Roger Federer Foundation donates $4.7 million

“The king of tennis” Roger Federer donated 4.7 million dollars (some 5.3 billion won). Some say that he won the gold medal in good deeds even though he would be skipping two Olympics since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. 　

The ATP Tour announced Saturday on its official website, “Roger Federer might not have been able to travel to the Tokyo Olympics due to injury, but he has scored an ace for charity after raising $4.7 million in a two-phased auction.” His donation will be used to support education projects in South Africa and Switzerland. “We started collecting items, which accompanied me on court, because we thought that perhaps one day we could do something meaningful with them,” Federer said. “[We are] humbled to see that the decision we made will make a profound difference to so many children.” 　

Federer founded the “Roger Federer Foundation” in 2003 to make donations. He raised money by donating a collection of personal items and selling them both online and offline from June 23 to Wednesday. He raised 1.8 million dollars (some 2.05 billion won) with a souvenir that he received for the 20th victory in major tournament in a live auction in London, the United Kingdom on June 23. He also donated 300 memorabilia including the gear that he used in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and an “RF cardigan” that we worn in the Wimbledon 2012 final for online auctions. 　

Federer has the record of the most wins and ties in major tournaments and won the gold medal in men’s doubles in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the silver in the 2012 London Olympics.


hun@donga.com