“It’s the first time I’ve lost control. It’s a strange feeling, and I don’t like it.” The aim is to regain competitiveness at the Australian Open: “My desire to win has grown even stronger.”

At the age of forty-one, the Swiss tennis player is retiring after 590 wins, 16 titles and 3 Grand Slams. All three were won against the world number ones at the time. He defeated them all, and all in finals: Federer, Nadal, Djokovic. An underdog, but a giant-killer.

Di Caro’s achievement is to make us understand, without ever raising his voice, that sport is always also a story of institutions and the nation. It is a book worth reading and giving as a gift

Five withdrawals and a season cut short: Sinner is focused on protecting his career, whilst fans must learn to do without the sleepless nights, the matches watched in secret over dinner, and the pride of Italian tennis, which fears a return to limbo

The South Tyrolean champion has not played since the Wimbledon final. “My doctors and I have decided that I need a course of treatment for my knee,” he said in a video posted on his social media channels. By early November, he may no longer be world number one.

No pedestals and no hashtags. Its tone of voice and its clarity have educated a nation – perpetually torn between cheering for and against – about tennis and its unwritten rules. Farewell to Elena Pero, the voice of tennis on Sky 

A review of the book by Francesco Longo, published by 66thand2nd, 168 pp., 19 euros