Tennis Book Review
February 2018

Ode to TENNIS Barbara Wyatt Reviewed by Rich Neher On Amazon (Hardcover)

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Who wrote this book? Barbara Wyatt Barbara Wyatt was born in St. Louis Missouri to Canadian parents. She was raised in Missouri USA, Manitoba Canada and spent her high school years in Switzerland. Wyatt spent her 20s traveling and working in the EU. She earned advanced degrees from universities in United States and England and worked nearly 20 years in the cable television industry. Wyatt has written for several national magazines and her short stories were published in fiction anthologies. Wyatt’s passion for tennis is shown in her sports writing and photography for USTA PNW Tennis Times, New York Tennis Magazine and Long Island Tennis. She is a USTA official and mobile app developer for iKnowTennis!, the tennis rules app. She can be reached by email at BarbaraW@iKnowTennis.com   How does the author describe her book? Perfect little gift book for tennis player. Delightful rhyming poem about a player in a tennis lesson. The poem highlights a player's joy and frustrations during a tennis lesson. At the start of the lesson, the player enjoys the lesson as her balls effortlessly fly across the net and drop into the court. I whip it, I flip it, The ball flies deep with spin. No doubt Rafael Nadal Is my identical twin. The pro continues to practice with her and provides advice from The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey. She hits a winning shot against this experienced pro. Ode to Tennis is delightfully illustrated by Mario Barrera. The illustrations capture the euphoria and frustrations as players learn new tennis strokes.   What do others say about the book? "Ode to Tennis is a delightful tale of an amateur tennis player in verse. The illustrations are as tongue-in-check as are the versifications of the trials and triumphs on the court just about any tennis player (and their teacher) can enjoy. A great gift for the tennis player in your life!" --Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum, Faculty, Lighthouse Poetry Book Project, Lighthouse Writers Workshop "A great work to be read by anyone who likes the sport of tennis!" "It is a feel good book, well written and illustrated. Made me smile the whole time I was reading it." "A great gift! So much truth in a fun wonderfully illustrated book. Enjoy." What did I get out of reading this book? It is the rare occasion that tennis books make me smile. For sure it's not one of the million teaching books out there nowadays. It's more. It's the attempt of Barbara Wyatt to make light of something that a lot of adults go through on a regular basis: a tennis lesson with an "old pro" who wants her to "make the ball soar." And the old pro keeps telling her what Vic Braden already used as one his two mantras: bend your knees. (Actually, Vic, toungue-in-cheek, once told me "I've never seen a tennis player bend his knees too low.") Rhyming is not an easy job, so, kudos to Barbara for entertaining us with a nicely rhymed description of her leaving blood, sweat and tears on the court. I enjoyed reading her little booklet "Ode to TENNIS" and think many league players and other recreational tennis fanatics will, too. Oh, and Vic Braden's other mantra? "Low to high" - I'm sure Barbara Wyatt's tennis pro had this in his repertoire, as well.