The Cruelest Game
Chasing Greatness in Professional Tennis
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- ¥2,200
発行者による作品情報
A riveting exposé of professional tennis by revered journalist Matthew Futterman (of The New York Times and The Athletic), The Cruelest Game offers never-before-reported access to the daily routines, mindsets, and personal trials faced by today’s major stars and tomorrow’s rising newcomers • Best Book of the Summer: Boston Globe, Bloomberg, LitHub, Kirkus
“Matt Futterman is one of the clearest modern-day journalistic voices in tennis.... A great read for all sports fans.”—Billie Jean King
Alcaraz, Sinner, and Shelton . . . Sabalenka, Gauff, and Świątek . . . Djokovic, Williams, and Nadal. The story of modern tennis shines with immense fortune and glamour—as well as unrelenting high stakes—like the game has never seen before. Players excel and implode under excruciating pressure, alone on the court for the world to see. With legends like Rafa, Roger, and Serena retired and Novak trying to figure out when to go, a new generationof electric stars has burst onto the scene and begun their quest for the secret codes that will allow them to thrive at the top of a brutal game.
Matthew Futterman, whose dynamic insider reporting has placed him at the center of the tennis world, now takes us inside this rarified sport as it has never been seen. From private practice courts to the tunnels beneath the major tournament stadiums, from training academies to faraway wartorn hometowns, Futterman sits us down with the stars whose relentless drive leads them to battle against a game of millimeters, and explains the off-court tensions that can both lift and destroy them. With unmatched access to the top players and coaches, and their unique psyches and personalities, The Cruelest Game is a breathtaking account of what it takes to succeed, the price that is paid, and the insatiable competitive spirit that propels the rarest of athletes to greatness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this enthralling study, sports journalist Futterman (Running to the Edge) attempts to uncover the "secret codes of tennis greatness." Tennis, he writes, is a sport that drives "so many of the best of the best to a uniquely tortured state." He chronicles, for example, how Coco Gauff burst onto the scene at 15 years old in 2019 after beating Venus Williams at Wimbledon, only to begin struggling with her serve in 2024, prompting many to wonder "Where's that person she's supposed to be?" After switching coaches and learning that tennis rewards those who embrace change, Gauff won the French Open in 2025. One of the most important codes of tennis, Futterman contends, is allowing oneself to lose. Madison Keys, for instance, struggled to a be a consistent player while working with coaches whose disappointment she could feel any time she lost. She found success after hiring her fiancé, Bjorn Fratangelo, as her coach, knowing that he "was going to love her whether the serve landed in or out." The final and hardest code, Futterman says, is learning how to say goodbye to the sport. Mixing entertaining reportage with convincing psychoanalysis, Futterman reveals the inner lives of premier athletes. Tennis fans will be gripped.
