Mirka Federer introduces husband Roger Federer at 2026 ITHF Induction Ceremony | | ITHF 2026 — Transcript

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1. 0:00Good evening everyone.
2. 0:02Wow, what a great honor it is for me to
3. 0:05be here. Really, it's amazing.
4. 0:08It feels a little strange to be the one
5. 0:11standing in front of the microphone.
6. 0:14Roger was always much more comfortable
7. 0:16with a record in his hand, and I was
8. 0:19always much more comfortable staying out
9. 0:21on the spotlight.
10. 0:23So, let's see how this goes.
11. 0:28Roger and I met at the Sydney Olympics
12. 0:30in 2000. He was 18 and I was 21.
13. 0:36Yes, I was the older woman.
14. 0:42Apparently, Roger decided right away
15. 0:45that age was just a number. He pursued
16. 0:48me anyway, and thankfully he was
17. 0:51persistent.
18. 0:54When we met, he had exactly zero ATP
19. 0:58titles.
20. 1:01Zero.
21. 1:05Looking back, I suppose I was there for
22. 1:08all 103 that followed.
23. 1:12We shared quite the journey.
24. 1:16In those early days, I would sometimes
25. 1:18even help warm him up before matches.
26. 1:21I had played professionally myself, so
27. 1:24Roger thought I could help him get
28. 1:27ready.
29. 1:28I still remember Andy Rodic joking after
30. 1:32the Cincinnati final. I can't believe I
31. 1:36lost to a guy whose girlfriend warmed
32. 1:38him up.
33. 1:44He really said that and I remember.
34. 1:48Yeah,
35. 1:50we still smile every time we speak about
36. 1:52that.
37. 1:55One thing I learned immediately about
38. 1:57Roger was that he always wanted the
39. 1:59people he loved close to him. That is
40. 2:03one of the qualities I have admired most
41. 2:06about him, not just as a tennis player,
42. 2:09but as a person.
43. 2:12Everyone talks about Roger's elegance on
44. 2:14the tennis court. And I understand why
45. 2:18as much as anyone.
46. 2:20For so many years, I had the best seat
47. 2:23in the house. I watched him move with
48. 2:26the grace that made one of the hardest
49. 2:28sports in the world look almost
50. 2:30effortless.
51. 2:32I know. I know. Roger says it's a myth.
52. 2:37And believe me, I saw the work, the
53. 2:40hours, the discipline, the commitment.
54. 2:44I saw everything that went into making
55. 2:46it look so easy. And if even after
56. 2:50watching more than a thousand of his
57. 2:53matches, it never stopped amazing me.
58. 2:58But that but tennis was never what
59. 3:01impressed me the most. The man behind it
60. 3:04all is even more remarkable.
61. 3:08He's the most devoted father that our
62. 3:10four children could ever ask for.
63. 3:13When I found out we were expecting twins
64. 3:17for the first time,
65. 3:21I told Roger that my traveling days were
66. 3:24probably over.
67. 3:26Without missing a beat, he said, "Then I
68. 3:29don't want then I won't play anymore."
69. 3:33He wasn't being dramatic. He meant it.
70. 3:37That's who Roger is. His family comes
71. 3:40first.
72. 3:43Fortunately, we found another solution.
73. 3:46And that solution involved babies,
74. 3:49strollers, toys, books, and eventually
75. 3:52two sets of twins traveling all over the
76. 3:55world with us.
77. 3:58The tennis tour has always been our
78. 4:00home. Our children, Mila, Charlene, Leo,
79. 4:04and Lenny, know him as Papa.
80. 4:08The Papa who read bedtime stories,
81. 4:10played games with them, who ran their
82. 4:13bath, who made them laugh, no matter how
83. 4:16busy he was. Whether he won or lost, he
84. 4:20always made time for them.
85. 4:23I know him always as the kind husband,
86. 4:27funny, thoughtful, and endlessly
87. 4:30supportive. His parents know him as a
88. 4:33loving son. His sister knows him as a
89. 4:37wonderful brother.
90. 4:39And his friends know him as someone who
91. 4:42always has time for them, no matter how
92. 4:45busy his life becomes.
93. 4:48And those qualities didn't happen by
94. 4:50accident. He learned them from two
95. 4:53incredible parents.
96. 4:56Robbie and Lynette raised a champion
97. 5:00and they raised a genuinely good person.
98. 5:05They taught him humility, gratitude, and
99. 5:08kindness. And they taught him to treat
100. 5:11everyone with the same respect.
101. 5:14Long before the world came to know Roger
102. 5:16Federer, the tennis player, Robbie and
103. 5:19Lynette gave me someone I would come to
104. 5:22admire even more.
105. 5:25Roger the son,
106. 5:28Roger my partner, Roger the friend, and
107. 5:32eventually Roger the husband and father.
108. 5:43Those
109. 5:51values are what have carried him through
110. 5:54every chapter of his life.
111. 5:57So many people around the world know
112. 6:00Roger as one of the greatest tennis
113. 6:02players who ever lived.
114. 6:05They know the titles, the records, the
115. 6:08elegance, the rivalries, the victories,
116. 6:11the moments that became part of tennis
117. 6:14history.
118. 6:16And those of us who know Roger best know
119. 6:19something even better.
120. 6:22The trophies and records are
121. 6:24extraordinary,
122. 6:26but they are only part of his legacy.
123. 6:30What makes me proudest isn't what Roger
124. 6:33accomplished when the world was
125. 6:35watching.
126. 6:37It's who he is when nobody's watching.
127. 6:52Roger.
128. 6:54Thank you.
129. 6:58Thank you for staying persistent all
130. 7:00those years ago in Sydney.
131. 7:05Thank you for choosing our family every
132. 7:08single day since.
133. 7:11Watching your career gave me one of the
134. 7:13greatest privileges and joys of my life
135. 7:19and sharing your life has been even a
136. 7:21greater one.
137. 7:23And tonight, it's my honor to introduce
138. 7:27my husband, my best friend, and now
139. 7:32the newest member of the International
140. 7:34Tennis Hall of Fame,
141. 7:38Roger