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The Cruelest Game: Chasing Greatness in Professional Tennis
A revelatory exposé of modern tennis—the world's most competitive, physically and mentally grueling sport—The Cruelest Game reveals the inside stories of the current legends and tomorrow's young stars, with never-before-reported stories of their struggles and accomplishments on and off the court, by revered New York Times and The Athletic tennis writer Matthew Futterman.
Nadal and Djokovic . . . Serena and Sabalenka . . . Sinner and Alcaraz . . . The inside story of modern tennis burns bright with fame, fortune, and glamour—and high stakes the likes of which the game has never seen before. Players must excel beyond the court under excruciating pressure, with the public spotlight blazing on those who win, and shunning those who lose. But what toll does it take? And what does it take to win year-in, year-out? If you're outside the top 40, you’re much closer to 80 than to number 1. The Cruelest Game offers an intimate insider account of the costs of getting to the top, and the price of the fame and glory that comes with it. Futterman delves into the lives and struggles of modern tennis's most critical players at a critical time for the sport, when fans are searching for a new set of heroes to take over for the legends whose careers are fading to black.
With the likes of Rafa, Roger, Novak, and Serena walking off the court and into retirement, a new crop of aspiring tennis hopefuls faces a shifting landscape. This book builds on award-winning journalist Matthew Futterman's unique access to the very top echelons of professional tennis (he has worked as the top New York Times and The Athletic tennis writer for years), and takes readers inside established and new players' quest for the secret codes that allow them to survive and thrive at the top of a brutal game.
Nadal and Djokovic . . . Serena and Sabalenka . . . Sinner and Alcaraz . . . The inside story of modern tennis burns bright with fame, fortune, and glamour—and high stakes the likes of which the game has never seen before. Players must excel beyond the court under excruciating pressure, with the public spotlight blazing on those who win, and shunning those who lose. But what toll does it take? And what does it take to win year-in, year-out? If you're outside the top 40, you’re much closer to 80 than to number 1. The Cruelest Game offers an intimate insider account of the costs of getting to the top, and the price of the fame and glory that comes with it. Futterman delves into the lives and struggles of modern tennis's most critical players at a critical time for the sport, when fans are searching for a new set of heroes to take over for the legends whose careers are fading to black.
With the likes of Rafa, Roger, Novak, and Serena walking off the court and into retirement, a new crop of aspiring tennis hopefuls faces a shifting landscape. This book builds on award-winning journalist Matthew Futterman's unique access to the very top echelons of professional tennis (he has worked as the top New York Times and The Athletic tennis writer for years), and takes readers inside established and new players' quest for the secret codes that allow them to survive and thrive at the top of a brutal game.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 4, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
August 6, 2026
my tennis career apparantly means nothing to him
August 19, 2026
I love watching tennis and I am thrilled that this book came out before my favorite time of year—the US Open.
I was familiar with Futterman’s work through The Athletic, but I had not read anything long-form from him before. Style-wise, Futterman is extremely fond of rhetorical questions and short sentences, which are prose patterns that are readable in short bursts but tiring in an extended binge (the latter is how I read it). The chapters are also a bit uneven, but "Chasing the Unicorn" is a clear standout. However, please read Giri Nathan's Changeover: A Young Rivalry and a New Era of Men's Tennis if you're looking for more sophisticated prose.
For a book titled The Cruelest Game, I wish it included a bit more about the ATP and WTA as organizations upholding the system that makes tennis so difficult, but I also understand why Futterman chose to focus on player narratives as much as possible.
Present day sports nonfiction is tricky because those narratives can turn so quickly. I’d imagine that Futterman could have added a whole new chapter about resilience and injury if he got to publish what happened in mid-2026 with Sinner’s insane Masters 1000 win streak and subsequent Grand Slam burnout or Alcaraz’s wrist injury. Nevertheless, although the book is limited by its publishing timeline, I enjoyed getting a different perspective on players that I had not read elsewhere—especially insight into their coaching and fitness entourages like with Swiatek and her sports psychologist.
I was familiar with Futterman’s work through The Athletic, but I had not read anything long-form from him before. Style-wise, Futterman is extremely fond of rhetorical questions and short sentences, which are prose patterns that are readable in short bursts but tiring in an extended binge (the latter is how I read it). The chapters are also a bit uneven, but "Chasing the Unicorn" is a clear standout. However, please read Giri Nathan's Changeover: A Young Rivalry and a New Era of Men's Tennis if you're looking for more sophisticated prose.
For a book titled The Cruelest Game, I wish it included a bit more about the ATP and WTA as organizations upholding the system that makes tennis so difficult, but I also understand why Futterman chose to focus on player narratives as much as possible.
Present day sports nonfiction is tricky because those narratives can turn so quickly. I’d imagine that Futterman could have added a whole new chapter about resilience and injury if he got to publish what happened in mid-2026 with Sinner’s insane Masters 1000 win streak and subsequent Grand Slam burnout or Alcaraz’s wrist injury. Nevertheless, although the book is limited by its publishing timeline, I enjoyed getting a different perspective on players that I had not read elsewhere—especially insight into their coaching and fitness entourages like with Swiatek and her sports psychologist.
August 18, 2026
I love tennis. I've been a huge tennis fan for over 45 years. However, Futterman writes poorly. Run on sentences, bad grammar, incoherence. He writes like an 8th grade newspaper editor.He just didn't really mention anything new. We tennis fans already know most of these stories. These narratives are not illuminating. Also, he is trying to cloak the narrative around a theme. The theme is how this new generation of tennis players will discover the special codes for success. These codes have already been discovered by the big 3, Serena Williams etc. However , Futterman doesn't fool me. He is essentially attempting to write a gossipy tell-all on the players' lives. If I were a player on the tour, I would never speak to him again. Also, he has this annoying habit of insulting players' looks. He's a little insufferable tbh.
No new stories, bitchy narratives and puerile commentary.
No new stories, bitchy narratives and puerile commentary.
September 5, 2026
The book is less a conventional history of tennis than an investigation into what professional tennis does to people who try to become great. The book draws on Futterman’s reporting for The New York Times and The Athletic and follows players including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Ben Shelton, Madison Keys and others.
Futterman is good at showing why a player suffers. He is less interested in asking whether the structure of professional tennis itself is responsible. That's an important limitation. If the title is The Cruelest Game, one naturally wants to know not only why players hurt, but who benefits from the system that makes them hurt. Futterman's focus is primarily psychological rather than political or economic.
His idea of hidden codes is an effective organizing device, but it risks making greatness seem more decipherable than it really is. Elite sport contains enormous amounts of randomness: injury, genetics, timing, coaching, family circumstances, financial resources, opportunity and plain luck. A framework based on "codes" can sometimes imply that if a player simply learns the right psychological lesson, success follows.
Futterman's reporting is the book's great asset. But when he moves from those individual stories toward broader conclusions about why athletes behave as they do, the analysis can occasionally feel more confident than the evidence warrants. This is partly why the book works best as narrative journalism, but the author lacks at drawing the right conclusions.
