who, the illuminati?

Aside from the players with a whole chapter dedicated to them, the book does touch on many players/coaches (even if it's sometimes just a pithy one-liner like "Danielle Collins, the fire-breathing American, another woman who goes full-gas from the first ball to the last") so I found it pretty good as a surface-level intro to some of the recurring names that pop up in the tennis world.

Style-wise it's definitely written for a general audience rather than tennis aficionados (eg it explains the scoring system/the concept of breadstick/bagel, describes some strokes like the open-stanced backhand, etc). It does lean rpf-heavy at times where Futterman describes what (he thinks) is going on in players' heads or in team dynamics but presenting them as fact - eg: Novak in Carlos chapter described as exercising his "dark arts" (yes, really) and playing mind games with Carlos by comparing Carlos to Rafa in a press conference with the plan that Carlos will work himself into an anxious frenzy because he'll keep checking social media, keep seeing the clip of Novak's press conference, keep being reminded of the legacy he has to live up to. Futterman doesn't really signpost what is his own speculation and what players have confirmed to him - I don't personally mind a bit of dramatisation but it's also very much NOT objective facts-based reporting lmfao

ANYWAY INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS

1. Carlos sidenote: I won't rehash the "why the fuck is he consistently called Carlitos rather than Carlos" point since I also find it a bit baffling - I assume he treats the Carlitos nickname as a "Rafa vs Rafael Nadal" type situation but Carlitos sounds diminutive in a way Rafa doesn't, plus "Carlitos" isn't widely-used in commentary or articles or podcasts the way Rafa is, so....... side-sidenote: i'm usually not bothered by "Sinner" since i assume people just find the name cool ("he's a GINGER ITALIAN from the MOUNTAINS and his name is SINNER") - kind of like how people often use Fritz instead of Taylor and that doesn't really imply anything about closeness and warmth or lack thereof. HOWEVER. "Carlitos and Sinner" sure is jarring.

anyway im not sure about its merits based on journalistic integrity but from a narratives pov this chapter was quite enjoyable and touches on stuff I don't normally see. there is (surprisingly and refreshingly!) minimal focus on how Carlos is a PARTY BOY and goes on DRUNKEN BENDERS IN IBIZA. I'll just let Futterman's own intro do the talking:

We start with him because he is the story of modern tennis—the expectations, the single-minded pursuit since just past his toddler years, the chase to catch the greatest of the greats and also be the cash machine that his family’s fortunes ride on, and the occasional yearning to disappear, and a tendency to succumb to panic, at least in the beginning.

basically, he's presented as this sort of archetypal story: He is a blessed combination of genes, hard work, and kismet - or in other words, he has the natural gifts and physical ability, the access to tennis courts and coaching from an early age, and kismet (fate) in that he makes connections with the right people at the right time who can get him access to money and resources and coaching. this pattern holds true for pretty much all players discussed in the book! I think Carlos is being presented as this cautionary tale: you can have all the necessary ingredients for success and generational talent to boot, but there are still hiccups along the way and """the secret codes""" to learn.

particularly interesting bits from this chapter:

Carlos getting hazed/mindgamed by Rafa and Novak

baby Carlos after his first grand slam victory talking about how much his game is like Federer's and being thrilled and awed an american journalist wants to talk to him. super cute!!! im not surprised at all that he's Futterman's special guy

THE INSANE COMMODIFICATION FROM AN EARLY AGE. the emphasis, again and again, he is an investment for his family. he is their meal ticket. his entire inner circle want to keep him to themselves and push away all competitors and outsiders. (a particularly squicky bit that did a great job driving the point home: At this moment IMG represents both Carlitos and Novak. Nearly every time Novak lands in another European tennis capital, Carlitos’s mug greets him from another billboard. Sometimes he looms a hundred feet in the air in nothing but Calvin Klein underwear. / Twenty years old, one Grand Slam title, and he’s an underwear model.)

