Emotional Roger Federer Inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame

‘This is one of the greatest honours of my life. Tennis meant the world to me. Not just playing, not just winning, but creating something new.’

Newport: Roger Federer got emotional during his acceptance speech after getting inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island on Saturday.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion reflected on his storied career in a speech that brought him to tears on multiple occasions.

“This is one of the greatest honours 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 love it as much as I do.”

The Swiss captured a men’s-record eight Wimbledon titles and spent 310 weeks as the world number one. He also won six Australian Open crowns, five U.S. Open titles and one French Open title. He retired in 2022 with 103 ATP tour titles.

“Tennis meant the world to me. Not just playing, not just winning, but creating something new,” he said.

“It’s a mentality I have. I used to play serve and volley, I had a transition game, I played way beyond the baseline sometimes, or on top of the baseline. And I would even try to sneak up on my opponents on my return, and some call it the SABR (Sneak Attack by Roger) today.

“This is what was important to me on the court, but so much of what was really important happened off the court.”

The 45-year-old thanked his coaches, doctors and family, including wife Mirka, who introduced him to the podium.

“Oh man. This is very high level and a tough act to follow.”

An emotional Federer said he’s “still writing my love letter to tennis, and 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. So, this is not a goodbye.”

Federer is one of only eight men in tennis history to achieve a career Grand Slam in singles and was the first male player in tennis history to win 20 major singles titles. He held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 237 consecutive weeks, ultimately holding that spot for 310 total weeks throughout his career. Agencies

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