How Justin Rose used Roger Federer’s serve to inspire his game in 2020

Roger Federer became such a mythical player in tennis that he even influenced players from other sports.

The Swiss star is widely-considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and he has the accolades to back it up.

The star won 20 Grand Slams and over 100 ATP titles during his relentless run at the top for over two decades.

Federer remained a threat even in the twilight of his career, and that inspired Justin Rose when he was battling in his sport in the latter stages of his career.

Justin Rose shared how Roger Federer was an inspiration to him

In 2020, 41-year-old Rose was dealing with a variety of younger and more powerful players than him on Tour.

The star continued to compete with the very best and he revealed how Federer helped him to realise his strengths.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Rose revealed: “I look at Roger Federer, and there are guys that serve at 135mph, but he serves at 121 in the corners.

“I look at Roger Federer, and there are guys that serve at 135mph, but he serves at 121 in the corners. Roger is at the back end of his career, so it’s incredibly effective.”

Rose used Federer’s ingenuity to try and help aid his game when he was losing power in his swings.

“So yeah, I’m not going to be a 185mph ball speed guy and if I chase that, it is going to hurt me and it’s going to hurt my swing and body because you’ve got to reabsorb that force.

“But I can serve it 121 in the corners is kind of where I’m at. And for me, that’s like 172, 175mph ball speed.

“I carry the ball 300, so if I can carry the ball 300 in the air, I can compete on any golf course against any player. So that’s kind of my benchmark.”

Rose is still playing competitive six years later and he has picked up three more tournaments since sharing how Federer guided him.

Roger Federer’s incredible effect on golf

Rose is not the only golfer who Federer had a resounding effect on, as Rory McIlroy shared how the Swiss star had influenced his career.

Speaking in 2025, McIlroy revealed that a chat with the 20-time Grand Slam champion helped him influence which tournaments he was going to play.

Speaking to the South African, McIlroy said: “I had a chat with Roger Federer, I don’t know, a few years ago sort of at the end of his career and he was saying he wanted to go and play a lot of the places he could never play in his career, some of the smaller events, just because a lot of people had never seen him play tennis before.”

He added: “I think as time goes on and I get to this stage of my career, I get excited about doing that sort of thing.”

It appears Federer has offered a guiding light to several sports behemoths, even outside of the sport he dominated.