If you are looking for tennis-related reading recommendations for the holidays, I have you covered. This post is a chronological summary of all the books that were reviewed on this site in 2022. Enjoy!
Rod Laver: An Autobiography (2013) is a distinctly contemporary account of Laver’s life complete with a forward penned by Roger Federer. Laver returns the admiration with observations about Federer’s impact on the modern game. In fact, the parallels between the two players are striking and almost inescapable. Reviewed January 6, 2022.
Barty: Much More Than Tennis (2022) by Ron Reed is an unauthorized biography written without direct access to either Barty or anyone within her inner circle. The authors are clearly huge fans of the player and are effusive with their praise and adulation. The target audience seems to be people who similarly love Barty. The book reads like an extended social media post extolling the virtues of an idol. (Not recommended.) Reviewed January 13, 2022.
Newk: Life On and Off the Court (2002) by John Newcombe, the superstar 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. Reviewed January 20, 2022.
Able: Gold Medals, Grand Slams and Smashing Glass Ceilings (2018) This memoir by multiple Grand Slam Champion Dylan Alcott is a testimonial to perseverance and the importance of giving back. It is engaging and funny while delivering a powerful message. Reviewed January 27, 2022.
I Always Wanted to Be Somebody (1958) by Althea Gibson. This book was written shortly after she won the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the US Championships (later the US Open) in 1958. In this book, she provides a detailed and candid self-portrait. She starts her story in early childhood and builds a continuous arc through her tennis playing career as it stood at the time. Reviewed February 3, 2022.
Whirlwind: The Godfather of Black Tennis: The Life and Times of Dr. Robert Walter Johnson (2004) by Doug Smith. The book outlines how Dr. Johnson dreamed of seeing black players compete at elite tennis tournaments. Overcoming racial prejudice and segregation was the first part of the equation. Dr Johnson also established a tennis academy for promising talent to develop young black players out of his home in Lynchburg, Virginia. Reviewed February 10, 2022.
Arthur Ashe: A Life (2018) by Raymond Arsenault is a comprehensive autobiography of the first man to break the color barrier in tennis. The book chronicles Ashe’s rise to stardom on the court. It also explores his off-court career as a human rights activist, philanthropist, broadcaster, writer, businessman, and celebrity. Reviewed February 24, 2022.
Doubles Domination: The Best of the Best (2020) by Bob Allcorn. For players intent on improvement in tennis, the layout of Doubles Domination is extremely intuitive with tactics and tips organized by subject. The advice rendered is immediately actionable. Allcorn explains just enough of the philosophy to convey the “why” behind his advice without overburdening the reader with esoteric theory. Reviewed March 17, 2022.
Baby Boomer Tennis (2014) by Dr. Joy Macci. If you are looking for a tennis motivational speech and a general outline for goal setting, then this book might be useful. However, there are much better sources for those things. Tennis players at any level would be better served with more targeted books based on their baseline experience with the sport, level of competitive play, and specific developmental concerns. (Not recommended) Reviewed April 5, 2022.
Senior Tennis: Strokes, Strategies, and Remedies (2014) by George Wachtel captures the philosophy of competition that is pervasive in USTA Senior age group open play. In this book, Wachtel effectively captures and conveys the trifecta of tennis training: skills, physical conditioning, and the mental approach. It is the culminated wisdom of a life well lived and a game well played. Reviewed April 12, 2022.
Ageless Painless Tennis: Free Yourself from Pain, Injuries, and Limitations & Unlock Your Athletic Potential (2019) by David Starbuck Smith promotes balance and symmetry and much of what he writes in his book resonates with my own “the body is a system” philosophy. At the same time, his method is described in mystical terms. Usually the words “alchemy” and “magic” are big red flags to me and this book was no exception. If you are in pain, it is certainly worth a look. I probably wouldn’t recommend it otherwise. (Not recommended.) Reviewed April 19, 2022.
The Fein Points of Tennis: Technique and Tactics to Unleash Your Talent (2021) by Paul Fein. As a Senior tournament player and teaching professional, Fein’s observations on how to compete at the highest levels of the sport across an entire lifetime are particularly valuable. Most authors will mention flexibility, balance, and strength work as important for Senior players, but Fein does not stop there. His treatment of recovery time after match play one example of great advice that is not commonly shared. The observations on the patterns of effective Senior tactical play are pure gold. This book was a a Silver Winner in the Adventure, Sports, and Recreation category in the Foreword Reviews 2021 INDIES Book of the Year competition. Reviewed April 27, 2022.
