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Roger Federer inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame, wife Mirka’s emotional speech moves him to tears.
Mirka Federer made her husband Roger emotional with a heartfelt speech (Picture credit: Screengrab from X)
20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer was moved to tears after his wife Mirka delivered a heartfelt speech during his induction into tennis’ Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 29.
For much of his brilliant career, Federer was the one who left audiences struggling to find the right words. But on Saturday night in Newport, it was his wife Mirka who left him overcome with emotion.
Moments after Federer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Mirka, who had introduced him, stepped away from the microphone. Federer then walked towards the stage, embraced and kissed her, wiped away tears and took a moment to compose himself.
“Oh, man. She is a good public speaker. I did not know that. The last time I heard Mirka speak publicly was probably at our mixed doubles match we played at the Hopman Cup, 24 years ago,” Federer said.
“So this is very well done. I don’t know if you had been secretly practising. But this is a very high level and a tough act to follow. But I am so glad you did it,” Federer added.
It was a fitting start to an evening meant to celebrate the star player’s extraordinary career, yet it became a personal affair. Rather than dwelling on his 20 Grand Slam titles, 103 ATP trophies or his time atop the world rankings, Mirka used her speech to speak about the man behind the brilliant numbers.
Mirka started by taking the audience back to where their story first began, at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Federer was 18 at the time, while Mirka was 21.
“Yes, I was the older woman. Apparently, Roger decided right away that age was just a number. He pursued me anyway and thankfully, he was persistent. When we met, he had exactly zero ATP titles,” Mirka said.
“Zero. Looking back, I suppose I was there for all 103 that followed,” she added.
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