The tennis legend's Dartmouth College address is full of wisdom won on court
What was particularly impressive about Federer’s speech was the use of tennis to reveal wider truths
Federer explained that he left school at 16, and that his visit to Dartmouth to receive an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters was only the second time in his life he’d set foot on a college campus. “I just came here to give a speech, but I get to go home as Dr Roger,” he said. “My most unexpected victory ever.”
“When you lose every second point, on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot,” he said. “You teach yourself to think… It’s only a point. When you’re playing a point, it is the most important thing in the world. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you.” What was particularly impressive about Federer’s address was the use of tennis – an individualistic, not terribly complicated sport with narrow horizons – to reveal wider truths. The third lesson I took was a fine example: “Life is bigger than the court,” was his simple motto.
Federer started his own foundation to establish pre-school education in sub-Saharan Africa at the age of 22, and has since helped educate more than 2.4 million children. He encouraged his audience to contribute their “energy to a mission that is larger than yourself”, and in an increasingly atomised, introspective world, there could hardly be a more important piece of advocacy.
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