“The best are not because they win all the points, but because they learned to lose”

The graduates of the class of 2024 from Dartmouth College in the United States will never forget the ceremony in which they celebrated finishing their studies. Not only because it was the corollary of years of academic sacrifice but because it was Roger Federer who is responsible for speaking to them at the time of the celebration. The 42-year-old former tennis player received the honorary title of Doctor of Human Letters for his philanthropic work and spoke to those received, among whom was Isabella, daughter of Tony Godsick, his business partner and agent.

Of course, as the ceremony was broadcast live and remained for posterity on YouTube, the Swiss words were immortalized. They are well worth summarizing because he chose to apply three lessons from tennis to life.

“I left school at 16 to play tennis, so I never went to university. But I graduated recently and now they say: ‘Roger Federer retired.’ That word is horrible. “You wouldn’t say you are retiring from the University, would you?” he asked. And then he gave way to the life lessons of tennis.

“The first is that the phrase ‘effortless’ is a myth. People said as a compliment that my game was effortless. “But I used to get frustrated when they said I barely sweated,” he said. I had to work really hard to make it look easy. “I spent years complaining, cursing, and throwing my racket before I learned to stay calm.”

And he added: “Everyone can play well the first two hours. You’re fit, you’re fast, you have clear ideas… and then your legs give out, your mind starts to wander and your discipline starts to fade. So I started training harder. Much more”.

The emphasis on work and trust was his next axis in the speech. “Winning effortlessly is the greatest achievement, but I had been working hard when no one was watching. I didn’t get where I got just because of my talent. “I got there trying to outdo my opponents,” he explained. I believed in myself. But that belief has to be earned.”

Federer chose the 2003 Masters as the tournament that boosted his confidence. “I beat top players whom he greatly admired, directly targeting his strengths. Because? To amplify my game and expand my options,” he responded.

And then he talked about the power of resilience after defeats. “When your game works, winning is relatively easy. But there are days when you feel broken, your back hurts, your knee hurts, or maybe you’re scared, but you still find a way to win. And those are the victories we can be most proud of,” he summarized.

“Talent matters, but most of the time it’s not about having a gift. It’s about having guts. Discipline and patience are talents. Trusting yourself is a talent. Embracing the process, loving the process is a talent. Some people are born with these talents. “Everyone has to work on them,” he closed that lesson.

“The second lesson is: ‘It’s just a point,’” he introduced. And he explained: “You can work harder than you thought possible and still lose. Tennis is brutal. I tried not to lose, but I lost. And sometimes, in a big way.”

And he exemplified with the final that Rafael Nadal beat him 9-7 in the fifth set at Wimbledon 2008, which prevented him from winning six consecutive trophies at the Cathedral of tennis. “I played in incredible places, but there is nothing like being a champion on that center court. In the final part of that match it was so dark that I could barely see the lines on the grass, but I feel like I lost the first point of the match,” he said.

“I looked across the net, saw a guy who had crushed me in straight sets at Roland Garros and thought, ‘Maybe he’s hungrier than me.’ It took me until the third set to remember that he was the five-time defending champion. But it was too late and Rafa won. I lost Wimbledon. I lost number one in the ranking. And people talked about a changing of the guard,” he said.

Win and lose. Two verbs that Federer talked about quite a bit. “In tennis, perfection is impossible. Of the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80 percent. Now, what percentage of points do you think I won in those games? Only 54% – it was answered -. When you lose one out of every two points, you learn not to focus on every shot. It is just a point,” he stated.

And he transpolated this lesson to life: “No matter what you play in life, sometimes you are going to lose. It’s a roller coaster with many ups and downs. And it’s natural, when you’re down, to doubt yourself. Feel sorry for you. But negative energy is wasted energy. And the sign of a champion is to become a master of overcoming difficult times. The best are not because they win all the points but because they know that they will lose again and again and they have learned to deal with it.”

It’s time for the third lesson: “Life is bigger than a tennis court”. And this is how he explained it: “I worked a lot, learned a lot and ran many miles in that small space, but the world is much bigger. Even when I was in the top five, it was important to me to have a fulfilling life, full of travel, culture, friendships and, above all, family. I never abandoned my roots, but I also never lost my appetite to see this big world. Maybe that’s why I never got burned.”

He then explained that, motivated by his South African mother, he started a Foundation to empower children through education. “Early childhood education is something we take for granted in Switzerland, but in sub-Saharan Africa 75% of children do not have access to preschool education. “We have helped almost 3 million children receive a quality education and we have contributed to training more than 55,000 teachers,” he said.

And he offered the final advice before the ovation: “Whatever party you choose, give your best. Go for your shots. Play freely. Try everything. And above all, be kind to each other and have fun.”