Come on, be honest. You’ve missed the sight of a Roger Federer backhand in full flow MUCH more than you realised, right? Same! The air, the grace, the rhythm, the flight, the levitation, the whip – all make me forget about the world for a second in a moment of admiration; the kind more commonly experienced at your own wedding, or birth of your first kid.
This week, Federer is celebrating being inducted into tennis’s hall of fame in style, by returning to the Arthur Ashe as part of a legends series ahead of the US Open in Flushing Meadows. Whipping up his signature moves against old foe Andy Roddick, other tennis greats like John McEnroe and Andre Agassi were rolled out in front of a very entertained, very packed stadium.
Composite: GQ / Getty, Rolex
Back to being honest, any sight of Roger Federer still tends to do weird things to people, such is his aura. Sometimes it’s an appreciation of his Wimbledon fit, and his wrist is one that watch spots always have on red alert. And this week, they’ll be happy customers because nearly five months after Rolex released its new watches for 2026 we finally get to see one on The Fed. Last year, we had to wait minus one week as he teased the brand new Land-Dweller so clearly the Swiss GOAT figured he’d tease us in a different way this year.
Then, bam! The headline act of 2026, the most out there Rolex has dropped in a while, the monogrammed and infinitely colourful Oyster Perpetual in 36mm Jubilee Dial. Similar to the Celebration piece a few years back, the jury was a bit out when this watch first dropped but has very quickly become the poster boy of Rolex’s 100th anniversary for the Oyster.
From Federer’s perspective, it is a bit of a surprise flex. In more recent years he’s become a bit more daring with his choices. Before that, you could almost always predict he’d opt for demure and lowkey luxury over anything too showy. But this watch is there to be seen, and couldn’t be more expressive if you tried. Maybe his kids liked the mad colour of this one the most? Or perhaps Federer has been reading up on the fact that 36mm is now the new size for men (Leo Messi agrees), and that a steel everydayer is what was missing in his collection. If you can get hold of one, it’s actually quite affordable too (for a Rolex). £5,600 aint bad value, is it?
Regardless of his reasoning for picking this one, wearing it while firing those backhands down the line – that really is a sight to behold.
