Roger Federer has collected nearly every tennis honor we can imagine. However, the one he will receive next year in Newport is special. It is final, symbolic and eternal.
The Swiss stars prepares for his 2026 inductionand looks back at a journey that began with far more uncertainty than the elegant confidence he would later display worldwide.
Before he became a 20-time Major winner and undisputed Wimbledon king, Roger was simply a boy from Basel with big dreams and even bigger doubts. He picked up a racket at the age of three.
In 1993, he became Switzerland's U12 champion and left football behind. The big turning point came a year later when he moved away from home to train at the National Tennis Centre in Ecublens.
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The teenager found himself in a French-speaking region, living with a host family and struggling to understand the language. The early months were anything but glamorous and Roger recalls them vividly.
He felt lonely and isolated, unsure he belonged. Federer passed those obstacles, learned the language and left school at 16. Withthe resultsnot always as desired, the young Swiss feared that leaving school and pursuing tennis full-time might have been a mistake.
However, he quietly built the foundation of his character during the process. Little by little, he became of the world's most promising players born in the early 1980s and created a strong team around himself.
Roger became the junior Wimbledon champion in 1998, ending the season as the world's leading junior. He needed a couple of years to put everything together and show his skills among the pros.
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His first big result came at Wimbledon in 2001, stunning the seven-time champion Pete Sampras and reaching the last eight. He cracked the top-10 in 2002 and became the Wimbledon champion a year later.
As we all know, the rest is history, with Federer achieving 237 straight weeks on the ATP throne, 20 Major titles and 103 ATP trophies. Decades after his doubts, the Basel native enters the International Hall of Fame.
While doubting his abilities of achieving tennis glory, he followed his passion for the sport and dared to take the next step. Federer's journey is proof that greatness is rarely born of certainty.
It comes from curiosity, perseverance and the courage to chase goals even when you are not sure the path is right. The boy who once wondered he had made a mistake is now preparing to take his place among tennis immortals.
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The fans see his induction as a natural and expected move, with no one deserving that more than Roger after everything he has achieved and the army of followers he drew into tennis with his magic.
"It was probably easier than I thought. When I was younger, I never believed I would get into the Tennis Hall of Fame or win Wimbledon. I simply expected to make it onto the professional circuit.
I hoped I had not made a mistake leaving school at 16, but everything was easier and faster than I imagined. Although, of course, I also had my difficulties and setbacks," Roger Federer said.
