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."

QUALIFYING PLAYERS & EMERGENCIES FOR FINALS

qualifying players for tennis finals

Team Members and Club Emergencies

In order to be eligible to play in Semi-Final and Grand Final matches for your team, players and emergencies:

1) must be registered for your section or a lower section, AND

2) must have played for your club in at least:

3 matches during the current season where there is a 10-team draw—complete washouts, complete heatouts and complete forfeits where players have not taken the court do not count;
2 matches during the current season where there is a 8-team draw—complete washouts, complete heatouts and complete forfeits where players have not taken the court do not count.

There are no special circumstances or exceptions to these by-laws (see by-laws 5i, 5m and 7d).

If in any doubt about eligibility, contact the Record Secretary.

Emergency Pool Players

Emergency pool players must play, where there is a 10-team draw, at least 3 matches (with ANY team or section) during the season to play in any finals match. Where there is an 8-team draw, pool emergencies must play at least 2 matches during the season to qualify. Pool emergencies graded as section 1 are ineligible to play in any Semi-final or Grand Final matches. See by-law 8d.