Federer was born at the Basel Cantonal Hospital in Basel , Switzerland . His father , Robert Federer , is Swiss , from Berneck , near the borders between Switzerland , Austria and Germany ; and his mother , Lynette Federer ( born Durand ) , from Kempton Park , Gauteng , is a South African whose ancestors was Dutch and French Huguenots . Federer have one sibling , his older sister Diana , who is the mother of a set of twins . He hold both Swiss and South African citizenship . He grew up in nearby Birsfelden , Riehen , and then Münchenstein , close to the French and German borders and speak Swiss German , Standard German , English and French fluently , Swiss German being his native language .