Living legend Roger Federer made history last month by winning a Grand Slam title for the 20th time. In his 21st year as a professional tennis player, he is perhaps better than ever. To think that a year ago he was sidelined for 6 months due to a knee injury, whereby many had already written him off. But Federer did not give up, picked himself up and came up with the greatest comeback the tennis world has seen so far. What is the key to his success and what can we learn from top athlete Roger Federer?

Constant improvement

Federer's signature has always been his devastating forehand. Not that his backhand is that bad, but his opponents saw this as a 'weakness'. He did not win his matches based on his great backhand returns. Until in 2017 at a tournament, to the surprise of many, he suddenly had a devastating backhand. It was even difficult to determine which was better: his backhand or his forehand? Federer revealed afterwards that he had trained intensively to also use his backhand as a weapon to win matches. What we can learn from this is that it is a power to reveal where your areas for improvement lie. Too often we know what our shortcomings are, but then we don't do anything with them. Especially if manager it is vital to provide room for improvement and encourage this to be made known.

Work-life balance

The bow cannot always be tense, so as a manager you will have to look for the right work-life balance. For top athletes, the pressure is even higher, as you have to constantly fight to gain your place at the top of the rankings. Especially in Roger Federer's tennis world, you don't have the entire year for this, there are only four moments where you have to perform: the Grand Slams. He does not do this alone, because his family is present at every most important match. He has stated several times at the award ceremony that his family is his support and that all this would have been impossible without them. It is therefore not surprising that Federer decided to go out with his family in the nature of Austria and Switzerland during his long-term knee injury. The important lesson we can learn from this is that once the targets have been achieved, there must also be a moment of relaxation. Don't hesitate and just book that city trip or holiday.

Stay hungry

Roger Federer: 20 Grand Slam titles, more than 1000 matches won, Olympian, Davis Cup winner and longest-tenured No. 1 in the men's rankings. A CV that every tennis player dreams of. Now 35 years old, an age at which the average tennis player would already have retired, he still plays tennis at the highest level. Federer remains hungry, a hunger to win. He knows he's not the youngest anymore, but he's ready to take on the fitter, younger tennis players and he's far from ready to be written off. Every manager or leader should have this hunger for results, because he or she is a reflection of the team. A leader or manager can take Federer as a great example, because in this role you must always get the most out of it and results are the only thing that counts.