Winning Ugly

Tennis Hits the Books

When I updated the weekly content schedule for this site to include discussion of tennis books each Thursday, I made the announcement that I was going to first dispense with the “obvious three” which dominate the niche market. The first book covered was String Theory by David Foster Wallace. The second was The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance, by Timothy Gallwey.

The final installment in the “obvious three” series is Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis–Lessons from a Master, by Brad Gilbert. Winning Ugly is the essential companion to Inner Tennis. I wish I could claim that observation, but it is actually asserted in the forward of Winning Ugly. I mean, who wouldn’t want to hitch their plow to the tennis book juggernaut that is Inner Tennis.

Just because an observation is self-serving doesn’t mean isn’t also true. I regard the two books as inseparable. They are opposite sides of the same coin and essential reading for anyone who is serious about competing in tennis to the best of their ability.

While Inner Tennis is the subconscious psychological side playing great tennis Winning Ugly is intentional and premeditated thinking. This starts with preparing for the match which runs the gambit from equipment preparation, stretching, warm-up routines, scouting opponents, and developing a game plan.

Gilbert was always regarded as an overachiever in tennis. He didn’t have the best of anything. Not shots, not speed, not power, not anything. What he did have was an ability to understand his strengths and weaknesses as well as those of his opponents. More importantly, he was a master at identifying the strategies and tactics that would give him the best possible chance to win.

I am astonished at the frequency that I receive targeted ads and emails for tennis playbooks or videos advertising the best patterns for winning play. What may be lost in all this marketing hype is that the player has to actually have the tools to actually execute those patterns. Winning Ugly outlines the framework of discovery for players to determine their own patterns based on a realistic assessment of their own strengths and weaknesses.

It is such a critical skill is recognizing match situations and making effective adjustments when necessary. Randomly changing from pattern to pattern is just that. Random. Winning Ugly teaches players how to think on their feet.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that Brad Gilbert has recently launched a podcast based on this book titled “Winning Uglier.” He has dropped a couple of episodes to date and the third is due to come out today. Having just re-read the book, the first two episodes were mostly a rehash of the book. It will be interesting to see how it goes once topics from that source are exhausted.

So there you have the “obvious three” tennis books that should grace the shelves of any serious tennis player. You might even consider giving them a read. More likely than not, they will benefit your game.