Tennis Conditioning and Fitness Books
Tennis conditioning and fitness is easily the most overlooked part of our sport. As an incredibly technical sport, stroke development and technique are often at the forefront of player development. The mental side of tennis gets some attention too, but conditioning and fitness are often entirely ignored, and it’s a shame.
Unfortunately, for most players, talent will only take you so far. Tennis has become so competitive and physical that you need to be in excellent shape to go the distance and hang with top players.
Think about some of the game’s top players over the past decade. Names like Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Simona Halep, Novak Djokovic, and Angelique Kerber are a few that come to mind, each with incredible physical prowess.
When Andy Murray finally took his conditioning seriously earlier in his career, it transformed his game, and it helped him last longer 3-5 set matches. It’s also a huge part of what’s helped him come back from many injuries, including his most recent hip surgery.
Conditioning and fitness enable your best strokes and ensure you can compete at the highest level throughout a match. Most players find that as they get tired, their game slowly diminishes. In turn, it’s harder to get their feet planted before a groundstroke, drop low for a volley, or maintain their form through their service motion, and in general, their game suffers. In turn, it becomes harder to maintain a positive mental frame of mind, which is crucial in tennis.
Whether you’re looking to gain a considerable edge over the competition, outlast tough opponents in longer matches or ensure that you maximize your talent, I’d highly recommend you check out these conditioning and fitness books. If not, at least work with a coach with a few copies, as there is no substitute for being match fit.
| Book Name | Author |
| Tennis Fitness for the Love of it | Suzanna McGee |
| Tennis Anatomy | Paul Roetert, Mark Kovacs |
| Complete Conditioning for Tennis | Paul Roetert, Todd Ellenbecker, USTA |
| Tennis Fitness | Ranil Harshana |
| Fit to Play Tennis | Carl Petersen, Nina Nittinger |
| How the Tennis Gods Move | Daniel McCain |
| From Breakpoint to Advantage | Babette Pluim M.D. Ph.D, Marc Safran M.D. |
Break Point by Vincent Spadea.
It was an interesting book. It had some gossip. I really enjoyed reading it. And it had some good insight about life on the pro tour.
I came here because I was trying to find out if Ilie Nastase’s novel, “Breakpoint,” was ghostwritten or what. I found it in one of those little free librarys, and I’m in the middle of reading it, and it is really quite good. If this wasn’t ghosted, Nastase has a hell of a command of the English language for a Romanian.
You should maybe add this book to your list. BTW, I have several of the titles on your list (The Inner Game, The Outsider, Fireside Book of Tennis, etc. I also have a couple books on building and maintaining clay courts –I used to be groundskeeper at a tennis club–) but a real corker I’ve got, that I’ll bet you’ve never heard of, is Mercer Beasley’s [he was Elsworth Vinese’s coach] book, “How To Play Tennis.” He maintained that the ‘bent-knee overhead’ was the shot of the future.
Hi Joe! Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll have to check out Break Point – looks like an interesting read. Haha, I definitely hadn’t come across that book from Beasley. I was able to find it online.
All the best,
Jon
Here’s another great tennis book for your list: a recently published novel called Chance to Break. It’s getting terrific reviews.
Thanks for the recommendation, Clive. Much appreciated.
How to Win Wimbledon in Pajamas is a mental toughness series book that teaches children about GRIT and how to be mentally tough! Check it out on amazon!
Hi Mary, thanks for sharing. It looks like a fun book that I’ll have to check out. I think it wins for best title. The author looks familiar ;)
Can you include an section on Tennis Fiction other than for kids; my favorites
“World Class” Jane and Burt Boyar
“You Don’t No Jack” Jack Marion
“Tennis and Meaning of Life” Jay Jennings
Hi Bud,
Great idea, and thanks for sharing a few of your favorites!
All the best,
Jon
Thanks for your your great list and will be certainly be perusing some of these very soon. Only additions you might want to consider:
Coffee Table: “Book of Tennis Racquets”, Siegfied Kuebler – great for racquet collectors and viewing your favorite racquets of the past
Fiction: “World Class”,Boyar & Boyar – adult fiction you can’t put down about early 60’s tennis right before and during the new “open” era. Also, “You Don’t No Jack”, Marion. If you ever played USTA league tennis you will love this one
Instruction: “Teaching Tennis Pro”, Leary – this is an oldie. If you can find this it, it is like a good pro giving you tips and how to improve your strokes via illustration and text. Also, Vic Braden’s “Tennis for the Future” has lot of photos that help with this visualization process too.
Books for Beginners – “Junior Tennis for Parents…A Sweat Equity Approach”, Marion – If you have kids starting tennis this is a must get. Will save you time and money
Strategy – “Think to Win” – Fox; great read, since he was the coach of Brad Gilbert who wrote ultimate strategy book “Winning Ugly”. Combine these together and this is dynamite!
All I have, and again appreciate your list!
(also, saw John’s comment on a Nastase novel, I have one called “The Net” by him . Somewhat interesting and little edgy)
Hi Roger,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing a few additional books – love the recommendations.
All the best,
Jon
You too sir! Hey, left one off that has always served well and timeless in the psychology and mental category – “Mental Toughness for Sports”, Loehr. Look forward to looking on this site in the future for others to read. Again, thanks!