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Oct/16

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Have you heard of the classic tennis book “World Class”?

116 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios

I received a copy of WORLD CLASS from a friend. It’s “A Novel About The People And The World Of Professional Tennis” by Jane and Burt Boyar, published in the 1970’s by Random House and again in 2012 by Marbella House.

The Boyars spent a couple of years on the professional tennis tour learning about the top players and their very long, unique journeys to become champions. They learned the stories of top players who were discovered early and then developed to be world class champion players. Each story is different but true, based on reality. The kid whose parents sacrificed everything for tennis. The poor British street rascal who impressed an elite with his desire and drive and then was taken in to live on his estate and devote to tennis and training. The life lessons the kids learn to become successful adults. Four hundred pages or excellent reading.

Excerpts: “Dad, I like that guy. And I didn’t need to hate him. I played better tennis than he did. That’s why I won. I’m the better player. I always accepted what you said, but it’s meaningless to hate a guy you’re playing. On the court I don’t even see him. You know what I see? I see a big serve, or a weak serve, or a backhand I can fool around with. That’s all I see.”

“I further my tennis. I face the important questions in my life and look for the answers. Or I use the time for pleasure.”

“Never lie. It’s cowardly and pointless. We’re not responsible for where we start in life, only where we ultimately bring ourselves.”

“I’m interested in building a tennis champion. I offer you the opportunity of unlimited money spent on coaching. Hard work, but with a goal. Have you the courage to take it?”

***

I did an email interview with the author Burt Boyar who also wrote “Yes, I Can” the story of Sammy Davis Jr.:

First Memory Of Tennis? My first memory of tennis was rallying with my wife on a public court on Long Island.

Why Do You Love Tennis? I love tennis because other than Doubles, it is a one on one challenge. You are out there alone and you win or lose by your own guts and mentality. And it is great fun.

What inspired you to write WORLD CLASS? My wife and I were inspired to write World Class, when, after Yes I Can was so successful we were visiting Sammy Davis, Jr. in Puerto Rico where he was performing at the Hotel El San Juan. My dear wife, Jane, and I were looking for heroic characters for a novel we wanted to write and there was a tennis tournament taking place across the street. As we were the only people awake early at that gambling resort hotel we wandered over there one morning and watched the players practicing: Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Dennis Ralston, Butch Buchholz, Mike Davies, Pierre Barthes and Andres Gimeno. They were magnificent: good looking, fit, wholesome, playing as hard as they would if it were the Wimbledon finals. They embodied everything we wanted for our book. We’d found our heroes. It was a fantastic two years being up that close and friends with the best in the world.

Favorite Players To Watch? I had no favorite player to watch. I loved parts of many players’ games: Mike Davies had the most beautiful toss. Lew Hoad’s half-volley return of serve, Pancho Gonzales’ big serve, Ken Rosewall’s “unimpressive” serve – but try to return it. Laver’s amazing topspin backhand. Those were the players we travelled with for two years so I am familiar with their games as we watched them every day.

Did being around all these players help your game? It MADE my game. Just watching those gorgeous strokes day in and day out was like going to tennis camp, but better. Especially when Butch and Dennis Ralston came onto the court to physically fix my serve, and playing mixed with Rod and Mary Laver. Unreal.

***

I’d call WORLD CLASS a masterpiece, and in the league of A HANDFUL OF SUMMERS and LEVELS OF THE GAME and HARD COURTS by John Feinstein. Simply superb.

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116 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 22, 2016 at 10:35 am

    Here is the amazon link https://www.amazon.com/World-Class-Jane-Burt-Boyar/dp/0971039267

  • catherine bell · October 22, 2016 at 11:49 am

    Scoop

    Yes – I read World Class when it first was published – obviously a lot of work went into it but unfortunately it seemed a little out of date by the time it was completed.
    The game was changing so fast in those days.

    Also, I think it it is extremely hard to write good fiction about sport. Not sure if I know any writer who has done it. Same with movies.

