Roger Federer won 20 Grand Slam tennis titles in his career, a record at the time. In a graduation speech at Dartmouth in 2024, Mr. Federer shared life lessons from his tennis career to help these new graduates succeed in the next phase of their lives. First, “effortless is a myth”. You don’t progress without doing a ton of work, much of it personal.
Roger was a hot-headed teen with great talent when he realized self-discipline was going to be as valuable a skill as his graceful, killer backhand. What appeared to the public as an effortless master class of tennis when Roger took the court was the result of thousands of hours of very hard work in advance.
Second, “it’s only a point”. While he won 80% of his matches (can you imagine a career winning percentage like that?), he lost 44% of the total points played. That’s almost half! You will not win every time, but you can learn from each effort and then keep going.
Third, “life is bigger than the court”. Obviously, that lesson doesn’t mean the tennis court wasn’t important to Roger. For some players, tennis is their world, and they struggle apart from it. For Roger, growing as a person who cares about others and helps make the world a better place was, and still is, what life is about. That focus not only kept tennis in perspective, but also allowed Roger to pursue other interests with the same focus as he retired from the pro tour.
Within the Bible, learning God’s instructions is basic training. If you don’t even know you’re supposed to honor your father and mother or respect other people’s property, good luck. Real work is practicing those instructions. The Bible shouldn’t be just memorized; it should be lived (Matthew 19: 16-17). Every day, every play. We won’t get it right every time on this side of heaven. Learn from failures and keep working on growth (Philippians 3: 13-14).
Always remember the goal and check how the parts of your life fit that goal (Romans 13: 8-10). You’d be surprised at how much mileage you can get from going into situations throughout the day thinking, “Love God, love these people”.
Mr. Federer’s lessons from his tennis career provided valuable guidance to those graduates. Who knows what valuable blessings your persistence in living faithfully will provide to this world?
Dr. Carl Grosse is an ordained pastor and the author of Faith Along the Way, a weekly reflection for KnoxTNToday that encourages readers to discover God’s presence in everyday life and share His love with others.
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