Federer receives honorary degree: “Doing things ‘effortlessly’ is an illusion. I left school at 16”

The tennis player Roger Federer, already a doctor thanks to the honorary degree in medicine obtained seven years ago from the University of Basel. And on Sunday, he did an encore. This time, to give him the degree (always honoris causa, but in human letters) was the Dartmouth College, a prestigious university based in New Hampshire. He brings it back Vanity Fair.

Here is an excerpt from his speech of acceptance, which is going viral: “This is literally the second time I’ve stepped foot on a college campus. Second time ever. I just came here to give a talk, but I’ll go home as ‘Dr. Roger’. That’s a nice plus. Dr. Roger. This is my most unexpected victory ever!”.

“I left school at the age of sixteen to play tennis full time and become a professional player. I never went to college, but I recently majored in tennis! I know the correct wording would be ‘I’ve retired from tennis’, but the word retired is awful. I too, like you, have closed an important parenthesis in my life and now I am opening another.”

“Work smart”

“Today I want to share some lessons I have relied on. Lesson one: ‘effortless’ is an illusion. Second lesson. You can work harder than you thought possible…and still lose. It happened to me. Third lesson. Life is bigger than the tennis court. For a boy who left school at 16, these are a lot of lessons!”

“I left home at 14 to go to school in French-speaking Switzerland for two years, and at first I was terribly homesick. The best in the world aren’t the best because they win every point… It’s because they know they’re going to lose… again and again… and they’ve learned how to deal with it. You accept it. Cry if you need to… then force a smile. Go ahead. Be relentless. Adapt and grow. Work harder. Work smarter. Remember: work smarter.”

Sinner left school and graduated as a private student

Even the number one tennis player in the world, Jannik Sinnerborn in 2001, born in the province of Bolzano, as reported Skuola.net, did not graduate from public school. The athlete attended the economic institute until the fourth year, school he dropped out due to too many sporting commitments. The tennis player has repeatedly expressed his opinion willingness to finish studies.

As he told his story first instructor to The Corriere della Sera “His life was just tennis and school, until he was able to combine study and sport: then he had to graduate in private accountancy in Bolzano. He never had a real youth and still today he enjoys a mountain bike ride or an excursion in the mountains. But only tennis exists: his life, his work, his obsession, his love for him.”