In 2006, David FosÂter WalÂlace pubÂlished a piece in the New York Times MagÂaÂzine headÂlined “Roger FedÂerÂer as ReliÂgious ExpeÂriÂence.” Even then, he could declare FedÂerÂer, “at 25, the best tenÂnis playÂer curÂrentÂly alive. Maybe the best ever.” Much had already been writÂten about “his old-school stoÂicism and menÂtal toughÂness and good sportsÂmanÂship and eviÂdent overÂall decenÂcy and thoughtÂfulÂness and charÂiÂtaÂble largess.” Less easÂiÂly comÂmentÂed upon — because much less easÂiÂly described — was the aesÂthetÂic tranÂscenÂdence of his perÂforÂmance on the court, which WalÂlace thought best witÂnessed in perÂson.
“If you’ve watched tenÂnis only on teleÂviÂsion, you simÂply have no idea how hard these pros are hitÂting the ball, how fast the ball is movÂing, how litÂtle time the playÂers have to get to it, and how quickÂly they’re able to move and rotate and strike and recovÂer,” WalÂlace writes. “And none are faster, or more decepÂtiveÂly effortÂless about it, than Roger FedÂerÂer.” Was that one of the obserÂvaÂtions the chamÂpiÂon had in mind this past weekÂend, eighÂteen years latÂer — and two years after his own retireÂment from the game — when he took the tree-stump lectern before DartÂmouth’s class of 2024 and declared that “EffortÂless is a myth”?
That was one of three “tenÂnis lessons” — that is, lessons for life derived from his long and hugeÂly sucÂcessÂful expeÂriÂence in tenÂnis — that FedÂerÂer lays out in the comÂmenceÂment address above. The secÂond, “It’s only a point,” is a notion of which it’s all too easy to lose sight of amid the balÂletÂic intenÂsiÂty of a match. The third, “Life is bigÂger than the court,” is one FedÂerÂer himÂself now must learn in the daiÂly life after his own “gradÂuÂaÂtion” that stretchÂes out before him. For a man still conÂsidÂered one of the greatÂest playÂers ever to pick up a rackÂet, is there life after proÂfesÂsionÂal tenÂnis?
FedÂerÂer acknowlÂedges the irony of his not havÂing gone to colÂlege, but choosÂing instead to leave school at sixÂteen in order to devote himÂself to his sport. “In many ways, proÂfesÂsionÂal athÂletes are our culÂture’s holy men,” WalÂlace writes in anothÂer essay. “They give themÂselves over to a purÂsuit, endure great priÂvaÂtion and pain to actuÂalÂize themÂselves at it, and enjoy a relaÂtionÂship to perÂfecÂtion that we admire and reward.” But when their athÂletÂic careers inevitably end, they find themÂselves in a greatÂly heightÂened verÂsion of the sitÂuÂaÂtion we all do when we come to the end of our instiÂtuÂtionÂalÂized eduÂcaÂtion, wonÂderÂing what could or should come next.
ClearÂly, FedÂerÂer doesÂn’t sufÂfer from the kind of inarÂticÂuÂlaÂcy and unreÂflecÂtiveÂness that WalÂlace diagÂnosed over and over in othÂer proÂfesÂsionÂal athÂletes about whom he wrote. In proÂfilÂing playÂer Michael Joyce, for instance, WalÂlace saw that Joyce and his colÂleagues lived in “a world that, like a child’s world, is very seriÂous and very small” — but which FedÂerÂer has long disÂplayed an uncomÂmon abilÂiÂty to see beyond. Still, as he must know, that guarÂanÂtees him a satÂisÂfyÂing secÂond act no more than even world-beatÂing sucÂcess in any givÂen field guarÂanÂtees any of us genÂerÂal well-being in life. WalÂlace, too, knew that full well — and of course, he was no mean comÂmenceÂment speakÂer himÂself.
RelatÂed conÂtent:
MarÂcel Proust Plays Air GuiÂtar on a TenÂnis RackÂet (1891)
30 Free Essays & StoÂries by David FosÂter WalÂlace on the Web
Bob Dylan and George HarÂriÂson Play TenÂnis, 1969
Medieval TenÂnis: A Short HisÂtoÂry and DemonÂstraÂtion
Based in Seoul, ColÂin Marshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities and the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.