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WIMBLEDON, England—While tennis players normally don’t cross over into the political scene (which is likely for the best), the United Kingdom's voting to leave the European Union on Thursday had London buzzing.
Roger Federer put in his two cents on the referendum during pre-Wimbledon press, while others opted to respectfully maintain neutrality.
“Of course, I followed it,” the Swiss said. “It’s a historic day. I don’t even want to think about the negotiations that go into it now. For you guys, it’s going to be years of negotiations. It’s definitely interesting times ahead.”
The diplomatic Federer focused mostly on the beauty of democracy.
“It’s nice to have democracy here, that you have an opportunity to vote,” Federer said. “It’s a beautiful thing. Many people went out and did that. They took a decision. Now you have to make necessary steps. For Switzerland, I don’t know how much impact that’s going to have. I would assume Brussels has a lot of work to do right now. Us Swiss guys, we’re going to follow it. We also have had our ups and downs, being in the EU or not. Time will tell.”
Germany’s Angelique Kerber pleaded the fifth.
“That’s politics. I’m out from politics,” she said. “It’s tough to say something about this.”
The tournament's top Brits, though most affected by the results, chose not to add to the conversation at all.
“I was in Eastbourne playing. The thing is with the tour you’ve very much in your own little bubble,” Great Britain’s Johanna Konta said. “I haven’t really watched much news. Obviously, I’m aware of what happened during the referendum. But in terms of my opinions, I think they’re very much better discussed at the dinner table.”
Konta’s compatriot, Andy Murray, followed with similar sentiments, preferring to keep his opinions private.
“I’m not discussing that today,” the Scot said. “I have followed it very closely. I stayed up pretty late on whatever night it was, late into the morning. But yeah, I'm not discussing that today, unfortunately.”