there is soo muuuuuuch novak in this chapter. If you're into djokocaraz this is GREAT. As I said earlier, the chapter ends at RG23 where Novak defeats Carlos in 4 sets; this is really a chapter about a younger Carlos, the prodigy who's won a Slam but now needs to figure out how to stay on the top of the game while all these old legends are trying to put him in his place

curiously the chapter does NOT end with Carlos figuring anything out; the chapter feels more like it introduces ideas/further ideas from the introduction, ideas which keep popping up in (some) other chapters. Namely:

this idea of everyone having to figure out their story, who they are, the reason they play, the story they want to present to the world (REMEMBER THIS). For Carlos, this question is answered as: he's here to show the world that tennis can be dynamic and joyful and electric, to usher in the next era of tennis

tennis being incredibly isolating, tennis being a form of mental torture

being the "chosen one" doesn't save you; if anything, the expectations are crushing. you need to learn The Codes

2. Björn Borg: the cautionary tale(s) a chapter nominally about Borg but also a highlight reel of the many names who win Slams and achieve world No. 1 then fuck off by their mid-20s. the main point: one day the motivation is just no longer there. the isolation is crushing (especially in the era before big teams of trainers/physios/multiple coaches orbiting a player). the constantly evolving pace of the sport. the constant pressure of the scoring system and the 52-week ranks; the fight-or-flight instincts that kicks in also a big point: burnout and quitting in their prime (or at least, before they turn 30) really isn't that rare among the top players...

overall nothing hugely revolutionary in this chapter, it's really mostly about the constant stress and an environment where surviving is just as hard (or more!) as winning, and longevity is questionable

3. Novak A fun character sketch as you might expect, filled with plenty of anecdotes about his relationships with other players (magnanimous mentor, disciplinarian and enforcer of "respect", irreverent jokester) and his many, many controversial beliefs.

(guest-starring my favourite late-blooming octopus!)

It’s 2017, Serbia is set to take on Russia in a Davis Cup tie. He is practicing with a young Daniil Medvedev at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. Compared to Novak, Medvedev is no one at the time, not even in the top 60. He’s embarrassed to even share a casual chat with Novak during their hitting session. When it’s over, Novak realizes that Russia has selected Medvedev for the Davis Cup tie, set for Niš, a couple of hours’ drive south of Belgrade. Not an easy place to get to. Djokovic asks Medvedev about his travel plans. Medvedev tells him about some convoluted itinerary. Don’t be silly, Djokovic tells him. Fly with me on my plane.

(daniil, weirdly, in this book is never directly introduced as former world no. 1 and slam winner, even if you'd think he'd be a great case study for how hard it is to sustain a stay at the top. he is only referred to as an "elite" player. his USO21 win over novak is mentioned in this chapter but the focus is VERY MUCH on novak for once in his life receiving the unadulterated love of the crowd and the torrent of emotions it evokes.)

(hilariously we also get a carlos follow-up in this chapter mentioning the lessons Carlos took from RG23 and going onto win Wimbledon: Carlitos learned to experience a moment like that not as a crushing defeat but as a blessed opportunity to celebrate who you are and what you can do. there are quite a few Carlos mentions in this chapter: 32, to be exact... it's both a strength and weakness of the book that some players keep cropping up in different chapters; on one hand it really reinforces how all these narratives are entwined with each other. on the other hand why am i learning about CARLOS in NOVAK'S chapter and why does Carlos' chapter feel so incomplete?!? basically if you read a player's individual chapter expecting it to tell you everything important Futterman has to say about the player you'd probably end up missing a few things. which goes against conventional wisdom but who am i to judge............)

Novak is really The Guy with insane longevity in terms of his career and also match comebacks, so unsurprisingly this is the first chapter where we start learning a bit more about these """codes""" that Futterman keeps banging on about and some specific nuggets of wisdom. Key points:

some of these things are really fucking obvious. namely: discipline.

mindgames, mentality: killing instinct, having respect but not reverence for the greats of the game. watching the other person across the net, seeing what tells and weaknesses can be used against them (it's an interesting idea that comes back in Jannik's chapter - that not all players are actually capable of doing that, some of them get too in their heads to do so or have the mantra of "focus only on your game". shoutout to flavio cobolli and going into a wimby QF not having watched a single match his opponent played...........)

a key point: tying his career back to his history; this is the first time we fully explore the idea of a player's "personal story" being used to fuel their identity as a tennis player and sustain motivation throughout their career. In Novak's case it's this: He also believes God has put him on this earth to bring glory to his family and to Serbia, a small country that has been fighting foes for a thousand years. He’s the avatar for that struggle, never more alive than when he’s representing it.

