00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30And tonight, it's my honor to introduce my husband, my best friend, and now the newest member of the International
00:41Tennis Hall of Fame, Roger.
01:03Thank you.
01:42Oh, man.
01:47She's a good public speaker.
01:52It's been an incredible journey.
01:59For me, the International Tennis Hall of Fame provides a great opportunity to look back, but also to look ahead.
02:06As you can tell, I'm still writing my love letter to tennis.
02:09My time as a player is done, but tennis will always stand at the intersection of everything I care most
02:16about.
02:18My family, our friendships, the past 40 years, the future we're building.
02:23Tennis for me is responsible for it all.
02:25So this is not a goodbye.
02:27But before I close, I want to share my hopes for this sport.
02:32The International Tennis Hall of Fame shows the evolution of tennis, and I'm honored to be part of that.
02:38And I'm incredibly lucky to have bridged the generations from Pete and Andre, the superstars, to champions in my own
02:45age, like Roddick, Hewitt, Saffron, and Ferrero,
02:48to the epic rivalries I have with the next generation, Andy, Novak, and Rafa.
02:54We all leave the court eventually, but the sport keeps evolving.
02:58And as the pace of professional tennis speeds up, as the sport becomes even more global,
03:04I so hope it will keep some of that amateur spirit, keep the camaraderie among the players.
03:10I hope the players will stay young at heart and stay true to their authentic selves.
03:14And always remember, never stop asking questions or taking risks.
03:18Do things with the game we've never seen before.
03:21Keep pushing this sport we love to the next level.
03:24And keep getting better, better, and better.
03:28And I hope, yeah, let's give it a round.
03:30Come on, for the future generation, guys.
03:32Let's do it.
03:36And I hope you will find other ways to give something back to share your passion.
03:41There are a thousand ways to do that.
03:43For me, it was creating a foundation, which does work in Southern Africa, where my mom is from,
03:49and Switzerland, where my dad is from.
03:51My team, I also created the Labour Cup to honor the legend of all generations.
03:57Thank you.
04:00And to everyone here, I hope you will be a bridge between the tennis that happens at the level of
04:05the ATP, WTA, ITF, and all the slams,
04:08and the tennis that's played as the sun goes down on, like, a quiet street, like Waterhouse, where I grew
04:13up.
04:13Tennis that's played everywhere from Switzerland to South Africa, Slovakia, India, and Brazil.
04:20Anywhere that kids draw courts, in the streets, with chalk, like I did.
04:25Where they hit against walls with borrowed rackets, where parents get the kids to practice,
04:32where coaches work and fans show up in the blazing sun or the bitter cold.
04:37Where the ball kids have their knee on the ground and are ready to move.
04:41I will always see the sport through their eyes.
04:52So this boy from Basel thanks you for the incredible honor,
04:55and I thank you, all of you, for sharing the journey that brought us together.
05:21Ladies and gentlemen, Roger Federer.
05:26Ladies and gentlemen, Roger Federer.
