Renaming of the St. Jakobshalle? Roger Federer has to wait on
Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe and Roy Emerson already have stadiums named after them. Roger Federer is still on the waiting list in this regard.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Oct 20, 2020, 09:43 am
Not that you don't love Roger Federer in Basel. But at the moment there are more pressing problems in Switzerland than renaming the St. Jakobshalle in the direction of the 20-time major winner. 3,000 signatures would be necessary for the city council to deal with the cause, but according to the current status, 1,200 are missing, as announced on Monday in a press release.
The “Roger Federer now” initiative nevertheless hopes for a fruitful discussion - and has sent 2,600 signatures from another campaign to the city council. The maestro himself told the Tagesanzeiger a year ago that he would be quite open to this honor. An ATP Tour 500 tournament is traditionally held in the St. Jakobshalle, but this year it was canceled due to the corona pandemic.
Rafael Nadal has his own court in Barcelona
"I would be very happy. That would be an absolutely incredible honor for me, ”said Federer at the time. I see what Roger Federer or Roy Emerson means, that they have a stadium that is named after them. "
The world's largest tennis arena also bears the name of an iconic tennis player: Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. The entire complex is also named after Billie Jean King. Roger Federer's great long-term rival is also already noted on the tennis map: In Barcelona, another 20-time Grand Slam champion is playing on the “Pista Rafa Nadal”.