Roger Federer on perfection and winning
by Nate: Roger Federer
Roger Federer shared a powerful perspective on perfection during a recent speech. 'Perfection is impossible,' he said. Over his career, he played 1,526 singles matches, winning nearly 80% of them. Yet, when it comes to the actual points played, he won just 54%. 'Even the best tennis players win barely more than half the points they play,' he noted. The full video is available at and the original post can be found at
Transcript (en)
Perfection is impossible. In the 1526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. Now, I have a question for you. What percentage of points do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%. In other words, even top ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think, okay I double faulted, it's only a point. Okay I came to the net then I got passed again, it's only a point. Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN's top 10 playlist, that too is just a point. So here's why I'm telling you this, when you're playing a point it has to be the most important thing in the world and it is. 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 at the next point after that with intensity, clarity and focus.
