*Black and White: The Way I See It*, Richard Williams with Bart Davis
Once a controversial figure, now recognized as the sport’s resident Cassandra, Williams is less visible than he once was. Always cryptic in his statements, here he fills us in on his own, unlikely life story. Much of the book, and its most interesting sections, take place in the Louisiana of his youth. The segregated Deep South scenes he describes sound like they could have taken place in another country and an earlier lifetime. Which only makes the eventual achievements of his daughters in this lifetime that much more remarkable.
 Nick Bollettieri with Bob Davis
This is at least the second Bollettieri memoir, but it’s not one too many. To read it is to be reminded that the Paratrooper from Pelham has made himself into one of the Zeligs of the sport. He’s seemingly worked with all of the game’s greats, and he has the chapter titles to prove it. There are separate ones for Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Jim Courier, Mary Pierce, Boris Becker, Jelena Jankovic, Tommy Haas, Anna Kournikova, Marcelo Rios, Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, the Williams sisters, Kei Nishikori, and Sabine Lisicki. You’ll learn what they were like when they were kids, and how Nick helped them become champs.
*Novak Djokovic and the Rise of Serbia: The Sporting Statesman,* Chris Bowers
Few tennis players have been as closely associated with their native lands as the world No. 1. So it makes sense that Bowers tries to put him in the context of the war-torn, 1990s Serbia where he grew up. In doing that, the author gives a little more insight into what has driven Djokovic, what he plays for, and how he’s matured into his role as a public figure in Serbia.
*Arthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era,* Eric Allen Hall
Speaking of representing your people, no tennis player has had as much on his plate, politically speaking, as Arthur Ashe. Hall, an African-American Studies professor, narrates Ashe’s rise from segregated Richmond, Va., to Wimbledon champion. More interesting than his on-court achievements, though, is his evolution as an activist. An Obama-esque figure of calm, Ashe traveled between white and black worlds. While he was often criticized for his moderate approach, he also did as much as any athlete, or any American, to bring about the demise of apartheid in South Africa. It’s that, more than his Wimbledon title, that now stands as his crowning accomplishment.
Like Djokovic and Ashe, Li Na has been a pioneer for her people. This autobiography came out last year, before her retirement, but it will catch you up on her career, and give you an idea of what made her a special athlete. She broke from the Chinese national system in 2008; by 2011, she had become the first player from her country to win a Grand Slam. This world-class sportswoman, and world-class comedian, had to fight for the chance to express herself.
Facing Hewitt: Symposium of a Champion, Scoop Malinowiski
The author of last year’s Facing Federer gives the fightin’ Aussie the oral history treatment this year. Scoop, as his name implies, goes to the source for his stories: Lleyton's tour-mates and opponents. Malinowski talks to pretty much everyone who has faced Hewitt, or hung out with him, to paint a picture of the “little lion” who has made a career of “winning matches he should never have won.”
*The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time,* Sandra Harwitt
For the better part of a century, the tennis circuit wound its way through the U.S.’s most exclusive WASP clubs. But Sandy Harwitt tells an alternative, Jewish history of the game here. It is, as you might guess, quite a cast of characters: Dick Savitt, Renee Richards, Allen Fox, Tom Okker, Brad Gilbert, Shahar Peer and a dozen others have made the tours a more interesting, and often smarter, place. Did you know the creator of the spaghetti racquet was Jewish?
*Pain, Set, and Match,* Bill Norris with Richard Evans
If you’re a certain age, you remember Bill Norris as the John Denver of the ATP. For four decades, he was the blond, glasses-wearing trainer who was there to tend to all of the players’ on-court ailments. Here he shares his stories and offers his own tips for injury prevention. He’s advised them all, on tour and off, from Rod Laver to Roger Federer all the way up to Presidents Kennedy and Reagan.
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A lot has happened to Murray since he won Wimbledon in 2013: He has, as one newspaper headline put it, lost a coach and added a fiancé—throw in back surgery and his All England run begins to seem like the work of another man entirely. But it won't soon be forgotten. This (mostly photographic) history of that fortnight is the place to start remembering.
*The Days of Roger Federer,* Randy Walker
A season wouldn’t be complete without a book on the Maestro. Randy Walker, author of On This Day in Tennis History, gives the calendar treatment to Federer himself. Whether it’s for reference or out of devotion, if you want to know what Federer has done on virtually every day of the year, this is the place to go.
