A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR, GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR AND INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'A constant role model in my life, Billie Jean King is a leading example of integrity in the face of adversity. The book's powerfully honest and unapologetic candor is a reflection of King's brilliant mark on the world and the glass ceilings she shattered' Serena Williams An inspiring and intimate self-portrait of the champion of equality that encompasses her brilliant tennis career, unwavering activism, and an ongoing commitment to fairness and social justice. In this spirited account, Billie Jean King details her life's journey to find her true self. She recounts her groundbreaking tennis career -- six years as the top-ranked woman in the world, twenty Wimbledon championships, thirty-nine grand-slam titles, and her watershed defeat of Bobby Riggs in the famous "Battle of the Sexes." She poignantly recalls the cultural backdrop of those years and the profound impact on her worldview from the women's movement, the assassinations and anti-war protests of the 1960s, the civil rights movement, and, eventually, the LGBTQ+ rights movement. She describes the myriad challenges she's hurdled -- entrenched sexism, an eating disorder, near financial ruin after being outed -- on her path to publicly and unequivocally acknowledging her sexual identity at the age of fifty-one. And she talks about how her life today remains one of indefatigable service. She offers insights and advice on leadership, business, activism, sports, politics, marriage equality, parenting, sexuality, and love. She shows how living honestly and openly has had a transformative effect on her relationships and happiness. Hers is the story of a pathbreaking feminist, a world-class athlete, and an indomitable spirit whose impact has transcended even her spectacular achievements in sports. __________________________ 'Compelling... a brave and moving book, a must-read for tennis fans and a vivid slice of social history' Melanie Reid, The Times 'A terrific read' Constance Craig Smith, Daily Mail 'A vivid and detailed account of her rise to sporting greatness and her struggles to attain equal treatment for women in a shockingly discriminatory sport... All In describes a life comprising one epic struggle after another, both on and off court' Fiona Sturges, Guardian '[She] writes candidly about a career that led the way for women's sports as we know them . . . thoughtful, soul-searching' Tim Adams, Observer 'This is a fascinating, energising, inspirational book from a woman who continues to set the standard for making a positive difference in the world' Clare Balding

The wildly entertaining Sunday Times bestseller 'This book deserves to be seeded No. 1' Daily Mail Fifteen years after his massive bestseller Serious, John McEnroe is back and ready to talk. Who are the game's winners and losers? What's it like playing guitar onstage with the Rolling Stones, hitting balls with today's greats, breaking bread with his former on-court nemeses, getting scammed by an international art dealer, and raising a big family while balancing McEnroe-sized expectations? But Seriously is a richly personal account, blending anecdote and reflection with razor sharp and brutally honest opinions. This is the sports book of the year: brilliantly funny, surprisingly touching, and 100% McEnroe.

The ultimate keepsake for every pickleball fan-from a dink shot to the kitchen, everything a pickleballer needs to know in this fully illustrated guide to the world's greatest recreational sport, packed with lots of joy, good humor, and even a little bit of wisdom. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. Easy to learn, but impossible to master, it's no wonder that nearly 5 million people nationwide have picked up their paddles and taken to the court. But people aren't just dabbling in this up-and-coming activity, they are obsessed; some hit the court as many as five, six, even seven times a week. As Vanity Fair put it, pickleball has "won over everyone, from Leonardo DiCaprio to your grandparents." Pickleball Is Life is the first book of its kind celebrating the weird and wonderful world of pickleball. It will take readers on a journey from the sport's quirky origins to its modern-day cult following. Along the way, visual info graphs and illustrations will share even more pickleball knowledge, including etiquette tips, a DIY court, obscure rules, and pointers for (good-natured) trash talk. Also included are interviews with members of the three founding families from Bainbridge Island who are still very much involved in the sport and its growth. People of all ages, athletic abilities, and backgrounds have fallen in love with pickleball. Sure, it's a good workout, but it's also a cheerful way to interact with others-something folks crave now more than ever. So, whether they're uninitiated or obsessed, this book will help readers find even more to love about the world's greatest sport.

