A tearful Roger Federer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, describing his formal entrance into the sport’s pantheon as one of the “greatest honors of my life. The 45-year-old 20-time Grand Slam singles champion was frequently overcome with emotion as he addressed a crowd bristling with tennis royalty at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island. The Swiss legend, who retired from tennis in 2022, paid tribute to the opponents, officials, fans, family and friends who had shared his career during a lengthy address that unfolded as a love letter to the sport.
“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. “I’m talking about the numbers that really paint a picture. That’s more than (Bjorn) Borg and (John) McEnroe combined. “But really, there’s no way to measure what it means to be here. “I see you. I thank you. I was you.
Between 1998 and when I first went on the ATP tour, and when I retired in 2022, I wore more than 5,000 headbands. It’s hard to put it into words,” Federer said, reflecting on his journey from being a 13-year-old ballboy at an ATP tournament in Basel to the pinnacle of tennis.
“This is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Federer said. “Not the obvious stats like the number of majors or number of weeks at number one,” Federer said. “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. “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. Tennis for me is responsible for it all.” 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.