Futterman is good at showing why a player suffers. He is less interested in asking whether the structure of professional tennis itself is responsible. That's an important limitation. If the title is The Cruelest Game, one naturally wants to know not only why players hurt, but who benefits from the system that makes them hurt. Futterman's focus is primarily psychological rather than political or economic.
His idea of hidden codes is an effective organizing device, but it risks making greatness seem more decipherable than it really is. Elite sport contains enormous amounts of randomness: injury, genetics, timing, coaching, family circumstances, financial resources, opportunity and plain luck. A framework based on "codes" can sometimes imply that if a player simply learns the right psychological lesson, success follows.
Futterman's reporting is the book's great asset. But when he moves from those individual stories toward broader conclusions about why athletes behave as they do, the analysis can occasionally feel more confident than the evidence warrants. This is partly why the book works best as narrative journalism, but the author lacks at drawing the right conclusions.
September 6, 2026
I really got tired of reading Carlitos every times Carlos Alcarez is mentioned, and he's mentioned a lot. I get that his grandfather and father are also named Carlos, but a simple last name would have sufficed rather than the cloying Carlitos. Ugh. I've written it twice more. This madness must stop.
That poor stylistic choice aside, this book is a good inside glimpse into the modern tennis life. All of the major players and a few up and coming IMG babies are featured. As the title implies, this book explores the grind of the tour and the unnatural life a tennis star has to lead from an early age. Futterman shows that it takes a whole cast of characters, coaching gurus and physiologists and style consultants, all intermeshed with family members as employees, to manage a modern player's life. The player is a brand, every gesture on and off the court scrutinized. Futterman often refers to "the code," all of the written and unwritten rules of the sport that lends to its elitist reputation.
It was neat to learn more about how Djokovic uses sensory connection to his breath and feeling the towel on his face on changeovers to keep him centered, and how he avoids city life during tournaments, at heart a country loving mountain man. Sinner similarly avoids press junkets in between tournaments, opting to be with his family in the Italian Alps. You get to see the family dynamics of the Ruuds and Tsitsipas's, and how an entire family usually buys into the success of a single player.
As Futterman explores the ups and downs of Iga Swiatek's career, we learn that striving for perfection can make one mentally fragile. And how Djokovic and Swiatek carry the added freight of representing their countries on the world stage. Futterman takes us on an SUV ride with Andre Agassi in a chapter examining the leading American men, wondering who will be the unicorn, the next Agassi, the next American majors champ.
The overarcing theme of this book is that success in tennis and life is living in the moment, learning from but not dwelling on failure, and striving to be true and honest to what's best in yourself. This is a great message and gets to the heart of why tennis is such a great, soul-revealing (and inspiring) game. It would be a four star book if only their wasn't a streak of meanness and pettiness to Futterman's prose. I wonder if this book will limit his access going forward.
That poor stylistic choice aside, this book is a good inside glimpse into the modern tennis life. All of the major players and a few up and coming IMG babies are featured. As the title implies, this book explores the grind of the tour and the unnatural life a tennis star has to lead from an early age. Futterman shows that it takes a whole cast of characters, coaching gurus and physiologists and style consultants, all intermeshed with family members as employees, to manage a modern player's life. The player is a brand, every gesture on and off the court scrutinized. Futterman often refers to "the code," all of the written and unwritten rules of the sport that lends to its elitist reputation.
It was neat to learn more about how Djokovic uses sensory connection to his breath and feeling the towel on his face on changeovers to keep him centered, and how he avoids city life during tournaments, at heart a country loving mountain man. Sinner similarly avoids press junkets in between tournaments, opting to be with his family in the Italian Alps. You get to see the family dynamics of the Ruuds and Tsitsipas's, and how an entire family usually buys into the success of a single player.
As Futterman explores the ups and downs of Iga Swiatek's career, we learn that striving for perfection can make one mentally fragile. And how Djokovic and Swiatek carry the added freight of representing their countries on the world stage. Futterman takes us on an SUV ride with Andre Agassi in a chapter examining the leading American men, wondering who will be the unicorn, the next Agassi, the next American majors champ.
The overarcing theme of this book is that success in tennis and life is living in the moment, learning from but not dwelling on failure, and striving to be true and honest to what's best in yourself. This is a great message and gets to the heart of why tennis is such a great, soul-revealing (and inspiring) game. It would be a four star book if only their wasn't a streak of meanness and pettiness to Futterman's prose. I wonder if this book will limit his access going forward.
August 6, 2026
This was weird. I'm not sure what I expected but it was definitely not this, something so... so... fictional feeling? And heavily editorialized? It was a bizarre reading experience that left me saying "what the hell" out loud multiple times.
There ARE some interesting anecdotes and Futterman obviously loves tennis and cares deeply for many (not all) of the subjects here. But the central conceit of "the code" doesn't make much sense and certainly isn't supported by the rest of the book, and each time it pops up it gets more and more annoying. He does a lot of "mind reading" (for example, he makes a number of statements about what Carlos Alcaraz must've been thinking about various scenarios, for example, saying he must've envied Jannik Sinner for having an easy time of it through the clostebol ordeal... sir, WHAT??? or what Naomi Osaka must have felt like when her body changed during pregnancy... sir, WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT??????? certainly NOT the only place his bizarre attitudes towards women pop up.) As alluded to, the degree to which he likes certain players compared to others is very, very obvious to the point of awkwardness. One of the most egregious examples is the Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek chapter; Sabalenka is clearly his favorite, and Swiatek he criticizes for "head girl" whatever that even means (he's American, I don't think *he* knows what it means) and then handles her doping case in an absolutely appalling manner. Suggesting that her handling of about the most out-of-her-control case of contamination I could imagine was somehow underhanded or sinister, tantamount to cheating? Mr. Futterman, what is WRONG with you. He does not attempt to hide that he vastly prefers Alcaraz over Sinner which is also awkward when their relationship and rivalry pops up so many times and is handled so unevenly and with such differing degrees of intimacy (though he covers Sinner's doping/contamination case very thoroughly, fairly, and well, which is great for Sinner but makes the treatment of Swiatek's case extra appalling.) Coco is another favorite. So is Ben Shelton. Casper Ruud and his path were SO interesting given how unusual it is to see such a healthy-seeming balance between parent-athlete-coach, but Futterman doesn't seem to know what to make of it. There are some glaring biographical omissions for several players that I, a pretty casual fan, was confused by. Did nobody else familiar with these people read this before it went to print?
The first name vs last naming of the players. Also strange.
From a structural point of view, the book also is a bit too focused on the paths each individual player took (the American exceptionalism/individualism thing again) and even though tennis is obviously a very individual sport, this really fails to account for the systemic structures that are present in many countries that yield so many excellent tennis players. For instance, as of 8/16/26, Italy, Spain, and Czechia amongst others produce a large number of successful tennis players, disproportionate to their population; compared to the US (which is Futterman's default) in the WTA top 100, Czechia has 10 players in the WTA top 100 (vs US 15), Ukraine has 6, and Russia has 7, though when one adds the Russian players who are now representing different countries, it's 15; and in the ATP, compared to 13 American players in the top 100, France has 12, Argentina has 10, Italy has 8, Spain has 7. A nation of almost 350 million vs Russia 146 million, France 69 million, Italy 59 million, Spain 50 million, Argentina 45 million, Ukraine 29 million, Czechia a paltry 11 million. Those are some pretty staggering numbers. When one compares incomes of families with those players from the US vs some of the other countries in question, I suspect there is also a significant difference. What's behind that, what makes their systems work? That's very clearly a big part of how professional tennis players come to be, which is ostensibly the point of the book. It's very obvious these athletes' paths to excellence in the sport differ quite significantly and while I get wanting to form a coherent central thesis for what makes a professional tennis player successful, "the code" is not it and trying to wedge these stories into that box ignores some pretty important context.
