Jimmy Connors is an American tennis player who held the #1 ATP ranking for 268 weeks. That includes a 160-week streak from 1974 to 1977. While he was clearly one of the best players to ever compete in the sport, he was also a polarizing and frequently controversial figure. His book The Outsider: A Memoir offers a compelling inside perspective that delves deep into the highs and lows of his remarkable career.
This book prompted me to examine its motivations. The Outsider contains elements of self-reflection, setting the record straight, and sometimes an apparent desire to memorialize those who shaped his life. From the “tell all” way it was marketed and promoted, it is also clear that financial gain was a factor. However, Connors was definitely not trying to change his public image with this work. It is dripping in self-awareness that he frequently acts like a jerk while simultaneously conveying that he sincerely does not care what other people think.
Gloria Connors was a dominant force in her son’s life and a somewhat controversial tennis figure in her own right. She was frequently described as domineering and overly aggressive in how she coached and managed Connors. However, this book does not contain a trace of resentment or reservations from her son. If anything, he suggests that some of the criticism that was hurled her way had more to do with stepping over gender norms in the male-dominated field of professional tennis.
Outside of his mother, Pancho Segura had the strongest coaching influence on Connors. This book shares many examples of how the two men would use cocktail napkins to sketch out tactics and point patterns prior to big matches. Connors also repeatedly shares one of Seguras’ cardinal rules of tennis. “You don’t play if you are injured. If you play, you are not injured.” Ironically, this memoir claims that Connors was injured when he lost to Ashe in the 1975 Wimbledon Final.
Connors frequently delegated the management side of his career to others, preferring to focus on the on-court aspects of competing. One interesting claim in The Outsider is that his lawyer, Bill Riordan, filed lawsuits against the ATP and Arthur Ashe without Connors’ knowledge or consent. He claims that he learned of the legal action through the newspapers.
Connors is extraordinarily candid about his poor life decisions and failure to take responsibility. He also cites multiple instances of financial mismanagement by the people he trusted. At the same time, he also shares how his own addiction to gambling contributed to significant financial losses. The book’s pre-publicity hinted at shocking revelations about his one-time fiancee, Chris Everett. However, most of the dirt was directed at himself. Connors owns up to a lot of mistakes in life.
The great American player had a complicated history with the Davis Cup competition. Connors effectively claims that his ambivalence toward representing his country is because the first time he was with the US team, his grandmother suddenly passed away. Her death was emotionally devastating for him. This perspective rings true, given some of the other confessions in this book. If Connors genuinely hated Davis Cup competition, as some seem to believe, he would certainly not shy away from saying so directly.
The Outsider: A Memoir (<-Sponsored Link)
The Outsider: A Memoir offers an unfiltered glimpse into Jimmy Connors’s tumultuous tennis career. With unapologetic candor, Connors delivers on the major events that shaped his life. This book is highly recommended for those seeking a deeper understanding of one of the sport’s most enigmatic personalities.
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