Roger Federer inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame: an emotional evening in Newport for one of the greatest careers in tennis history
Roger Federer was officially inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at a ceremony held on August 29, 2026, in Newport, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The Swiss great thus received one of the most important honors in world tennis. According to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Federer entered the Class of 2026 in the Player Category, while American journalist, commentator and former tennis player Mary Carillo was inducted in the Contributor Category. The ceremony was held on the historic Horseshoe Court, in the Newport Casino complex, before family members, friends, fans and dozens of previously inducted tennis greats. Federer turned his speech into a personal reflection on family, coaches, rivals and the sport that, as he said, remained a central part of his life even after his retirement from the ATP Tour.
Federer's appearance on stage followed a speech by his wife Mirka Federer, a former professional tennis player who was by his side throughout almost his entire senior career. ATP reported that Mirka recalled how they met during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, before turning her speech to the years of travel, training, victories, defeats and family life away from television cameras. Federer hugged and kissed her before beginning his own speech, and emotion stopped him several times during the evening. The Associated Press reported that he fought back tears several times as he thanked his wife, parents, coaches, doctors and the people who had been part of his journey. The atmosphere was reminiscent of his farewell to professional tennis in London in 2022, but the message from Newport was different: this time he was not closing a door, but emphasizing that his connection with tennis remained open.
Mirka Federer introduced her husband before tennis greats
Mirka Federer's role was one of the central moments of the ceremony. According to ATP, she spoke about the period when Roger had not yet won a single ATP title, the years in which she accompanied him at tournaments and the family decisions that took place far from the public eye. She also recalled that early in his career she used to warm him up before matches. Mirka emphasized that she was proudest of the person Federer was when the public was not watching, particularly his relationship with family, friends and the people around him. This immediately gave the ceremony a more personal tone before Federer himself began speaking about the path that secured his place among the greatest.
Federer responded by thanking his wife, his parents Lynette and Robert, and the people who accompanied him throughout his career. ATP reported that he specifically mentioned his mother, who organized his training sessions and matches and supported his coaches, as well as his father, with whom he played tennis. Instead of giving a detailed list of his own records, he devoted a large part of his speech to the people who enabled him to achieve them. Among those present were Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, Jim Courier and Mats Wilander, all former world No. 1s, as well as Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova. The International Tennis Hall of Fame announced that 33 previously inducted members took part in the multi-day program in Newport.
A speech in which records remained in the background
During his speech, Federer made it clear that fame itself had never been the goal. According to ATP, he spoke about the feel of the game, the work and training necessary for an elite career, but also about the joy that carried him through decades of professional sport. He recalled being a ball boy at the tournament in Basel at the age of 13 and watching professionals up close, observing their concentration and the way they solved problems during a match. He connected that detail between the boy who watched great players and the man whose name now stands alongside theirs in Newport. Federer said that the fact that he reads the stories of his heroes in the Hall of Fame and now sees his own place there represents one of the greatest honors of his life.
A particularly emotional part of the speech was dedicated to family, coaches and the people who supported him through injuries and comebacks. Federer's career was often associated publicly with effortless movement and technical elegance, but in Newport he stressed how much work stood behind that image. His long-time coach and collaborator Severin Lüthi was among the people he thanked, and he also reflected on the different generations of players he competed against. According to reports from the ceremony, he mentioned Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal and Novak Đoković. The rivalries with Nadal and Đoković defined a large part of men's tennis in the first decades of the 21st century and raised the level of competition in an era in which numerous historic records were constantly changing.
Federer directed his closing message toward the future. The International Tennis Hall of Fame quoted his assessment that the institution allows him to look back and, at the same time, toward what is still to come. He said that he is still writing his "love letter to tennis" and emphasized that his playing career is over, but tennis remains connected to his family, friendships, past and future plans. His message that "this is not goodbye" therefore became one of the key lines of the evening. In the context of Federer's life after retirement, it confirms what he had already said in 2022: the end of a competitive career does not mean the end of a relationship with the sport.
The numbers that explain Federer's place in history
Federer retired in 2022 after a career in which he won 103 ATP titles. According to official ATP Tour data, he finished with 1,251 singles-match victories at the highest level, 20 Grand Slam titles and a total of 310 weeks at No. 1 in the world rankings. Particularly notable is his record of 237 consecutive weeks at No. 1, from February 2004 to August 2008. Federer finished five seasons as world No. 1, won 28 Masters 1000 tournaments and six year-end ATP championships. He won his final Grand Slam in 2018 at the Australian Open, 15 years after his first major title at Wimbledon in 2003.
His 20 Grand Slam trophies were spread across all four major tournaments: eight Wimbledons, six Australian Opens, five US Opens and one Roland Garros. The Paris title in 2009 enabled him to complete the career Grand Slam, meaning he had won each of the four major tournaments at least once. Federer was the first male player to reach 20 singles Grand Slam titles. His record was later surpassed by Rafael Nadal and Novak Đoković, but Federer's run of success in the early and mid-2000s changed the standards of long-term dominance. ATP also highlights ten consecutive Grand Slam finals from Wimbledon 2005 through the US Open 2007 and 23 consecutive semifinals at the majors from 2004 to 2010.
