Whether you are looking for tips you can use to improve your own game, or you are simply looking for an absorbing and entertaining read, there is plenty of well-written and informative tennis books from which to choose.
Tennis is a game of extremely fine margins, so even picking up a few useful tips can be the difference between winning and losing on the court.
When it comes to tennis books, readers have plenty of options.
There are purely instructional texts that offer tips to improve the mental and technical side of your game.
Engaging and inspirational biographies from former professional tennis players, and even history books that detail the long and storied history of the sport and its most famous tournaments.
To help you find the most useful and fascinating reads, we have listed some of the best tennis books ever written.
Contents
The Best Tennis Books Today
1. The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance, By W. Timothy Gallwey
No list of tennis books would be complete without including one of the bestselling books ever written about the sport.
This incredibly useful guide was written to help tennis players, as well as other types of athletes, improve their in-game performance.
The book teaches readers how to focus their minds and overcome the nerves, self-doubt, and outside distractions that can plague even the most experienced tennis players.
If you are looking for a way to improve your ability to concentrate on the court and play a more effective game of tennis, The Inner Game of Tennis truly is a must-read book.
2. Boost Your Tennis Game: Mindset, Strategy, Technique, and Fitness for Winning Tennis, By Rihards Emulins
This informative book offers plenty of useful tips you can use to improve your game.
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Whether you are a beginner, or an experienced tennis player, you can discover drills, strategies, technical tips, and more that you can use to become a better tennis player.
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Rather than focus on one area, the author used his own experience as a player and coaching tennis readers to improve their technique, fitness, game strategies, and even their tennis psychology.Â
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Boost Your Tennis Game is an excellent read that can help any tennis player that wants to take their game to the next level.
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This book is packed with useful information, and will quickly become one of your go-to tennis resources.
3. Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis - Lessons from a Master, By Brad Gilbert
Olympic gold medalist and renowned professional tennis analyst Brad Gilbert wrote this book to share some of the timeless tennis tricks and tips that pro tennis players use to beat the competition.
This aggressive tennis manual teaches readers everything they need to reference becoming stronger and more competitive tennis players.
The latest edition of Winning Ugly even includes a segment that analyzes some of the attributes that set some of the current champions apart from other professional players.
If winning is important to you, Brad Gilbert’s Winning Ugly is a worthwhile read.
4. Complete Conditioning for Tennis, By Mark Kovacs
The tennis-specific edition of this famous sports conditioning series is a must-read for any tennis player looking for ways to become a more effective tennis player.
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The book outlines basic strength and conditioning drills and exercises you can perform to become a more successful tennis player.
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It also goes over ways to improve flexibility and reduce recovery time so you can play more often.
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The book provides footwork drills, agility programs, prevention tips for common tennis injuries, and tennis-specific strength training workout routines.
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The over 200 on and off-court drills and exercise routines combine to make Complete Conditioning for Tennis a valuable resource for a tennis fan of all skill levels.
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The book is the only strength and conditioning resource endorsed by the United States Tennis Association!
5. TNNS LSSNS: Filling the Gaps in Your Game By Marcus Paul Cootsona
This book was designed for those who do not have the money or time to enroll in tennis lessons. It provides simple steps you can follow to improve your game.
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With simple instructions you can follow to become a more intelligent tennis player, TNNS LSSNS is a great read for tennis players of all skill levels.
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It makes for a perfect gift for tennis beginners.
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It has enough tips and tricks that even more experienced players could discover something new.
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While it is a practical and informative tennis book, it is written humorously and engagingly, so it does not read like a dry instruction manual.
6. The Mind of a Tennis Player: A Guide to the Mental Side of the Game By Steven Brady
The Mind of a Tennis Player helps tennis players of all skill levels deal with the fears and anxieties that come with competitive tennis.
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Author Steven Brady spent over four decades helping pro tennis players work on the mental side of their game. He used all that experience to write this straightforward guide to excel in competition on the tennis court.
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Whether you are an amateur player that just wants to become a more competitive player at your local court, or you are preparing to compete in tennis tournaments, this book can help you overcome issues relating to fragile confidence, the tension of competition, and the fear of losing.
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With chapters about concentration tips, eliminating stroke deficiency, and advice for match day preparation, this is the ultimate guide for any tennis player that is enthusiastic about competing.Â
7. Rafa By Rafael Nadal
This stirring biography offers insight into the life of one of the sport’s modern greats. The book provides some tips Nadal himself recommends to aspiring tennis players, but where the book shines is its ability to inspire.
Nadal brings the reader along through a detailed account of his life and professional tennis career.
Starting with his earliest memories of the sport to some of his most triumphant moments – like winning the famous 2008 Wimbledon final – this book is an engaging read that will have any fan of the sport quickly turning the pages.
While the biography will inspire you to pick up your racket and head down to the closest court, it will also help you understand there is more to the sport than just winning.
Whether or not you are a fan of Rafael Nadal, this is a well-written biography that will give you a behind-the-scenes look into the life of one of the most iconic figures in the sport today.
8. String Theory: David Foster Wallace on Tennis By David Foster Wallace
For those who are looking for more of a casual read, String Theory is a collection of five short stories about the sport of tennis.
The writing is beautiful and details one man’s passion for the sport he loves.
Some stories are written from the perspective of the payer and capture what it means to compete. Others celecrate the passion tennis fans have for the sport.
The book makes an excellent gift for anyone who enjoys tennis!
9. Love Game: A History of Tennis, from Victorian Pastime to Global Phenomenon By Elizabeth Wilson
For those who would like to know more about this sport, Love Game offers a detailed history of tennis.
It is a gripping read for anyone who has a passion for tennis and it provides an accurate account of how this simple game transformed into one of the most loved sports on the planet.
The book has been meticulously researched, so it presents tennis history in a clear and chronologically accurate way.
It explains how one of the many games enjoyed by the wealthy of Victorian England was able to spread across the globe and become an intense and televised sport in the modern world.
This detailed book makes a gift for any tennis lover, and it also features an attractive hard-bound cover.
If you enjoy the sport and would like to know more about its overall history and the history of its most famous players and tournaments, you should consider Love Game must-read.
Final Words
Whether you just love the game or are simply looking for something to fill your time while you are not on the court, tennis books can serve a valuable purpose for both tennis fans and players.
Given the popularity of tennis, it is no surprise that bookstores are filled with tennis books of all descriptions.
With so many tennis-related biographies, instructional guidebooks, history texts, and even fiction novels, it can be difficult choosing the right tennis book.
You can’t go wrong in selecting any of the books highlighted above. You will have yourself an engaging read!
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