Tennis: A Cultural History

"A definitive account of tennis a splayed from the Middle Ages to the present... will sate the curiosity of the most avid tennis enthusiast." Publishers Weekly

"Well Researched... [Gillmeister] keeps a light tone even when vilifying minute details like the physical layout of Henry V's tennis court." Library Journal

"Extraordinary" The Economist

" . . . the book is exemplary, and the scholarship particularly of the first five chapters sets a high standard for the history of any sport."
American Studies International

The first comprehensive history of tennis, Henry Gillmeister's Tennis may also be considered the first truly scholarly history of any individual sport.Supported by a startling wealth of linguistic and documentary research, Gillmeister charts the global evolution of tennis from its origins in the early Middle Ages to the appearance of the modern game in the 20th century. Along the way, he debunks several firmly established myths about the history of the game, including those surrounding the invention of the Davis Cup. Rare photographs and never before published medieval and renaissance drawings generously adorn the text, and a treasure trove of bibliographical information provides its coda. A delight for the sports fan and the scholar alike, Tennis will prove the authoritative text on tennis for years to come.