Wimbledon remained the tournament most closely associated with Federer, and his eight men's singles titles still represent a record. In New York, he won five consecutive US Opens from 2004 to 2008, while in Melbourne he was champion six times. At Roland Garros, he had to wait until 2009, when victory in the final against Robin Söderling gave him his only title on the Paris clay. Federer's body of work was not limited to Grand Slam tournaments: he won Olympic gold in men's doubles with Stan Wawrinka in Beijing in 2008, silver in singles in London in 2012, and the Davis Cup with Switzerland in 2014. The combination of individual records, national-team success, longevity and global influence provides broader context for his induction into the Hall of Fame.
From his final match with Nadal to a return to the grass in Newport
In September 2022, Federer announced that the Laver Cup in London would be his final ATP event. The decision followed years of knee problems and surgeries that limited his ability to return to a full competitive schedule. He played his final professional match on September 23, 2022, in doubles with Rafael Nadal, his long-time rival and friend. They lost to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe, but the result was overshadowed by the farewell in London's O2 Arena. ATP recorded at the time that Federer, surrounded by family and fellow players, tearfully thanked the sport and the crowd.
Four years later, the week in Newport showed his new role in tennis. The Hall of Fame program ran from August 27 to 29, and on the day before the ceremony Federer appeared with a racket on the grass courts again as part of the Celebrity Pro Classic exhibition event. The weekend also included the presentation of the official Hall of Fame blazer, meetings with fans and programs dedicated to tennis history. The ceremony itself was therefore the final event of a broader celebration rather than an isolated formal act. Federer returned to the grass without competitive pressure, on the surface that defined a large part of his career.
International Tennis Hall of Fame rules provide that candidates in the Player Category must have had a distinguished international career and must no longer have been a significant factor on the ATP or WTA Tour during the five calendar years before election. A candidate must receive at least 75 percent of the required support from the official voting body, through a combination of the official vote and any bonus percentage points from the fan vote. Federer was elected to the Class of 2026 in November 2025, and the news was delivered to him at Swiss Tennis with the participation of a number of previous Hall of Fame members. Official confirmation of his membership came in Newport nine months later.
Newport as the place where US Open history and the Hall of Fame meet
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in the Newport Casino complex, which opened in 1880. According to the institution's historical overview, the first U.S. national championships in men's singles were held on its grass courts in 1881, the competition from which today's US Open developed. By the beginning of the 20th century, the tournament had outgrown Newport and moved to New York, but the site remained an important part of tennis history. Newport Casino is now a U.S. National Historic Landmark, and its grass courts, museum and archive form a complex in which the history of competitive tennis is connected with the Hall of Fame institution.
The Hall of Fame was founded in 1954 following an initiative by Jimmy Van Alen and his wife Candy, and it inducted its first members in 1955. It initially operated as the U.S. national tennis hall of fame, while its international character was further emphasized in 1975 with the induction of Fred Perry. The International Tennis Federation officially recognized it in 1986. According to ITHF data following the Class of 2026, 272 people from 28 countries have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Federer's name therefore enters an institutional line that spans generations of players and other people whose influence went beyond the boundaries of individual tournaments or eras.
Mary Carillo, a former professional player and long-time sports journalist, was also inducted alongside Federer in 2026. ITHF states that she entered in the Contributor Category, intended for pioneers and individuals who have left an exceptional mark beyond competition results themselves. She was introduced by Billie Jean King. The ceremony therefore brought together two different types of legacy: Federer's as one of the most successful players in history and Carillo's as a person who for decades shaped the way audiences follow and understand tennis. This also reaffirmed the Hall of Fame's broader concept, which values not only trophies but also contributions to the development, presentation and culture of the sport.
The recognition continued in New York
Federer's week in the United States did not end with the ceremony in Newport. On September 1, ATP reported that two days after his Hall of Fame induction he arrived at the US Open, where on August 31 he was presented with the official International Tennis Hall of Fame ring at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The ring was presented to him by former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame member Kim Clijsters. Federer once again received an ovation from the crowd at the tournament he won five consecutive times. The few days between Newport and Flushing Meadows thus connected the institution that preserves the history of the sport with one of the tournaments where Federer had created that history.
The most important message, however, remained the one from Newport. Federer entered the Hall of Fame as a retired athlete, but he did not speak like someone distancing himself from tennis. He emphasized that his role as a professional player had ended, while his relationship with the sport, the people he met through it and the future he wants to build remains active. After 20 Grand Slam titles, 103 ATP trophies and 310 weeks at the top of the rankings, the honor in Newport did not change Federer's historical status. It formally placed him in an institution whose purpose is to preserve such legacies - and at the same time confirmed his message that the connection with tennis does not end with the final point played.
Sources:
- International Tennis Hall of Fame - official report on the ceremony and the Class of 2026 (link)
- ATP Tour - report and summary of Federer's speech in Newport (link)
- ATP Tour - Mirka Federer's speech and introduction of her husband at the ceremony (link)
- International Tennis Hall of Fame - eligibility rules, election process and membership data (link)
- ATP Tour - overview of Federer's career and official statistics (link)
- ATP Tour - report on Federer's final professional appearance at the 2022 Laver Cup (link)
- International Tennis Hall of Fame - history of the institution and Newport Casino (link)
- ATP Tour - September 1, 2026 report on the presentation of Federer's ring at the US Open (link)
- Associated Press / Local 10 - report from the ceremony in Newport (link)