The Three Books that Every Tennis Player Should Own

Tennis Hits the Books

Tis the season for recommending thoughtful gifts for tennis players. Today we will consider the three books that every tennis player should own. These books should also be read. Most books can be read and then cast aside after initial consumption. The books in the own category are those timeless classics get revisited and consulted over time. These are the books that make the best gifts.

The holiday tradition in the Fiend at Court housebound is that children each receive three gifts from their parents.

1) Something to wear. 

2) Something to read. 

3) Something to play with. 

In practice, the net result of this policy is that each year two gifts are quickly case aside in favor of the new Xbox console or Guitar Hero. Such is life.

The “umpire I gave birth to” is a professional pilot. Throughout the her latter teenage years, she received all the recommended books for aspiring pilots. She did not read any of them. Much later, after discovering her passion for flying, she consulted the internet to identify the books on aviation that she should read. All the titles she found were already on the bookshelf in her room, brand spanking new and unread. For those of you without children — This is the essence of parenting.

The reason I relay that story is because tennis players are notorious for not reading books. There is a really good chance that the tennis player who receives a book for Christmas will not read it. At least… not right away. In gifting books, the giver has to approach the situation with the understanding that the book is being pre-positioned so that the recipient has it when the time is right. Most likely this will be at 2am following a devastating loss. It is a gift that will be appreciated. Eventually.

The Three Books that Every Tennis Player Should Own

	The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance This is the best selling tennis book of all time. Every player needs to be aware of this philosophy, even if they don’t embrace it.
	Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis–Lessons from a Master If I had to to summarize this book, it would start out “Get over yourself…” This is the essential book for players that want to cast their ego aside and actually win matches.
	Complete Conditioning for Tennis (Complete Conditioning for Sports) Tennis is war. The body has to be ready for combat. This is my go-to source for how to train.