Tennis
Novak Djokovic's son Stefan watched his 2023 U.S. Open triumph, Djokovic's most recent major title. Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
Why does tennis drive its most successful players mad?
Why do the stars of this sport appear more embroiled in its psychological knots than those they defeat? And how do they untangle those knots as those careers progress, learning how to protect their minds as they do their serves?
The Athletic’s Matthew Futterman attempts to answer these questions in his new book, “The Cruelest Game: Chasing Greatness in Professional Tennis”, which published Aug. 4. Through the kind of probing interviews with players that subscribers will be accustomed to, he finds the codes to the game that they use, and how they respond when even their trusted methods can’t quiet the hum of pressure that comes with chasing greatness.
