A note from the editor: On the ball, effortlessly

He never had to work for anything, said a friend, a Rafael Nadal fan, somewhat dismissively soon after Roger Federer announced—via voice note on social media—that he would be retiring from competitive tennis at the Laver Cup in London, which began yesterday. “I had to go find it and take care of it.” Federer’s game has meant different things to different people—as the stories in this issue tell us. It’s probably what humanised him and made us realise that to watch him is to learn to live with grace—or as he put it in the same interview, “ I’ll try it the nice way, and see where that takes me.” For those at the top of their game, a strong work ethic supersedes inspiration, or, as American artist Chuck Close said, “Inspiration is for amateurs—the rest of us just show up and get to work.” This is the idea that has come to thread together this issue. Actor and businessperson Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who just launched her new haircare line in India—adding to a portfolio that includes restaurants and startup investments—tells Lounge about the pragmatism that underlies her ambition, which forces her to “work on the task at hand versus chasing dreams”.