Wimbledon Days – An Ordinary Life in an Extraordinary Place by Richard Jones

Price: £17.99

ISBN: 978-1-914933-83-7

Richard Jones is tennis’s “Ephemera Man” and the collection of images and papers at the Tennis Gallery is unrivalled in the tennis world. Many of the best images illustrate this wonderful new book, including the iconic Anna Kournikova Tennis Week poster and the Pete Sampras ‘Superman’ cover of ACE magazine. Richard has hardly missed a day at Wimbledon in the last 55 years and did not miss a single day from 1972 to 1990.

The book tells what life was like in Wimbledon from the early 1950s when food rationing was still in force, the heady days of the psychedlic 1960s, when Dusty Springfield vied with The Beatles to give life its soundtrack, the 70s and 80s, when tennis and popular culture exploded through to the arrival of Federer, Nadal and the other big stars of the 21st Century. There’s lots about Pelham Road School, Fulham FC, Carole King, the Hillman Imp, Joni Mitchell, Arthur Ashe, Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall, The author finds Max Robertson in his living room and  encounters a somewhat irked Mrs. Ancic at the postcard kiosk at Wimbledon. Richard doesn’t spare his own blushes, either, telling of the ‘International’ circuit and his own mainly unsuccessful forays into the tennis world. There’s lots, too, about the 28 Davis Cup ties The Tennis Gallery was at between 1997 and 2022, and the campaign led by Tennis Threads magazine to save the event from dropping down to the level of just another tournament. If you love life and you love tennis, this book is for you.

Overtaken by a Butterfly by Nick Eades

Price: £10.98

ISBN: 978-1-914933-53-0

From the author of best-selling: The Self-Improver and Still Improving.

“I sank to my knees in despair. Incredibly, despite being in a tropical jungle I was cold, really cold. I was shivering from head to foot. The adrenaline that had brought me this far had finally run out and I collapsed to the ground. And that’s when I was attacked.”

Running and flying the world for over 40 years was finally coming to an end. During that time, I had become the World’s most experienced Boeing 747 Captain. I had combined my flying with running the equivalent of a marathon every week for four decades. My flying career was at an end. Running had been a passion that had taken me into places and situations that were both exciting and dangerous. I could no longer fly the 747 but at least I was still young enough to run as fast as I ever could.

And then I was overtaken by a butterfly.

In Pursuit of the Slam : My Year Travelling to Tennis’s Top Four Tournaments by Mark Cripps

Price: £14.95

ISBN: 978-1-914933-11-0

In Pursuit of the Slam: My Year Travelling to Tennis’s Top Four Tournaments tells the story of the author’s year out between jobs during which he attended all four of tennis’s Grand Slam tournaments.

Unhappy in his corporate job, tennis fan Mark Cripps decided to pack it all in and start again. But a chance sighting of an old friend in an in-flight magazine led to an idea: Why not take some time out to travel, organising the trip around tennis’s Grand Slam tournaments?

He made a plan to attend the 1992 French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open and then, returning to Australia in early 1993, where he had been based with American Express, the Australian Open. On the way, he would visit places of interest, catch up with old friends and visit other tournaments in the build up to each Slam, including the Italian Open in Rome.

The book describes how the author organised the visits to each Slam, once there, securing tickets and watching the tennis daily. A club tennis player, the book also tells how the author entered a tournament on the new British Tour and the experience of facing opponents of a much higher standard. Following the US Open, a week spent at a tennis fantasy camp helped confirm the next steps he needed to take when his trip was over.

In Pursuit of the Slam: My Year Travelling to Tennis’s Top Four Tournaments is told in an anecdotal style including the story of the author’s childhood introduction to sport, where his mother’s love of Wimbledon was so infectious.

A nostalgic look back at the professional tennis tours through the prism of a round-the-world trip, the book will appeal to those interested in tennis, especially the professional game back in the nineties and the history of British tennis in general; those keen on travel; anyone needing a change of job or career; or those who just want to make the most of their interests.

Mark Cripps was a corporate marketing executive and then, an award-winning tennis coach specialising in junior development. He now lives in Greater Manchester where he is senior editor for the publisher of this memoir, i2i Publishing. This is his first book.