There's no such thing as unbiased reporting, but the degree of Futterman's biases (which he occasionally alludes to but breezes right past) is egregious. I'm disappointed, there was a lot of potential in this book but in the end it did not come close to living up to its promise.
There ARE some interesting anecdotes and Futterman obviously loves tennis and cares deeply for many (not all) of the subjects here. But the central conceit of "the code" doesn't make much sense and certainly isn't supported by the rest of the book, and each time it pops up it gets more and more annoying. He does a lot of "mind reading" (for example, he makes a number of statements about what Carlos Alcaraz must've been thinking about various scenarios, for example, saying he must've envied Jannik Sinner for having an easy time of it through the clostebol ordeal... sir, WHAT??? or what Naomi Osaka must have felt like when her body changed during pregnancy... sir, WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT??????? certainly NOT the only place his bizarre attitudes towards women pop up.) As alluded to, the degree to which he likes certain players compared to others is very, very obvious to the point of awkwardness. One of the most egregious examples is the Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek chapter; Sabalenka is clearly his favorite, and Swiatek he criticizes for "head girl" whatever that even means (he's American, I don't think *he* knows what it means) and then handles her doping case in an absolutely appalling manner. Suggesting that her handling of about the most out-of-her-control case of contamination I could imagine was somehow underhanded or sinister, tantamount to cheating? Mr. Futterman, what is WRONG with you. He does not attempt to hide that he vastly prefers Alcaraz over Sinner which is also awkward when their relationship and rivalry pops up so many times and is handled so unevenly and with such differing degrees of intimacy (though he covers Sinner's doping/contamination case very thoroughly, fairly, and well, which is great for Sinner but makes the treatment of Swiatek's case extra appalling.) Coco is another favorite. So is Ben Shelton. Casper Ruud and his path were SO interesting given how unusual it is to see such a healthy-seeming balance between parent-athlete-coach, but Futterman doesn't seem to know what to make of it. There are some glaring biographical omissions for several players that I, a pretty casual fan, was confused by. Did nobody else familiar with these people read this before it went to print?
The first name vs last naming of the players. Also strange.
From a structural point of view, the book also is a bit too focused on the paths each individual player took (the American exceptionalism/individualism thing again) and even though tennis is obviously a very individual sport, this really fails to account for the systemic structures that are present in many countries that yield so many excellent tennis players. For instance, as of 8/16/26, Italy, Spain, and Czechia amongst others produce a large number of successful tennis players, disproportionate to their population; compared to the US (which is Futterman's default) in the WTA top 100, Czechia has 10 players in the WTA top 100 (vs US 15), Ukraine has 6, and Russia has 7, though when one adds the Russian players who are now representing different countries, it's 15; and in the ATP, compared to 13 American players in the top 100, France has 12, Argentina has 10, Italy has 8, Spain has 7. A nation of almost 350 million vs Russia 146 million, France 69 million, Italy 59 million, Spain 50 million, Argentina 45 million, Ukraine 29 million, Czechia a paltry 11 million. Those are some pretty staggering numbers. When one compares incomes of families with those players from the US vs some of the other countries in question, I suspect there is also a significant difference. What's behind that, what makes their systems work? That's very clearly a big part of how professional tennis players come to be, which is ostensibly the point of the book. It's very obvious these athletes' paths to excellence in the sport differ quite significantly and while I get wanting to form a coherent central thesis for what makes a professional tennis player successful, "the code" is not it and trying to wedge these stories into that box ignores some pretty important context.
There's no such thing as unbiased reporting, but the degree of Futterman's biases (which he occasionally alludes to but breezes right past) is egregious. I'm disappointed, there was a lot of potential in this book but in the end it did not come close to living up to its promise.
September 21, 2026
Loved, but there was an overdone trend of ending paragraphs with spicy questions (isn’t it? Can’t she? Or will it?) I know why Futterman did this thematically, but…must we?
July 20, 2026
Thank you to #Doubleday and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #TheCruelestGame. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
As a long-time tennis fan, I've enjoyed reading about the tennis greats I watched growing up. This book is about the current and coming-up generation of players with a focus on "what it takes" to be a professional tennis player today. Futterman is a veteran journalist who clearly loves the sport and the athletes. But that doesn't prevent him from asking the tough questions or being brutally honest about the players and coaches.
If you enjoy the sport even a little, this is a great "behind the scenes" sports book.
As a long-time tennis fan, I've enjoyed reading about the tennis greats I watched growing up. This book is about the current and coming-up generation of players with a focus on "what it takes" to be a professional tennis player today. Futterman is a veteran journalist who clearly loves the sport and the athletes. But that doesn't prevent him from asking the tough questions or being brutally honest about the players and coaches.
If you enjoy the sport even a little, this is a great "behind the scenes" sports book.
September 28, 2026
The Cruelest Game—But Is It Worth It? 🎾 🤔
My sister watches the Tennis Channel every day. I would have to make an effort just to find it on my television. That probably tells you where I started with The Cruelest Game by Matthew Futterman.
I usually watch some of the U.S. Open, but I don’t follow tennis closely. My sister’s enthusiasm made me curious, and when I learned that Futterman would be appearing at a nearby book festival, I decided to read his book before hearing him speak. I’m glad I did, although it left me with a more complicated response to the sport than I expected.
Drawing on interviews and observations of players on and off the court, Futterman explores the lives of tennis greats and the players chasing them. There are familiar names—Agassi, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and the Williams sisters—alongside the newer generation. But what interested me most was everything behind the matches: the sacrifices, the pressure, and the way becoming a champion can become an entire family’s undertaking.
I learned a lot, from the meaning of “bagels” and “breadsticks” to how completely tennis can consume a life. As a casual spectator, I see the match, the trophy, the celebration. This book made me think about all the years surrounding those moments—and what it takes to keep pursuing them.
The book did feel long at times. I enjoyed learning how the players’ backgrounds and circumstances shaped them, but as their stories unfolded, a familiar pattern emerged: the tireless pursuit, the sacrifices, and the pressure to do it all again. That repetition reinforced the book’s message, but it also made parts of it drag for me.
The Cruelest Game feels like an appropriate title. Greatness is difficult to achieve and impossible to hold on to forever. A victory offers no permanent reassurance; there is always another tournament, another challenger, another ranking to defend. Even being second in the world can somehow seem like falling short. I kept wondering: when does extraordinary achievement get to feel like enough?
The loneliness struck me, too. Players may have coaches, families, and support teams, but in singles, they face the decisive moments alone. I found myself thinking about the shared responsibility and camaraderie of team sports. There is something especially punishing about watching one person carry every mistake.
