WATCH: Young Federer throws fits on court

Roger Federer is the king of cool, but that wasn’t always the case. It’s no secret that young Federer had a bit of a temper, but did you know he was downright ornery? If you don’t believe it, check out this video compilation of Federer’s on-court antics.

According to a 2009 *New York Times* article, Federer “ would cry when things went poorly, and send his racket skidding across the court after an error. He would whine at bad calls, slam balls in anger and argue with his father.”

“I was the opposite of cool,” Federer told Bear Grylls in 2018. “I was a clever racquet thrower. I wouldn’t smash it into the ground so I wouldn’t have to ask my parents to buy another racquet.”

Federer admits it took him nearly two years to find the right balance of fire and ice. Maybe not coincidentally, he found his cool around the same time he moved on from his bleach-blonde hairdo.

The story of Federer’s raging temper is not new, but it never gets old.