EssentiallySports’ Veronica Bruno, present at the induction of Roger Federer and Mary Carillo into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, accounts that even the air at the event exuded an electric feeling. Every seat was filled—both at the main celebration at Horseshoe Court and in the nearby stadium—all for just the smallest glimpse at two of the sport’s greatest heroes.

Federer has been defining excellence in tennis for the past two decades, both on and off the court. His appearance in the small state of Rhode Island, where the Tennis Hall of Fame is housed (and the original location for the U.S. Open), felt as if the Pope was arriving in Newport. Everywhere you walked on the ITHF grounds, there was tremendous excitement for the opportunity to see one of the greatest legends to ever grace the game.

Just before the celebration, a couple of folks were making guesses about which legend would introduce him on the stage. Would it be Rafael Nadal, his great rival? The remarkable Pete Sampras, with whom he has so much in common?

In the end, there was only one logical choice for the 35-year-old Swiss legend, and his wife, Mirka Federer—who he has described as “his rock”—took center stage to provide a deeply personal perspective into the 20-time Grand Slam champion. It was a fitting and lovely tribute, with the usually private Mirka demonstrating great oratory skill with a heartfelt and poignant speech about the man she loved and supported. She was so proficient, I daresay she may be the better speaker among the Federer duo, despite the countless speeches Roger’s given over the years.

“It feels a little strange to be the one standing in front of the microphone,” Mirka began. “Roger was always much more comfortable with a racquet in his hand, and I was always much more comfortable staying out of the spotlight. So let’s see how this goes.”

Mirka talked about meeting Roger at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, before he would go on to win any ATP titles. “He had exactly zero ATP titles. Zero,” she joked about that time. “Looking back, I suppose I was there for all 103 that followed. We shared quite a journey.”

She also amusingly called out Andy Roddick for making fun of her warming up with Roger before an early match with the American. “I had played professionally myself, so Roger thought I could help him get ready. I still remember Andy Roddick joking after the Cincinnati final, ‘I can’t believe I lost to a guy whose girlfriend warmed him up.’”

A Hall of Famer himself, Roddick was sitting right in the front of the audience and looked understandably (and good-humoredly) embarrassed by that memory.

“Believe me, I saw the work, the hours, the discipline, the commitment,” Mirka said about the process for Roger’s effortless style of play. “I saw everything that went into making it look so easy, and even after watching more than 1000 of his matches, it never stopped amazing me.”

She said that despite his multitude of professional accomplishments, his “family comes first.”

The most moving moment came when she described the tennis legend’s tremendous humanity. “The trophies and records are extraordinary, but they are only part of his legacy. What makes me proudest isn’t what Roger accomplished when the world was watching.”

Once Roger joined his wife to accept just one more trophy, his Induction one, he paid tribute to his family, all of whom were in the audience, including both sets of twins and his parents, Robert and Lynette Federer. Roger said that his father was “the original RF.” As he spoke about the ways they instilled values and hard work in him, Lynette could be seen fighting tears.

“Robbie and Lynette raised a champion, and they raised a genuinely good person,” said Mirka. “They taught him humility, gratitude, and kindness, and they taught him to treat everyone with the same respect. Long before the world came to know Roger Federer, the tennis player, Robbie and Lynette gave me someone I would come to admire even more: Roger the son, Roger my partner, Roger the friend, and eventually Roger the husband and father. Those values are what have carried him through every chapter of his life.”

The tennis legend recalled his early days as a ball boy in Switzerland (his ball boy credentials are currently on display at the Tennis Hall of Fame museum): “I’m standing against the back wall, hands behind me, eyes at the ball. I’ll never forget how the game looked from there and how it felt. The thrill of standing so close to the players. So I really want to thank every ball kid who ever stood through my matches or all our matches for that matter for hours on end.”

He said that all his accolades and fame were not the goals. He simply wanted to play the sport he loved.

“But I also learned that tennis is never about the players alone. It’s a whole ecosystem. It’s moms and dads like mine taking the kids to matches, cheering them on. It’s coaches who teach children how to win and how to bounce back when they lose. It’s people who sweep the courts or pick up the balls. It’s young players like me who get a chance to be a ball kid.”

