With a few promotional appearances at the Laver Cup, Roger Federer has returned to the limelight in tennis. He also took some time out of his media duties to counsel the next generation of tennis talent.
Federer is in Berlin to take centre stage in a Laver Cup competition that he helped design before deciding to end his tennis career in 2022 at the London edition of the contest.
In addition to introducing a new Wilson racket and competing on the Laver Cup court with the black frame, he also gave a media interview discussing his experiences rising through the tennis ranks and advocating for young players to take charge of their own careers rather than listening to too many outsiders.
He talked about it and said: “If I had to give any advice to juniors, it would be that you are 50% that coach as well. Yes, you are going to have your people, your parents and your coach. They are all going to tell you what to do. But at some point, you are going to be alone on court and you have to remember what you think is right because only you know that maybe your knee is hurting or that your mind to travelling or your forehand isn’t working.”
He added: “So you have to be able to figure it out yourself. No one else can fix it for you at that moment. I did that well when I was growing up. I knew I had to take responsibility. It’s your fault if you win and your fault if you lose. Juniors often like to blame someone or something, but no, it’s down to you. Don’t blame anything.”