The art of tennis

Weber (Mondrian, 2024) is a stellar arts biographer, and he is passionate about tennis. Noting that sport "is one of the greatest pastimes known to humankind," he looks to art that affirms this, citing paintings and literature inspired by tennis. He also portrays artistic players who have competed on clay and grass courts worldwide. The opening chapter, "Charisma," sets the baseline for the following 24 chapters that showcase the far-reaching influence of tennis, whether on the creations of legendary fashion designers (René Lacoste, Oleg Cassini), dance (Jeux by Claude Debussy), pioneering motion-photography (Eadweard Muybridge), sculpture (Alexander Calder), or literature (Vladimir Nabokov). Weber also covers such topics as debates over the color of tennis balls and the history of the Fabergé tennis trophy. Just as a slice shot can change the flow of a set, the book concludes with a heartfelt essay in honor of Weber's dear friend Nick Ohly, who died unexpectedly on the tennis court while they were playing a tiebreaker. Each finely crafted chapter could be a stand-alone essay and all are certain to entertain and educate tennis fans along with readers drawn to sports and art history. A captivating and intellectual breath of fresh air in contrast to conventional sports writing.

Tennis is a source of cultural inspiration and an "art form" in itself, according to this lively grab bag of essays from biographer Weber (Mondrian). He profiles influential players, among them Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen, who inspired a 1924 ballet by Serge Diaghilev; her enigmatic opponent Helen Wills, an American who boasted "the longest streak of tournament victories of any player in tennis history"; and Althea Gibson, who helped "break the color barrier" in women's tennis in 1950 when she became the first Black athlete to play at the U.S. National Tennis Championship. Elsewhere, Weber examines Vladimir Nabokov's story "La Veneziana," wherein characters' playing styles subtly establish their personality traits; muses on the role of charisma in the sport; and mines the history of the phrase "Tennis, anyone?" which was first uttered by a young Humphrey Bogart on Broadway. The essays range from entertaining trivia to rapturous description, as when Weber writes of a match in which Helen Wills alternated "deep drives to the baseline with deadly little slices, with a mastery of changes in tempo worthy of... Toscanini." Reflecting the author's capacious love for the sport, this will be a smash with tennis fans. Illus. (Nov.)