Federer, one of sport’s highest achievers, looked to set the record straight as he delivered a graduation speech at Dartmouth College in the United States.

The Swiss swapped the shorts he had worn “almost every day for the last 35 years” for a robe that was “hard to move in” as he spoke when receiving a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the New Hampshire institution.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner, who hung up his professional racquet in 2022, talked about how “awful” he finds the word ‘retired’.

He said he had instead “graduated tennis” and, like those he was speaking to, had “finished one big thing” and was “moving on to the next”.

The 42-year-old then went on to deliver three “tennis lessons” he had “relied on through this transition”, which he identified as:

• “Effortless” is a myth
• It’s only a point
• Life is bigger than the court

Federer won Wimbledon eight times and was renowned for the stylish and elegant nature of his game.

“People would say my play was effortless. Most of the time, they meant it as a compliment,” he said in Sunday’s ceremony. “But it used to frustrate me when they would say, ‘He barely broke a sweat’, or, ‘Is he even trying?’.

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

“I didn’t get where I got on pure talent alone. I got there by trying to outwork my opponents.

“Most of the time, it’s not about having a gift. It’s about having grit.”

‘You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments’

On his second lesson about it being “only a point”, Federer explained it was possible to “work harder than you thought possible and still lose”, like he had, as “tennis is brutal”.

He referenced his famous five-set defeat by Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final and commented that “in tennis, perfection is impossible”, with him having won 80% of 1,526 singles matches.

“When you lose every second point, on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot,” said Federer.

“When you’re playing a point, it is the most important thing in the world.

“But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you. This mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next one after that with intensity, clarity and focus.

“You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That to me is the sign of a champion.”

When speaking about his third lesson that “life is bigger than the court”, Federer said from the start of his career he saw how “tennis could show me the world but tennis could never be the world”.

He added: “I’m here to tell you from the other side of graduation that leaving a familiar world behind and finding new ones is incredibly, deeply, wonderfully exciting.”

The 20-time Grand Slam winner said last week he would retire at the team event, which starts at the 02 on Friday.

He has struggled with a knee problem and does not feel able to play singles.

“It’s an event I don’t want to mess with, but I know my limitations,” said the 41-year-old Swiss, who hopes to pair up with old rival Rafael Nadal.

Italian Matteo Berrettini, the first alternate for the team tournament, will then take Federer’s place over the weekend.

Federer’s last competitive match was a defeat by Hubert Hurkacz in last year’s Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Europe take on a world team in the three-day Laver Cup, where the six players from each side are usually required to play at least one singles match.

“I asked [Europe captain] Bjorn [Borg] if I could play one doubles, on Friday night, then Matteo comes in,” Federer told a news conference.

“I’m nervous, I haven’t played in so long.”

Swiss Federer, 41, has not played since Wimbledon 2021, after which he had a third knee operation.

“My body’s message to me lately has been clear,” Federer said.

“I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years. Now I must recognise when it is time to end my competitive career.”

He added: “To the game of tennis, I love you and will never leave you.”

Only Spain’s Rafael Nadal, with 22 majors, and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, with 21, have more men’s Grand Slam singles titles than Federer.

Federer made his professional debut aged 16 in 1998 and won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003.

He ends his career with a record total of eight men’s singles victories at the All England Club.

Federer’s final Grand Slam triumph came at the 2018 Australian Open when, aged 36, he became the second-oldest man to win a major singles title in the Open era.

After rising to world number one for the first time in 2004, he spent 310 weeks as the leading player on the ATP Tour during his career – a record until he was surpassed by Djokovic in February 2021.

He becomes the oldest man in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon title.
“It is cruel sometimes,” Federer said of Cilic’s physical difficulties.
“But Marin fought well and is a hero, so congratulations on a wonderful tournament.”
Federer surpasses Pete Sampras and William Renshaw, who won their seventh titles in 2000 and 1889 respectively, with only Marina Navratilova still ahead in terms of Wimbledon singles titles on nine.
He has won two of the three Grand Slam titles so far this year, having returned from a six-month break to win the Australian Open in January.
With 19 major titles he extends his lead over Rafael Nadal in the men’s game to four, and now stands joint-fourth on the all-time list with Helen Wills Moody, five behind Margaret Court on 24.