Essential Tennis: Improve Faster, Play Smarter, and Win More Matches (2022) by Ian Westerman benefits from years of experience as Westerman crafted and refined his instructional philosophy. To say that he is extremely process focused is an understatement. As an example of the level of detail, the book asserts that players should develop an awareness of their most effective learning styles to optimize their tennis improvement journey. Essential Tennis hits the sweet spot for those of us that do best with written forms of instruction. Reviewed May 5, 2022.
The Quest: Novak Djokovic’s decade of chasing at Roland-Garros came to an end, unlocking history (2017) by Carole Bouchard is an account of Novak Djokovic’s quest to reassert his position as one of the most dominant players in the history of tennis. Bouchard asserts that the 2016 tournament at Roland Garros was the two most important weeks of Djokovic’s career up until that point in time. It is was a serious inflection point in the history of the sport that defined the story lines and mythology of the “Big Three” era of men’s professional tennis. Reviewed May 12, 2022
Transcendence: Diary of a Tennis Addict (2022) by Alize Cornet is extremely candid about her psychological struggles and dissatisfaction experienced in her career. This book is not the “typical” active player biography, which is just as well because that is arguably my least favorite genre of tennis book. I highly recommend Transcendence: Diary of a Tennis Addict for its illumination of mental health as well as behind the scenes insight into the current WTA tour. Reviewed May 19, 2022.
The First Fighter Pilot – Roland Garros: The Life and Times of the Playboy Who Invented Air Combat (2019) by Ed Coblegh. The book highlights when the pilot’s life intersected with tennis, but the sport probably would not have been mentioned at all if the stadium where the French Open is contested did not bear his name. To be perfectly clear, this is not a tennis book. It will not make you a better player. However, it will instill a sense of history while providing a thoroughly entertaining reading experience. Reviewed May 25, 2022.
René Lacoste (2019) by Laurence Benaim is technically a biography, but it more closely resembles a scrapbook. Photos, handwritten notes, and drawings are interspersed with essays about Lacoste at various stages of his life. In a larger form factor, I would categorize it as a coffee table book, but with more writing. It is the kind of book that you own and leave out as a conversation piece. It would also make a terrific gift for any tennis enthusiast. It is eclectic, fun, and artistic. Reviewed June 2, 2022.
Boris Becker: The Player (2004) was billed as a “tell all” book about Becker’s career. It came out approximately five years after his retirement from professional tennis. Becker accepts and acknowledges some of the inconvenient truths of his life and actions. From that point, he spins a narrative on how he is misunderstood and that none of it was his fault. Reviewed June 9, 2022.
Dear John: The John Lloyd Autobiography (2022) is filled with great stories and touching moments about the legends and celebrities that Lloyd interacted with throughout his life. In the telling of his own history, Lloyd also provides a wonderful account of the professional tour during his playing and broadcasting days. I emerged from the book with a sincere appreciation for John Lloyd where previously he had made little impression. It was a surprisingly good autobiography and one worth reading by serious tennis fans. Reviewed June 16, 2022.
Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports (2011) by Susan Ware is a great resource to learn more about Title IX and its impact on women’s athletics. The book interweaves the biography of Billie Jean King with the events surrounding the emergence of women’s athletics. That combination makes the history much more accessible than if presented as a standalone topic. The story is virtually inseparable from the life of Billie Jean King anyway, so it is a natural combination. Reviewed June 23, 2022.
Wimbledon Confidential (2007) is a personal memoir of Patricia Edwards who served as the transportation manager at the Grand Slam for over 30 years. The title is deliberately intended to imply that it contains insider information on the Championships. The only big revelation is that tennis players, officials, and VIPs require transport from point A to point B during the tournament. The All England Club provides courtesy cars to make that happen. (Not Recommended) Reviewed June 30, 2022.
The Golden Boy of Centre Court is ostensibly about the rise of Borg to tennis stardom and his transcendence at Wimbledon. This book is obviously targeted at Borg super fans. It will also hold appeal to anyone who is interested in that general era of tennis. Borg’s signature accomplishment, winning the Wimbledon Championship for five consecutive years, was heralded in the book. At the same time, the other players who also previously accomplished the same feat five and even six consecutive times were barely mentioned. Reviewed July 7, 2022.
I Just Can’t Read My Own Mind: Overcoming the Adversities of Life after Stroke: A Play-by-Play (2021) is a memoir by Bill Hrncir. It describes his recovery from a severe stroke that includes using an adaptive tennis program as a part of his therapy. His story traverses a rocky road and is one of personal perseverance and triumph. In addition to his own dedication, he had a lot of great support along the way. Reviewed July 21, 2022.
