Lucky Loser book review: aging sofa tennis hero wants to get into the world rankings

Anyone who comes up with the idea of ​​going on the professional tennis tour again at the age of almost 40 is either in the middle of a mid-life crisis or wants to fulfill a (lifetime) dream that at first glance seems completely absurd. It was probably a mixture of both that motivated Felix Hutt to hunt for a world ranking point in 2018. To be ranked in the ATP men’s world rankings – that was his dream.

After the great idea comes the tough athlete reality

Felix Hutt came up with the brilliant idea in 2017 when he was on holiday in South Africa watching the legendary Australian Open final between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. Why should only a Roger Federer of old tennis age still serve on the ATP tour, why shouldn't he be able to do that too? He, who played quite successfully in his youth, but never made the “breakthrough” towards a professional career.

It wasn't far from the idea to implementation for the Munich-based journalist. A suitable training team was quickly found and a training plan was drawn up. Hard work on the pitch was the order of the day instead of drinking a cool Augustiner beer in the beer garden. Jogging early in the morning instead of roasting pork in the evening. From an aging “couch tennis hero” with a light beer drink to a meticulous tennis worker .

“Huttinger” deserves my utmost respect for this!

On vacation on the hunt for "bush points" - off to Cambodia, Uganda and the rest of the tennis tournament world unknown to us

Felix's bone tour after one world ranking point took him to future tournaments in Sardinia, South Africa, Pakistan, Cambodia, Israel and Uganda. “Bush points” at particularly exotic tournament locations should supposedly be easier to reach. Hutt describes the individual stages of his tournament journey with a lot of humor, openness, a wonderful dose of self-irony and convincing honesty. Describes the different types of tournament directors, the different course facilities and tournament atmospheres and game encounters.

The book creates a small and interesting insight into the world of a professional player on tour , which has absolutely nothing to do with luxury and jet set.

A world in which almost all players have to figure out how to finance their next trip somehow. A parallel tournament world in which third-guard tennis professionals play, including many young talents who could have been Hutt's sons. And also those players who simply couldn't make the jump. A tour life that is characterized by monotonous and boring everyday tournament life and leaves little room for anything other than tennis. But of course it also brought with it a lot of great and surprising encounters with coaches, players and locals.

The mercilessly open and honest (tennis) journey to yourself

Whether Felix Hutt managed to be on the world rankings at the end of his “Lucky Loser” journey will not be revealed at this point – just read the book for yourself!

But what “Huttinger” managed to do was write a really great book that was fantastic to read. Personally, he certainly achieved the fulfillment of a dream, the completion of a story that was still open to him. In this respect, in my opinion, the book has the wrong title – it should be better called “Lucky Winner”. Because everyone who fulfills a lifelong dream, no matter what age and no matter how impossible it seems, has won for themselves personally.

Who is the book suitable for?

Anyone infected with the tennis virus will devour the book. So it was a great holiday read for our tennis family, which passed through several enthusiastic tennis hands. No matter what age, whether a hobby player or a young tournament player - everyone will be inspired in any way by this tennis book and this very special tennis story.