Trevor Noah Trained with Pro Tennis Coaches to Play Against Roger Federer

Hi Trevor. Hello Elena. Hello everyone. Thank you for having me back. You are a funny man. You are a funny man. And I saw you at the Grammys. We were both nominated for... We were both nominated for a Grammy. We were both nominated for a Grammy for comedy album. And then the Grammy losers, yeah. I don't like to think that we are losers. I think they were all nominated. And then one person will win the prize. And that person was Dave Chappelle. I mean, you know, Dave Chappelle winning comedy, that doesn't offend me. No, me neither.

But he wasn't there to receive the award. I think we were both in our seats. We were. And I saw him backstage. He showed up after the... Yes. He was late. And I said, you don't deserve it. Yes I agree. Because he was at the bar. Yes. And then he missed the award. And I thought, that should be a rule. Whoever reaches the prize first should receive it. Yes. And then it would have been you and me. Yes, we both would have won. Yeah, anyway, congratulations on your nomination. Thank you so much. Congratulations on yours. You are a funny man.

I learned this today and I need to talk to you about this. First of all, do you

play

tennis

? Now yes. Okay, this is the craziest thing. You have

play

ed with Rafael Nadal. Yes, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Bill Gates, in the largest

tennis

match I have ever attended, the largest tennis match of all time, 52,000 people. Where was this? In Cape Town, South Africa. OK. How was this possible... just because you're a big celebrity there? How did you get into that? This was really strange. So I don't know how this happened. But I think I've become friends with Bill Gates.

And I say... I've seen it many times. And we have conversations. And then one day he called. And he said to me: Hey, do you want to play tennis with me? And I said, yes. And he was like in Cape Town. I thought, well, there's a long way to go to play tennis, but yeah. And then he said, with Roger Federer. And I was like this, it's a very strange request. And it turns out that Roger Federer has this foundation that raises money to improve education in and around Africa and around the world, really. And they wanted me to play tennis with them.

And I was like, I'm in, I'm in. Although I didn't know how to play tennis. But I didn't want to tell them this. Because when cool people invite you to things, you're like, yeah, yeah, I'm in. And then I said, I'm in. And then they said to me, do you know how to play tennis? I was like, yeah. You do, you know, the thing. Oh. Oh. And then, two months before the event, Roger's people called. And they say, hey, can we watch a video of you playing tennis? And then I called my friend. And I said, hey, let's play tennis.

And we will record this on video and send it to you. And then we get there. And I couldn't... people think tennis is easy. I couldn't hit the ball as far as I was trying to hit it. I could hit the ball, but not in the direction I was trying to make it go. And then I panicked. And then I thought, "I'm screwed." And then I got a coach. And then I told him that my phone is not working, it can't send videos right now. So I got a tennis coach. And then, within two months, I had to learn tennis from scratch, one of the craziest things I've ever done in my life.

So you played every day, did you learn? Every day, two and a half to three hours, every day, just learning how to play tennis. You see me back, it's two months of learning, here, panicking right now. I just think... I'm the person who's panicking. There, that's me. Oh, look at that! You have it! Yes that's me. You did it! Panic. Panic. And it was crazy... this was crazy. Then I look for the tennis coach. But now there is confusion. Because Roger Federer's people called the tennis coach. And they say, hey, this guy needs a coach. And the tennis training place asks: why do you need a coach?

They say, oh, he's playing tennis against Roger Federer. So they think I'm a professional. Then they say, "We have the right person." This guy trains professionals. I need to be taught like a child. I don't know how to play the game. Then I get there. And he's like...he's from Eastern Europe. So he's very... he's like, OK, are you ready to play tennis? And I say, yeah, let's do it. He said, OK, how much have you played before? I was like, nothing. He's like, hehe, a funny guy. OK. He says, let's hit the ball. And then he hits me.

And then I do my thing. And then the ball drops. He says, oh, you haven't played in a long time? I thought, if "a while" is life, then yes, a while. Then he tells me, he's fine, hit again, hit again. And after five or six, he looks at me. He asked me: how much do you play tennis? I've never played. He says, but you will play against Roger Federer in two months. So I say, yes. He says, oh, this... this is a big problem for you. So now he doesn't really know how to train me. And then what he does is... this is the most surprising thing.

He throws me the ball. And he doesn't know how to teach me because I'm just useless. And then he goes on...and he says, Trevor, he says, he's fine, just brush the ball. The ball arrives. Then I hit, it does nothing. He says, no, brush the ball. So I'm trying. He says, no, brush the ball. But he doesn't change his instructions. He just keeps saying it. He's like, brush. Good, now brush it! Brush it! No, brush it. No, brush it. No, brush. He brushes the ball. No, you didn't brush it! You have to brush it! What did I say?

I'm like, brush it. He says: brush it! When he arrives, don't hit. He tries to brush, he tries to brush the ball. I'm testing my butt. I'm trying to brush this ball. It's not going anywhere. Brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, like a week and a half of brushing. The ball does not go to the other side of the net. I'm panicking. I think: I'm going to look like an idiot in front of 52,000 people and streaming all over the world. Then I move to another place where I have to get another coach. Because I train in every city, where I do comedy, where I'm on tour.

And then I get another coach. And his name is Nedda. And she is also from Eastern Europe. And this is hilarious. Then she says: I meet you on the first day. She says, "Your people tell me you need a trainer." I say yes. She asked me: do you play tennis? I'm like, uh, a little bit. She says, "Hit the ball for me." Hit. She says, "You don't play tennis." Let's start again. And then we would like to practice for about an hour. And finally, she says, we're getting there, we're getting there, we're getting there. And then she comes to me.

And she says, you're not bad, you know what your problem is? I'm like, what? She says, "you brush the ball too much." You need to hit the ball. Hit the ball. So that was my journey. I can play now. I can play. We'll be right back.