At times, the pursuit reminded me of a hamster wheel: relentless effort, brief rewards, and then another turn. I can understand how a sport that has shaped someone’s whole identity might be difficult to leave. Still, I wondered how much freedom remains when life revolves around proving yourself again and again.
My sister finds real joy in tennis, both watching and playing, and I wouldn’t dismiss that. But a book I considered giving her because she loves the sport left me unexpectedly grateful for my own distance from it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It taught me things I didn’t know and gave me plenty to think about. It also left me questioning our tendency to idolize athletes without looking closely at what their achievements cost them. I came away with more sympathy for the players and less certainty that the greatness we celebrate is something I would wish for.
My sister watches the Tennis Channel every day. I would have to make an effort just to find it on my television. That probably tells you where I started with The Cruelest Game by Matthew Futterman.
I usually watch some of the U.S. Open, but I don’t follow tennis closely. My sister’s enthusiasm made me curious, and when I learned that Futterman would be appearing at a nearby book festival, I decided to read his book before hearing him speak. I’m glad I did, although it left me with a more complicated response to the sport than I expected.
Drawing on interviews and observations of players on and off the court, Futterman explores the lives of tennis greats and the players chasing them. There are familiar names—Agassi, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and the Williams sisters—alongside the newer generation. But what interested me most was everything behind the matches: the sacrifices, the pressure, and the way becoming a champion can become an entire family’s undertaking.
I learned a lot, from the meaning of “bagels” and “breadsticks” to how completely tennis can consume a life. As a casual spectator, I see the match, the trophy, the celebration. This book made me think about all the years surrounding those moments—and what it takes to keep pursuing them.
The book did feel long at times. I enjoyed learning how the players’ backgrounds and circumstances shaped them, but as their stories unfolded, a familiar pattern emerged: the tireless pursuit, the sacrifices, and the pressure to do it all again. That repetition reinforced the book’s message, but it also made parts of it drag for me.
The Cruelest Game feels like an appropriate title. Greatness is difficult to achieve and impossible to hold on to forever. A victory offers no permanent reassurance; there is always another tournament, another challenger, another ranking to defend. Even being second in the world can somehow seem like falling short. I kept wondering: when does extraordinary achievement get to feel like enough?
The loneliness struck me, too. Players may have coaches, families, and support teams, but in singles, they face the decisive moments alone. I found myself thinking about the shared responsibility and camaraderie of team sports. There is something especially punishing about watching one person carry every mistake.
At times, the pursuit reminded me of a hamster wheel: relentless effort, brief rewards, and then another turn. I can understand how a sport that has shaped someone’s whole identity might be difficult to leave. Still, I wondered how much freedom remains when life revolves around proving yourself again and again.
My sister finds real joy in tennis, both watching and playing, and I wouldn’t dismiss that. But a book I considered giving her because she loves the sport left me unexpectedly grateful for my own distance from it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It taught me things I didn’t know and gave me plenty to think about. It also left me questioning our tendency to idolize athletes without looking closely at what their achievements cost them. I came away with more sympathy for the players and less certainty that the greatness we celebrate is something I would wish for.
September 6, 2026
I generally enjoyed the book and Futterman’s writing, but was a bit disappointed by the content. I was expecting a more gritty narrative about life on tour from the perspective of the non-stars, but the book is mostly centered around tennis narratives that are extremely familiar to current tennis fans. While I definitely learned some things about some of my favorite players, I do not feel this book has really changed any of my views on professional tennis.
That being said, some of the behind the scenes details are fun and certain chapters shine where you can tell Futterman has extensive access to the athletes. Worth the read, especially with the right expectations.
That being said, some of the behind the scenes details are fun and certain chapters shine where you can tell Futterman has extensive access to the athletes. Worth the read, especially with the right expectations.
September 23, 2026
💪🔥 BEEFY BIG BEN 🔥💪 FACES OFF AGAINST 👴GRANDPA DJOKOVIC 👴…. WILL NAOMI BOUNCE BACK AFTER BABY WEIGHT GAIN ?? NOT CLICKBAIT!!!
This book could have been a daily mail snapchat story. Bad bad tabloid writing. Disrespectful to the players and felt pretty slimy. Riddled with misogyny. Way too long with an attempt at a loose, pointless theme weaved throughout. Adding John McPhee to my list in hopes of better tennis writing.
This book could have been a daily mail snapchat story. Bad bad tabloid writing. Disrespectful to the players and felt pretty slimy. Riddled with misogyny. Way too long with an attempt at a loose, pointless theme weaved throughout. Adding John McPhee to my list in hopes of better tennis writing.
September 30, 2026
Amazing access and insight into the players!
The writing can be a little pretentious (hence I docked a star), but otherwise very readable.
A must-read for any current tennis fans, as it was a fascinating read.
The writing can be a little pretentious (hence I docked a star), but otherwise very readable.
A must-read for any current tennis fans, as it was a fascinating read.
Read
September 10, 2026tennis really is the most poetic of all the sports huh
August 16, 2026
3.5?! Maybe my expectations were too high cause I’m a big fan of Matt’s writing in the athletic, but this wasn’t as good as I was expecting. As someone who’s followed the tour closely the past few years, I didn’t feel like there was anything super new or surprising or enlightening that I learned. The book is touted as exclusive behind the scenes reporting, and it’s clear a lot of reporting work did go into this, but like… one 30 min conversation with Novak 3 years ago didn’t do it for me. And then I feel like the author was over analyzing and assigning too much meaning to these little moments. Like it’s cool that he saw Coco under the stadium in the middle of a match delay, but it felt a bit too contrived to draw much meaning from that.
Then again, there were so many times where things felt surface level or glazed over when I wanted more. Like mentioning how a lot of athletes have their family on payroll… give us more!
I was also a bit let down by the structure and quality of the writing. Again, maybe my expectations were too high. But I found the book sometimes confusing to follow bouncing around all these different times in players’ lives. And the second person was a bit heavy handed. And I think the themes and devices used were just wayyyy too much. The constant mentions of “the codes” and “unicorns” …it almost felt dumbed down? Like, we get the point without it constantly being explained as a “code” to surviving in the sport. Over relied on and too explicit.
I loved that zverev wasn’t included at all🥳. The lack of Medvedev was criminal though.
My favorite parts were probably about Coco, some of the American guys, Anisimova. Idk. This review leans pretty negative but it was an easy read and I did feel compelled to keep reading.
I kind of feel like a casual fan would enjoy this more.
Then again, there were so many times where things felt surface level or glazed over when I wanted more. Like mentioning how a lot of athletes have their family on payroll… give us more!
I was also a bit let down by the structure and quality of the writing. Again, maybe my expectations were too high. But I found the book sometimes confusing to follow bouncing around all these different times in players’ lives. And the second person was a bit heavy handed. And I think the themes and devices used were just wayyyy too much. The constant mentions of “the codes” and “unicorns” …it almost felt dumbed down? Like, we get the point without it constantly being explained as a “code” to surviving in the sport. Over relied on and too explicit.
I loved that zverev wasn’t included at all🥳. The lack of Medvedev was criminal though.