The game of tennis raises many questions that are of interest to a statistician. Is it true that beginning to serve in a set gives an advantage? Are new balls an advantage? Is the seventh game in a set particularly important? Are top players more stable than other players? Do real champions win the big points? These and many other questions are formulated as "hypotheses" and tested statistically. Analyzing Wimbledon also discusses how the outcome of a match can be predicted (even while the match is in progress), which points are important and which are not, how to choose an optimal service strategy, and whether "winning mood" actually exists in tennis. Aimed at readers with some knowledge of mathematics and statistics, the book uses tennis (Wimbledon in particular) as a vehicle to illustrate the power and beauty of statistical reasoning.

Winner of the Lord Aberdare Literary Prize 2015- from the British Society for Sports History. From its advent in the mid-late nineteenth century as a garden-party pastime to its development into a highly commercialised and professionalised high-performance sport, the history of tennis in Britain reflects important themes in Britain's social history. In the first comprehensive and critical account of the history of tennis in Britain, Robert Lake explains how the game's historical roots have shaped its contemporary structure, and how the history of tennis can tell us much about the history of wider British society. Since its emergence as a spare-time diversion for landed elites, the dominant culture in British tennis has been one of amateurism and exclusion, with tennis sitting alongside cricket and golf as a vehicle for the reproduction of middle-class values throughout wider British society in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Consequently, the Lawn Tennis Association has been accused of a failure to promote inclusion or widen participation, despite steadfast efforts to develop talent and improve coaching practices and structures. Robert Lake examines these themes in the context of the global development of tennis and important processes of commercialisation and professional and social development that have shaped both tennis and wider society. The social history of tennis in Britain is a microcosm of late-nineteenth and twentieth-century British social history: sustained class power and class conflict; struggles for female emancipation and racial integration; the decline of empire; and, Britain's shifting relationship with America, continental Europe, and Commonwealth nations. This book is important and fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in the history of sport or British social history.

This is the second edition of the highly acclaimed and bestselling comprehensive history of tennis which was the first truly scholarly history of any individual sport. Supported by a startling wealth of linguistic and documentary research, Gillmeister charts the global evolution of tennis from its origins in 12th century France where it emerged as a more peaceful variety of ribald football played in monasteries. By the 16th century, it had become the favourite pastime of the European aristocracy and had, in the wake of the Spanish conquistadors, even reached the Americas. The prestige of the game also led to its popularity among Renaissance poets and playwrights. After a gradual decline in the 18th and 19th centuries the medieval game revived in the 1870s in the form of lawn tennis. The new game dispensed with the expensive walled courts, discarded the complicated rules of the old game and was played in a natural setting. From England with its famous Wimbledon tournament it spread to the European continent and to the United States where the Davis Cup was born.Gillmeister debunks several firmly established myths about the history of the game and rare colour photographs and medieval and renaissance drawings generously adorn the text. A delight for the sports fan and the scholar alike, Tennis is the authoritative text on the sport.

Written by Mats Holm and Ulf Roosvald, Bjoern Borg and the Super-Swedes explains how a small country with eight million inhabitants like Sweden could become the leading nation in tennis and an example to imitate worldwide. It starts with the legend of Bjoern Borg, the taciturn and mysterious Swede who became an icon of the '70s and turned tennis into a global sport, and ends with the Kings of Tennis, the nostalgic senior event part of the Champions Tour held each year in Stockholm. The 1985 Australian Open final, the first (and only, so far) all-Swedish Grand Slam final in the history of tennis, between Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander, is a prominent focus of the book. The classic Davis Cup encounters between USA and Sweden in 1982 and 1984 and the Borg-John McEnroe rivalry are also key story lines. The book also includes off-the-court details about the players, painting a well-rounded picture of their personalities, as well as context on the politics of Sweden at the time, including the impact of the Social Democratic Party. The perfect gift for tennis aficionados and history buffs alike! "My experience working with Skyhorse is always a positive collaboration. The editors are first-rate professionals, and my books receive top-shelf treatment. I truly appreciate our working relationship and hope it continues for years to come." -David Fischer, author

The People's Wimbledon brings you the magic of SW19 in words and pictures. Take a trip down memory lane as you rekindle memories of colourful characters, breathtaking matches, intense rivalries and rare upsets from days gone by. Relive the exploits of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, plus Steffi Graf, Rod Laver, Billie Jean King, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad and Maria Bueno. You'll also learn about the history of Wimbledon from the first championship in 1877 through to the modern day. The book combines hundreds of stunning illustrations - including tennis memorabilia and rare archival photos - with memories and anecdotes from players, journalists, broadcasters and fans to tell the Wimbledon story from a fresh new angle. Whether you travel to SW19 or spend two weeks each summer glued to your TV set, The People's Wimbledon is a 'must' if you've been bitten by the Wimbledon bug.

