Roger Federer leads the list of candidates announced Wednesday for the 2026 International Tennis Hall of Fame classes. He was the first man to win the 20 Grand Slam Singles title, and won an unprecedented era of greatness with his younger rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
With his amazing forehand and serve, offense, all-court style and footwork that made it all look easy, Federer won 103 trophies and 1,251 games on singles, only Jimmy Connors in the open era that began in 1968 in total.
Federer finished five seasons at No. 1 in the ATP rankings, spending a record 237 weeks in a row at the venue, leading Switzerland to the 2014 Davis Cup title and collaborated with Stan Wolrinka to win the doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
At the height of his strength, Federer reached a record 10th consecutive Grand Slam final between 2005 and 2007, winning eight titles during that period. He extended his domination in 2010 by winning 18 of the 19 major finals. There were also 36 consecutive quarterfinals and 23 consecutive semifinals.
Federer, the ambassador of the game, who often spoke in English, French and Swiss German at news conferences, had his final match at Wimbledon in 2021. He was 40 shy at the time.
His retirement announcement did not come until the following year. He said goodbye to himself by appearing with Nadal in doubles at the Laver Cup, an event set up by his management team.
Federer has participated in the Hall’s Player category poll, featuring two-time major singles champion Svetlana Kuznecsova and 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro. There are two candidates in the Contributor category. TV announcer Mary Carillo and administrator Marshall Happer.
Memberships will be announced in November.
Federer is one of eight men with at least one single trophy from each of the four most important events in the sport, winning eight at Wimbledon, six at the Australian Open, five at the US Open and one at the French Open. He completed a career grand slam in 2009 at Roland Garos.
His first major championship took place at the All England Club in 2003, winning Wimbledon in 2009 to break the then record for the man Pete Sampler with a 14-slam title, beating Andy Rodick 16-14 in the fifth set of the final.
Eventually, Federer was overtaken in the Grand Slam rankings of Nadal, who retired at 22 at the age of 38 last year, and Djokovic, who is active at 24, at 38.
“I always say it’s great to be part of that selective group,” Federer told The Associated Press in 2021.
Federer’s fifth consecutive US Open – no one had won two consecutive games there – finished with a five-set defeat to Del Potro in the 2009 final. At the time, Del Potro looked destined to an elite career thanks to his booming forehand, not 21 years old, but a series of wrist and knee injuries derailed the 6-foot-6 Argentina.
He finished with 22 tour-level titles and a career-high ranking of third place, finishing as Djokovic’s runner-up in the 2018 US Open, reaching another Grand Slam final. Del Potro won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, helping Argentina win the Davis Cup that year. His last appearance in major tournaments was his fourth run at the 2019 French Open.
Kuznetsova won a massive singles trophy at US Open in 2004 and French Open in 2009, and placed second in doubles at the Australian Open in 2005 and 2012. Kuznetsova won 18 tour-level events with singles and 16 tour-level events with doubles.
