Talking ‘The Cruelest Game’ with Matt Futterman

For this episode, Catherine, David and Matt are joined in the Wimbledon library by Matt Futterman to talk about his new book, ⁠The Cruelest Game⁠. The book is an in-depth and up-close look at the sport’s modern era, its stars, and what it takes to succeed in professional tennis. Using his incredible access, Matt speaks to players and team members on his quest to empathetically figure out why the sport seems to take such a toll on everyone and whether there are any secret codes that will allow players to thrive at the summit of this brutal game. With chapters dedicated to most of the sport’s top players, Matt explores the individual paths taken by them, as well as the unique and shared challenges they all face as tennis emerges from the era of The Big 3 and Serena Williams. We speak to Matt about his inspiration for writing the book, some of the most memorable conversations he had over the past three years while working on it, and the recurring themes such as parent-child coaching dynamics and what makes tennis stand out from other sports when it comes to the price paid by its athletes. The Cruelest Game: Chasing Greatness in Professional Tennis comes out on Tuesday August 4th 2026 or is available for pre-order now, with the audiobook read by Catherine. Become a ⁠Friend of The Tennis Podcast⁠: https://bit.ly/FriendOfTheTennisPodcast Check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠new merch shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.thetennispodcast.net/shop Sign up to receive our free ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (daily at Slams and weekly the rest of the year, featuring Matt’s Stat, mascot photos, Fantasy League updates, and more): http://eepurl.com/gbmzRX Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (@thetennispodcast): / djqzbwwmk