SHANGHAI, CHINA - OCTOBER 11: Roger Federer of Switzerland in action against Alexander Zverev of Germany during the Men's singles Quarterfinals match of 2019 Rolex Shanghai Masters day seven at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
A bid to rename Basel’s main sports arena after tennis superstar Roger Federer failed to gather enough signatures yesterday.
In Switzerland, renaming streets after public figures is usually a posthumous honour, but the idea to change the arena’s name in honour of Federer was first mentioned back in 2012.
The proposal fell 1,800 signatures short of the 3,000 required to trigger a local public vote, but instigators still submitted the petition to Basel city authorities.
Basel-born Federer, 39, used to live in the suburb where the hall is located and as a youngster spent time as a ball boy at the Swiss Indoors event at the arena.
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