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“Matt Futterman is one of the clearest modern-day journalistic voices in tennis…. A great read for all sports fans.”
—Billie Jean King

 

advance praise for THE CRUELEST GAME


This book is quite simply a complete knockout. No one ‘gets’ tennis and writes about tennis better than Matthew Futterman. All today’s players are here, intimately here—their battles, heartbreaks, triumphs, the sheer work and near madness that goes into wanting to be the best. Yes, pro tennis is the cruelest game, but, in Matt Futterman’s hands, utterly riveting.
— Delia Ephron
“Though, inevitably, it will be filed under ‘sports,’ Matt Futterman’s The Cruelest Game, is a masterfully-executed work of psychology writing. Born of keen eye and ear, Futterman’s reportage exposes professional tennis for what it is: a bottomlessly diverse, rich cast of exquisite athletes, navigating the torture of hitting a ball with both power and accuracy… fighting opponents and also their own worst instincts… yielding success but also failure, fear, and doubt. Fans of all intensity levels will read this and emerge with a greater understanding and appreciation for the world’s most mentally demanding sport.”
— Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated
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