Roger Federer speech at prestigious US college goes viral

Roger Federer has proven his talents go well beyond the tennis court after his hilarious speech at a US college went viral.

Roger Federer’s talents extend well beyond the tennis court.

The Swiss legend, who claimed 20 grand slam singles titles and spent 310 weeks ranked world No. 1 in his career, retired from tennis in 2022.

The 42-year-old has been heavily involved in charity and philanthropic pursuits since hanging up the racquet and also has a documentary on the final days of his playing career dropping this month.

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Federer was also asked to give a speech to the 2024 graduating class at prestigious Ivy League university Dartmouth, when he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

The 25-minute oration has been described as his “best speech ever”, a high watermark for a man that talked publicly countless times, including after each of his 103 career singles titles.

“Hello class of 2024, this is so exciting,” Federer began, resplendent in his college gown.

“I’m so excited to join you today, really you have know idea how excited I am.

“Keep in mind this is literally only the second time I’ve ever set foot on a college campus.

“But for some reason you are giving me a doctorate degree.

“I just came here to give a speech, but I get to go home as “Dr Roger”.

“That’s a pretty nice bonus, “Dr Roger” just has to be my most unexpected victory ever.

“Thank you.”

Roger Federer's speech at Dartmouth.

After stating he will “try my best not to choke”, the Swiss maestro went on to give a hilarious and heartwarming speech, complete with a number of life lessons.

Among his quips, he said he was struggling in the robe after wearing shorts “almost every day for the last 35 years” and added Dartmouth’s colour of green suited him perfectly as “you might have heard, grass is my favourite surface”.

That was a nod of course to his record eight Wimbledon titles on grass.

Federer said he left school at 16 and never went to college, but had recently “graduated tennis” with his retirement from the sport that made him a household name.

“I know the word is ‘retire’,” he said. “‘Roger Federer retired from tennis’. Retired. The word is awful.

Federer greets tennis juniors during UNIQLO's Around The World With Roger Federer event in La Courneuve, France. (Photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images for Uniqlo)

Federer has a new documentary launching this month. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Amazon)

“You wouldn’t say you ‘retired’ from college, right? Sounds terrible.

“Like you, I’ve finished one big thing and I’m moving on to the next. Like you, I’m figuring out what that is.

“Graduates, I feel your pain. I know what it’s like when people keep asking what your plan is for the rest of your life.

“They ask me ‘now that you are not a professional tennis player, what do you do?’

“I don’t know and it’s OK not to know.”

Among his lessons, Federer insisted “effortless is a myth”, referring to a word that was often used to describe his appearance on court.

“The truth is, I had to work very hard to make it look easy,” he said.

“I spent years whining, swearing, throwing my racquet, before I learned to keep my cool.”

In another lesson he called “it’s only a point”, Federer said losing a point might seem huge, but it was quickly forgotten, which could be adopted to real life.

Federer has called Wimbledon his favourite event. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

He also spoke about one match in particular, perhaps the most memorable from his career.

“I tried not to lose. But I did lose,” he said.

”Sometimes big. For me, one of the biggest was the finals at Wimbledon in 2008. Me versus Nadal. Some call it the greatest match of all time.

“OK, all respect to Rafa, but I think it would have been way, way better if I had won.

“Losing at Wimbledon was a big deal because winning Wimbledon is everything.”

Towards the end of his speech, Federer asked Dartmouth president Sian Beilock to pass him a tennis racquet before another moment that had the crowd in stitches

“OK, so for your forehand, you’ll want to use an eastern grip,” he said.

The crowd was loving the speech. Photo: Dartmouth College

“Keep your knuckles apart a little bit. Obviously, you don’t want to squeeze the grip too hard.

“Switching from forehand to backhand should be easy. Also, remember it all starts with the footwork and the take-back is as important as the follow-through.

“No, this is not a metaphor. It’s just good technique.”

Federer then completed his masterpiece with another message.

“I will never forget this day and I know you won’t either,” he said.

“You have worked so hard to get here and left nothing on the court.

“From one graduate to another, I can’t wait to see what you all do next.

“Whatever game you choose, give it your best. Go for your shots. Play free. Try everything.

“And most of all, be kind to one another and have fun out there.”

Originally published as Roger Federer speech at prestigious US college goes viral