Roger Federer Delivers Inspirational Speech at Dartmouth University

Twenty-five minutes. This is the time it took this Sunday Roger Federer to finish dazzling the hundreds of graduating students at Dartmouth University, in Hanover (New Hampshire, United States). The Swiss, who retired in 2022 after winning 20 Grand Slams, was chosen by the North American center to offer the most special speech of the year.

In perfect English, without a script, and with a statement full of anecdotes, humor and wisdom, Federer addressed the Dartmouth students with the same mastery that he conveyed on the court. At 42 years old, and after more than two years away from the competition, the Swiss divided his conference in the rain into three great lessons.

The first, “non-effort is a myth”. This is how the Swiss sums up the sambenito that followed him during his almost 25 seasons as a professional tennis player. “It bothered me when they said he won without even breaking a sweat,” he said at the American educational center. “I didn’t get what I got just because of talent, I had to surpass my rivals in work as well.“.

Roger Federer’s Commencement Address at Dartmouth yesterday might be the best speech he’s ever given.

Amazingly articulate, funny, full of wisdom. Made me laugh and tear up. I’m so very proud to have had him as my idol for the past two decades.

If you have 25 minutes to spare… pic.twitter.com/qfd9io9kzV

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) June 10, 2024

“Talent matters, yes,” continues the Swiss former tennis player, “but it is not something given. Everything comes from work, and in tennis, as in life, discipline is a talent; believing in yourself is a talent; patience is a talent; and learning to love that whole process is a talent, and as such, you have to know how to work at it.

Federer’s second lesson, the one he coins as “It’s just a point“, is, perhaps, the most special of the speech, as it is in which the Swiss rescues his unforgettable rivalry with Rafael Nadal. “Tennis is a brutal sport. Every tournament ends the same way. “One with the trophy and the rest watching,” he explains.I always tried not to lose, but I lost a lot during my career“

“I was playing for history, but I felt that [Nadal] “He was hungrier than me.”

Roger Federer
Extenista

“The biggest defeat? Maybe the 2008 Wimbledon final, against Nadal“Adds the Swiss. “Some defined it as the greatest match of all time. You know, All respect to Rafa, but it would have been even greater if I had won it [ríe]. That day in 2008, joking aside, I felt the magnitude of the moment. Wimbledon, the cathedral of tennis. I had the opportunity to win my sixth consecutive title. “He played for history.”

“I’m not going to go over the match point by point, because if I did, we’d be here for five hours,” Federer excuses himself with a smile. “There were delays due to the rain, the sun went out, Rafa won two sets, I took another two and we reached the fifth and final. The end was so dark that you could hardly see it, but Rafa ended up winning and I felt that that last point was like the first, everything had happened very quickly. “I thought that guy on the other side of the net had been hungrier than me.”

“Some losses hurt more than others, you know. That day I lost Wimbledon, I lost the world number one and I lost the chance to win Wimbledon six times in a row., something I knew I would never get again. But I learned a lesson. I had to keep working and keep competing,” recalls the Swiss. “Of all the games I played as a professional, I won about 80%, but do you know how many points I won throughout my career? Only 54% of those I played on the court.”

Because of this statistic, and because of everything he has learned during his extensive career, the one from Basel influences the idea of ​​his second lesson. “A point is just a point. Both good and bad. A point is a point, and an absurd double fault is also a point. When you play a point, it must be the most important thing in the world for you, but when you have already left it behind, it is over, it is time to get over it. “Negative energy is wasted energy, and great champions are great because they lose again and again and learn to deal with it.”

“I only won 54% of the points I played throughout my career”

Roger Federer
Extenista

Federer’s third and final lesson at Dartmouth University is, perhaps, the simplest, and at the same time the most complex: “Life is much bigger than a tennis court“. It is there, nearing the end of the speech, when the Swiss, excited, looks at his wife, Mirka Vavrinec, and his four children, present at the North American university.

“From very early on I knew that tennis could show me the world, but that it would never be the world,” he says. “When I was in the top-5 of the ranking, I was always clear that it was very important to have a life. Culture, travel, yes, but also family. You never have to forget your roots. Never stop learning, wanting to know the world, learning that life is much bigger than what happens on the tennis court or whatever your dedication may be. You have to be a good athlete when you have to, a good employee when you have to and a good person always.. “That’s the Dartmouth education, and you’ll have that for life.”

• Roger Federer

• Rafael Nadal

2024-06-10 14:44:41
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