[beyond the sea]

I'd like to recommend the greatest sports book I've ever read, "The World of Tennis", by Richard Schickel. He describes brilliantly the styles and stylists in the game of tennis throughout it's history. It is fabulous, copy written in 1975.

Try to find it if you appreciate intelligent tennis and the history of the game.

[A CA Guy]

I've owned that one, read it, and passed it on.

Was good for it's day, but few were even using the first oversized large aluminum Prince with the green throat yet when that book was written.

Rackets like Aurther Ashe's fiberglass head racket was the rage. Graphite was just starting out with the blue and green Yamaha rackets and a white graphite racket called the World Player (tiny heads).

A 1975 book is ancient history about a time and game that doesn't exist anymore.
I was a baby starting out with Jack Kramer autograph, Dunlop Fort and Bancroft wood rackets.

Everything was different then, and around 74-76 you had the beginning of the tennis boom, which has long ago died here in the USA.

About 15 years ago you had at least ten local tennis clubs open.
Now there are maybe 5 and two of those are closing soon.

Americans like instant gratification and you can't get that with tennis.
Takes you 3 years if you practice 5 days a week 5 hours a day to begin to know what you are doing in tennis.

It is a high skill game and pretty much is dying out in the USA.