Roger Federer was not allowed entry into the All England Club at Wimbledon last month since he did not have a membership card.
Federer, who retired from the sport at the Laver Cup in September, won eight of his 20 Grand Slam Majors at Wimbledon.
In an episode of The Daily Show released on Thursday, when host Trevor Noah asked him about the incident, the 41-year-old said, “It was actually two weeks ago. I was in Tokyo for my sponsor, Uniqlo. I came back to London to see a doctor for having a second opinion on my knee because my knee has not been great lately.
“I did not want to tell Wimbledon that I was, maybe, going to be there and I did not know if I was going to have the time to go by the (All England) Club because I was going to fly home to the family.”
After meeting his doctor, Federer had two hours before his flight back home and decided to visit Wimbledon. However, he had never been to the venue when the tournament was not being played.
The grass Major is usually played over two weeks in late June and early July.
When Federer reached the venue and asked a security guard about the entrance, she asked, “Do you have a membership card?”
A player automatically becomes an All England Club member upon winning Wimbledon, a feat Federer has achieved eight times.
Federer, who had no idea about membership cards, told her that he did not have one but he was a member.
“I still can’t believe I said that because I still feel bad about it but I looked at her and said, ‘I have won this tournament eight times’,” he said.
When he was still not allowed to enter, he got back in his car and went around to the other side where other security guards recognised him and he eventually entered the venue and met the club chairman.
“And I thought of going over to the other side and giving a wave that I was in but I didn’t do it,” he joked.
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