Online Reporter
A TEARFUL Roger Federer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, describing the honour as one of the greatest of his life.
The 45-year-old, 20-time Grand Slam singles champion was frequently overcome with emotion as he addressed a crowd filled with tennis royalty at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island.
Federer, who retired in 2022, paid tribute to the opponents, officials, fans, family and friends who shared his journey during a speech that unfolded as a love letter to tennis.
“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.”
In a light-hearted opening, the eight-time Wimbledon champion reflected on some of his lesser-known career statistics.
“Not the obvious stats like the number of majors or number of weeks at No. 1,” he said.
“I’m talking about the numbers that really paint a picture. Between 1998, 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 7 000 pairs of socks. That’s probably twice as many as most of my opponents because I doubled them up.”
Federer then reflected on his journey from being a 13-year-old ball boy at an ATP tournament in Basle to the pinnacle of the sport.
“But really, there’s no way to measure what it means to be here. It’s hard to put it into words,” he 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.
“I see you. I thank you. I was you.”
Federer wiped away tears as he mentioned his childhood idol Stefan Edberg, other tennis stars, family members and support staff who inspired him throughout his career.
“I need tissues and sunglasses and everything to protect me right now,” he joked. “This is such a mess.”
Federer said his induction had allowed him to look back on his career and towards his future beyond the court.
“As you can tell, I’m still writing my love letter to tennis,” he said.
“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.” — AFP Sport.
