Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

Women Tennis Stars: Biographies and Records of Champions, 1800s to Today. Dennis J. Phillips. 260p. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009. 978-0-7864-3528-9; 2008-49016. $45.

In 2007, when the All England Tennis Club presented Venus Williams with her prize for winning her fourth singles Wimbledon championship, the most prestigious of tennis tournaments became the last of the Grand Slam venues to award a woman player the same prize money as its men’s champion. After more than a century of competition, women’s tennis was finally approaching an equal footing with its male equivalents. The achievement of such gender parity had much to do with the 35 careers chronicled in this new biographical dictionary of women’s tennis. From Lottie Dod to Justine Henin, these champions have commanded respect on and off the court. Tennis coach and librarian Dennis Phillips profiles a selection top-ranked players and Grand Slam champions. His sketches detail each player’s training, playing style, career records and notable matches. Contributions off the court are also noted. Other highlights include career rankings, major tournament wins and significant honors. Each entry also provides quotes and a list of books about the player. Coverage ranges from the pioneering Dorothea Douglass and Molla Mallory to current powerhouses Martina Hingis and Serena Williams. Other notable players include Suzanne Lenglen, Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. The individual biographies are supplemented by a substantial number of statistics. The section includes final round results for women’s and mixed doubles of the Grand Slam tournaments as well as the Olympic Games and the Fed, Wightman and Hopman Cups. Another section provides annual rankings of top women players from 1913 through 2007. A selection of appendices list hall of fame inductees, earnings records and birthdates. Phillips concludes with a history of women’s tennis fashions. This useful volume will find eager readers in high school, public and academic libraries.