Roger Federer has become the latest legend inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Federer has left a lasting mark on tennis, with the Swiss icon having retired from the sport at the Laver Cup in 2022.
He represents one of only eight men to have completed the career Grand Slam in singles, and was the first male player to claim 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
Federer has gone down as an all-time great, with 103 ATP titles and a record 237 successive weeks as world number one also on his honors list.
Rennae Stubbs slams Tennis Hall of Fame after inducting Roger Federer
The legendary figure is undoubtedly deserving of his Hall of Fame induction, but former WTA doubles world number one Rennae Stubbs has taken exception to one aspect of the latest nominees.
She said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast: “More controversial is the fact that Svetlana Kuznetsova didn’t get in. What are we doing here?
“Are you guys voting on the actual criteria because there are people in the Hall of Fame who have won one Grand Slam – Michael Chang, Gabriela Sabatini.
“It’s not a slight on them because they were very important in their eras and very important with what they gave to tennis.
Is Roger Federer the greatest tennis player of all time?
“But come on! The only thing I can think of, because Svetlana Kuznetsova has won two major titles in singles and won multiple doubles titles, which should count.
“There are doubles players in the Hall of Fame. And won Fed Cup many times for Russia, was the stalwart of that team for many years.
“I am fairly certain she has won medals at the Olympics and you don’t vote her into the Hall of Fame? What the f— are we doing?
“The only thing I can think of is that they wanted Roger on his own. If that is the case, don’t nominate somebody else. That’s not okay. Svetlana Kuznetsova deserves to be in the Tennis Hall of Fame on her first ballot.”
Svetlana Kuznetsova’s career achievements after Hall of Fame omission
Kuznetsova was nominated in this year’s player category, alongside Federer and his fellow ATP icon Juan Martin del Potro.
But unlike the Swiss star, the Russian and Argentine did not clear the 75% threshold for Hall of Fame induction.
Kuznetsova boasts four Grand Slam titles from her glittering career, having also lost seven Grand Slam finals.
She won the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open singles titles, and the 2005 and 2012 Australian Open doubles titles.
Her stunning singles career involved 18 titles and a rise to world number two, while in doubles she claimed 16 titles and reached world number three.
Importantly, if a player is placed on the ballot but not voted in, they will remain on the ballot for the next two years.
That is unless they are voted in or become ineligible based on their retirement year, with players considered when they haven’t been a significant factor on the ATP or WTA tours within five years before election.
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