The incredible stat about Roger Federer’s career you’d never guess

Roger Federer will go down in history as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, with Rafael Nadal and then Novak Djokovic only recently overtaking the Swiss’ number of Grand Slam victories.

Between July 2004 and August 2008, Federer won 13 of 22 major tennis tournaments and finished his career with 20, a record which stood until Nadal won the Australian Open in 2022.

But despite his lengthy career at the very top of the sport, the 42-year-old himself highlighted an astonishing statistic in a commencement speech at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire which appears to illustrate the fine line between success and failure in tennis.

What percentage of matches did Federer win? What percentage of all points?

“Perfection is impossible. In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches.

“But what percentage of points did I win? 54%. In other words, even top ranked tennis players win barely more than half the points they play.”

Statistics published by Ultimate Tennis Statistics back the Swiss up, revealing Nadal as the player who has claimed the highest percentage of points played in history (54.49%), closely followed by Djokovic (54.48%). Federer is the only other player to have won more than 54% of points (54.1%).

Although the trio are streets ahead of anyone else when it comes to Grand Slam titles, the fact their points won percentages are only around 1% higher than Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick shows the significance of fine margins, and perhaps even how the sport has evolved.

Federer: “It’s only a point”

For Federer, though, it also helps to highlight how important it is to move on quickly from disappointment, his main message for those listening.

“When you 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 and 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.

“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 crucial – because it frees you to fully commit to the next point with intensity, clarity, and focus.”

An important life lesson from one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. You can’t always get it right; even the great Roger Federer got it wrong almost half the time. Just make sure you don’t let it affect you next time.