Introduction
With a rich global history, tennis is a famous sport loved by both fans and players of all ages. Besides learning this sport on the tennis court, players even learn about it through books. There are dozens of great tennis books available that can help you create an effective strategy or mentally prepare yourself for the game.
Be it for the fans or the players, great autobiographies and biographies of some of the tennis players can help you learn from their experiences.
So here’s a list of best tennis books to read by every player so they can fine tune their tennis strategies.
Let’s get started!
List of Best Tennis Books to Read
1. Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant by Sebastián Torok
Juan Martin was a famous tennis player who won the US Open in 2009. However, after this, his career never materialized. Although he had recurring injury problems, he was one of the most popular tennis players on tour.
You can have an insight into the gentle personality of this player and the way he embraced his challenges in this book. Since it was compiled from over 70 interviews, it will give you the best summary about this player.
2. The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese
This is an emotional autobiographical novel about tennis written by Ibrahim Varghese who is best known for his novel ‘Cutting for stone’. In this novel, the protagonist of the story, Varghese, is a physician who has a job in the facility of Texas Tech where he meets a former tennis pro player David.
Soon both of them start playing tennis together and their friendship grows in the court. But then David relapses and Verghese has to navigate this relationship during the difficult time.
3. Open by Andre Agassi: best book of tennis
This book is the story of a man who was doomed to become a tennis champion from birth. Though he had everything ranging from wealth to 8 Grand Slam titles, he was struggling to find fulfilment in this sport.
In this book, you can gain an insight into the protagonist’s early success, marriage, interest in philanthropy, and uncomfortable relationship with popularity. The crux of this book is that you will not only learn about tennis but will also learn about the life of a man who embraces challenges and finds true happiness in the end.
4. String Theory by David Foster Wallace: learn about the game of tennis
The author of this book was a tennis player cum sportswriter. He has written 5 essays in this book related to his experience as a junior tennis player and his life as a writer. In these essays, you can find information on famous players of this sport like Roger Federer.
If you are a newbie in tennis, you can read this book to gain an understanding of this sport and learn more about its champions.
5. Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert: learn about tennis game and strategy
This book is ideal for tennis players who want to learn about tennis strategy and competition. In this book, the author Brad Gilbert simplifies this game so that even beginners in the field can understand the strategies behind it.
6. Seeing Serena by Gerald Mazorati
Serena Williams is no doubt one of the greatest players of tennis of all time. Though she has retired, her impact on this sport will not be forgotten by all the tennis enthusiasts. In this book, the author focuses on 2 years of Serena’s career. First is the black lights matter protest and second is her return to tennis after her daughter’s birth when she nearly died.
According to Mazoratu, “It is Serena Williams’s complexity, even beyond her greatness on court, that has made her the most consequential athlete of her time, and it is my hope that this book, in its way of telling, evokes and somehow deepens that complexity.”
7. The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
Learn the mental side of peak performance through the inner game of tennis in this book. It will help you overcome nervousness, self-doubt and performance anxiety to achieve victory in the game. The novel is written by a renowned author and is a classic bestseller. It has even been updated to change the method through which the game is played.
8. The Champion’s Mind by Jim Afremow
The author of this book is a sports psychologist and hence he has written everything about on and off-court training for a tennis player. There are tips in this book regarding how international or professional players manage their tennis training in their day-to-day lives.
In simple words, this book is ideal for all tennis players who want to participate in competitions and learn to play tennis on a professional level.
9. 50th Anniversary US Open Tennis Book by Rick Rennert
The name of this book is self-explanatory. In this book, you can experience all the different personalities and moments of the 50th Anniversary of US Open Tennis. What’s great about this book is that it has original contributions from tennis coaches, players, journalists and even fans in it. It has exclusive photography to help relieve the moments and hence it can be a perfect gift for any tennis enthusiast.
10. Tennis Anatomy by E. Paul Roetert
With more than 72 exercises to help improve your agility, speed and distance, Tennis Anatomy is the perfect book for any tennis player looking to serve more powerful shots. The book includes full colour and atomic illustrations highlighting different muscles in action while you practice certain exercises.
This will help you create a personalised training program for yourself according to the specific muscle groups in your body that require more improvement. You can also learn how to minimise the risk of tennis injuries with the help of this book.
Conclusion
Thus, this is our list of the different tennis books that all tennis enthusiasts as well as fans can read. Some of these books also help the players to learn about the basics of tennis and how to create a strategy while playing.
Others, on the other hand, are specifically meant for players who are willing to participate in competitions. No matter what your requirement is, there is a book for everyone.
Good luck in choosing the right book!
