Federer’s love for the sport comes out during induction to Tennis Hall of Fame

Her moving introduction brought Roger to tears, and the emotions resurfaced throughout his subsequent speech. He kept using humour to lighten the moment, joking in between that his speech might go on till sunrise given the lengthy tear breaks.

Though he has now joined the Hall of Fame, Federer said fame was never his objective; he was motivated by his love for the sport.

What an incredible evening spent honouring not only a phenomenal player, but a phenomenal person, @rogerfederer, as he's inducted into the @TennisHalloFame ♥️#InductionCelebration #CloserToGreatness pic.twitter.com/iq6TbRiSo8

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 30, 2026

“We play tennis, we’re tennis players. That for me is what it’s about: the sense of play,” Federer added. “Yes, this sport takes work and practice. But the sense of play always carried me through. And when the work and play blend together, that’s the best feeling of all.”

In his 28-minute address, Federer took his audience on a nostalgic, vicarious ride, right from his days as a 13-year-old ballboy to the 103 ATP titles, acknowledging the roles played by friends, adversaries and mentors along the way.

Thanking every ballboy who stood through his matches, Federer recounted his own thrill at witnessing stars from up close.

“I’ll never forget how the game looked from there and how it felt. The thrill of standing so close to the players, feeding them the ball, handing them the towel, seeing them sweat, watching them fight it out, figure out the adversity, the intensity,” the Swiss maestro said.
He then described his playing journey, on which he embarked as a three-year-old. Federer said he started with double-handed forehands and backhands as a kid, a far cry from his famous one-handed whiplash of a backhand in his professional days.

Not him alone

He reiterated the importance of the supporting acts that make up the tennis ecosystem.

“Tennis is never about the players alone. It’s moms and dads like mine taking their kids to matches, cheering them on. It’s coaches who teach children how to win and how to bounce back when they lose. It’s people who sweep the courts or pick up the balls. It’s young players like me who get a chance to be a ball kid. And also, by the way, it’s all linespeople,”he added.

The emotions got a bit overwhelming for Federer about halfway through his speech, when he spoke about his childhood hero Stefan Edberg, who “provided huge personal inspiration for the everyday grind on the tour”. He choked up again when speaking about his longtime coach Severin Luthi, before he went on to thank Mirka, calling her “my coach, hitting partner, reality check and stylist”.

Federer said he was “incredibly lucky” to have played with different generations of tennis players, from Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt to Andy Roddick, and then Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. He sprinkled some more humour by way of the number of headbands and socks he expended on tour.

“I’m talking about the numbers that really paint a picture. Between 1998 and when I first went on the ATP Tour, and when I retired in 2022, I wore more than 5,000 headbands,” said Federer. “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,” he said.

While jokingly asking for tissues and sunglasses “to protect” himself, Federer delivered the ultimate punchline.

“I’m still writing my love letter to tennis. 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.”