My favorite parts were probably about Coco, some of the American guys, Anisimova. Idk. This review leans pretty negative but it was an easy read and I did feel compelled to keep reading.
I kind of feel like a casual fan would enjoy this more.
August 12, 2026
”Forget everything you know about tennis and gentility. Tennis feels like a fistfight, especially when you lose. That’s pretty strange because players don’t touch each other except to shake hands at the end, but that’s how it is.
You have an opponent hitting you in the face, and you’re trying to hit him in the face,”
You have an opponent hitting you in the face, and you’re trying to hit him in the face,”
August 7, 2026
What a fascinating book! Makes a strong case for tennis as the cruelest game by identifying what it does to those who try to master it. Basically, it turns most of them somewhat insane. Futterman even opens the book with two questions: why does this game seemingly drive everyone mad and what does it take to survive and thrive. Are these not also two central questions for life? This theme has been talked about by others including David Foster Wallace in his essays and Andre Agassi in his autobiography. Basically it is extremely isolating and exposes any mental or physical weakness/insecurity. The scoring alone is ruthless such that the margins are so thin and punishing that win or lose you can feel like you have lost. The whole time reading the book I was thinking about the quotes associated with each slam. None is more apt than the one at Wimbledon that players see above the door before heading out to Centre Court: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.” At the beginning he also offers some similar wisdom from Marta Kostyuk (quoting in part a Ukrainian saying): “Everyone is going through something in their lives… Everything will be fine. And if it’s not fine, it just means it’s not the end.”
Most, but not all the chapters focused on particular players (or sets of players). Nearly all were interesting but the standouts were Novak, Sinner, Madison Keys, Iga and Sabalenka, Tommy Paul (for his honesty), and Tiafoe (for his torment). One chapter I have mixed feelings about is Naomi Osaka’s. On the one hand I understand her better now, on the other hand what I understand is maybe why exactly I don’t understand her. As Futterman illustrates with a sweet story involving her connecting to a coach through anime she is extremely shy. But this is contrasted with her desire for attention (agreeing to this access as an example). This contrast means I know a lot about her but understand her not at all (if anything what Iga says Osaka said to her about her own career is the most revealing). This is contrasted with many others who are surprisingly introspective. Novak is top amongst this at this point in his career. But so is Sinner, who often appears shy, exemplifying maybe best (and coming close to outright stating it) the Kipling quote. Some of this might seem easy given the massive success he’s had, but one gets the sense that even though he maybe wanted to be the best and was willing to put in the work he would have been far less haunted than many of the almost greats if he was unable to do so. All of these players though are trying to figure out in a compressed period of time and in full view of the public questions that most of us spend of lifetime trying to answer.
Most, but not all the chapters focused on particular players (or sets of players). Nearly all were interesting but the standouts were Novak, Sinner, Madison Keys, Iga and Sabalenka, Tommy Paul (for his honesty), and Tiafoe (for his torment). One chapter I have mixed feelings about is Naomi Osaka’s. On the one hand I understand her better now, on the other hand what I understand is maybe why exactly I don’t understand her. As Futterman illustrates with a sweet story involving her connecting to a coach through anime she is extremely shy. But this is contrasted with her desire for attention (agreeing to this access as an example). This contrast means I know a lot about her but understand her not at all (if anything what Iga says Osaka said to her about her own career is the most revealing). This is contrasted with many others who are surprisingly introspective. Novak is top amongst this at this point in his career. But so is Sinner, who often appears shy, exemplifying maybe best (and coming close to outright stating it) the Kipling quote. Some of this might seem easy given the massive success he’s had, but one gets the sense that even though he maybe wanted to be the best and was willing to put in the work he would have been far less haunted than many of the almost greats if he was unable to do so. All of these players though are trying to figure out in a compressed period of time and in full view of the public questions that most of us spend of lifetime trying to answer.
August 16, 2026
This book is such a fascinating and in-depth look into a sport I’ve been captivated by for years. It also comes out during an interesting interregnum after a unique era that saw men’s tennis being dominated by the three greatest players of all time.
Through a series of interviews with current and former tennis pros, their supporting teams, and other tennis insiders, the book poses and attempts to answer a series of questions that many fans like me surely have wondered about:
What makes tennis such a uniquely taxing sport, both physically and mentally? What drives some players (like Björn Borg and Ash Barty) to abruptly quit the sport at the apex of their careers? What are the “secret codes” that the all-time greats seem to have figured out at some point in their careers? If chasing greatness in tennis requires forgoing an ordinary childhood in favor of constant training, travel, competition, and living up to high expectations, what does that do to a person? If your life and self-image have largely been shaped by how well you do on a tennis court, how can you deal with the losses and failures the sport will inevitably dish you out?
This book really exceeded my expectations, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Through a series of interviews with current and former tennis pros, their supporting teams, and other tennis insiders, the book poses and attempts to answer a series of questions that many fans like me surely have wondered about:
What makes tennis such a uniquely taxing sport, both physically and mentally? What drives some players (like Björn Borg and Ash Barty) to abruptly quit the sport at the apex of their careers? What are the “secret codes” that the all-time greats seem to have figured out at some point in their careers? If chasing greatness in tennis requires forgoing an ordinary childhood in favor of constant training, travel, competition, and living up to high expectations, what does that do to a person? If your life and self-image have largely been shaped by how well you do on a tennis court, how can you deal with the losses and failures the sport will inevitably dish you out?
This book really exceeded my expectations, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
September 12, 2026
I started playing tennis in 2020 but really ramped up my play the last two years. This coincided with the show Break Point, which really got me into watching tennis. So I have loved watching the Grand Slams the last two years, even going to two tennis tournaments last year - the US Open and the Citi Open in DC. When the publisher reached out about sending me a copy of this book I got so excited! My two hobbies collided!
Unfortunately, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. I thought the stories were really interesting but since I'm fairly new to watching tennis, I wish the introduction to the players was a little more organized. Or mentioning past players had a little more depth/backstory. I also wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. I had to really focus in to understand what he was saying. It wasn't all negative though. I did really enjoy the stories he shared about the players and I liked learning more about them. I wish I knew a little bit more about his backstory too and how he had access to all these players.
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of the book. Opinions are my own.
Unfortunately, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. I thought the stories were really interesting but since I'm fairly new to watching tennis, I wish the introduction to the players was a little more organized. Or mentioning past players had a little more depth/backstory. I also wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. I had to really focus in to understand what he was saying. It wasn't all negative though. I did really enjoy the stories he shared about the players and I liked learning more about them. I wish I knew a little bit more about his backstory too and how he had access to all these players.
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of the book. Opinions are my own.
August 14, 2026
I thought the way this was constructed was really smart - starting the book with Alcaraz, the definition of sacrificing a normal childhood to become a tennis star, and then exploring all the other alternatives, from Djokovic coming from the most unlikely of childhoods to Osaka who took a mental health break and maternity leave and now is struggling to catch up to Shelton, who had a normal childhood at the expense of being slightly developmentally behind, to Iga and her struggles with perfectionism and all the way to Sinner and Alcaraz again and how their dominance makes the lives of the rest of men’s tennis that much harder. The fight between playing tennis vs being normal is one that I find fascinating since tennis is this insane individual sport with a constant demanding schedule that sucks the life out of you, and the draw of “but you could give it up” makes sense after reading Futterman’s description of it. I knew of Björn Borg but not about Björn Borg before reading this, and I love how Futterman positions him as the beginning of this conundrum. The way he connects that to the modern tennis trend of tennis players being shaped and coached by their parents and how that affects their relationship to this sport is so genius. You can slightly tell which players Futterman likes and doesn’t, but I can’t totally begrudge him that because if I wrote a book about tennis my Djokovic chapter would be like 4 pages.
