Rafa's Teachings

Rafa climbed to Mount 21 first, before Djokovic or Federer. For one who always rooted for the other across Rafa’s net, it’s incredible that I write this piece. He’s been an outstanding teacher over the years, especially in my years as a start-up professional at OfBusiness. Here are his top 4 teachings.

Play to your strengths – Rafa’s excellence at clay (13 wins in 17 French appearances) is unmatched, will likely never be matched, and he’s not finished yet. He wasn’t a great all-rounder (he was scrappy on grass and average on hard courts), but what he was good at, he excelled like nobody else. Much like all of us, if we excel at what we do, we reap rewards, not by covering our weaknesses.

You are never “done” – Rafa had atleast 3 career threatening injuries (his knee, foot, back and wrists) right from the start of his career. And each one took a heavy toll with his stress compounding playing style. But each time he came back: stronger, bolder. There have been 2 instances when he missed 2 slams in a row due to injury and each time, he won the very next one. He missed the US-Aus in 2012-13 due to his knee but won the French in ’13. He missed 2 straight slams again in Wimbledon-US ’21 and came back to win the very next: Aus ’22. Some come back!

Fighter always wins – Not the most elegant guy in town, a baseline hogger, time waster and just a top spinner to his detractors. But he never gave up, with Rafa you haven’t won till you have won. Not just in a match, but in each point, he keeps coming back. His win against Medvedev at his age and after a prolonged absence on Mount 21 was his quintessential self!

Detractors come around, finally – You keep going, you keep winning, you keep delivering, then your worst critiques come around. I have hated him each time for beating my idol Federer 6 times in slam finals and my 2^nd best Djokovic 5 times. But my secret admiration for him has just grown with time. And I know not one person who did not applaud his feat.

Numbers speak, after all.

These 4 learnings from Rafa are not just for sports but for any human pursuit of excellence. Particularly in the fast-paced world of start-ups like OfBusiness.