This alphabetized lexicon profiles the people, groups, events, techniques, court terms, and geographical locations of tennis history. Following an event chronology that commences with 1874 and concludes with 2011, Grasso (Historical Dictionary of Basketball) offers a concise historical overview in his 17-page introduction. Black-and-white player photographs sometimes accompany the multiparagraph, cross-referenced entries. Nine appendixes provide quick-reference to Hall of Fame inductees and championship winners from various international competitions. * Library Journal *
From its medieval roots to the modern-day grand-slam events, tennis is a popular sport, for both players and fans. This dictionary covers the history, rules, competitions, and personalities of the sport of tennis, from 1874 to 2011. The introduction gives the roots of the modern sport, details grand-slam events, mentions the tennis boom of the 1970s, and ends by discussing current tennis events. Arranged alphabetically by subject, the dictionary itself covers rules, scoring, events, and countries. Most importantly, major players are featured, showcasing their personalities and their importance to tennis. For many fans, it is the players who provide the most interest, and this work is filled with biographical information. All of the big names in the sport are included: Bill Tilden, Maureen Connolly, Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Venus and Serena Williams. Nine appendixes list information on and winners of the major Open and Cup events as well as International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees and Olympic Games champions. The work concludes with a bibliography of historical, biographical, and instructional materials as well as tennis periodicals and websites. The most useful feature of any historical dictionary of a sport is the organization of the people, events, history, rules, terms, and champions in one concise volume, and this work is a fine example. Recommended for public, school, and academic libraries where there is an interest in sports, and for libraries owning other volumes in this series. * Booklist *
In this volume in the new Historical Dictionaries of Sports series, historian Grasso starts with a chronology of important events. Following this, a short introductory essay attempts to summarize the evolution of tennis up to the modern game. The greater part of the book consists of the 500-plus entries in the A-Z dictionary, a mixture of terms, rules, places, various countries' histories, and short biographies of many famous professionals. Any person, place, or thing that has its own biography or definition is readily identified because names and terms are cross-referenced in boldface font throughout the dictionary. The final sections include the roster of the International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees, the results of the four Grand Slam tournaments and international events (including the Olympics and Davis Cup), and an extensive bibliography of other resources. Overall the author does a commendable job in construing tennis....Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. * CHOICE *
With its impressively broad scope Historical Dictionary of Tennis is a useful historical overview that is both well-researched and balanced. The appendices at the back of the book are vast, covering 70-plus pages, and list important statistics such as winners of major tournaments and cups, and a list of International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees. This is also quite useful as a quick resource guide and, together with the historical introduction and the extensive reference list, provides the most relevant and pertinent parts of the sport of tennis. * Sport in History *