Also, I LOVE Madison Keys.
Also, I LOVE Madison Keys.
August 15, 2026
I can’t say I’m the biggest tennis fan or even watch tennis much, but this book was intriguing and entertaining! Sports psychology fascinates me and I’m always drawn to books that include the psyche of an athlete! This book delivers! Read this if you’re at all interested in competition and sports of any kind!
“They (coaches, etc) don’t have the answer to how to live this life and make this chase succeed any more easily. It never does because it never can because everyone is chasing someone. Even the best of the best who have to forever chase the version of themselves they know they need to become to do what they really want to do rather than the one they used to be. This sport moves.”
“They (coaches, etc) don’t have the answer to how to live this life and make this chase succeed any more easily. It never does because it never can because everyone is chasing someone. Even the best of the best who have to forever chase the version of themselves they know they need to become to do what they really want to do rather than the one they used to be. This sport moves.”
September 18, 2026
I’m a huge tennis fan and I watch a lot of it so I know that it is probably one of the most difficult and soul grinding of sports out there. After reading Matt Futterman’s book, I’m even more convinced; tennis is damn hard! That being said, I really loved getting the inside stories on many of my favorite players: Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff and Madison Keyes, to name a few.
Catherine Whittaker of The Tennis Podcast was a great choice for a narrator of this audiobook. Because I am a fan of the podcast it felt like having a good friend read the book to me. Thanks, Catherine!
Catherine Whittaker of The Tennis Podcast was a great choice for a narrator of this audiobook. Because I am a fan of the podcast it felt like having a good friend read the book to me. Thanks, Catherine!
September 6, 2026
Pretty bad. The writing alternates between a histrionic writing reminiscent of the baritone voice that used to narrate movie trailers, and a goofiness that can only be described as bizarre:
And there's so much padding here. If you condensed it all down to something meaningful, you'd have an essay. Not recommended.
"Andrey Rublev, the sensitive Russian everyone agrees is the kindest player in the game, has plenty of gifts, and one of the game's most dangerous forehands. He has the flowing strawberry blond hair of a lead guitarist in the band your kid is obsessed with and the sweetness of the boy who grew up next door. So how come Rublev struggles to get through a tight match or a dip in form without abusing himself?"
And there's so much padding here. If you condensed it all down to something meaningful, you'd have an essay. Not recommended.
September 2, 2026
If you are a tennis fan at all, you will enjoy this book. Very interesting data about the players and how they deal with the various aspects of being a pro tennis player.
September 13, 2026
The title should have been: “Alcaraz is the Best Player on Earth and No One Will Ever Beat Him”.
August 19, 2026
Premise: THAT’s A BIASED REVIEW!!! Why? Because I am in LOVE with the voice of Catherine Whitaker ! My idea of perfect weekend is by the Gidaki beach in Ithaca with Catherine Whitaker reading to me Tennyson or Milton or whatever the fuck she wants!!! That’s the only reason I listen to “the tennis podcast” (I play bloody table tennis!) and the main reason I started listening to the audiobook …. Sorry will calm down now.
The book is nice, a bit repetitive and, most importantly, will not stand the test of time, because it focuses mainly on active players and mainly on their known public stories . From such a navigated journalist, I would have expected some deep, funny , insightful thoughts on the hidden fears of a few, great players… to go deeper into the soul of the beast …. The never ending challenge…. The unreachable satisfaction…. Which is the human nature , the Ulysses in each of us, our curse. To answer the impossible questions : Why Nole is never satisfied ? Why Nadal could not let it go? Why Borg and Agassi spiralled and why, why, why… I will never meet Catherine ?
The book is nice, a bit repetitive and, most importantly, will not stand the test of time, because it focuses mainly on active players and mainly on their known public stories . From such a navigated journalist, I would have expected some deep, funny , insightful thoughts on the hidden fears of a few, great players… to go deeper into the soul of the beast …. The never ending challenge…. The unreachable satisfaction…. Which is the human nature , the Ulysses in each of us, our curse. To answer the impossible questions : Why Nole is never satisfied ? Why Nadal could not let it go? Why Borg and Agassi spiralled and why, why, why… I will never meet Catherine ?
September 5, 2026
The book is less a conventional history of tennis than an investigation into what professional tennis does to people who try to become great. The book draws on Futterman’s reporting for The New York Times and The Athletic and follows players including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Ben Shelton, Madison Keys and others.
Futterman is good at showing why a player suffers. He is less interested in asking whether the structure of professional tennis itself is responsible. That's an important limitation. If the title is The Cruelest Game, one naturally wants to know not only why players hurt, but who benefits from the system that makes them hurt. Futterman's focus is primarily psychological rather than political or economic.
His idea of hidden codes is an effective organizing device, but it risks making greatness seem more decipherable than it really is. Elite sport contains enormous amounts of randomness: injury, genetics, timing, coaching, family circumstances, financial resources, opportunity and plain luck. A framework based on "codes" can sometimes imply that if a player simply learns the right psychological lesson, success follows.
Futterman's reporting is the book's great asset. But when he moves from those individual stories toward broader conclusions about why athletes behave as they do, the analysis can occasionally feel more confident than the evidence warrants. This is partly why the book works best as narrative journalism, but the author lacks at drawing the right conclusions.
Futterman is good at showing why a player suffers. He is less interested in asking whether the structure of professional tennis itself is responsible. That's an important limitation. If the title is The Cruelest Game, one naturally wants to know not only why players hurt, but who benefits from the system that makes them hurt. Futterman's focus is primarily psychological rather than political or economic.
His idea of hidden codes is an effective organizing device, but it risks making greatness seem more decipherable than it really is. Elite sport contains enormous amounts of randomness: injury, genetics, timing, coaching, family circumstances, financial resources, opportunity and plain luck. A framework based on "codes" can sometimes imply that if a player simply learns the right psychological lesson, success follows.
Futterman's reporting is the book's great asset. But when he moves from those individual stories toward broader conclusions about why athletes behave as they do, the analysis can occasionally feel more confident than the evidence warrants. This is partly why the book works best as narrative journalism, but the author lacks at drawing the right conclusions.
August 2, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this ARC e-copy of The Cruelest Game: Chasing Greatness in Professional Tennis.
Fans of tennis both old and new will enjoy this behind-the-scenes peek at the players behind their favorite sport. Written by sports journalist Matthew Futterman, this well-structured work of non-fiction covers the “secret codes” of tennis and the players that are either attempting to learn them or gatekeeping them—Djokovic, Carlitos, Sinner, Gauff, Osaka, Sabalenka, Fritz, Paul, and more.
