Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro, and Svetlana Kuznetsova main nominations for International Tennis Hall of Fame

Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Porto, and Svetlana Kuznetova have all been cast as nominees for the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2026. The Player Category recognises ATP and WTA players who have achieved a distinguished record of competitive achievement at the highest international level.

There are 270 represented in the International Tennis Hall of Fame from 28 nation. People ranging from players, journalists, administrators, and officials can be chosen, with them picked for their contributions to the sport.

It should be no surprise that Federer is in the conversation to be awarded this prestigious and unique award. He capped off his career with 20 Grand Slams, being the first male singles player to achieve this milestone. He won his first major title back in 2003, winning the first of eight Wimbledon titles, still holding the record for most men singles Wimbledon titles. All of this while competing in a vicious rivalry with the so-called 'Big Four, consisting of himself, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.

With major wins comes high rankings, with Federer once sitting as number one in the world for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 310 weeks in his entire career. Only Jimmy Connors has won more titles than him in the Open Era, as the Swiss star racked up 103 triumphs, with his last one poetically coming in the Swiss Indoors title back in 2019.

He emotionally said goodbye to the sport in the 2022 Laver Cup, still to this day being remembered as one of the greatest players to step onto the court.

The same could be said about del Porto, but maybe not to the same level as Federer. His career peaked when he was crowned US Open champion back in 2009, coming back from 2-1 down to defeat Federer at Flushing Meadows for his only Grand Slam title. He was only 20 at the time, with his career looking extremely promising.

Unfortunately, he could not make the strides in the game that he would have hoped for, as he was constantly setback by numerous injuries. Despite this, he still managed to lead his country to a historic Davis Cup victory and win an Olympic silver medal in 2016, defeating Djokovic and Nadal along the way. He would make his second Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2018 but was overpowered by Djokovic.

While those two excelled at singles, Kuznetsova was the best in both singles and doubles, formerly ranked as high as number two and three in the world in those respective categories. The Russian boasts four Grand Slam titles to her name, first winning the US Open in 2004. A few months later, she won the Australian Open women's doubles title. She would complete the feet in Melbourne in 2012, but before that she claimed Roland Garros success in 2009.

It was not just majors, but for her country she was a force to be reckoned with, leading Russia to three Billie Jean King cups. In total, she collected 18 singles and 16 doubles titles, cementing her name as one of the greatest tennis players to grace the sport.