An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
When I published a summary of all the doubles books reviewed on this site last year, a couple of people asked me how I managed to miss “Doubles Domination: The Best of the Best” by Bob Allcorn. Quite frankly, I didn’t even know that the book existed. In retrospect, the omission is a travesty. It is very good.
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From time to time I embark on a fruitless quest to find dynamic tennis content targeted at the tennis playing population. That particular effort pre-dates the creation of this blog. Indeed sometimes I characterize this site as the content that I would read if I could get someone else to write it. The simple fact of the matter is that there really aren’t any great tennis blogs targeted at recreational players. It is a hot take that I float out as a desperate plea: Please prove me wrong.
The Arthur Ashe biography by Raymond Arsenault was slated for review this week. In fact, I started reading it just over two weeks ago after realizing that it is a lot longer than the books I typically review on this site. For a variety of external factors, I have yet to progress past the midpoint of the book. However, I have already had one significant “Aha” moment to share.
Citizen Ashe is a recently released documentary about Arthur Ashe. The film traces the entire arc of Ashe’s life from early childhood all the way through to his death from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1992. I was surprised at how much detail the producers managed to pack into the movie with a relatively short runtime. It delivered new insight and perspectives while remaining entertaining for a wide range of audiences. Tennis history buffs, casual players, and even people who aren’t interested in tennis or civil rights at all will likely enjoy the movie.
Dr. Robert Walter Johnson was a powerful force of change in tennis that accelerated the acceptance of players of color at the highest echelons of competitive tennis. It is not a stretch to observe that the tennis careers of Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe would not have happened in the same way without the support of the doctor. “Whirlwind,” the nickname he picked up while playing college football, is an apt moniker for both his life story and influence on tennis. Whirlwinds create turbulence. So did Dr. Johnson.
In 2021, I mentioned on this site that I was interested in finding a copy of Althea Gibson’s autobiography. At that time, the book was long out of print and the only available copies were priced as a collectors items and way too rich for my blood. Later in the year, I was delighted when Randy Walker of New Chapter Press published a digitized version of the book once again making this book available to the masses.
One of the unexpected benefits of writing this blog has been my discovery of the greatness of wheelchair tennis. When Dylan Alcott announced that the 2022 Australian Open will mark his retirement from competition, I knew that I would be reviewing his recently updated autobiography as “Australian Summer of Tennis” draws to a close. This compulsory read turned out to be a compulsory read: I finished the book in a single sitting.
John Newcombe is a striking figure from the golden era of Australian tennis. The Aussies were also well known for on court achievement and even better known for having a great time off the court. It was an era of sportsmanship and camaraderie that may never exist again. Newcombe’s autobiography, Newk: Life On and Off the Court was published in 2002, but still feels current and relevant to this day.
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Long time readers of this site will be aware that I generally shy away from books about tennis players who are still actively competing. Such books tend to be public relations efforts to polish an athletes image or to take control of the narrative. I was willing to take a flyer on this particular book because Ashleigh Barty may be the last athlete to publicly and effectively deal with mental health issues before it was regarded as an act of bravery. With the “Australian Summer of Tennis” in full swing I was willing to take a chance on the most compelling Aussie player.
As the “Australian Summer of Tennis” gets underway, it is the perfect time to shift our attention to books about the rich tennis heritage from “Down Under.” There is no better place to start than with the most recent biography of the man whose name adorns the side of the stadium where the culmination of the Australian Open is contested.