By Beth Allen
I love a great commencement speech. I recently became aware of a speech given by retired tennis player, Roger Federer, who was ranked at the top of the tennis world for years. He said he likes to think that he did not retire from professional tennis, he just graduated to his next chapter, just like those in the graduating class June 9, 2024, at Dartmouth College. I am so happy I took the time to watch his speech on YouTube. It was incredibly inspiring and educational.
He highlighted 3 main points in his “tennis lessons” that I feel could be applied to just about any position we may find ourselves in.
Effortless is a myth. As a player, people would comment on how effortless his play was. The truth is that he worked very hard to make it look easy. It took discipline to prepare, both mentally and physically. Early in his career, he was an emotional player. He had to learn to focus that emotion. As the matches wore on, he would become more exhausted, and his play would suffer. Federer put time and effort into building his strength, stamina and precision. This resulted in a pre-match warm up that seemed very relaxed and minimal. He says that is because he did all the hard work while no one was watching. Effortless is a myth.
It’s only a point. I am certain it took this world-class athlete years to come to grips with this concept. “You can work harder than you thought possible and still lose.” He illustrated this by comparing a tennis tournament to graduating from college. It would be like the entire class did all the preparation, completed all of the classes, worked hard for all the years but there could be only one graduate. Federer was ranked the #1 singles player in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals for 310 weeks and won 8 straight Wimbledon titles. When he reviewed all the matches in his career, he found that he won only 54% of the points. “When each point is behind you, it is behind you”, he stated. Move on and forget it. “Negative energy is wasted energy. You move on, be relentless, adapt and grow. Work smarter, not harder. Remember, work smarter.” That last part I think I say to my team at least 3 times a week.
Life is bigger than the court. “Tennis could show me the world, but it could never be the world.” He credits interests outside of tennis to make his life complete, such as his family, colleagues and friends. He needed a mission that had nothing to do with his sport. He organized a foundation to provide early childhood education in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is extremely proud of this work and what it has meant to not only those children, but the difference they have grown to make in the world by starting with a solid foundation.
His closing comments were like a recipe for a happy life.
“Tennis, like life, is a team sport. You stand alone on your side of the net, but your success depends on your team: your coaches; your teammates; even your rivals. All these influences help you to make who you are.”
“Whatever game you choose, give it your best. Go for your shots; play free; try everything. Most of all, be kind to one another. And have fun out there.”
He couldn’t leave the podium without giving some tips on a good grip on the racket for a killer forehand and how to change up for a powerful backhand. Who doesn’t need a tennis lesson from Roger Federer? I am going to see if any of those last tips will apply to pickleball.
If you have 25 extra minutes and need a little inspiration, I highly encourage searching for this on YouTube. (https://youtu.be/pqWUuYTcG-o?si=1xWGNktf4LM1lYPX)
Thanks for all you do!