(another relevant excerpt: He falls. He rises, higher each time. And how he loves every moment of the journey, especially the climb, because he’s done it so many times, he knows where it can lead and the uncontrollable ecstasy that awaits him there. But he also can find value in the fall, because he knows that it’s one more opportunity to lead to the glory of the rise.)

something actually new! mindfulness, focusing on the present moment, not the past or the future. there were shades of this back in Carlos' chapter (a really cute scene where PCB reminds him to soak in the moment as he prepares for his first ever Slam main draw match as he'll never have this first again), but this is the first time the "focus on the present" idea has been articulated in-depth and it'll come back again.

the final scene being Novak winning the olympics and Jelena (PRESUMABLY THIS IS FUTTERMAN RPFING) crying because she knows Novak won't stop now he's had another taste of glory, another reminder of the heights he's still capable of. we'll come back to this idea of "when do you stop and retire" at the end of the book. but i thought it was a lovely note to end the chapter on!

as you'd expect from someone with such a long career and controversies as novak, the chapter meanders quite a bit and there are a few jumps through time. just roll with it, flow with it. also this might be a nitpicky point (gasp, shock, horror) but I wasn't the fondest of the presentation of the "codes" to success where the definition success drifts back and forth from the context of "career longevity" to "not choking during a match and staging a comeback". probably the two things are alike and the same """secret code""" can help you tackle either. idkkkk thoughhhh i'd like to have seen more explicit differentiation of the two, or at least explicit discussion of WHY they were conflated instead of taking it for granted that they can be conflated, especially given the previous Borg chapter was all about players at the top of the game (and presumably had great match mentality) who nevertheless decide to peace out of their careers.

5. Crowe (mental coach), briefly Zheng Qinwen, Amanda Anisimova i have no idea how legit mental coaching is or if it's a bit of woo-woo but you know what i'll refrain from scepticism. Crowe's section retreads ground already covered but in greater clarity: players need to know who they are, they need to know their life story and their life story should give them purpose and drive (see: Novak and his deep connection to Serbia). and hey, sometimes figuring it out means they quit tennis (Ash Barty), and that's fine!

Qinwen's section is (I think?) primarily here as an example of unresolved trauma players might deal with - in her case her father taking her to a different city to train and then leaving her behind there with no warning. Futterman doesn't do too much with her anecdote - the same way he covers a few Ukrainian players in the first chapter but doesn't delve deeply into the details - but I always enjoy seeing Qinwen so can't complain...

Amanda's section takes up most of this chapter and she should really have been mentioned in the tagline somewhere. (if you're wondering, she's referred to as Anisimova in the book, but I'll use Amanda for consistency's sake since I've been using first names for everyone so far.) for the first time we follow a player that goes through highs and EXTREME lows (indefinite break starting 2023, losing at wimby qualies in 2024, MAKING THE WIMBY FINAL IN 2025 AND THEN GETTING DOUBLE BAGELLED). Continuing with the theme of unresolved trauma, the main part of Amanda's section deals with her grief over her father's death and subsequent burnout, both mental and physical.

This chapter is titled "The Help" so predictably we're introduced to Shadi Soleymani, a physiotherapist who is here to help fix everything - there's a fair bit here on the importance of the body as an instrument, an idea which gets delved into more in the next chapter (Naomi Osaka). the fucking codes aren't mentioned in this chapter at all but presumably the implication is that one of the keys to success is to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing, are patient, and are honest and authoritative even when the truth hurts. We also see other forms of help pop up in the form of Amanda's childhood coach sending her encouraging messages, Amanda's sister reminding her to stay in the moment when Amanda is overwhelmed after winning USO semis.

idkkkk this was a bit of a weird one! obviously the chapter is themed around teamwork and help and support from the player's team and their family + a dash of mental coaching at the start and the importance of a personal story. maybe that's why Amanda's section doesn't quite land for me: Futterman is very good about describing Amanda's INCREDIBLE resilience and the way she's come back from some of the most heartbreaking defeats possible. However. Her success is mostly attributed to the work of her team and her willingness to take her team's advice; we don't really get to see Amanda's personal source of this resilience, her personal story (which is doubly odd considering the framing of this chapter). I suspect the answer is that Futterman doesn't quite know either, considering the ending: Maybe because she had done the hard part. She’d decided to start figuring out her story and the right people to help her do it.

