Roger Federer joins Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai training: “What am I doing here?” | ATP Tour

“What am I doing here?” Federer joins Alcaraz in training in Shanghai

Together they were also watching the final of the tournament in Shanghai

October 17, 2024

Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz never competed against each other on the ATP Tour, but now fans can see the closest thing they have. Last week at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, Federer joined the Spaniard for a special training session that bridged two generations of greatness.

“What am I doing here?” Federer joked in front of the cameras as he made his grand entrance.

From the privacy of the training courts, the 43-year-old tennis player showed that he still has the game by confidently exchanging groundstrokes with his 21-year-old sparring partner. The ATP Masters 1000 tournament cameras documented the session, in which the players practiced with forehand and backhand shots.

Although a Lexus ATP Head2Head match between the two remains a pipe dream, they joked about playing a training set as they wrapped up. Federer and Alcaraz also sat next to each other in the stands to watch the Shanghai singles final, in which Jannik Sinner — who last week achieved ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF — beat Novak Djokovic by 7-6(4) and 6-3.