In this book, Timo Boll and Bernd-Ulrich Gross provide the reader with as much information as possible about modern table tennis. Timo's exceptional technique and successful game are analyzed in more than 50 instructional photo series with nearly 700 serial photos and more than 100 individual photos. The left-hander is considered the master of rotation. This book will tell you exactly why. Timo's many checks and tips provide a wealth of information for one's own practice. His thoughts on tactics and playing philosophy, as well as information on racket material and training, complete the book. It is a tutorial for all players and coaches who want to take their game to the next level. The extensive photo material will be a valuable resource for achieving ambitious goals in table tennis.

The Science of Sport series is essential reading for students, coaches and performers, physiotherapists, club doctors and professional support staff working in sport. The Science of Sport: Squash offers both scientific research and athlete testimonials to show that squash is one of the most physically demanding, mentally draining, and tactically challenging sports in the world. Success in this sport requires extreme levels of fitness, optimal and specific strength, relentless psychological toughness, intelligent tactical prowess, and sublime technical proficiency.

Chris Jackson has written a thoughtful and brilliant study of Federer as a man, player, and aesthetic and moral figure of our times. It outplays even Foster Wallace's magisterial writing on this greatest of all tennis champions. Here is the one of the most profound, insightful and elegant books ever written about sports.

Before Federer versus Nadal, before Borg versus McEnroe, the greatest tennis match ever played pitted the dominant Don Budge against the seductively handsome Baron Gottfried von Cramm. This deciding 1937 Davis Cup match, played on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon, was a battle of titans: the world's number one tennis player against the number two; America against Germany; democracy against fascism. For five superhuman sets, the duo's brilliant shotmaking kept the Centre Court crowd-and the world-spellbound.
But the match's significance extended well beyond the immaculate grass courts of Wimbledon. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the brink of World War II, one man played for the pride of his country while the other played for his life. Budge, the humble hard-working American who would soon become the first man to win all four Grand Slam titles in the same year, vied to keep the Davis Cup out of the hands of the Nazi regime. On the other side of the net, the immensely popular and elegant von Cramm fought Budge point for point knowing that a loss might precipitate his descent into the living hell being constructed behind barbed wire back home.
Born into an aristocratic family, von Cramm was admired for his devastating good looks as well as his unparalleled sportsmanship. But he harbored a dark secret, one that put him under increasing Gestapo surveillance. And his situation was made even more perilous by his refusal to join the Nazi Party or defend Hitler. Desperately relying on his athletic achievements and the global spotlight to keep him out of the Gestapo's clutches, his strategy was to keep traveling and keep winning. A Davis Cup victory would make him the toast of Germany. A loss might be catastrophic.
Watching the mesmerizingly intense match from the stands was von Cramm's mentor and all-time tennis superstar Bill Tilden-a consummate showman whose double life would run in ironic counterpoint to that of his German pupil.
Set at a time when sports and politics were inextricably linked, "A Terrible Splendor" gives readers a courtside seat on that fateful day, moving gracefully between the tennis match for the ages and the dramatic events leading Germany, Britain, and America into global war. A book like no other in its weaving of social significance and athletic spectacle, this soul-stirring account is ultimately a tribute to the strength of the human spirit.

"From the Hardcover edition."

Read all about superstar tennis champion, Emma Raducanu! The incredible winner of the 2021 US Open has shot to fame and straight into the hearts of the world. Emerging as one of the most influential young sports stars not just for her own generation, but for decades, her rise has been meteoric. This former Wimbledon wildcard has the whole planet talking about her as the first British female player to win a Grand Slam title in over 40 years - all without dropping a single set. Emma Raducanu, A Life Story is the perfect way to discover the fascinating facts and inspirational moments from the life of this young star. A Life Story: this gripping series throws the reader directly into the lives of modern society's most influential figures. With striking black-and-white illustration along with timelines and fun facts. Also in the series: Katherine Johnson: A Life Story Stephen Hawking: A Life Story Alan Turing: A Life Story Rosalind Franklin: A Life Story David Attenborough: A Life Story Serena Williams: A Life Story Captain Tom Moore: A Life Story

A very special new edition of this beautiful and award-winning official coffee table book which celebrates one of sport's most historic and iconic venues as it celebrates its 100th birthday. The Centre Court at Wimbledon is known throughout the world and is famous for the legends who have graced its hallowed grass and the wonderful matches that have been played out in front of awed sold-out crowds. It truly is a fantastic theatre where players meet with 'triumph or disaster'. As it reaches its centenary year, Centre Court's place in the pantheon of sporting theatres is assured - and this book is a fitting tribute to its rich history.

