“He was nervous,” Joe Sabia recalls Roger Federer’s condition while announcing his retirement

Roger Federer was like everyone in his room on his retirement day.

“He was nervous,” Joe Sabia recalls Roger Federer’s condition while announcing his retirement

Joe Sabia and Roger Federer (Image via Imago)

The entire tennis world was glued to their TV screens when ‘Federer: Twelve Final Days’ premiered on Amazon Prime on June 20th. One of the things tennis fans were looking forward to was watching Roger Federer’s emotions while announcing his retirement.

Producer Joe Sabia was at the center of attention throughout the documentary. He also gave an insight into Federer’s room and its atmosphere during the buildup to the Swiss icon’s retirement note.

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He was nervous. He was copy editing, copy editing that right up until the moment of him recording it. Then I think it was really afraid of it leaking and that comes through in the film. He really did not want his fans to hear from someone else. It was interesting to be in the room with him when he read that statement and then interesting to see how his family reacted when we filmed them looking at the footage when we showed it to them.
Joe Sabia recalled to Tennis365

Federer announced his retirement on September 15th, 2022. However, he recorded the retirement message 24 hours prior to announcing it to the world.

In the documentary, the 20-time Grand Slam champion can be seen finding it difficult to read the retirement message in one go. He was hugged by all his family members after he completed the message.

Once he made the announcement, then he was nervous about it being released and it is all part of the experience you feel as you go on these final 12 days with him. Moment by moment, there’s like moments of relief and release leading up to the big one, which is his final match and the celebration on the core of his career.
Joe Sabia added

Roger Federer’s four important lessons shared on Dartmouth College graduation speech

Three weeks ago, tennis great Roger Federer spoke at Dartmouth’s commencement. He said he graduated from tennis, not retired. The Swiss Maestro shared lessons from his career. He emphasized that “effortless” is a myth and that he worked hard to make his play look easy.

Roger Federer at Dartmouth College
Roger Federer at Dartmouth College (via X)

Federer stressed that talent is important but broad. It’s not just about natural gifts. Grit, discipline, patience, and self-trust are talents too. Everyone has to work on these skills.

Talent is not gift, but grit. It has a broad definition. Trusting yourself is talent. Patience is talent. Discipline is talent. The process is talent. Managing yourself is talent. In the investing world, too, all these are talents, more than picking funds and stocks.
Roger Federer said

Lastly, Federer spoke about life beyond tennis. He always knew tennis wasn’t his whole world. He valued travel, culture, friendships, and family. He stressed the importance of having a rewarding life outside of sports.

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