Tennis: A History from American Amateurs to Global Professionals

by Greg Ruth

"The arrival of the Open era in 1968 was a watershed in the history of tennis--the year that marked its advent as a professionalized sport. Merging wide-angle history with individual stories of players and off-the-court figures, Greg Ruth charts tennis's evolution into the game we watch today. His vivid account moves from the cloistered world of nineteenth-century lawn tennis through the longtime amateur-professional divide and the battles over commercialization that raged from the 1920s until 1968. From there, Ruth details the post-1968 expansion of the game as it was transformed by bankable superstars, a popular women's tour, rival governing bodies, and sponsorship money. What emerges is a fascinating history of the economics and politics that made tennis a decisive, if unlikely, force in the creation of modern-day sports entertainment. Comprehensive and engaging, this book tells the interlocking stories of the figures and factors that birthed the professional game"--

368 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2021

About the author

Author, Illustrator and comic book artist.

Reviews

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got to read an ARC of this, and I highly recommend! This is for fans, enthusiasts, and historians alike. Sports history at its best!