Tennis Books You Have to Read

Written by: Jonas Eriksson | June 10, 2011

Here’s my list of tennis booksyou have to read. I love reading about tennis, but a lot of the writing is dry and uninteresting. Since I’ve read a lot of the stuff on the tennis book market, I hope I can give you some valuable recommendations on tennis books you might’ve missed out on. Just click on the link to get to Amazon where you can buy the book, read excerpts (for some) or read some more reviews.

The Inner Game Of Tennis is about becoming a better playing by focus on your mental skills and technique. Timothy Gallwey talks about fascinating concepts such as relaxed concentration and tells his own personal story of mastering the game of tennis and maximising his game.

Strokes of Genius is about the epic 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and it’s wonderfully written by tennis writer (Sports Illustrated) Jon L Wertheim. If you’re a fan of either player or a fan of tennis history in general – this is a must read. Beautiful book.

Open is André Agassi‘s pretty controversial book about his career that made him a legend in the sport. It’s beautifully written (ghostwritten by J.R. Moehringer) and offers a very honest insight into Andre’s tumultous life and career. Best tennis biography ever?

A Champion’s Mind is Peter Sampras auto-biography and although it isn’t as entertaining as Agassi’s – you could argue that Sampras personality isn’t as flamboyant – it’s still an exciting read from one of the best players in history.

Roger Federer: Quest for Perfection is an apt title for a book about the Swiss maestro. It’s not very personal since it’s not written by Federer himself, but it does give you insight into his childhood and how he got to where he is today. Let’s see if he ever writes an autobiography though.

Winning Ugly is the former world #4 and now tennis coach Brad Gilbert‘s famous book about maximizing your chances of winning a tennis match without improving your technique. This book is really packed with practical advice and is worth reading several times.

Complete Conditioning for Tennis is for you who take your tennis really seriously and want to improve your physique to get more out of your game. I can really recommend this if your willing to put in a little bit extra to become a better player.

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Jonas Eriksson

Jonas has been known as "tennis nerd" mainly for his obsessing about racquets and gear. Plays this beautiful sport almost every day.