Arthur Ashe On Tennis: Strokes, Strategy, Traditions, Players, Psychology, and Wisdom

Arthur Ashe was not only a great tennis champion but a great teacher and analyst of the game he loved. In this book - delayed in its publication while Arthur completed his memoir Days of Grace - he shares the incomparable store of brilliance, experience, strategy, technique, and all-around tennis wisdom he acquired in the course of his remarkable life: as player in training, as winner of three Grand Slam titles, as two-time number-one-ranking player, as Davis Cup captain, as superb and instinctive teaching pro, as television commentator, as writer for Tennis magazine. Arthur speaks to players at all levels. In addressing the questions he was most often asked, he details an approach to the game built on fundamentals - strokes, grips, serves, returns of serve - and match-tested strategies: when to change your game plan, playing percentage tennis, covering the court. In addition, he stresses the aspect of tennis for which he was particularly known: the mental game. He helps you to understand both your own game and your opponent's, explaining body language and the element of surprise, and breaking a match down to its key points. His comments on players past and present - from Pancho Gonzalez and Rod Laver to Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, and Pete Sampras - illuminate essential areas of tennis.

Featuring introductions by Billie Jean King, Lori McNeil, John McPhee, and George Vecsey, this collection of invaluable instructional advice and tennis wisdom from the late Arthur Ashe is infused with the finest insights of a great man and a great tennis mind.