There were tears from Roger Federer during his International Hall of Fame (ITFH) induction and most of them came when he talked about his wife, Mirka, who introduced him at the 2026 ceremony.
Former world No 1 and 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer and former player and commentator Mary Carillo – whose “candid, insightful, and witty voice elevated the art of tennis story-telling” – were honoured at the ITHF in Newport, Rhode Island, on Saturday.
Roger and Mirka – who peaked at No 71 in the rankings – met during the 2000 Sydney Olympics when they both represented Switzerland and nine years later they got married.
Later in 2009, Mirka gave birth to identical twin girls twin daughters, whom they named Charlene Riva and Myla Rose, and in 2014, they became parents of another set of twins and they named the fraternal twin boys Leo and Lenny.
Mirka was by Roger’s side when he won all his 20 Grand Slams and became one of the best-ever tennis players and host Tom Rinaldi introduced Mirka as “the person who knows the champion and the competitor, the father and the man, the woman who has shared every triumph, every challenge, and every moment in one of the greatest careers in tennis history”.
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During her speech, Mirka joked that “when we met, he had exactly zero ATP titles. Zero”, adding “looking back, I suppose I was there for all 103 that followed”.
She added that “what makes me proudest isn’t what Roger accomplished when the world was watching. It’s who he is when nobody is watching”.
As soon as he got on stage, Federer had his own joke about his wife as he stated: “Oh, man. She’s a good public speaker. I didn’t know that. Maybe, you know, the last time I heard Mirka speak publicly was probably at our mixed doubles we played at the Hopman Cup 24 years ago maybe.
“After one of our mixed doubles, we had to do an interview together. Maybe this is the last time she spoke publicly. This is very well done. I don’t know if you’ve been secretly practicing, but this is very high level and a tough act to following, but I’m so happy you did it. Thank you so much.”
Federer then started his own speech as he paid tribute to various people who inspired him during his journey to the top before he eventually turned to his wife again.
And there were more tears.
“I need tissues and sunglasses. I need everything to protect me right now. Oh, man. Okay. Oh my, God, now we get into the Mirka bit. This is such a mess,” he started off.
“Martina [Navratilova] inspired Mirka and Mirka inspires me every day. As you know, Mirka is my wife. Duh. Which is the greatest understatement I can make because she’s also been my coach, my hitting partner before matches – Andy [Roddick], sorry, man – and my reality check. Also, my stylist. I definitely needed one at the time. Maybe, I don’t know, now.
“Mirka is the person who showed me how to get more focused about tennis and take joy in everything else. A wonderful mother to our four kids who make the impossible happen in all of our lives. She and I grab each other’s hands, and we run through walls. Thank you.
“Oh, God. So she’s all of these things, and that’s my Hall of Fame.”
