The Education of a Tennis Player

The Education of a Tennis Player is Rod Laver's first-hand account of his historic 1969 Grand Slam sweep of all four major tennis titles. In this memoir, Laver, along with co-author and tennis personality Bud Collins, details his childhood, early career and his most important matches. The four-time Wimbledon champion and the only player in tennis history to win two Grand Slams also sprinkles in tips and lessons on how players of all levels can improve their game and shares some of the strategies that helped him to achieve unparalleled success on the tennis court. Originally published in 1971, The Education of a Tennis Player was updated in 2009 on the 40th anniversary of his historic second Grand Slam with new content, including the story of his recovery from a near-fatal stroke in 1998. Book jacket.

Rod Laver is the only tennis player in history to twice achieve a Grand Slam sweep of all four major titles—Wimbledon, U.S., French, and Australian championships—within a single calendar year. He has won 11 major singles titles and nearly 200 singles titles while also guiding Australia to five Davis Cup titles. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981. He lives in Carlsbad, California. Bud Collins is a world-famous tennis journalist and historian, a longtime columnist for the Boston Globe, and a television broadcaster for CBS Sports, NBC Sports, ESPN, and the Tennis Channel. A 1994 inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, he is the coauthor of The Education of a Tennis Player and Evonne! On the Move and the author of The Bud Collins History of Tennis and My Life with the Pros. He lives in Boston.