Commencement Address by Roger Federer

roger federer

At Dartmouth College, the retired tennis champion offered his thoughts on winning and losing.

"In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80 percent of those matches," Federer said. "Now, I have a question for all of you. What percentage of the points do you think I won in those matches?"

The answer was 54 percent.

"In other words," he said, "even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot."

He went on, "The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes you’re going to lose. A point, a match, a season, a job….The best in the world are not the best because they win every point. It's because they know they'll lose again and again, and have learned how to deal with it."

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FINALS SERIES

tennis finals winner's pennant

Starting Time

All final matches are to commence at 9:30am. Please aim to be at the courts 30 minutes before the scheduled start of play. All warm-ups should be completed by 9:30am. Match play is to commence at 9:30am.

Weather

If a washout or heatout is absolutely necessary, the match must be completed prior to the following Tuesday unless otherwise approved by the Executive Committee (by-law 16.e).

If you are unable to commence play due to wet courts or rain, teams shall wait one hour after agreed starting time before cancellation of match (by-law 12.d.iii).

If play has commenced and is interrupted by rain, the match will be cancelled one hour after all play has ceased unless both captains agree to continue (by-law 12.d.v).

In the event of postponement due to wet weather or heatout during Finals series, play shall be continued from where left off at a time and venue mutually agreed to by both teams and shall be completed before the following Tuesday unless otherwise approved by the Executive Committee. A team unable to play on any day must forfeit. If players cannot mutually agree on a time to complete an unfinished Grand Final match, no pennants will be awarded (by-law 16.d).

For postponed finals, eligible emergencies may take the court from where play ceased (by-law 16.f).

Clubhouse

Please be sure to leave the premises, in and around the facility, clean and tidy. This is the responsibility of all players.

Captains

Be sure your registered team members and club emergencies have PLAYED in 3 matches for your club for the season – forfeits, complete washouts/heatouts do not count. For more details on eligibility of a player to play in finals, see our page on qualifying players and emergencies to play in finals.
Each player should bring their own food for sustenance and drink to stay hydrated.
Prior to the commencement of the match, captains will exchange lists of players in playing order.
Ensure players are in correct attire.

Home Captains (ie the team listed FIRST on the Finals Notice & score sheet)

Please call the Club Contact of that Club that the match has been allocated to ensure that the courts will be open. A list of all club contacts was provided at the beginning of the season.
The home team is to provide four new tennis balls of a brand approved by Tennis VIC.
The home team is to provide the score sheet to record the match results.
Results— Please submit your results online by 8pm on the day of the match. If this is not possible for your semi-final results, please phone in your results to Fiona Dwyer on 0417 399 768 by 8pm so that the Grand Final fixture can be drawn.

Coaching & Spectators

Coaching is NOT permitted during a set, and spectators should not be communicating with players during a set.

Disputes/Queries

For any queries or disputes which cannot be resolved by the teams in the Semi-Finals, please contact Hope Stewart on 0402 089 113.

A Committee member will be present at each Grand Final venue to present pennants and trophies and answer any queries.

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY OF TENNIS!