Roger in his speech at Dartmouth
Roger Federer, the most loved of tennis champions, winner of 20 Slams, spoke to students at the University of Darmouth about his career after retiring from tennis. Dartmouth College is a private university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Founded in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the country.
Invited to speak to students on the day of the start of courses for 2024, Roger spoke at length about his career, addressing many topics. “Perfection is impossible. In the 1526 fights I’ve played in my career, I’ve seen about 80 of them. I have a question for you: how many points do you think I won in these matches? Only 54%. In other words, even the best tennis players in the world barely win a little more than half the points they play. Even a great shot, one of the most spectacular ones, ultimately counts for one. When you play a point, this is really the most important thing at that moment, but behind it there must be the right mentality, because it is the one that allows you to play one point after another with the same focus and attention. If you want to become great you must be able to overcome difficult moments.”
Then he joked that he is tempted to return to the world of sport as a professional beer pong player. Federer joked that he was there to talk about beer pong rather than to congratulate the graduates. He said: “There’s another reason I’m here, and I can sum it up in two words: Beer pong. Or pong, as you call it. And I guess you can call it whatever you want: I’m told Dartmouth invented it!”
Beer Pong, or Pong is a drinking game in which players throw a table tennis ball from one side of a table to the other with the aim of hitting a glass of beer on the other side of the table. It can be played either 1 on 1 or in teams, with multiple variations regarding the shooting order. There are no official rules, but usually 6 or 10 glasses of beer are used for each team.
“Now, this sport… Wait. Is pong a sport? Or is it a lifestyle? Regardless, Dartmouth is the Wimbledon of pong. I’m happy I was able to work on my shots with some of you. I’m actually thinking about turning pro. But I know there’s more to Dartmouth than pong. I spent a wonderful couple of days here and felt here in Hanover like at home. The mountains here are exactly like the Swiss Alps. Just… lower.”
Federer went on to talk about how he recently “graduated to tennis”, rather than retiring, and that he has no clear plan for the next steps in his career – urging those in attendance to be comfortable not knowing what the future may hold . He continued: “I know what it’s like when people keep asking you what your plans are for the rest of your life. They ask me: “Now that you are no longer a professional tennis player, what do you do?” I don’t know… and that’s okay.”
“So how do I spend my time? I’m a dad first and foremost, so, I guess, walking the kids to school? Playing chess online against strangers? Vacuuming the house? No, I actually love life as a tennis graduate. I graduated in tennis in 2022 and you will graduate in 2024.”
Enrico Milani
