Roger Federer Inducted Into Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport
The 20-time Grand Slam champion wept through a lengthy speech in Rhode Island, calling the honour one of the greatest of his life.
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The Ceremony in Newport
Roger Federer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island. The Manila Times reported that the 45-year-old Swiss player was tearful throughout, calling his entry into the sport's pantheon "one of the greatest honors of my life".
Federer, who retired in 2022, was honoured alongside the broadcaster and former player Mary Carillo. According to bluewin.ch, he is the second Swiss tennis player to be inducted, after Martina Hingis, and his wife Mirka delivered an emotional tribute at the ceremony.
"They call this the Hall of Fame, but fame was never the goal," Federer said, as reported by The Manila Times. "My goal was to spend my life doing something I love... with people who I love it as much as I do."
The Speech
Federer opened lightly, listing what he called his lesser-known statistics rather than majors or weeks at number one. He said he wore more than 5,000 headbands between 1998 and his retirement, and over 7,000 pairs of socks, because he doubled them up.
He then thanked ball kids, recalling his own start as a 13-year-old ballboy at an ATP tournament in Basel. "I see you. I thank you. I was you," he said.
He wiped away tears while naming his idol Stefan Edberg, along with family and support staff. "I need tissues and sunglasses and everything to protect me right now," he joked. "This is such a mess."
The Career Behind the Honour
CNN reports that Federer won 20 major singles titles and spent 237 consecutive weeks at the top of the world rankings, still a record. It describes 2006 as his peak season, with three majors, 12 titles and a 92-5 record.
He first cried after a big win at Wimbledon in 2001, CNN says, after beating Pete Sampras on his Centre Court debut. He passed Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2009.
Federer told INQUIRER.net that he was surprised, on retiring, by how much talk focused on his conduct off court rather than his tennis. He ruled out a comeback in remarks to SWI swissinfo.ch: "I'm done with that. Now I'm just a fan."
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