Cattle To Courts: A History of Tennis In Texas (2019) by Ken McAllister is a mashup between a history book and a personal memoir. It highlights how the state has been a tennis hotbed and an incubator for tennis organizations and innovations for a long time. In fact, while most of the achievements of Texas tennis were previously known to me, seeing them listed together was still impressive. Reviewed July 28, 2022.
Neuro Priming for Peak Performance (2017) by Frank Giampaolo is a guidebook on how to create personalized audio recordings for tennis players to rehearse their mental imagery and positive self-talk. The author is an instructional tennis writer who focuses on coaching excellence. The book is thin, but packed with information that can guide any player through thoughtful creation of a personal mental imagery routine. Reviewed August 4, 2022.
I Know Absolutely Nothing About Tennis: A Tennis Player’s Guide to the Sport’s History, Equipment, Apparel, Etiquette, Rules, and Language (2014) by Tracy Austin is hard to categorize. It is loosely an instructional book wrapped up in a fictional story. The story is about “Stacy” who has moved to a new city with her husband who recently took a new job. Tennis transforms her life. Reviewed August 11, 2022.
Serve to Win (2013) by Novak Djokovic is a mashup of an autobiography, a diet plan, and new age philosophy. Djokovic is adamant that gluten, sugar, and other unspecified “toxins” are very bad. He even suggests that the food industry and the western medical establishment are in cahoots to maximize profit. The book goes a long way to explaining why his current stance on vaccination is not surprising. Reviewed August 18, 2022.
You Cannot Be Serious (2002) by John McEnroe uses his famous quote as a microcosm of his on-court behavior and a theme than permeates his life. McEnroe was a controversial figure from the moment that he first emerged on the professional tour. He was among the first generation of players who earned enough money to live like rock stars. In fact, McEnroe describes in this book how he tried very hard to make that a literal reality. Reviewed August 25, 2022.
McEnroe: A Rage for Perfection (1983) by Richard Evans is a close-up examination of the earliest professional playing days of tennis superstar John McEnroe. The portrait that emerges is a player struggling to understand why people were often offended by his behavior. At the same time, he exhibited the self-awareness that his antics sometimes crossed the line. Reviewed September 1, 2022.
Bad News for McEnroe: Blood, Sweat, and Backhands with John, Jimmy, Ilie, Ivan, Bjorn, and Vitas (2004) by Bill Scanlon. This memoir by the former professional American tennis player explores how big money and players with larger-than-life personalities were inextricably connected on the professional tour. Those observations are currently relevant as some of the biggest stars of this era exit the game. Reviewed September 29, 2022.
Handbook for Planning and Conducting Tennis Tournaments (1985) by Lois A Blackburn is a USTA publication on how to plan and schedule tennis tournaments. Reviewed October 6, 2022.
Point of Impact (2020) by Roy Barth is a memoir by the retired American professional tennis player. He tells his story in two parts. The first is the life lessons that he learned from playing the game of tennis. The second part is what he learned from the business of tennis. His book is also an excellent source of history as a first-person account of the dawn of the Open Era. Reviewed October 20, 2022.
Footsteps of Federer: A Fan’s Pilgrimage Across 7 Swiss Cantons in 10 Acts (2019) by David Seminara is a quirky travelogue structured as a 10-day exploration of places that were significant to the development of Roger Federer. It is one last meditative journey as Federer makes his final exit from professional tennis. Reviewed October 22, 2022.
41-Love: On Addiction, Tennis, and Refusing to Grow Up (2022) by Scarlett Thomas is a memoir not unlike the experience of many others who have returned to the sport as an adult. Even though the author’s obsession with tennis only lasted a little more than a year, she managed to pack in a rich spectrum of tennis competitive experiences. Reviewed November 3, 2022.
First Lady of Tennis: Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman (2001) by Tom Carter. A biography of one of the most influential forces that led to the ultimate success of women’s tennis. Until Wightman started playing tennis, there were divergent tactics between the way men and women played the game. She was the first to recognize that women could use strategies previously thought to be for men only. Reviewed November 10, 2022.
Better Tennis (1933) by Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman. A tennis instructional book from the original badass of women’s tennis. Wightman was a true pioneer of the game that transformed how women played the sport as well as creating opportunities for others. Reviewed November 17, 2022.
The Tennis Partner (1998) by Abraham Verghese. This book chronicles an unlikely friendship that grew from an offhand invitation to play tennis. It is a story about addiction minus the recovery. Verghese cuts through his sadness to memorialize his friend and tell the story of how addiction ravaged and ultimately claimed a promising young life. Reviewed December 8, 2022.
