This will come as no surprise to anyone who has paid any attention over the past quarter century. Roger Federer has been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, the Rhode Island-based Hall of Fame announced Wednesday.
The first man to win 20 Grand Slam singles titles, part of an unprecedented era of greatness with rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and what Federer called the “Golden Age of Tennis,” he was the only candidate with enough support in the Hall’s Class of 2026 player category. Hall has not disclosed the results of the vote.
Mary Carrillo, a television announcer and journalist who was also an athlete, was selected in the Contributor category. The entrance ceremony will be held in August.
“I have always valued the history of tennis and the example set by those who came before me,” Federer said. “It’s very humbling to be recognized in this way by the sports community and my peers.”
He is one of eight male players to have a career Grand Slam, winning Wimbledon eight times, the Australian Open six times, the US Open five times and the French Open once.
“I never expected to play in so many major tournaments,” Federer once said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Honestly, in the early stages of my career, I probably wanted to have it.”
Federer won his first Grand Slam title at the All England Club in 2003 and at Wimbledon in 2009, defeating Andy Roddick 16-14 in the fifth set of the final, breaking Pete Sampras’ record of 14 men’s major titles at the time. Federer won his 20th Australian Open title in 2018.
“I don’t really feel like I’m playing for records,” Federer once told the Associated Press. “I play this game because I love it.”
His Grand Slam total was eventually surpassed by Nadal, who completed 22 before retiring at age 38 last year, and Djokovic, who completed 24 and is still active at age 38.
With incredible forehands and serves, an aggressive all-court style, and footwork that all looked effortless, Federer won 103 singles tournaments and 1,251 matches, a total surpassed only by Jimmy Connors in the Open Era, which began in 1968, in the men’s game.
Federer finished his fifth year at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, spending a record 237 consecutive weeks at the top and a total of 310 weeks, leading Switzerland to the 2014 Davis Cup title and winning the doubles gold medal with Stan Wawrinka at the 2008 Olympics.
Federer, who is an ambassador for the game and often answers questions in English, French and Swiss German at press conferences, played his last match at Wimbledon in 2021. At the time, he was one month away from turning 40.
His retirement announcement was made the following year. He bid farewell by playing doubles with Nadal at the Laver Cup, an event established by Federer’s management company.
Along the way, Federer has established himself as a role model for younger athletes like Carlos Alcaraz, 22, the current world No. 1 who owns six Grand Slam trophies.
“The grace he showed on and off the court, the way he treated people and everyone, he was just a really humble guy — he has grace in everything he does,” Alcaraz said. “I appreciate it. He took the game to another level…that’s what I admire the most.”
At his peak, Federer reached a record 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals from 2005 to 2007, winning eight times. That dominance extended to reaching the finals of 18 of the 19 tournaments. He also had a streak of 23 semifinals and 36 quarterfinals in major tournaments.
Djokovic called them “inhuman results.”
Carrillo was the first woman to regularly commentate on tennis broadcasts and was a correspondent for HBO’s “Real Sports,” the Hall said. She has won six Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2018.
“I’ve been honored to spend my career sharing the story of this great game, and if I can open some doors in the process, it will make this day in August even more meaningful,” Carrillo said.
Next year’s voting will include holdovers Juan Martin del Potro and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the player category, while Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty, who played their last games in 2022, will qualify for the Hall for the first time.