This book was very informative and full of good information; nevertheless, I was a bit bored at times, my head ultimately perking up when Formula 1 was mentioned (at least thrice). I’m only a baby tennis fan, so perhaps I don’t have the codes yet. However, I think true longtime tennis fans who follow Matthew Futterman’s reporting will find this to be an intriguing read.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ - GREAT
Fans of tennis both old and new will enjoy this behind-the-scenes peek at the players behind their favorite sport. Written by sports journalist Matthew Futterman, this well-structured work of non-fiction covers the “secret codes” of tennis and the players that are either attempting to learn them or gatekeeping them—Djokovic, Carlitos, Sinner, Gauff, Osaka, Sabalenka, Fritz, Paul, and more.
This book was very informative and full of good information; nevertheless, I was a bit bored at times, my head ultimately perking up when Formula 1 was mentioned (at least thrice). I’m only a baby tennis fan, so perhaps I don’t have the codes yet. However, I think true longtime tennis fans who follow Matthew Futterman’s reporting will find this to be an intriguing read.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ - GREAT
August 24, 2026
I gave up a little over a quarter of the way through this audiobook. Have never encountered a book where an author used so many words to say so little. Repetitive and cliched. The author's writing style is very informal, with lots of extra comments to add meaningless emphasis to points already made. The reader of the audiobook was similarly annoying. I love tennis, but I didn't need to listen for an hour to find out that Novak Djokovic uses mindfulness training to stay composed in big moments. or to hear the author call Carlos Alcaraz "Carlitos" a billion times. Couldn't stand it anymore so I gave up.
August 21, 2026
Matthew Futterman
The cruelest game: Chasing greatness in professional tennis
Being a conference interpreter and translator by profession, I never miss a chance to look behind the scenes. And that’s what Matthew Futterman promised to offer in his most recent book The cruelest game: Chasing greatness in professional tennis, published in 2026 by Doubleday/Penguin Random House, NYC. Indeed, there are lots of insights and behind-the-curtain infos. However: Do I want to know all this? I like the overall collection of facts, Futterman offers. He also explains that most of what he tells is “homegrown”, i.e. based on notes he made during conversations he had with athletes, coaches, partners, parents, siblings, therapists... They all try hard to give what it takes to succeed in the “cruelest game”.
Alas, the title as such is revealing: Apart from being a bit too lurid – I’d call it “reißerisch” in German -, it insinuates that there are more negative aspects involved in the quest for greatness and glamour than positive ones. Is this so? Aren’t we dealing here with one of the most fascinating and smartest sports in the world? With men and women, who earn millions or even billions these days, by practicing just this? Because this book is not about the minor pros, the poor and struggling ones, who never make it beyond a ranking of 200, or, if they fail as competing players, become cherished coaches, physios, mental consultants or brand managers of the champions who reach the slam and Master 1000 finals. The cruelest game is in fact about the successful fighters, the ones, who stay at the top – at least for a while. Is this easy? No way, and nobody says so. But why (professional) tennis should be the “cruelest game” Futterman does not tell.
He knows, however, how to tell stories, and his book is all in all a nice and on many pages truly interesting read. Not as entertaining and informative as Andy Roddick’s Served or some of the other podcasts and books made for tennis fans, but captivating enough. A pity, though, that the author ever so often succumbs to his wish to show off, in order to let the world know that he is rubbing shoulders with the glorious and fancy protagonists in the tennis orbit.
[Examples]
I don’t like this. I like even less that he - in the manner of an elderly adult – single-handedly decides who is to be called by their first name – interestingly most of the women he mentions: Iga, Coco, Naomi, Madison..., and who may even be belittled: Not even the Spanish TV-commentators when covering matches played by Carlos Alcaraz call him “Carlitos” any more. Futterman, however, alleges, the young Spanish tennis star told him to call him “Carlitos”, which, when done throughout a whole book, comes as a lack of respect for a (indeed young) man who has had an extraordinary career so far – and counting. But no, Futterman places “Carlitos” next to the “real” adults: Sinner, Djokovic, Ferrero, Taylor Fritz, Roger Federer... This is a bit annoying, as is the author’s insistence on calling Ben Shelton “Big Ben” almost always when he mentions him. I wonder why? And respect lacks definitely, when he calls female players “girls”. I mean, we do, we girls, that is. But that’s us. If a white male does, it shows a lack of understanding of how the world ticks today.
Maybe this could be revised in a second edition. As could be some of the almost offending descriptions of people in the book. Let me quote some examples: “Tennis players ... bark back and forth at their box, saying much, hearing little, listening to less.” Or: “Sinner has just turned twenty-two, wearing a hairstyle he will likely regret more and more when looking back at old pictures of himself trying to climb the tennis mountain... They come on as boys, unfinished, ungroomed, athletically ready for prime time. But far less so in other departments.” Or: “They [talking about Iga Swiatek and the Poles in general] are Eastern European, finding their way into Western culture.” Or: “Norwegians are good at saying a lot by saying very little”. “Medvedev, the Russian tennis pterodactyl”. Or my “favorites”: “Physically, he gives more Charlie Brown vibes than Jerry Maguire. [talking about Eisenbud, who is] “about as warm and cuddly as a porcupine.” Might this be meant to be funny? Well...
Now, what do we learn: Being a professional tennis player is a major challenge, rich parents help, although some parents are difficult to bear with. You have to work hard, embrace discipline, and try to listen to your coaches. Yet, you might fail, again and again and again. Nothing really new, but apart from the wordings I criticized above, The cruelest game is well written, quite entertaining and a nice sommer read, getting you into the vibes of the upcoming US Open. A bit of background info, you might have missed or forgotten, some details you maybe don’t want to know, but in general a charming idea for a book, and well executed. I’m sure you will check it out for yourselves. Enjoy.
The cruelest game: Chasing greatness in professional tennis
Being a conference interpreter and translator by profession, I never miss a chance to look behind the scenes. And that’s what Matthew Futterman promised to offer in his most recent book The cruelest game: Chasing greatness in professional tennis, published in 2026 by Doubleday/Penguin Random House, NYC. Indeed, there are lots of insights and behind-the-curtain infos. However: Do I want to know all this? I like the overall collection of facts, Futterman offers. He also explains that most of what he tells is “homegrown”, i.e. based on notes he made during conversations he had with athletes, coaches, partners, parents, siblings, therapists... They all try hard to give what it takes to succeed in the “cruelest game”.
Alas, the title as such is revealing: Apart from being a bit too lurid – I’d call it “reißerisch” in German -, it insinuates that there are more negative aspects involved in the quest for greatness and glamour than positive ones. Is this so? Aren’t we dealing here with one of the most fascinating and smartest sports in the world? With men and women, who earn millions or even billions these days, by practicing just this? Because this book is not about the minor pros, the poor and struggling ones, who never make it beyond a ranking of 200, or, if they fail as competing players, become cherished coaches, physios, mental consultants or brand managers of the champions who reach the slam and Master 1000 finals. The cruelest game is in fact about the successful fighters, the ones, who stay at the top – at least for a while. Is this easy? No way, and nobody says so. But why (professional) tennis should be the “cruelest game” Futterman does not tell.