6. Naomi (or rather, Osaka...) This chapter ticks a lot of the boxes for what I expected coming into the book: description of career and achievements and challenges, childhood and background, career interruption, how to come back. Solid chapter, clear chronology mainly focused around 2023-2025 returning to tennis after having her daughter, bringing together a lot of the ideas brought up so far. a few turns of phrase that i have mixed feelings about (as her body morphed from a vessel built to hit a tennis ball into one that needed to prepare for rearing a child - am I oversensitive or does that seem odd to anyone else???) but overall a well-constructed read.

Excellent quote that sums up the chapter:

“I feel like I’m constantly chasing this me of the past,” she says on the side of the court during a break from training. We’re standing near the net post. She’s got her hands tucked into the front of her beige sweatshirt. “I know that’s not realistic because in my head the me in the past was like a perfect player, which I know I’m not. Looking at old tapes of myself I know that right now I’m actually doing a couple of things better than I was doing before."

One thread that's been present throughout the novel is the idea that tennis moves fast; that everything can change in a snap of a finger - finally this is the chapter where we really dive into this. How frustrating is it to chase the player you used to be? How much more frustrating is it to know that even if you attain your old heights, it's no longer enough because the game is constantly evolving - even though you've been away for less than two years?

ALSO THE FUCKING CODES MAKE THEIR RETURN:

All players, even the best ones, especially the best ones, constantly need to find ways to improve. To stand still is to slide backward, because everyone else is getting better and figuring out ways to beat you. (it sure sounds a lot like Jannik's ethos, doesn't it? maybe it's a neat bit of foreshadowing for his chapter which is coming up next??? mr futterman can you hear me???????)

And therein lies one of the most important codes of all: It’s not about knowing the code; you have to be the code. It’s not out there, like a set of secret scrolls in some lost ark—it’s inside you. (WHATEVER THE FUCK THAT MEANS)

Much of this chapter focuses around Naomi's team and in a way feels a bit like Amanda's section, only with more detail - it's one of the first times the book gets more into the technical details of specific shots (the open-stance bh, in this case): the kinetic chain and musculature and what the physical training actually entails, and all the different people involved in that physical training. Again we return to the athlete's body as an instrument and all the different layers of training that happen even before any tennis balls are hit.

And then there's the mental side - the clutchness, if you would - which affects the body........except it's much harder to re-find her clutch than it is to hire someone to design a strength-training routine.

I keep returning to Amanda's section because they really are alike: so much of this chapter is spent describing the team around Naomi rather than Naomi herself. And yet it...works....better....? I think the key is that Naomi has agency; she's the one making decisions, the chapter is about her figuring out what she needs from her team, deciding whether she's hiring on someone to help her with physical training or match strategy or just someone who can help her unlock her self-belief in the tough moments again (EXCEPT IT'S FUCKING MOURATOGLOU).

At the end we finally return back to the mindset - which slightly comes out of nowhere in that the conclusion she reaches is gratitude: she's going to focus on enjoying the sport and trusting that she can get herself to where she needs to go; she's the one with the answers, not her coaches. (unfortunately we don't really see how she reaches this conclusion so I have no idea if this was something she said in an interview or if Futterman is RPFing again, sooooo............)

sideplots that bring me joy:

I keep hearing about the Bolletieri academy but this is the first time I had a grasp of its ethos beyond "famous academy that kept churning out world class players with mutterings of controversy" - He needed seven simple words to sum up his approach: “Hit the shit out of the ball,” he said to me in the early 2010s as we sat on a bench one afternoon at the US Open. / Bollettieri was in his eighties then. Still lathering his body with sunscreen and coaching shirtless in the Florida sun most mornings.

Iga and Naomi RG24: devastating loss (would've been devastating for either of them!) but im always very weak for a contrast in styles: The master ball-striker against the exquisite shot-maker. / Pelting power versus movement and precision.