This has been something of an unstable decade in the world of professional tennis - particularly compared to what happened before it.
For about 20 years starting in 2003 or so, it was easy to figure out what would happen in the major tournaments. Roger Federer was just about to start his run of greateness, taking Grand Slam #1 in 2003 at Wimbledon. Rafael Nadal became his biggest rival when he joined the Majors Club with a victory at the French Open in 2005. For a while there it seemed as if it wasn't a big tournament if Federer and Nadal didn't play each other - hopefully for a championship.
Then came Novak Djokovic in 2008, who captured the Australian Open then. He became a regular threat in the majors starting around 2011. Suddenly the Dynamic Duo became the Terrific Trio. All three have an argument as the greatest men's player of all time, and Djokovic is still trying to add to his reputation in 2026.
The women's players also had a couple of all-time greats on the scene, and they were even sisters. Venus Williams won the first of seven Slams in 2000 - a year behind sister Serena's first big trophy. We didn't know that the win by Venus at Wimbledon in 2008 would be her seventh and last major title. But Serena was just getting warmed up then. She picked up her 21st and last Slam win in 2017.
Once those eras ended, we've had some scrambling. Matthew Futterman, a reporter for the Athletic who clearly knows the game and its people, takes a good-sized look at the participants who have been top players in recent years, and - in some cases, their struggles for consistency - in "The Cruelest Game." The resulting book is one part tennis and one part psychology. Matches, it seems, are often won above the neck instead of below it.
At least on the men's side, a big rivalry has developed. Carlos Alcaraz has seven Slams to his credit, and Jannik Sinner has six. They have won 10 of the last 12 titles, taking over the spotlight once Djokovic won three of four championships in 2023. It's a lot to ask for them to have the staying power of Federer and Nadal. On the women's side, no one has won more than six Grand Slam titles in a career in Serena Williams retired. The leader is Iga Świątek, who has four French Open crowns to go with a win at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadow.
As Futterman discovers as he checks out the top players, their problems are unique in sports. Start with childhood, when the best players are usually identified and fast-tracked toward professional status. Care to move to a warm-weather academy and have your entire life ruled by a ball and racquet while leaving friends behind? Throw in the fact that families sometimes dedicate huge portions of their financial resources toward the goal of making tennis a nice livelihood for everyone involved. That's a lot of pressure on a kid. It's tough to make friends along the way, particularly if you aren't in the same country for more than a couple of weeks at a time. This is a sport where the various mental demands can become too much, forcing sabbaticals if not early retirements. This last part goes back at least as far as Bjorn Borg, who left the stage shortly after it seemed he was just starting to fall off the peak of the mountain.
And speaking of pressure, Futterman makes a terrific point when he talks about personal finances. Yes, there's big money to be made in the sport, but only at the top. Players can get by if they crack the top 100 consistently, but the drain caused by travel, coaching, etc. doesn't let up through injuries and slumps. If you don't play, you don't cash checks. Do it enough and outside income drops off. The odds aren't too good. At least the men playing in pro basketball, football, basketball or hockey all can do fine simply by reaching the major leagues. Women don't have the same options available, and that merely adds to the pressure involved.
Maybe that's why the last American male to win a Grand Slam title was Andy Roddick in 2003. The replacements for Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, who were fading away at that point, never quite arrived. The women have done a little better, but only Coco Gauff has two majors to her credit since the Williams sisters faded out of the title picture. From an American standpoint, the tennis scene is at least a little more interesting if some U.S. players are at least contenders.
It doesn't take much for a tennis player's state of mind to change, as Futterman discovers. It can happen in a snap - an injury, a fight with a relative, a search for a new coach. Sometimes when a player thinks he or she has an answer, the question changes.
The author has some opinions about what's going on here, and sometimes this reads a bit like a psychology book with tennis serving as a case study. It's a side of the game that might not be as popular with audiences who simply want to see good athletic competition. But "The Cruelest Game" should work nicely for those who want to take the next step into understanding it all, but need a smart guide to get there.
Four stars
Learn more about this book from Amazon.com. (As an Amazon.com affiliate, I earn money from qualified purchases.)
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