There is more to tennis than what happens between the lines. The sport has always attracted a particular kind of writer — one drawn to its solitude, its precision, its unforgiving arithmetic of pressure and poise. The best books about tennis are not really about tennis at all. They are about identity, obsession, resilience and what it costs to compete at the highest level of anything.
This is our curated edit at Forty-Love. Five titles chosen for players, fans and anyone drawn to the clarity the game demands.
1. Open by Andre Agassi
Genre: Memoir
Vibe: Raw, magnetic, unforgettable
Our founder's personal favourite — and once you read it, you will understand why.
Open is not a tennis story. It is a portrait of someone unravelling and rebuilding in full view of the world. Agassi goes deep into the loneliness of winning, the mess of identity and the strange freedom that comes from burning down your own image. It is brutally honest, often funny and written with genuine soul — credit to ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer, who handles the material with the same care Agassi brings to the court in his later years.
You do not need to be an Agassi fan before you start. You will be by the last page.
2. Unstoppable by Maria Sharapova
Genre: Memoir
Vibe: Cool, disciplined, quietly defiant
Sharapova tells her story with the same calm intensity she brought to centre court. From arriving in the United States as a seven-year-old with no English, to winning Wimbledon at seventeen, to surviving injury, criticism and the particular cruelty of a sport that rarely forgives a comeback — Unstoppable is about ambition without apology.
What makes this book sing is the detail. The grind, the routine, the headspace she cultivated match by match across two decades. She does not ask for sympathy. She simply shows you the work, and lets the reader decide what to do with it.
A stylish read with serious backbone.
3. The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
Genre: Performance / psychology
Vibe: Minimal, timeless, quietly brilliant
Less about winning matches and more about learning to get out of your own way. Gallwey's enduring classic unpacks the mental tension between trying and trusting — between controlling the game and simply feeling it.
Written in the 1970s and still completely relevant today. Whether you are serving under pressure, overthinking your second ball or standing at the baseline unable to explain why nothing is working — The Inner Game offers something close to a reset.
Short, precise and best read more than once.
4. Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Fiction
Vibe: Fierce, layered, cinematic
Carrie Soto is a retired Grand Slam champion with ice in her veins and no particular interest in being liked. When a rising star comes for her record, she stages a comeback at thirty-seven. What follows is part love story, part battle cry and entirely gripping.
Yes, it is fiction. But it is grounded in the real emotional weight of legacy, pressure and sacrifice — the kind of cost that does not show up in any match statistic. Whether you have played tennis your entire life or simply love a well-constructed redemption arc, Carrie delivers something that stays with you.
5. Pressure is a Privilege by Billie Jean King
Genre: Memoir / motivation
Vibe: Direct, empowering, iconic
Billie Jean King does not waste words. This is a tight, considered collection of life and leadership lessons from one of the most influential figures the sport has ever produced, on and off the court.
She writes about pressure not as something to manage or avoid, but as something to earn. About using your voice with intention. About showing up when it would be easier not to. If you need a reminder of why you started — any of it — this is the book to reach for.
One to Look Forward To
Forty Love by Jane Costello — releasing in Australia August 2026
We could not write this list without mentioning a book that shares our name and, as it turns out, our spirit entirely.
Jane Costello's Forty Love is a warm, funny and genuinely moving rom-com about a woman who discovers tennis later than most — and finds far more than she expected. Jules has lived next door to her local tennis club for years without once picking up a racquet. She is a full-time buyer, a single widowed mother and someone who has quietly stopped taking risks. Then her old school crush joins the club, and a surge of something unfamiliar makes her say yes to an amateur women's team.
What follows is a story about embracing a new passion, finding a community and navigating the particular vulnerability of a second shot at something — love included. For anyone who came to tennis later in life, or who found the game gave them more than they anticipated, this one will resonate.
Consider it essential summer reading. We absolutely will be.
Honourable Mentions
- String Theory by David Foster Wallace – Highbrow essays on Federer, footwork, and the art of watching.
- Levels of the Game by John McPhee – A beautifully slow study of one match, one era.
- Rafa by Rafael Nadal & John Carlin – For fans of obsession, humility, and wild forehands.
Final Thoughts
Tennis is a game of precision and patience, of knowing when to go for it and when to stay in the rally. These books share the same qualities. Whether you are playing, recovering or simply recharging between matches, keep one of these close. They tend to give back more than you bring to them.