Double Fault: My Rise and Fall, and My Road Back [Hardcover]

Rosco Tanner (Author), Mike Yorkey (Author), Stan Smith (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005

Roscoe Tanner, one of the 10 best tennis players during the seventies and eighties, was the good boy of the sport during the advent of the brash and flamboyant tennis star. In this highly captivating personal account, Tanner revisits his career and shares his stories about the game and the players who made tennis a buzz sport during his era. Tanner’s life after tennis was much less charmed, however, and included a year in jail. His life spun out of control following a series of bad choices that hurt himself and others—including those he loved the most. He writes with fresh honesty about this period, as well as his efforts to rebuild his life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Roscoe Tanner vividly shares how easy it is to lose one’s way in the world of professional sports. I commend him for being so candid with a story that reminds us that no matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done, it’s never too late to seek redemption." —Michael Chang, the youngest Grand Slam winner in history at the age of 17

From the Inside Flap

Roscoe Tanner battled Bjorn Borg in the first Breakfast at Wimbledon in 1979, was ranked in the top five in the world, and pocketed millions playing a game he loved. Snapping aces and charging the net, Tanner became famous for a left-handed cannonball serve that blew opponents off the court with ease. His on-court behavior was faultless as well: throughout his tennis career, he was known as a Boy Scout in tennis whites, a straight arrow who thanked the ballboys and tournament volunteers. Following his retirement, however, Tanner’s life tumbled into a sinkhole of financial disasters and personal destruction—a series of double faults and missed opportunities that lasted for two decades. Among the problems were two divorces that emptied his bank accounts, fathering a daughter out of wedlock, and writing a bad check for the purchase of a 32-foot pleasure boat in Florida. While teaching tennis in Germany during the summer of 2003, Tanner was picked up by the local Polizei for extradition to the United States. Imprisonment took away everything—his freedom, his language, his family, his livelihood, and his self-confidence—and the former tennis star’s life came crashing down around his ears. For the first time in a charmed life, Tanner could not smooth talk his way out of trouble as his tennis whites were exchanged for prison blues. In Double Fault, Roscoe Tanner writes in blunt and illuminating fashion about the ups and downs of his life and career and reanimates one of the most colorful and memorable eras in the history of professional tennis. Tanner’s compelling stories and anecdotes shed light on a world only someone on the inside could describe. From June 18, 2003, to April 19, 2004, Tanner remained behind bars in Karlsruhe, Germany; Tampa Bay, Florida; and Somerset County, New Jersey. In this gripping account, Tanner describes how his life changed forever when he realized that he didn’t need money to pay his debts—he needed faith in God. Double Fault is a powerful story of a prodigal in tennis shorts that shows it’s never too late to turn things around.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572437790
• ISBN-13: 978-1572437791
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #304,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What Was He Thinking!, September 23, 2005

By 

R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Double Fault: My Rise and Fall, and My Road Back (Hardcover)

As a tennis fan, I enjoyed this book. Is it great literature or life altering? No. But if you want a quick summary of Roscoe's life and enjoyable times in the opening era of professional tennis, it's all here.

Raised in an upper middle class background in the South, Roscoe quickly summarizes his early life and influences and how he fell into tennis. Given the incredible amount of work required today to be a professional, it's almost laughable how a talented individual such as Roscoe could stumble into a professional career given that it wasn't the focus of his life as required to survive in today's tennis world.

One of the first interesting facts learned was Tanner's recruitment at Stanford. After signing with Tennessee, he eventually goes to Stanford and is considered by some as the most important recruit at the university as at that time UCLA and USC were clearly the best teams in the Pac-8 and the nation. Roscoe and subsequent teammates like Sandy Mayer changed all of that.

From a stellar college career Roscoe moves on to the pros with a wife in tow and the thrills of the road overcome his marriage. Ironically, he divorces his wife over a Colorado girlfriend who immediately clarifies that this was only a fling for her, poetic justice at its best. The book becomes somewhat of a whitewash of his extracurricular activity outside of marriage including in passing a call girl encounter that leads to a child. One can only think that this wasn't the first time that the book seems to imply. From there it's a quick downward spiral in to poor investments and dishonesty that end with him in jail and deeply in debt. His stories of jail bring home how this wealthy child/adult could have fallen so far. With a quick credit to religion, Tanner presents a happy ending that one can only roll your eyes at. I wish him the best but it's easier to present your side in a book than actually live it. I did however, recently hit with a pro in Orange County that talked of Roscoe and had nothing but good things to say about his current commitment. I hope that ends up being the case.

The most interesting part of the book to this tennis fan was Tanner's description of life on the tour with the other pros. While close to his age, I wasn't aware that Tanner was doubles partner with Arthur Ashe. This brings up many interesting stories and Tanner actually does a better job describing Ashe's personality than he does his own.

In closing I would say I really enjoyed this book. Mainly because the subject is of extreme interest. Did the book go into enough depth on Roscoe? Absolutely not and that would be my main disappointment. But it is an enjoyable read of a tennis legend and for me that was enough.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tanner ain't so great, April 13, 2008

By 

Craig "TX Aggie" (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Double Fault: My Rise and Fall, and My Road Back (Hardcover)

It was surprising to learn what Tanner had to say about himself. He isn't what I perceived him to be and not what he seemed like many years ago.

If you remember watching him in the 1970's you'll be interested in the book. Even if you weren't a fan of his it is still worth reading.

This is a book with experiences to learn from. Take a look at a man's trials and think about how they relate to yourself.