Net Worth: Roger Federer

I wrote about Roger Federer after he lost the 2015 Wimbledon final and wondered if he was in the last lap of his career. Now at age 36, after winning his sixth Australian Open and record 20th major title, it's clear he doesn’t follow the usual sporting script. Two-and-a-half years is a significant period (Saturn’s transit of a sign), and Federer’s Saturn is now moving through his fifth house of sporting contests. Not to mention children: he and his wife have two separate sets of twins.

His chart doesn’t have the obvious heavy-hitting sportsman’s placements, let alone those of an all-time great. We’d expect a powerful Mars, or prominent Aries or Scorpio, or a strong fifth house or ascendant lord, yet Federer’s planets are spread in a trine between Gemini and Libra, with Sun in the 12th and lagna flanked by a (very) mixed katari yoga. Still, yogakaraka Mars and Saturn in mutual aspect give stamina and willpower, and these planets both occupying Aries navamsha also strengthens Mars, if not Saturn. There is Raja Yoga between the seventh and ninth houses, with Saturn also sixth lord of contests and rivalry.

Roger Federer 8/8/1981, 08:40, Basel, Switzerland

Federer D9

Third lord Venus gives manual dexterity, which placed in lagna shows Federer’s aesthetic style, though there is more to his game than just a balletic backhand. Mars is the natural karaka of the third and this zone is all energy and fight - Mr Charming was a hothead and racket-thrower in his early days. Mercury mahadasha has given him youthful energy, though Mercury itself is combust and placed with Rahu in the 12th, with no benefic aspect. It's a wonder he gets any sleep. Of course he is super-rich, but second and eleventh lord Mercury in the house of expenses also gives potential for loss or deceit, especially now within its period. Donating to charities and causes surely offsets some of this risk.

As sports science improves and approaches like yoga (which Andy Murray, for one, uses) extends athlete’s careers, records for longevity will become less relevant. But for skill and sheer watchability, Federer crosses boundaries, even for outsiders who only watch tennis once a year.