Roger Federer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, describing the honor as one of the “greatest honors of my life” as he reflected on an extraordinary career that made him one of tennis’ most celebrated figures.
The 45-year-old Swiss legend and 20-time Grand Slam singles champion was overcome with emotion several times while addressing a crowd filled with tennis royalty during the ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island.
Federer, who retired from professional tennis in 2022, used his lengthy speech to pay tribute to the opponents, officials, fans, family members and friends who shaped his career, turning the occasion into an emotional celebration of his enduring relationship with the sport.
“This is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Federer said. “They call this the Hall of Fame, but fame was never the goal.”
“My goal was to spend my life doing something I love, with people who I love it as much as I do.”
The eight-time Wimbledon champion began his speech on a lighter note, reflecting on some of the unusual statistics from his playing career rather than focusing on his more famous achievements.
“Not the obvious stats like the number of majors or number of weeks at number one,” Federer said. “I’m talking about the numbers that really paint a picture. Between 1998 and when I first went on the ATP tour, and when I retired in 2022, I wore more than 5,000 headbands. That’s more than (Bjorn) Borg and (John) McEnroe combined.
“And if you think that’s impressive, I wore probably over 7000 pairs of socks. That’s probably twice as many as most of my opponents, because I doubled them up.”
Behind the humour, Federer acknowledged that the significance of his induction was difficult to capture in statistics or words.
“But really, there’s no way to measure what it means to be here. It’s hard to put it into words,” he said.
Federer also reflected on his journey from a 13-year-old ballboy at an ATP tournament in Basel, Switzerland, to the summit of world tennis.
“I really want to thank every ball kid who ever stood through my matches or all our matches, for that matter, for hours on end,” Federer said. “I see you. I thank you. I was you.”
The former world No. 1 became visibly emotional as he mentioned his childhood idol Stefan Edberg, fellow tennis stars, members of his family and the support team that stood alongside him throughout his career.
“I need tissues and sunglasses and everything to protect me right now,” Federer joked. “This is such a mess.”
Federer retired in 2022 after a career that included 20 Grand Slam singles titles, eight Wimbledon championships and a record-setting spell at the top of the men’s game.
Despite stepping away from competitive tennis, Federer said his connection to the sport remains as strong as ever.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Federer said. “For me, the International Tennis Hall of Fame provides a great opportunity to look back, but also to look ahead,” he added.
“As you can tell, I’m still writing my love letter to tennis. My time as a player is done, but tennis will always stand at the intersection of everything I care most about; my family, our friendships
“As you can tell, I’m still writing my love letter to tennis. My time as a player is done, but tennis will always stand at the intersection of everything I care most about: my family, our friendships, the past 40 years, the future we’re building. Tennis for me is responsible for it all.”
