girl, Mollie, is seen guiding the Princess through the proper stance and ball-feeding style.
“Any tips on my serve would be very helpful,” Kate tells Federer, to which he responds: “The serve looks good.”
After playing, the Princess and Mr. Federer participated in a training session for prospective ball boys and girls.
We return to The Telegraph story.
The teenagers, all from local schools, take part in regimented training sessions over several months before a final cohort is selected.
For every tournament, the selection comprises approximately 170 new participants as well as around 80 returning ball boys and girls from previous years.
During the filming, Federer said: “This is proper practice, 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 10 and as I have always said: once a ball kid always a ball kid.”
Now for a quick rundown of what Kate wore in the video, starting with the Wimbledon Performance Full Zip Jacket ($190) made in a nylon/elastane blend. She also has on the Wimbledon Core Performance Sleeveless Polo ($83) in a fabric that is 94% recycled polyester and 6% elastane. Her Barricade skort is a 2013 design from the Stella McCartney/Adidas collection.
We saw a new pair of trainers on the Princess, the Babolat Jet Mach 3 in white, designed for use on grass courts.
I show the style at Wimbledon ($200), but a Babolat Jet Mach 3 that looks almost identical is available at Amazon ($109). Thank you to Middleton Maven and UFO No More for their ID work!
The Princess wore her Orelia Chain Huggie Hoop Earrings ($24).
Wimbledon begins on Monday, July 3, just a bit more than a week from now. Here is the entire 4-minute video.
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We’ll see you Tuesday when the Princess officially opens Hope Street in Southampton, a pioneering family-friendly residential community that will pilot a new approach to supporting women in the justice system.
