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sujuv's review against another edition
4.0
I don't think I've ever read a sports book before this one, but I love tennis and Phillips is a poet who covers sports for the Paris Review so I'm guessing this isn't your typical sports book. I loved it. It covers a year on the men's tour - 2017 - when expectations of who would dominate the game evolved. He digresses to interesting tales of the origins of clay courts, an intrusive umpire who screws up one player's season - at least for the moment, as he comes back strong at the end of the year - and that's part of what's so great about it: Phillips takes a long view of the year and the sport and happily scrambles the chronology to make a point about the unpredictability of tennis and life. On this day that Andy Murray tearfully announced his retirement - Murray's hip injury is mentioned more than once in the book - I am reminded that even the greats can't control their fate.
erklel's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve played a little tennis throughout my life, enough to be familiar with the very basics, but I’ve never been an avid follower or enthusiast, of the game or the professional players. This book may have changed both. I’ve never really thought too much about the strategy of tennis, which The Circuit artfully exposes, and he is compelling in describing the arcs of the big tennis stars as well.
It reminded me a bit of the way my dad will tell stories about sports: incredibly willing to divert from the main story to go on a tangent about the life story of someone, or the trivia of something. I mean this in the best way - tying in at different times the history of some element of tennis, providing context for the atmosphere of a certain tournament, etc.
The writing is also gorgeous; he is waxing p o e t i c about the sport and his love shines through. And I love that it feels grounded in the real world, not forgetting the other reasons 2017 was a big year of monumental change and upheaval.
He mentioned that 2017 was a big year for Serena too; wish that could’ve been part of the narrative and disappointed that women’s tennis isn’t covered in this.
It reminded me a bit of the way my dad will tell stories about sports: incredibly willing to divert from the main story to go on a tangent about the life story of someone, or the trivia of something. I mean this in the best way - tying in at different times the history of some element of tennis, providing context for the atmosphere of a certain tournament, etc.
The writing is also gorgeous; he is waxing p o e t i c about the sport and his love shines through. And I love that it feels grounded in the real world, not forgetting the other reasons 2017 was a big year of monumental change and upheaval.
He mentioned that 2017 was a big year for Serena too; wish that could’ve been part of the narrative and disappointed that women’s tennis isn’t covered in this.
thishannah's review against another edition
This might be the first "sports book" I've ever read, and I really enjoyed it. It helps that I find pro tennis more interesting than any other major sport, and that the writer's style is so interesting and engaging. I would consider myself a moderate tennis fan, but reading this made me want to pay more attention to smaller tournaments beyond the Grand Slams (that is, if sports weren't cancelled for 2020).
Phillips perfectly put into words what makes tennis so compelling to watch, and why Federer and Nadal are both fascinating athletes, while other greats like Djokovic and Murray are kind of boring to me, despite their obvious talent. I enjoyed that the book was structured across the calendar year with the rises and falls of the tournament. On some occasions the prose got a little too deep for me, but for the most part it was a great escape from reality to relive the highs and lows from a tennis season I hadn't paid attention to at the time. I liked expanding my tennis vocabulary, learning about some of the lesser-known players,* and hearing the author's analyses of the players' strengths and weaknesses. Overall a very fun read.
*Though I can't believe how little space was given to a man named JACK SOCK who appeared on every ranking chart but was hardly mentioned. Maybe the most interesting thing about Jack Sock is his name?
Phillips perfectly put into words what makes tennis so compelling to watch, and why Federer and Nadal are both fascinating athletes, while other greats like Djokovic and Murray are kind of boring to me, despite their obvious talent. I enjoyed that the book was structured across the calendar year with the rises and falls of the tournament. On some occasions the prose got a little too deep for me, but for the most part it was a great escape from reality to relive the highs and lows from a tennis season I hadn't paid attention to at the time. I liked expanding my tennis vocabulary, learning about some of the lesser-known players,* and hearing the author's analyses of the players' strengths and weaknesses. Overall a very fun read.
*Though I can't believe how little space was given to a man named JACK SOCK who appeared on every ranking chart but was hardly mentioned. Maybe the most interesting thing about Jack Sock is his name?
jackoverreacher's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
hannahbright's review against another edition
5.0
A truly poetic retelling of the 2017 men's circuit, Phillips perfectly put into words what makes tennis so compelling to watch. Phillips covers sports- for the Paris Review- so this is a much more lyrical, and poetic telling than a typical piece of sports literature. i thought it was beautiful and encapsulated why tennis is my fav sport.
hreed7's review against another edition
4.0
Recently, I had a fever dream from which I awoke and transcribed a poem almost fully formed. It had ideas and images beyond my waking grasp, and though it was markedly amateurish it transcended my prior oeuvre in both quality and composition speed. Just as how in sports—basketball, or yes, tennis—commentators will note a star playing “lights out” as though their performance is without conscious thought, The Circuit gives the impression that it was written “lights out.”
This sense arises first and foremost from the prose’s otherworldly construction, placing details well ahead of their affiliate plot points like ornaments hung in space before the tree has arrived. Fortunately, to see the ornaments first merely heightens the anticipation for seeing the entire display. We feel a twinge in a man’s hip before we even meet the man, just as we find out a tournament’s victor before we even begin the tournament. 2017 simply unfurls before us.
If my Christmas tree metaphor worked on any level, it is a credit to The Circuit for giving my brain permission to invent. This slim book about a single season in tennis is constantly creative, like George Washington Carver getting hold of a whole new legume. My other favorite tennis book, Andre Agassi’s `Open’, is Steven Universe where this book is Spirited Away, a long and spiraling arc against a single ethereal immersion.
In fact, to conclude that Spirited Away is my favorite movie says all to be said of how i feel about this book.
This sense arises first and foremost from the prose’s otherworldly construction, placing details well ahead of their affiliate plot points like ornaments hung in space before the tree has arrived. Fortunately, to see the ornaments first merely heightens the anticipation for seeing the entire display. We feel a twinge in a man’s hip before we even meet the man, just as we find out a tournament’s victor before we even begin the tournament. 2017 simply unfurls before us.
If my Christmas tree metaphor worked on any level, it is a credit to The Circuit for giving my brain permission to invent. This slim book about a single season in tennis is constantly creative, like George Washington Carver getting hold of a whole new legume. My other favorite tennis book, Andre Agassi’s `Open’, is Steven Universe where this book is Spirited Away, a long and spiraling arc against a single ethereal immersion.
In fact, to conclude that Spirited Away is my favorite movie says all to be said of how i feel about this book.
munchin's review against another edition
3.0
Fun at times and contains a few new insights, but not as deep as I would have liked.