While reading The Wild Card by Judy Murray, I kept flipping to the cover and the book jacket to check for a secondary author. There apparently isn’t one. That makes Judy Murray’s first novel a stunning achievement. The Scottish tennis coach, who is more well-known as the mother of Andy and Jamie Murray, recently added “best-selling author” in the UK to her resume.
The Wild Card is about a promising young tennis player whose career was derailed just as she approached the pinnacle of success in the sport. Years later, Abigail Patterson received a wildcard into qualifying for Wimbledon due to a letter written to the LTA by her son. He built a case that she deserved the opportunity due to her years of coaching service to the organization. Miraculously she capitalized on the qualifying wild card to advance all the way into the Wimbledon main draw.
The present can rarely be separated from the past. The story that unfolds at Wimbledon is inextricably connected to the events that knocked Abi out of tennis in the first place. Murray deftly moves between “Now” and “Then,” leading the reader to connect the dots slowly. The technique piques interest not so much about what will ultimately happen, but rather the details as the narrative ultimately unfolds.
While some elements of the story are highly improbable, such as a local coach earning a wild card into Wimbledon qualifying, the tennis in the story is spot on. That is hardly surprising for Murray, who is familiar with the UK coaching scene and the mechanics of competing at Wimbledon. Despite the fact that this book is a work of fiction, it still provides behind-the-scenes glimpses of the fortnight.
It doesn’t give anything away to reveal that the plot of The Wild Card centers around a “Me Too” inappropriate relationship between a teenager and a coach. The story that unfolds isn’t so much about what happened, but rather about the psychology and internal turmoil that abusive relationships can have on a person and those around them.
Despite the fact that I was certain that I understood how the story would culminate, the book held my interest until the very end. However, Murray did manage to surprise me with parts of the ending. It was a very satisfying reading experience.
I highly recommend The Wild Card as a tennis beach read. This is one of those cases where you need to use the link below. The book is not in print in the United States at this time, and for some reason, Amazon is making it hard to find from the search bar. Hopefully, that is a sign that a deal to release it in this country is imminently forthcoming. This book should have a much higher profile.
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