Roger Federer received a 90-second standing ovation from spectators and Catherine, the Princess of Wales as he entered the royal box at Wimbledon.

Wearing a cream-coloured suit with his purple All England Club member’s pin, the retired Federer stood between his wife, Mirka, and the princess in the special section above one of the baselines in the grand slam tournament’s main stadium on Tuesday (British time).

Federer waved and tapped his chest, repeatedly saying, “thank you,” as the applause and roars cascaded under the closed retractable roof on a rainy day two at the grasscourt event where he won eight of his 20 grand slam titles.

Before the start of play at Centre Court, an announcer said Federer was being honoured for “his contributions to tennis – and, particularly, to these very special lawns.”

Federer, who turns 42 on August 8, announced his retirement at the end of last year following a series of knee operations.

The last match of his career was a quarter-final loss to Hubert Hurkacz at the All England Club in 2021.

The ceremony on Tuesday included a video highlight reel that showed clips of Federer playing, winning and speaking at Wimbledon, where he won the first of his 20 career grand slam titles in 2003.

That was the start of a run of five in a row that stretched through 2007, followed by additional championships there in 2009, 2012 and 2017.

Novak Djokovic, who won his first-round match on Monday, is trying to equal Federer this year by winning a fifth consecutive trophy and eighth overall at Wimbledon.

Martina Navratilova, who won the women’s singles title nine times, holds the overall record at the tournament.

“When I stop, the tournament still lives on. The tournament is bigger than any player who’s ever lived,” a younger Federer said in an interview shown during the film on Tuesday.

“I really look forward to the day where I retire and I can come back and just have tea time, you know, on the terrace.”

The video included various players speaking glowingly of Federer.

“Roger is legend. He makes every shot look easy,” 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur said.

Australian Alex de Minaur spoke of Federer’s “masterful elegance on a tennis court”.

Taylor Fritz called him an “inspiration”, Coco Gauff used the word “icon”, and current women’s No.1 Iga Swiatek labelled Federer a “really special player”.