Late to the Ball: Age. Learn. Fight. Love. Play Tennis. Win.

Marzorati, a New York Times Magazine editor and author (A Painter of Darkness) chronicles his six years trying to master the sport of tennis after picking it up in his mid-50s. Determined to be more than a recreational player, Marzorati not only works with the pro at his local club but also befriends a tennis-blogging Jungian psychotherapist, goes to tennis camp, visits a tennis academy to have his biomechanics analyzed, and enters tournaments to play the best U.S. players in his age group. Marzorati’s prose is crisp and clean and his storytelling is focused. He also demonstrates an editor’s knack for capturing the intricacies of other people’s lives, such as his coach’s immigration story or his playing partner’s battle with sepsis (which ends with the partial amputation of his arm). Sometimes this pushes the author’s own journey to the back burner, making him seem more of a spectator and less of a player. But observing, he finds, is a great way to educate oneself, and at its heart, this enjoyable work is a study of the physicality, psychology, and biology of learning. Agent: David McCormick, McCormick Literary. (May)