Federico Staksrud has put in countless hours of work to reach the top of the sport. But fans only get a glimpse of the grind that goes into making him one of the game’s best.

Fellow pro and friend Roscoe Bellamy considers Staksrud one of the players on tour who takes both himself and the sport seriously. Having seen the work firsthand, Bellamy knows the dedication it takes behind the scenes — from health and fitness to physiotherapy and countless hours on court — to build the powerhouse athlete Staksrud is today.

“When I’m stepping on the court, I’m always thinking, ‘This is why you work hard. It’s for this moment.’ So why would you be nervous? Or why would you not enjoy this? Because you are out there hitting a thousand third-shot drops. Now is the moment to show yourself off and enjoy it,” said Staksrud. “It doesn’t matter because on Monday, you’re back to hitting drops again and again and again. That’s how I think about it now. If you don’t enjoy the process, you’re always going to lose.”

“So what does enjoying the process really mean?” asked Bellamy. “Is it making sure that you’re having fun?”

“I like it. I like to be on the treadmill running, I like to be dinking cross-court. I actually enjoy it,” replied Staksrud. “Some days, I’m a little mentally tired and I would like to do something else. But genuinely, I like the process.”

Staksrud is just as passionate about the process as he is about the game itself, and that dedication is a big part of what drives his success. Of course, he loves winning, too.

“When I win, I love it. It’s insane. When I win a tournament, I’m super happy. I go to sleep that night and I’m like, ‘That was awesome. Let’s try to do it again.’ So then my brain remembers that and says ‘Hey, remember what you did when you won? Let’s do it again,’” he said. “And when I lose, I think about what I did wrong and try to go back and find a different way. That’s why I started to control my weight a little bit more. I started working on the mental part of the game. All day, I’m trying to figure out that kind of stuff. I watch more videos, and that’s what I enjoy. I enjoy actually looking for stuff where I can get better and improve.”

Staksrud admits it can be easy to get caught up in the pursuit of improvement, but he’d rather put in too much work than not enough.

“You can always overdo it, but in my mind, I’d rather do more work. I saw a quote that said: ‘Losers do a little work and expect to win, but winners do a lot of work and think they haven’t done enough’,” noted Staksrud. “That’s how I always feel. I always feel like I have to do more. I like that mentality more. I sprint without expecting there’s a finish line. I just go and see what happens.”

With Staksrud continuing to perform at the highest level and build his legacy, it’s clear that all the hard work is paying off.

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