This story appears in the Nov. 13, 2017, issue of Sports Illustrated. Subscribe to the magazine here.
This week marks the last tennis tournament of 2017, the ATP Tour's World Tour Final. It's fitting that this capstone event takes place in London, voted, as it's been, the World's Most Powerful Global City six years running. In London the eight players in the field hail from eight different countries. Scan the top 25 players in the ATP rankings and, save Antarctica, you'll find representatives from every continent.
As presidents, prime ministers, chancellors and CEOs around the globe confront a towering challenge of our time—how do you transition safely, let alone thrive, in a global economy—tennis provides a source of guidance and optimism.