Customer Reviews

Ultimate Tennis: The Pleasure Game

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I have been playing tennis for 21 years and coaching the last 7 years fulltime. I have played school, state, national, university and satallite. I have read many tennis books ranging from `Tournament Tough' to `The Inner game of Tennis', but Al Secunda's book is simply the BEST. Presently I am on my 3rd copy because I constantly have it in my tennis bag and use it to help my customers visualise better technique. Like myself my clients find Al Secunda's delivery entertaining and informative. I have visibly seen students improve and enjoy their game more, following `pleasure and precision' principles. In particular I find Al's palm on the forehand and pinky knuckle on the backhand as essential focal points for smooth stroking. The extended scarecrow service motion, the linear stroking photo's and the novel way of explaining under the equator as good contact are revoultionary. The books excellent use of witty diagrams and photo's to help you understand and visualise Al's ponints' makes learning and teaching tennis fun again. I have used as the motto for my Tennis Co. `where the fun begins' and it flows from the way Al describes the mystrey of tennis. In his own unique way Al Secunda makes common sense of complicated tennis biomechanics and elaborate mental imagery. I am a fan but not a blind one! Al describes the very subtle yet important functions of the left hand but in some of his demonstations I disagree with it's position. It is often not preparing the racquet correctly (b/d volley) or used in finishing (f/d groundstroke). Al also does not adequately focus on how to handle different ball hitting heights, spins and on the rise. There are other things (f/t wk, speciality shots-outside edge hitting and racqet head acceleration) but given when the book was originally written and realistic restaints Al Secunda's `Ultimate Tennis' is a true masterpiece. I think if you have not read it yet your seriously missing out. If you've read it and found no change then you've only skimmed and READ IT AGAIN! I have to go and order some more now so thanks Al and when is the next one coming?

I started tennis late in life and I picked up and never let go of bad habits. When I started playing (A) level tennis I became so frustrated because I was unable to win my serves. I was concentrating and spending so much energy on my serve that the other parts of my game suffered. I took lessons and listen to other players and no one was able to get the their instructions across like Mr. Secunda. I read the section on serves and it has totally transformed my game. Buy this book read it and then read it again. You will be recommending this book to others. I 'm happy to say that I'm back to playing 3 to 4 times a week.

Alex Stavros

Al Secunda writes in an unusual style, which is initially foreign, but friendly and comfortable. The photos in the book are sometimes humorous and deliver a clear message. The special feature of the text is the detailed explanation of tennis strokes, racket preparation, footwork, tactics, grips and options for developing good tennis habits. This is not a book about tennis competition nor how to be a top player. It is a book about learning to play well, on your own, for exercise and pleasure. In this regard, the text stands well above the rest of the lot, as good two months later as on the first reading. Friends who ask to borrow it get a "NO", because I find myself re-reading it monthly.

41 year old male, just got back into tennis after 23 years and was looking for a book to supplement my play. I found this in the local library, took it home and read it. It was so good that by the time I ended up returning it, it was almost 3 months overdue ($4.63 late charge). I found the book on Amazon and ordered it ($0.33 used+ shipping!)- it's an invaluable reference, an easy read, with corny but effective photographs. It's really a combination of technical instruction + mental instruction (think "Inner Game", but in many respects better). The first edition of this book (my library book) was written in the early '80s, I think. The second edition (the one I bought) is somewhere around '93, and doesn't appear to me much different, but once you get past the pictures of the wooden and early fiberglass rackets, this is tennis- everything else is the same. Great book- highly recommend.

I've been in the tennis industry for over 20 years, read or own a couple hundred tennis books, and taught thousands of players and coaches. Al's book is a unique classic, well before its time! "The Pleasure Game" is a subtitle but it does describe reading this book. As the other reviewers noted, it has great humor and analogies as to hitting the ball and mechanics. It's written to entertain with humor, great insight, with scientific accuracy, and with passion. His analogies have sound scientific basis so it wasn't just a shot in the dark (it was written in the 1970s before most of the newer sport science theory). It's notch above most of the more recent books by Human Kinetics, and ranks with some older classics by Braden (Quick Fixes) or Gallwey (The Inner Game of Tennis), etc. I have a couple of Al's (other) books and consider myself lucky to know a truly inspirational gentleman. Love his last section with the funny characters! Al said he barely got them in as the publisher realized there would be a couple empty pages. A most cherished treasure.