Roger Federer loved to win, of course, and at the peak of his career almost always did.
Federer won five straight U.S. All those victories and trophies he piled up alone would have made Federer remembered forever in tennis, but they were only part of the reason he enjoyed playing. He liked travelling to tournaments, meeting people and making new friends, whether they were on the other side of the net or sitting in the stands. “I thought it was about, in the moment, forehands and backhands and saving break points and victories and all that stuff. “But actually it becomes a little bit, not irrelevant eventually, but it’s about what you were remembered for, how did you behave in the locker rooms or in the corridors or maybe with the media, or with the tournament directors, the ball kids.
Federer will have a chance to reflect back on it all on Saturday (August 28, 2026) when he is enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. Open titles from 2004-08, during a stretch when he compiled a 247-15 record from 2004-06 and reached a record 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals from 2005-07, winning eight. He went on to win 1,251 matches and 103 tournaments, including 20 Grand Slams.
“I think when you retire, I think I said it before, that there was a lot of talk also about maybe my personality and what I brought to the game overall when I wasn’t on court, which I was a little surprised,” Federer said.
The 45-year-old from Switzerland, who will be honored along with broadcaster and former player Mary Carillo, said it would be his first trip to Newport. Sure, there was regular stops such as New York and London and Paris for Grand Slam tournaments, but there were also cities like Cape Town, South Africa, for an exhibition match against Rafael Nadal that drew nearly 52,000 fans; or Mexico City, for one against Alexander Zverev that drew more than 42,000. Open this week for an exhibition, his first time playing in Flushing Meadows since 2019, the lines of fans waiting to get into Arthur Ashe Stadium resembled a night in the second week of the tournament, not well before it even began.
That seemed surprising, given how many places he’s gone for his tennis. The fans clearly miss Federer. When he returned to the U.S.
“For me, if I look back, that’s kind of what I’m very happy about, that I went through 25 years on tour, and actually felt like I made a lot of friends and a lot of people miss me,” Federer said.