Roger Federer fans furious at Eurovision 2025 semifinals in Swiss' hometown Basel: Here's why

Roger Federer received a nod from the presenters in the semifinals of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday (May 13). The online interest in the 20-time Major winner has since gone up exponentially if relevant data is to be believed. However, the Swiss maestro's fans are irked by this recent development, as it doesn't do his worldwide popularity justice in their collective opinion.

Federer has mostly stayed away from the limelight since retiring from pro tennis at the 2022 Laver Cup. Although the 43-year-old has made a fair few appearances to play exhibition events or endorse his brands, he has not attracted much attention among tennis fans recently. That changed earlier this week at the Eurovision Song Contest, where presenters mentioned him since the event is being held in Basel - the former World No. 1's hometown.

Moreover, pillows featuring Roger Federer's face were also distributed among the fans in attendance as the presenters talked about him with enthusiasm. Soon afterward, the number of search queries for the Swiss on Google increased at a stupendous rate if an analytics graph posted on Reddit is to be believed.

Apparently Roger Federer after the Eurovision semifinal got a spike in google searches because people didn’t know who he was byu/Swurtleturtle1 intennis

The tennis fans on Reddit were subsequently upset at Eurovision fans apparently not knowing about the 20-time Major winner.

"It is crazy there are people out there who do not know who Roger Federer is," one fan suggested.

"Imagine discovering Federer through Eurovision of all things," another wrote.

Comment byu/Swurtleturtle1 from discussion intennis

A few others took a knock at the European music event, which has been won by famous acts like ABBA and Celine Dion in the past.

"I actually had to google Eurovision after reading this. Ironic," one fan claimed.

Comment byu/Swurtleturtle1 from discussion intennis

"I don't know what this 'Eurovision' is," another wrote.

"I have to google 'Eurovision'," one more fan asserted.

One fan, meanwhile, stated an observation that was a testament to the 103-time ATP singles titlist's popularity that transcended tennis.

"If RF can appear on the side of a sports shop in a small town in Ireland, then they've no excuse to not know who he is," the fan wrote while taking a shot at Eurovision.

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Roger Federer has won ATP Fans' Favorite Award a record 19 times

The Swiss maesro poses with ATP Fans' Favorite, Sportsmanship, and POTY awards in 2010 | Image Source: Getty

It goes without saying that Roger Federer is not only arguably the most popular tennis player but also one of the most celebrated icons in sport history. During his career that spanned more than two decades, the 20-time Major winner nabbed the ATP Fans' Favorite Award a whopping 19 times from 2003 to 2021.

The Swiss legend also did more than well in other ATP award categories, taking home the Player of the Year Award five times (2004-07, 2009), the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 13 times (2006-09, 2011-17), the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award twie (2006, 2013), and the Comeback Player of the Year Award once (2017).