Federer inducted into Hall of Fame, reflects on career and New York ties

Roger Federer will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., on Saturday, five years after his last singles match. The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who won six U.S. Open titles, returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday for the first time since 2019. Federer recalled his first trip to New York in 1998 as a junior player, saying he 'fell in love with the energy' of the city.

Federer's junior career laid the groundwork for his New York success. In 1998, he and Belgian partner Olivier Rochus won the Wimbledon boys' doubles title before traveling to Flushing Meadows, where Federer reached the boys' singles final but lost to David Nalbandian. The following year, he fell in qualifying to a Swiss friend, then began his run of main-draw appearances.

The induction makes Federer the first of his generation's dominant players to receive the honor. Rafael Nadal, Serena and Venus Williams, and Novak Djokovic are all expected to follow in coming years. Federer's last official match was at Wimbledon in 2021, though he formally retired at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.