'BRILLIANT' - Daily Mail 'Is there any expectation? I'm a qualifier, so there's no pressure on me!' In 2021, Emma Raducanu shocked and charmed the tennis world as she raced to the US Open title with a smile on her face. But how did a little-known 18-year-old from Kent become the first ever qualifier to win a Major? Now Mike Dickson, who as Tennis Correspondent of the Daily Mail was one of the few journalists present in New York to see her lift the trophy, reveals what it took to become Britain's first woman Grand Slam champion since Virginia Wade in 1977. Drawing on interviews with key figures in Raducanu's development, he has written a fascinating account of a remarkable journey. From her early days falling in love with the game as a young girl in Bromley and the years of hard work and dedication that followed, he traces the ups and downs of a junior career that took her to the furthest reaches of the international circuit. But it was her breakthrough on home turf at Wimbledon, just weeks after sitting her A-levels, that really grabbed the attention of the public. It led to her first prolonged spell on the full professional tour - a life-changing trip around the hard-court tournaments of America which culminated in her unexpected triumph at Flushing Meadows. Full of authoritative insights and eye-opening details, Emma Raducanu: When Tennis Came Home paints an inspiring and compelling picture of one of the brightest new stars in British sport.

Miss Truman to Serve Christine Truman, now Dr Christine Truman Janes MBE, was born in 194 and brought up in Woodford Green Essex. Her first ambition was to be as good at tennis as her older siblings, hoping to join their mixed doubles. It never happened. Instead she achieved some of her dreams, including a ranking of No.2 in the world, aged 18, in 1959. She won the Grand Slam title in Paris at 18, the youngest Brit since the war. She holds the record at 16 of being the youngest British semi finalist at Wimbledon since Lottie Dod in 1887. 135 years ago! Also US finalist 1959 and Wimbledon finalist 1961. 'If tennis was easy, why aren't all the people walking up and down Oxford Street playing at Wimbledon?' Billie Jean King 'Work lasts longer than you do...' Mother 'Talent will out.' Father 'Champions know they will win!' 'Play the ball, not opponents!' Coach Norman Kitovitz 'It's the tennis girl, dear!' Clementine to Winston Churchill, 1959

Miss Truman to Serve Christine Truman, now Dr Christine Truman Janes MBE, was born in 194 and brought up in Woodford Green Essex. Her first ambition was to be as good at tennis as her older siblings, hoping to join their mixed doubles. It never happened. Instead she achieved some of her dreams, including a ranking of No.2 in the world, aged 18, in 1959. She won the Grand Slam title in Paris at 18, the youngest Brit since the war. She holds the record at 16 of being the youngest British semi finalist at Wimbledon since Lottie Dod in 1887. 135 years ago! Also US finalist 1959 and Wimbledon finalist 1961. 'If tennis was easy, why aren't all the people walking up and down Oxford Street playing at Wimbledon?' Billie Jean King 'Work lasts longer than you do...' Mother 'Talent will out.' Father 'Champions know they will win!' 'Play the ball, not opponents!' Coach Norman Kitovitz 'It's the tennis girl, dear!' Clementine to Winston Churchill, 1959

This work identifies the characteristics of racket design parameters that influence racket performance. It presents the finite element analysis of several designs of badminton rackets and compares them to experimental results for validation. Designing a racket requires a comprehensive understanding of racket performance characteristics. Essentially, racket performance is related to the sweet spot, which is the spot on the racket head that produces the most power and control when it strikes a shuttlecock. Determining a coefficient of restitution can help to identify the sweet spot on a racket. By analyzing several head shape designs, it becomes apparent that isometric head shape rackets produce better coefficients of restitution compared to oval and round ones. It is recommended that the racket design consist of low string tension, stiffer racket shafts and bigger head size in order to produce higher shuttlecock speed.