Born into a poor family in Ecuador, Pancho Segura was an undersized
and undernourished kid working as a ball boy at an exclusive tennis
club when he first picked up a racket. "Little Pancho" is the story
of how this improbable athlete, with his bandy legs, infectious
smile, and unorthodox two-handed style of play, became one of the
greatest and most beloved tennis players of all time. During his
twenty years in pro tennis, general audiences appreciated his
spirit as a master entertainer, while tennis fans adored him.
Drawing on interviews with many in the game who knew or admired
Pancho, Caroline Seebohm provides a close-up picture of the
unlikely pro as his career first emerged in Ecuador and then
developed further in the United States during the 1940s, where he
broke down social and political prejudices with his charm,
naturalness, and brilliance on the court. "Little Pancho" follows
Segura from the University of Miami, where he won three consecutive
NCAA championships (still a record), to his time on the U.S.
professional tennis tour. On the pro tour of that time, Segura and
his fellow players struggled to earn a living and find acceptance
in the traditional, sometimes elitist tennis world, which scorned
"professionals" as outcasts. "Little Pancho" shows us Segura when
he quit the professional tour to become a coach at the Beverly
Hills Tennis Club, working with movie stars such as Charlton
Heston, Barbra Streisand, and Lauren Bacall. And finally, we hear
for the first time from some of the later champions Segura coached,
including Jimmy Connors. This history of tennis in the midcentury
also is the inspiring story of how one poor Latino kid, through
sheer grit, grace, and talent, changed the face of the sport
forever.
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