{"product_id":"tennis-greg-ruth-9780252085888","title":"Tennis: A History from American Amateurs to Global Professionals","description":"\u003cb\u003eAnalyzing how tennis turned pro\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The arrival of the Open era in 1968 was a watershed in the history of tennis--the year that marked its advent as a professionalized sport. Merging wide-angle history with individual stories of players and off-the-court figures, Greg Ruth charts tennis's evolution into the game we watch today. His vivid account moves from the cloistered world of nineteenth-century lawn tennis through the longtime amateur-professional divide and the battles over commercialization that raged from the 1920s until 1968. From there, Ruth details the post-1968 expansion of the game as it was transformed by bankable superstars, a popular women's tour, rival governing bodies, and sponsorship money. What emerges is a fascinating history of the economics and politics that made tennis a decisive, if unlikely, force in the creation of modern-day sports entertainment. \u003cp\u003eComprehensive and engaging, \u003ci\u003eTennis\u003c\/i\u003e tells the interlocking stories of the figures and factors that birthed the professional game.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Greg Ruth\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0252085884\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780252085888\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Illinois Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/27\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.28lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.22w x 1.02d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2022","brand":"Greg Ruth","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44042532716799,"sku":"9780252085888","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_3106aa02-ca7e-4aba-a019-6542c1fcb259.jpg?v=1684962082","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/tennis-greg-ruth-9780252085888","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}