NEW YORK (AFP) — A tearful Roger Federer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, describing his formal entrance into the sport's pantheon as one of the "greatest honors of my life."

The 45-year-old 20-time Grand Slam singles champion was frequently overcome with emotion as he addressed a crowd bristling with tennis royalty at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island.

The Swiss legend, who retired from tennis in 2022, paid tribute to the opponents, officials, fans, family and friends who had shared his career during a lengthy address that unfolded as a love letter to the sport.

"This is one of the greatest honors of my life," Federer said. "They call this the Hall of Fame, but fame was never the goal.”

"My goal was to spend my life doing something I love... with people who I love as much as I do."

In a light-hearted preamble, the eight-time Wimbledon champion totted up his career in some of his lesser-known statistical milestones.

"Not the obvious stats like the number of majors or number of weeks at number one," Federer said. "I'm talking about the numbers that really paint a picture. Between 1998 and when I first went on the ATP tour, and when I retired in 2022, I wore more than 5,000 headbands. That's more than (Bjorn) Borg and (John) McEnroe combined."

"And if you think that's impressive, I wore probably over 7000 pairs of socks. That's probably twice as many as most of my opponents, because I doubled them up.”

"But really, there's no way to measure what it means to be here. It's hard to put it into words," Federer said, reflecting on his journey from being a 13-year-old ballboy at an ATP tournament in Basel to the pinnacle of tennis.

"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," Federer said.

"I see you. I thank you. I was you."

Federer had to wipe away tears as he name-checked his idol Stefan Edberg, other tennis stars, family and support staff who had inspired him throughout his career.

"I need tissues and sunglasses and everything to protect me right now," he joked. "This is such a mess."

"It's been an incredible journey," Federer said. "For me, the International Tennis Hall of Fame provides a great opportunity to look back, but also to look ahead," he added.

"As you can tell, 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."