Roger Federer has been inducted into the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame, describing the second as “one of many best honours” of his life.
The 20-time Grand Slam singles champion, who retired in 2022, was tearful on the ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island, as he mirrored on his glittering profession in entrance of tennis greats together with Billie Jean King and John McEnroe.
After make his debut in 1998 on the age of 16, Federer gained a males’s-record eight Wimbledon titles, six Australian Open crowns, 5 US Opens and one French Open.
“This is among the best honors of my life,” Federer, 45, stated.
“They name this the Corridor of Fame, however fame was by no means the purpose. My purpose was to spend my life doing one thing I really like, with individuals who find it irresistible as a lot as I do.”
Solely Spain’s Rafael Nadal, with 22 majors, and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, with 24, have gained extra males’s Grand Slam singles titles than Federer.
He gained his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003 and spent 310 weeks because the world primary – a file till he was surpassed by Djokovic.
Alongside his 20 Grand Slams, Federer gained Olympic doubles gold for Switzerland with Stan Wawrinka at Beijing 2008 and singles silver at London 2012.
He was additionally a part of the Swiss staff that gained the Davis Cup for the primary time in 2014.
Federer, who began out as a 13-year-old ball boy at an ATP match in Basle, mirrored on the lesser-known statistics from his profession throughout his speech.
“I am speaking in regards to the numbers that basically paint an image. Between 1998 and once I first went on the ATP Tour, and once I retired in 2022, I wore greater than 5,000 headbands,” stated Federer.
“That is greater than [Bjorn] Borg and [John] McEnroe mixed.
“And when you suppose that is spectacular, I wore in all probability over 7,000 pairs of socks. That is in all probability twice as many as most of my opponents, as a result of I doubled them up.
“However actually, there is no method to measure what it means to be right here. It is arduous to place it into phrases.”
Federer wiped away tears as he thanked his spouse Mirka, tennis idol Stefan Edberg and “each ball child who ever stood by” his matches.
Federer additionally stated he was “extremely fortunate” to have performed with completely different generations of tennis gamers, from Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt to Andy Roddick, Nadal and Djokovic.
“I want tissues and sun shades and every thing to guard me proper now. That is such a large number,” Federer joked.
“As you may inform, I am nonetheless writing my love letter to tennis. My time as a participant is completed, however tennis will all the time stand on the intersection of every thing I care most about: my household, our friendships, the previous 40 years, the long run we’re constructing.
“Tennis for me is liable for all of it.”
