NEWPORT, R.I. — The International Tennis Hall of Fame completed a successful induction weekend last night with a ceremony honoring 2026 inductees Roger Federer as a player and veteran broadcaster Mary Carillo as a contributor.
This is the second year since the Newport, Rhode Island-based Tennis HOF separated its induction ceremony from the annual pro tournament on its grounds (now an ATP Challenger/WTA 125 in early July) and stretched the celebration over multiple days in anticipation of a run of high-profile inductees over the next several years. This year, the festivities began with a cocktail hour Thursday night branded “Courting Fashion,” where tickets went for $1,000; continued on Friday with a ticketed fan festival, jacket ceremony and exhibition matches featuring Federer and other legends of sport (from Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe to Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn); and concluded with the induction ceremony Saturday. Previously, the induction was a one-day affair.
“For two years, we’ve been rethinking and re-imagining [the induction],” ITHF CEO Dan Faber, who started with the organization in late 2023, told SBJ. “We are feeling very good about the current outcome.”
HUGE DEMAND: The Hall of Fame grounds opened at 11am ET on Friday for the fan festival, but fans began lining up on the adjacent Memorial Drive as early as 8 a.m., creating a line that wrapped around the block. There were also long lines for Hall of Fame merchandise and photo opportunities with players inside. “I can’t speak to before I arrived, but from my short three years, this has been above and beyond what I have been a part of from a commercial standpoint,” Faber said. “4,000 people [in a day], we don’t get every year at the Tennis Hall of Fame.”
Tickets to the sold-out “Celebrity Pro Classic” exhibition on Friday, which had a capacity of 3,000, ranged from $90-250. The Hall of Fame also sold more than 250 premium packages ranging from $4,000 to $40,000 for the weekend, which included varying levels of access to VIP spaces, hotel bookings, experiences with players, and the 850-person-capacity “Horseshoe Court” (where the Saturday ceremony was held) during the induction. The Horseshoe Court area was mostly reserved for friends and family of the inductees and Hall of Fame sponsors, donors and board members, but to meet some additional demand, the Hall of Fame also sold more than 3,000 tickets to a watch party on the adjacent stadium court, with price points ranging from $75 to $250. Faber said tickets to all the weekend’s events sold out in 90 seconds earlier this year. The Hall of Fame also credentialed 90 media members for the weekend, double last year’s total for Maria Sharapova’s induction.
PLEASED PARTNERS: The Hall of Fame listed 18 sponsors in signage on the grounds, including Chubb, EY, Fidelity, Infosys and Rolex at the “premier” level. Those that activated pop-ups during the fan fest included Wilson, Silent Pool Gin, Travel + Leisure, BMW, Brooks Brothers, Stella Artois, Oliver Peoples, Cerity Partners and La Croix, while Fidelity was the presenting sponsor of the Friday exhibition and Chubb entitled the “Courting Fashion” event. The Hall of Fame also carved out shaded premium areas around the grounds for their sponsors to entertain during the fan festival.
STELLAR CEREMONY: Carillo was introduced by Billie Jean King and Federer by his wife, Mirka, giving way to two gracious, emotional and at times humorous speeches. Tom Rinaldi hosted the festivities, while Brett Haber led coverage for Tennis Channel, which carried the event live in the U.S. and several international markets and had a set on the grounds starting Friday.
STARS SPOTTED: Celebrities and tennis executives abounded between a pre-ceremony red carpet and the induction itself on Saturday. In addition to King, Navratilova and McEnroe, among those that walked the red carpet were tennis legends Andy Roddick, Jim Courier, Kim Clijsters, Bob and Mike Bryan, Pam Shriver, Stefan Edberg and Marat Safin. Also spotted at the ceremony were Anna Wintour; Team8 CEO Tony Godsick and ESPN tennis analyst Mary Joe Fernandez (who are married); USTA CEO Craig Tiley; former U.S. Open tournament director and WTA CEO Stacey Allaster; Commanders part-owner and D.C. Open chairman Mark Ein; ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi and CEO Eno Polo; former ATP pro and current ESPN/TNT tennis analyst Sam Querrey; and World Tennis (formerly the ITF) CEO Ross Hutchins and President Dave Haggerty.