In addition to his family, he paid tribute to the trainers who helped him along his tennis journey, singling out longtime coaches Severin Lüthi, Ivan Ljubicic and Pierre Paganini for the impactful roles in his development. Calling out these mentors opened the floodgates, and the tears started flowing during the emotionally poignant speech. At times he seemed to need a little help from the audience and the myriad of Hall of Famers in the front row to get through the rest of the speech.

He also thanked his childhood hero and one-time coach (who he had just played doubles with the day before at the Celebrity Pro Classic), Stefan Edberg, and his agent Tony Godsick, who he said helped him build an identity outside the grind of the tennis tour.

And he graciously paid tribute to the fans as well as his home country. “But at every stage of my career, I tried above all to stay true to myself, and I tried to show my love for the game because it really mattered to me, and I also wanted it to matter to you to be worthy of your attention, worthy of your attendance.

“It has always been an immense honor to represent the flag of Switzerland. And tonight, as my name enters the Hall of Fame, I’m proud that Switzerland comes with me. It’s been an incredible journey.”

The final tribute was to the game itself and the future generations that will play tennis.

“I’m still writing my love letter to tennis. My time as a player is done, but tennis will always stand at the intersection of everything I care most about: my family, our friendships, the past 40 years, the future we’re building. Tennis, for me, is responsible for it all.

“I want to share my hopes for this sport. The sport keeps evolving, and as the pace of professional tennis speeds up, as the sport becomes even more global, I so hope it will keep some of that amateur spirit, keep the camaraderie among the players. I hope the players will stay young at heart and stay true to their authentic selves. And always remember, never stop asking questions or taking risks. Do things with the game we’ve never seen before. Keep pushing this sport we love to the next level, and keep getting better, better, and better. And I hope, yeah. I hope you will find other ways to give something back to share your passion.”

Carillo’s mark on the sport

Mary Carillo was introduced by a pioneering legend of the game, Billie Jean King, who called the sportscaster “one of the world’s best storytellers. She is our storyteller.”

Carillo’s 45-year career took her from her childhood home in Douglaston, Queens to the world’s biggest sporting stages. She recalled winning a doubles championship at Roland Garros with John McEnroe before knee injuries cut that career short.

Tennis playing’s loss was the broadcasting world’s gain, where Carillo would become one of the greatest storytellers in the field.

“But like all champions, Mary adapted and found a new way to express her love of tennis instead of the racquet and ball,’ said King. “She turned to articulating the sport as a writer.

“Mary is a purist and the queen of preparation.”

Among her excellence in journalism including covering the Olympic Games and working alongside other giants in the world of broadcasting, including Bob Costas, Dick Enberg and the great (and Hall of Famer) Bud Collins.

“Mary especially understands the moment,” King continued. “She understands the moment of being sparse and letting the actual speak to us directly. Mary was the very first woman to break free as a full-time fellow commentator in tennis.

“Always original, always authentic, always thinking and anticipating what she will say next. She calls it and tells it as she sees it, even when she understands there might be pushback,” King concluded.

Carillo demonstrated her talent for storytelling with her witty Induction speech, entertaining the audience with an amusing story in her early broadcasting career when she had to cover uninteresting tennis matches in Stuttgart, Germany. Her difficult lessons there later inspired her to hone her craft and become a better storyteller while finding the balance of letting tennis also speak for itself. Her insistence on the truth of the moment, along with her skills for compelling narrative, would become her trademark talent.

She described being credentialed at Wimbledon as a great honor: “not once did I take it for granted. What a deep privilege it was to have that credential around my neck. I wanted to be a professional, a real journalist, knowing that what counts is to be accurate and to be fair.”

She described her work ethic as “to love our sport with clear eyes, and when necessary, to tell hard truths.”

Both humble in spirit and phenomenally accomplished in craft, when Carillo and Federer stood on stage together with their induction awards, it was clear that this year’s induction class couldn’t have been better matched. As John Ruskin wrote, “The first test of a truly great man is his humility.”