Roger Federer: 'Dartmouth is the Wimbledon of [beer] pong'

In March, Dartmouth College revealed that its commencement speech would be delivered by none other than Roger Federer.

Federer delivered.

With rain falling on the Hanover, N.H. campus, the 42-year-old admitted to a poncho-clad crowd that he'd only once before stepped foot on a college campus—which might explain this early quip.

"This is not my usual scene, and these are not my usual clothes," said Federer, clad in a robe as an honorary doctorate. "Do you dress every day like this at Dartmouth?

"The robe is hard to move in—keep in mind that I've worn shorts almost every day for the last 35 years."

But the Swiss superstar who's always been in the spotlight seemed pretty comfortable on the dais. And he loosened things up further by talking about another college pastime he has—apparently?—taken part in.

"There's another reason I'm here, and I can sum it up in two words: Beer. Pong."

Dartmouth students are credited with inventing the party game, which involves hand-eye coordination, red solo cups and, of course, alcohol.

"Is pong a sport, or is it a way of life?" philosopher Federer asked, unable to hold back a huge smile. "Either way, Dartmouth is the Wimbledon of pong—it's even raining, like at Wimbledon.

"I'm glad to work on my shots with some of you these past few days. I'm actually thinking about turning pro."

The 20-time Grand Slam champion spoke for nearly 25 minutes, with Isabella Godsick—daughter of Federer's longtime agent, Tony (class of '93)—in the crowd. Federer left school as a 16-year-old to pursue his dream of a professional tennis career, which ended in 2022.

But don't tell Federer, who remains active in all sorts of business and tennis endeavors, that he has retired from anything.

"You wouldn't say you retired from college, right?" Federer said. "Like you, I finished one big thing, and I'm moving on to the next."