How effortless is success? — The Story of Roger Federer

Hi there! ?? Are you a tennis fan? I’ve grown up around many people who were absolutely in love with this sport, so it started to grow on me, too. My favorite player has always been Roger Federer because my impression was that nobody else played so easily, effortlessly, and beautifully.

Recently, I watched his new documentary "Twelve Final Days ," which follows Roger during the last 12 days of his professional career, which ended at the 2022 Laver Cup.

While watching the documentary, his passion for the sport of tennis became very visible, along with his ambition to win, the struggles he faced, and the exhaustion and joy he felt when announcing the end of his career. So, coming back to the point: Was it really that effortless?

As you can probably guess, it wasn't. But it's still interesting to consider: How is it possible that one of the best players in the world (if not the best) can make it seem so effortless when he's defeating other players at a similar level?

Let's dive right into this!

The beginnings of Roger Federer

In his early years, Federer was not known for the calm and collected demeanor he is remembered for today. He struggled to control his anger, was often unfocused in practice, and his performance was inconsistent. Numerous stories recount how his outbursts negatively impacted his game , particularly when he failed to meet his own high expectations.

A pivotal moment in his mental training came after losing to a clearly inferior player in his youth. During this match, Federer realized that his anger was dominating his attitude and behavior, making him feel out of control. He understood that to reach his full potential, he needed to change.

Federer's self-talk was often harsh . He would call himself an idiot after mistakes or criticize himself for not winning a point. Transforming this negative internal dialogue was crucial to his development into one of the greatest and most mentally resilient athletes of all time.

The fire and ice situation

For me, it's always been challenging to understand how people who are down 5-0 in a set still have the determination to keep fighting and not give up. Personally, I believe I would rather try to lose the set quickly, refocus, and then prepare for the next set.

But that's not how tennis works.

Federer differentiates between two types of situations that he needs to balance during any given tennis match:

It took me almost three years, a good three years to figure myself out on a court. How am I happy, I always call it the fire and ice situation.

Federer describes the 'fire' as wanting to win while also maintaining composure in the face of losses and tough situations (the 'ice'). You cannot eliminate one and only focus on the other, but instead you need to balance these elements.

This is what Roger had to learn—balancing passion and dispassion—in order to be able to master his own mental game on the court:

"[Looking] into the long term, I hoped to play for 15-20 years and I just decided that I was gonna act that way and behave that way on a tennis court, so I would never lose matches because of my mental strength."

The path towards becoming the best player (and the sacrifices on the way)

Federer knows all too well that the path he was on was not easy for a young boy : "I was with a wonderful family from Monday to Friday, only able to go home on the weekends. In the first nine months, I was incredibly homesick."

Federer believes that those two years, between 14 and 16 years, were the most impactful years of his life, with many different things coming together: being away from home, learning to take on responsibility, tackling things on his own, and persevering through challenges.

"It was a hard road."

Even though tennis quickly became the focus of his life, he still wondered whether that would be enough.

"I only do tennis," Federer once said. "Everything feels like it's on fast-forward for me: Tomorrow I have to win, now I have to win. Maybe you have to ask yourself, don't I want to spend a little more time with my friends, with my family? So that you don't look back and have to ask yourself, maybe I sacrificed too much, missed too much? I firmly believe in a healthy balance..."

I find this extremely intriguing. We often assume that passionate individuals don't experience self-doubt because things seem to come effortlessly to them. However, this quote suggests the opposite.

Perhaps those with the greatest passion are the ones who doubt themselves the most. Why? Because they truly care.

The Twelve Final Days of his Career

One thing that stood out to me was the immense joy and relief he felt at the end of his career. While he was very sad and cried a lot, becoming quite emotional, it seemed to me that this wasn't because he wanted to keep playing. Instead, it was due to all the wonderful memories he had made. Seeing Rafael, his biggest competitor but also his best friend on the court, cry so much was truly the culmination of it all.

But most importantly, he didn't regret to stop, he was ready to transition into new passions :

Tennis was my identity. But it wasn’t the only thing I dealt with every day. I mean, most of the time I’m a father, a husband, and also a son. Being a tennis player was my hobby, then it became my profession. But I always tried not to identify myself solely as a tennis player. When tennis fell away, I still had all the other things. And I believe that this attitude was one of my strengths throughout my career. I always knew that it could end tomorrow, through an accident or whatever, and that I would need to be able to live without the games.

Does he miss tennis? To my surprise, he said he doesn’t really miss it and feels a sense of inner peace. He often gets asked this question, but he genuinely doesn't miss playing.

According to him, there’s tranquility in knowing his knee, body, and mind wouldn’t allow him to perform at the same level anymore. Occasionally, he thinks, "Oh, I would have made that shot," and perhaps he could have.

However, he believes he gave everything he had to the sport. (He still loves playing tennis, especially with his kids. Just for fun.)

I often wonder if it’s possible to achieve one's passion-related goals. I believe Roger is one of the few people who has actually accomplished his passion. That's why he can feel a tranquility that many of us have yet to experience, or may never experience. The rest of us can focus on the progress of pursuing our passion, rather than the state of having achieved our passion. (Or we have to win 20 more Grand Slam tournaments.)

What can we learn from Roger?

Next to his documentary, you may have seen another video from Roger recently, his commencement speech at Dartmouth, which honestly, just blew me away.

I thought that he spoke extremely well. I watch many, many graduation speeches for research purposes, seeing what people recommend with regard to pursuing passion after university, but Federer had three great points that I found very inspiring and wanted to share here as well:

1) Effortless is a myth?

• Achieving excellence involves years of rigorous training and overcoming personal challenges, such as managing emotions and maintaining mental discipline.
• Federer’s early struggles with his temper and composure taught him the importance of staying calm and focused, crucial traits for enduring long matches.
• Continuous self-improvement and hard work, even when not in the public eye, are key to making complex skills appear easy and natural.

2) It's only a point?

• Viewing each point as just one part of a larger game helps in dealing with pressure and keeping the bigger picture in mind.
• Federer has won 80% of the >1,500 matches he has played, but only 54% of the points in those matches!!
• Learning from losses is essential; they provide valuable lessons and opportunities for growth.

3) Life is bigger than the court?

• Balancing professional achievements with personal growth and relationships enriches one’s life and can prevent burnout.
• Engaging in philanthropy and broader social causes, like Federer’s foundation for education in Africa, adds a sense of purpose and fulfillment beyond career milestones.
• Exploring diverse experiences and cultures, as Federer did through his travels, contributes to personal development and a broader perspective on life.

Watch his full speech or read the transcript here :

Finally, my favorite quote from Federer is one where he shared his recipe for success :

"If you have a passion for what you do, stick with it. Believe in it! Reach for the stars, stay positive, surround yourself with the right people, and just try."

Thank you for taking the time to read my seventh newsletter! If you would like to explore more of my ideas and thoughts, here is a summary of my posts and podcast episodes from this July:

New LinkedIn posts:

Inside Out 2 +++ Try things you're not skilled at +++ Learn how to get stuff done +++ Watching Harvard's CS50 lecture +++ The passion of the German National Soccer Team +++ Instructing a course about personality

New podcast episodes:

Finding a fit between you and your environment +++ [currently on summer break!]

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Picture taken by Tatiana from Moscow, Russia , CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons