Roger Federer gives emotional speech as part of his induction into tennis Hall of Fame

[p]The 45-year-old 20-time Grand Slam singles champion was frequently overcome with emotion as he addressed a crowd bristling with tennis royalty at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island.[/p][p]The Swiss legend, who retired from tennis in 2022, paid tribute to the opponents, officials, fans, family and friends who had shared his career during a lengthy address that unfolded as a love letter to the sport.[/p][p]"[b]This is one of the greatest honors of my life,[/b]" [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/federer-roger/GrsQDFC0/"]Federer[/a] said. "[b]They call this the Hall of Fame, but fame was never the goal.[/b][/p][p]"[b]My goal was to spend my life doing something I love... with people who I love it as much as I do.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="f004290e-9a44-422a-98c6-626f74becf76" url="https://x.com/TennisChannel/status/2093881101936947665?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]In a light-hearted preamble, the eight-time Wimbledon champion totted up his career in some of his lesser-known statistical milestones.[/p][p]"[b]Not the obvious stats like the number of majors or number of weeks at number one,[/b]" Federer said. "[b]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. That's more than (Bjorn) [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/borges-nuno/hzbEPIOa/"]Borg[/a] and (John) [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mcenroe-john/84OmK3Ag/"]McEnroe[/a] combined.[/b][/p][p]"[b]And if you think that's impressive, I wore probably over 7000 pairs of socks. That's probably twice as many as most of my opponents, because I doubled them up.[/b][/p][p]"[b]But really, there's no way to measure what it means to be here. It's hard to put it into words,[/b]" Federer said, reflecting on his journey from being a 13-year-old ballboy at an ATP tournament in Basel to the pinnacle of tennis.[/p][p]"[b]I really want to thank every ball kid who ever stood through my matches or all our matches, for that matter, for hours on end,[/b]" Federer said. "[b]I see you. I thank you. I was you[/b]."[/p][p]Federer had to wipe away tears as he name-checked his idol [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/edberg-stefan/OGjCfEga/"]Stefan Edberg[/a], other tennis stars, family and support staff who had inspired him throughout his career.[/p][p]"[b]I need tissues and sunglasses and everything to protect me right now,[/b]" he joked. "[b]This is such a mess.[/b]"[/p][p]"[b]It's been an incredible journey,[/b]" Federer said. "[b]For me, the International Tennis Hall of Fame provides a great opportunity to look back, but also to look ahead,[/b]" he added.[/p][p]"[b]As you can tell, 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.[/b]"[/p]