The Swiss player, who retired in 2022, won 20 Grand Slam tournaments during his illustrious career, becoming the first male player to reach the milestone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Federer said in a statement shared by the ITHF: “It’s a tremendous honour to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and to stand alongside so many of the game’s great champions.<\/p>\n
“To be recognised in this way by the sport and by my peers is deeply humbling.<\/p>\n
“Throughout my career, I’ve always valued the history of tennis and the example set by those who came before me.”<\/p>\n
![\"picture\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-6ba4131c-ce1f-44bf-af14-06228c41e0a3-85-2560-1440.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\u2018He wrote the playbook, I just read it\u2019 \u2013 De Minaur pays tribute to Federer after singles win<\/p>\n
Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n
Federer won 103 titles and spent 310 weeks of his career at the top of the rankings during an incredibly competitive era, notably enjoying an intense rivalry with Rafael Nadal<\/a> and Novak Djokovic<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 44-year-old held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 237 weeks straight between 2004 and 2008 and is one of only eight men to achieve a career Grand Slam.<\/p>\n Players are required to be five years removed from playing a significant role in the sport to enter its Hall of Fame, which currently has 270 members.<\/p>\n Federer is therefore the first of the \u2018Big Three\u2019 to be inducted, with Djokovic still playing and Nadal retiring in 2024.<\/p>\n “I do believe the tennis Hall of Fame should be much bigger,” Federer said in an interview after receiving a phone call confirming his induction.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The next years are going to be absolutely stacked with absolute legends.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Federer received the phone call confirming his place last week, with Kim Clijsters and Patrick McEnroe, the ITHF\u2019s honorary and official president, on the other end of the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n There were several other Hall of Famers on the call, 33 in total, offering their congratulations, including Boris Becker, Martina Navratilova and Rod Laver.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I thought that maybe they were just going to go like, \u2018congrats,\u2019 and then wave into the camera, but every person literally spoke on the call,” Federer said.<\/p>\n “It was really meaningful to have your heroes speak to you in a moment like this.”<\/p>\n