He knows, however, how to tell stories, and his book is all in all a nice and on many pages truly interesting read. Not as entertaining and informative as Andy Roddick’s Served or some of the other podcasts and books made for tennis fans, but captivating enough. A pity, though, that the author ever so often succumbs to his wish to show off, in order to let the world know that he is rubbing shoulders with the glorious and fancy protagonists in the tennis orbit.
[Examples]
I don’t like this. I like even less that he - in the manner of an elderly adult – single-handedly decides who is to be called by their first name – interestingly most of the women he mentions: Iga, Coco, Naomi, Madison..., and who may even be belittled: Not even the Spanish TV-commentators when covering matches played by Carlos Alcaraz call him “Carlitos” any more. Futterman, however, alleges, the young Spanish tennis star told him to call him “Carlitos”, which, when done throughout a whole book, comes as a lack of respect for a (indeed young) man who has had an extraordinary career so far – and counting. But no, Futterman places “Carlitos” next to the “real” adults: Sinner, Djokovic, Ferrero, Taylor Fritz, Roger Federer... This is a bit annoying, as is the author’s insistence on calling Ben Shelton “Big Ben” almost always when he mentions him. I wonder why? And respect lacks definitely, when he calls female players “girls”. I mean, we do, we girls, that is. But that’s us. If a white male does, it shows a lack of understanding of how the world ticks today.
Maybe this could be revised in a second edition. As could be some of the almost offending descriptions of people in the book. Let me quote some examples: “Tennis players ... bark back and forth at their box, saying much, hearing little, listening to less.” Or: “Sinner has just turned twenty-two, wearing a hairstyle he will likely regret more and more when looking back at old pictures of himself trying to climb the tennis mountain... They come on as boys, unfinished, ungroomed, athletically ready for prime time. But far less so in other departments.” Or: “They [talking about Iga Swiatek and the Poles in general] are Eastern European, finding their way into Western culture.” Or: “Norwegians are good at saying a lot by saying very little”. “Medvedev, the Russian tennis pterodactyl”. Or my “favorites”: “Physically, he gives more Charlie Brown vibes than Jerry Maguire. [talking about Eisenbud, who is] “about as warm and cuddly as a porcupine.” Might this be meant to be funny? Well...
Now, what do we learn: Being a professional tennis player is a major challenge, rich parents help, although some parents are difficult to bear with. You have to work hard, embrace discipline, and try to listen to your coaches. Yet, you might fail, again and again and again. Nothing really new, but apart from the wordings I criticized above, The cruelest game is well written, quite entertaining and a nice sommer read, getting you into the vibes of the upcoming US Open. A bit of background info, you might have missed or forgotten, some details you maybe don’t want to know, but in general a charming idea for a book, and well executed. I’m sure you will check it out for yourselves. Enjoy.
August 13, 2026
Tennis is hard. The odds of making it professionally are insurmountable. Then to excel is nearly impossible. Only those with the “codes”, replicable results of consistently winning at the highest level, have any degree of satisfaction. This is the through line of Matthew Futterman’s new book The Cruelest Game.
The tennis world was in a state of panic at the thought of the Big Three and Serena Williams retiring, worrying nobody would care about the tour without these legends playing week in and week out. To the tennis world’s pleasure, we are blessed with worthy talent that still creates must see TV. Tennis uniquely relies on its stars to sell the game. We learn all about the new stars of the tour through a series of mini biographies covering the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff, and nearly every other bankable star on the ATP and WTA tour.
If you follow tennis, you most likely know a lot of what’s covered in this book. Even if that’s the case, this book is absolutely worth reading because of Futterman’s access. For the tennis junkies, he drops so many awesome tidbits throughout the book: that Carlos Alcaraz was funded by a local dessert maker as an adolescent to start his tennis career, that Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe used to bet each other while they were growing up together to see who could beat Taylor Fritz faster, and details of Novak’s other worldly discipline.
The book really interrogates why tennis players are such tortured souls, even when they’re the best of the best. It uses Bjorn Borg’s story of losing the 1981 US Open final and retiring on the spot at 25 (despite already winning 11 slams) as a framing device that no one is immune to tennis’s cruelty. The stories are endless because each player deals with some kind of adversity. I particularly enjoyed the books discussion of Coco Gauff’s serving yips, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek dealing with doping investigations, all the while going on to win big tournaments, and diving into Novak Djokovic’s complicated nature while he tries to hold off father time long enough to win an elusive 25th slam.
My favorite chapter centered around the juxtaposition of Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Madison Keys. Each player is coached by family members with differing relationships. Casper and his dad are bffs, golfing together during the hard court season. Stefanos having messy public break ups with his dad and then very public reconciliations. And especially Madison’s story of her fiancé and then husband stepping up to coach and help her break through to win her first grand slam. This is where Futterman’s writing really excelled. Capturing these moments through interviews in real time, weaving in insight as explaining these stories made for a really fun read.
Whether you like tennis or not, this book is worth reading. Each player is different in the adversity they face, the support system they have off the court, and what motivates them on the court. It makes for a low pressure read because if you aren’t enjoying a certain chapter, you can easily skip ahead and have a whole new subject. 5/5.
The tennis world was in a state of panic at the thought of the Big Three and Serena Williams retiring, worrying nobody would care about the tour without these legends playing week in and week out. To the tennis world’s pleasure, we are blessed with worthy talent that still creates must see TV. Tennis uniquely relies on its stars to sell the game. We learn all about the new stars of the tour through a series of mini biographies covering the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff, and nearly every other bankable star on the ATP and WTA tour.
If you follow tennis, you most likely know a lot of what’s covered in this book. Even if that’s the case, this book is absolutely worth reading because of Futterman’s access. For the tennis junkies, he drops so many awesome tidbits throughout the book: that Carlos Alcaraz was funded by a local dessert maker as an adolescent to start his tennis career, that Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe used to bet each other while they were growing up together to see who could beat Taylor Fritz faster, and details of Novak’s other worldly discipline.
The book really interrogates why tennis players are such tortured souls, even when they’re the best of the best. It uses Bjorn Borg’s story of losing the 1981 US Open final and retiring on the spot at 25 (despite already winning 11 slams) as a framing device that no one is immune to tennis’s cruelty. The stories are endless because each player deals with some kind of adversity. I particularly enjoyed the books discussion of Coco Gauff’s serving yips, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek dealing with doping investigations, all the while going on to win big tournaments, and diving into Novak Djokovic’s complicated nature while he tries to hold off father time long enough to win an elusive 25th slam.
My favorite chapter centered around the juxtaposition of Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Madison Keys. Each player is coached by family members with differing relationships. Casper and his dad are bffs, golfing together during the hard court season. Stefanos having messy public break ups with his dad and then very public reconciliations. And especially Madison’s story of her fiancé and then husband stepping up to coach and help her break through to win her first grand slam. This is where Futterman’s writing really excelled. Capturing these moments through interviews in real time, weaving in insight as explaining these stories made for a really fun read.
Whether you like tennis or not, this book is worth reading. Each player is different in the adversity they face, the support system they have off the court, and what motivates them on the court. It makes for a low pressure read because if you aren’t enjoying a certain chapter, you can easily skip ahead and have a whole new subject. 5/5.
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