After each of the group and individual tennis lesson he gave during the past 20 years, Dr. Robert Ford Greene kept a written record of the drills he used and skills he taught, eventually filling up several notebooks.
Greene, a former professional player with appearances at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and French Open, and a coach with more than 25,000 hours of teaching experience, reveals what is inside those notebooks in $20,000 In Tennis Lessons: Your Personal Coach a valuable 288-page instructional book intended for all levels of players.
With concise explanations and color illustrations, the book summarizes the components of hitting successful ground strokes, serves, volleys, and any other shot you can think of. It includes chapters on strategy, mental toughness, and even a labeled diagram of a court and glossary of terms. $20,000 In Tennis Lessons is essentially a complete tennis encyclopedia.
Greene states the book is ideal for the beginner who cannot afford to take private lessons and must be self-taught, but it also works well for an advanced player seeking alternative instruction or for a teaching pro searching for drills or techniques to teach.
For the beginner, the first few chapters explain what goes into shot-making and why and how to practice. At times the amount of information can be overwhelming, giving a new player several areas to focus on at once.
If you are an intermediate or advanced player struggling with a specific area of your game, you’ll find the solution (or at least several helpful suggestions) reinforced with personal experiences from Greene’s own teachings.
The author himself admits that all the tips in won’t work for everyone. But $20,000 In Tennis Lessons works well if used as a complement to lessons or as a starting point for beginners.