Roger Federer’s wife leaves tennis laughing and crying with Hall of Fame speech
For most of his extraordinary career, Roger Federer was a man who left people searching for words. On Saturday night in Newport, his wife Mirka had it out for him. Federer had just been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame when Mirka, who introduced him, stepped away from the microphone. He walked towards the stage, hugged and kissed her, wiped away his tears and then tried to pull himself together.
“Oh yeah,” Federer began, followed by a confession.
“She’s a good speaker. I didn’t know that.”
The 45-year-old Swiss had not heard his wife speak publicly for a long time. “The last time I heard Mirka speak publicly was probably during our mixed doubles match that we played in the Hopman Cup 24 years ago,” he said.
He looked at her and smiled.
“So this is very well done. I don’t know if you’ve been practicing in secret. But this is a very high level and hard to follow. But I’m so glad you did it.”
It was an unexpectedly perfect start to an evening that should have celebrated Federer’s extraordinary career, but instead became something more intimate. In her speech, Mirka wasn’t talking about 20 Grand Slam titles, 103 ATP titles or the weeks Federer spent at No. 1, but about the man behind those numbers.
And Federer, visibly moved, seemed almost surprised at how much her words struck him.
BACK TO SYDNEY
Mirka began by taking viewers back to where their story began, at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Federer was 18, Mirka 21.
“Yes, I was the older woman,” she joked. “Apparently Roger decided right away that age was just a number. He pursued me anyway and luckily he was persistent.”
At that time, Federer had not won a single ATP title.
“When we met, he had exactly zero ATP titles. Zero,” she said. “Looking back, I suppose I was there for all 103 that followed.
ANDY RODDICK JOKE
Together, the pair have been through every chapter of Federer’s rise, from promising teenager to one of the greatest players the sport has ever known. Mirka didn’t just watch from the players’ box. As a former professional player herself, she sometimes helped Federer warm up before matches.
She recalled Andy Roddick’s reaction after losing the final in Cincinnati.
“I can’t believe I lost to a guy whose girlfriend was warming him up,” Roddick joked.
“He really said that and I remember it,” said Mirka. “We still smile every time we talk about it.
However, the laughter was soon replaced by something more revealing.
“One thing I learned about Roger right away was that he always wanted to have the people he loved close to him,” said Mirka. “That’s one of the qualities I admired most about him, not just as a tennis player, but as a person.”
Summers had perhaps the best place in tennis. She watched Federer make one of the toughest sports in the world look effortless, while knowing exactly how much work went into creating that illusion.
“I saw the work, the hours, the discipline, the commitment,” she said. “I saw everything that went into making it look so easy.
But tennis, she claimed, never had the biggest impact on her.
“The man behind it all is even more remarkable.
‘I WILL NOT PLAY ANYMORE’
Mirka Federer addresses the crowd during Federer’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony (Reuters photo)
That’s when Mirka turned to Federer’s father.
She remembered the moment they first found out they were expecting twins. Worried that traveling with two children would make life on the tennis tour impossible, she told Federer that her traveling days were probably over.
“Then I won’t play anymore,” was his reply.
“He wasn’t dramatic,” said Mirka. “He meant it. That’s the way Roger is. His family comes first.”
Finally they found another way. Babies, prams, toys and books became part of life on the road, years later the second set of twins followed. The tennis tour became a family residence.
Their four children, Myla, Charlene, Leo and Lenny, knew Federer not as the Swiss maestro but simply as their dad.
“Dad, who read bedtime stories, played games with them, bathed them, made them laugh, no matter how busy he was,” said Mirka. “Whether he won or lost, he always made time for them.”
She spoke of Federer as a husband, son, brother and friend and credited his parents Robert and Lynette for instilling in him the values that shaped him.
“Robert and Lynette raised a champion and raised a really good person,” she said. “They taught him humility, gratitude and kindness and taught him to treat everyone with equal respect.”
For Mirka, Federer’s greatest achievements had little to do with tennis.
“The trophies and the records are extraordinary. But they are only part of his legacy,” she said. “What makes me most proud is what Roger accomplished while the world was watching. It’s about who he is when nobody’s watching.”
When Mirka finished speaking, Federer was already emotional.
“Following your career has been one of the greatest privileges and joys of my life,” she told him. “And sharing your life was even more important.
Then she introduced him simply and beautifully.
“My husband, my best friend and now the newest member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.”
FEDERER TALKS ABOUT MIRCA
Roger Federer and wife Mirka pose during the Hall of Fame ceremony (Photo Reuters)
Federer broke down in tears several times as he reflected on the people who shaped his career, including childhood hero Stefan Edberg and longtime coach Severin Lthi. When it came time to talk about Mirka, he was overcome with emotion again.
“Now the Mirk part,” he said before pausing.
“Oh god, this is such a mess.
He joked that he needed “towels and sunglasses” before trying to continue.
“Mirka is my wife, which is the biggest understatement I can make. She was also my coach, my hitting partner before matches,” he said.
“Andy, sorry man,” he added, referring to Mirca’s joke.
“My reality check. Also my stylist. I really needed him at the time.”
It was fitting that a man who had been honored for a career built on control, precision and extraordinary composure found himself struggling to speak when the subject was the person who was next to him almost the entire time. When he finally spoke of Mirka, his words were strikingly similar to the message she had given about him.
“Mirka is the person who showed me how to focus more on tennis and enjoy everything else,” Federer said. He called her “a wonderful mother to our four children” and added: “She and I hold hands and run through walls.”
For all the grandeur of the occasion, Federer didn’t spend much time celebrating. Instead, he talked about the sport that gave him life, the people who helped him along the way and the friendships that remained long after the trophies stopped coming.
“It’s one of the greatest honors of my life,” he said. “They call it the Hall of Fame, but fame was never the goal.
His goal, he explained, was to spend his life doing something he loved with people who loved it as much as he did.
“Tennis meant the world to me,” Federer said. “Not just playing, not just winning, but creating something new.”
He talked about his childhood in Basel, his memories as a ball boy and the feeling of standing close to the players he once idolized. He thanked his parents, coaches, opponents, friends and fans. He looked back on a career that brought 20 Grand Slam titles, 103 ATP titles and 310 weeks at number one.
But by the end, the numbers were almost secondary. Federer said he is still writing his “love letter to tennis”. His playing days were over, but the sport remained central to his life.
“It’s all about my family, our friendship, the last 40 years, the future we’re building, tennis,” he said.
“So this isn’t goodbye.
It was a decent end to the evening, which took an unexpected turn when Mirka stepped up to the microphone.
Federer spent 25 years dazzling the world with a racket in hand. In Newport, his wife offered a glimpse of a man far from trials, records and fame.
And when it was finally Federer’s turn, he could only smile, laugh and hold back tears as he admitted that Mirka had given him a hard time. For once, Federer was not in the spotlight. It was up to the woman who had been by his side the whole time.
– The end
Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
30 Aug 2026 08:55 IST