The last time readers saw formidable tennis star Carrie Soto was in Taylor Jenkins Reid’s previous novel, “Malibu Rising,” when she was the other woman, stealing Nina Riva’s husband, then crashing a house party that ultimately goes down in flames.

She was an unlikely choice of leading lady in the next book within Reid’s loosely connected series of novels that also includes bestsellers “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” and “Daisy Jones & The Six.” But in Reid’s ninth novel, “Carrie Soto Is Back,” readers get to see another side of Carrie and witness her attempt at a post-retirement comeback.

That’s not to say that Carrie is more likable in this new novel than in “Malibu Rising”. She actually proves to be even more frustrating when given the spotlight. She’s hyper competitive and abrasive to her opponents, the media and generally anyone who displeases her. But, to the author’s credit, at least Carrie is more understandable after learning how she became that way.

Her mother died when she was very young, leaving her to be raised by her Argentinian American father Javier, himself a former tennis player who acts as Carrie’s coach through most of her career and will again during her polarizing comeback tour. He tells his daughter in her early years of playing tennis that she is destined to become the best player in the world. She believes him. Winning becomes her life’s mission:

“My ambition has long felt oppressive,” Reid writes. “It is not a joy. It is a master that I must answer to, a smoke that descends into my life, making it hard to breathe. It is only my discipline, my willingness to push myself harder that has been my way through.”

She uses this drive to become the No.1 women’s tennis player in the world in the mid-1980s, but her ruthless pursuit of her goal takes its toll on her body. She needs knee surgery, and instead of allowing the world to see her playing less than her best, she retires in 1989 as the record holder for winning the most ever Grand Slams.

Five years later, when the new star of women’s tennis, Nicki Chan, matches her record, Carrie Soto’s competitive drive reactivates. She announces she’s coming out of retirement to defend her record and to show everyone how good of a player she still is. The woman the media refers to as “The Battle Axe” – a euphemism for what they actually call her behind closed doors – is back, and once again has something to prove, only this time, she’s 37.

At the start of her journey back to tennis stardom, she finds herself isolated after alienating people with her attitude and also because she fiercely guards her heart, refusing to get too close to anyone but her father, who is her mentor and cheerleader. The two share a strong and touching bond. Her father teaches her so much about tennis and about life, but Carrie must finally learn how to accept the possibility of losses, in whatever form they come.

But first, there will be tennis. “Carrie Soto Is Back” contains an abundance of it and the sports writing glitters. It has a good balance of on-court action and summaries as well as occasional interjections from the media, giving readers a sense of the public perception of Carrie and her game.

Though she isn’t exactly a loveable heroine, “Carrie Soto Is Back” is the kind of magnetic, immersive book readers have come to adore from Taylor Jenkins Reid. Like Carrie Soto or not, before long, you’ll be rooting for her both on and off the court.

Olive Fellows is a freelance book critic and YouTube book reviewer living in Pittsburgh.

First Published: September 6, 2022, 10:00 a.m.