  • catherine bell · October 22, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    Novels – Barry Hannah’s The Tennis Handsome has a tennis thread in it – featuring the Wilson T2000 – good story from now sadly deceased writer.

  • Dan Markowitz · October 22, 2016 at 3:40 pm

    I’ve never heard of this book or it’s authors, but I have heard of Barry Hannah so might give that book a look see. I never read it but Bang The Drum Slowly was so supposed to be a good fictional account of baseball. Of course, theres a fair amount of tennis in “Lolita>’

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 22, 2016 at 5:54 pm

    Catherine: The sport is always changing and evolving just like the world we live in – I like stepping back into a different era and learning the history – Fiction is not easy to create especially nowadays – Truth is stranger than fiction 🙂

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 22, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    Is that a tennis site Catherine? I don’t understand –

  • catherine bell · October 22, 2016 at 6:06 pm

    Scoop –

    Is what a tennis site ? The Tennis Handsome is a novel – Barry Hannah was a Southern writer, sort of.

    Dan – there is probably quite a lot of baseball fiction now I come to think of it. Malamud’s The Natural eg, which I’ve read. Over here cricket has one or two good srories. But no tennis I can think of.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 22, 2016 at 7:07 pm

    Harrison vs Zverev the elder again in Swiss qualies second round – Bangoura beats B Klein – Kozlov lost in three sets to Lu 64 in third in Ningbo Challenger QF in China –

  • Scoop malinowski · October 23, 2016 at 11:08 am

    Zverev beat Harrison 7663 to qualify for Basel main draw. Its Zs tenth time qualifying this yr – an ATP record. Harrison would have set the record if he won today.

  • Hartt · October 23, 2016 at 11:11 am

    Mischa Zverev won over Harrison 7-6, 6-3. Think this means he broke the record for number of times getting through the qualies in a season. Now 10x if I remember correctly.

  • Dan Markowitz · October 23, 2016 at 1:45 pm

    That’s an amazing stat. I think Zverev is taking over for Groth, Brown and Steppy as my favorite player on tour. I mean I love his approach, his volleying, his funky no-backswing forehand and his no-nonsense, old-school style. I like Michael Berrer too who played Rubin in USO qualis, but Berrer is kind of a poor man’s Zverev. Mischa has a game like Llodra, another favorite of mine, but I think he’s potentially going to go higher in the rankings that Llodra.

    Catherine, nice call, Malamud was a great author, right up there with Bellow, Updike and Roth, and you’re right the Natural was a great book/movie, Robert Redford. Roth wrote a novel on baseball I want to read. I read recently a good novel on tennis by Marshall Jon Fisher, the writer who did A Terrible Splendor, called A Backhanded Gift.

  • catherine bell · October 23, 2016 at 2:56 pm

    Dan –

    I’ll look out that Fisher novel – also, can’t remember Roth novel about baseball although I’ve read most of his books. But I’ll see if I can locate it.

    Baseball seems easily the most popular US sport as a fiction subject.

  • Hartt · October 23, 2016 at 5:38 pm

    My library system actually has A Backhanded Gift, so have ordered it. Your post reminded me about A Terrible Splendor, which I thought was an amazing book. Will have another look at it.

    If anyone has any other suggestions for tennis books, either fiction or non-fiction, I would be very interested.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    Facing McEnroe I have heard is a pretty good read 🙂

  • catherine bell · October 24, 2016 at 2:48 am

    Ha Ha – just for that Scoop I’ll puff my book too which I mentioned on another thread but am too modest to repeat here 🙂 🙂

    Hartt – there are lots of books with tennis either as a central subject or dealt with marginally – there novels, some good, some not so, endless ghosted biogs, history etc. Perhaps you’ll have to do a search and then just dive in.

    One I recall and read a few years ago was about Althea Gibson and her English contemporary Angela Buxton – an unusual book but good – written by an American but can’t remember the name – Amazon might locate it by subject. Or someone else here might know it ?

  • catherine bell · October 24, 2016 at 3:14 am

    Hartt –

    Book is called The Match, by Bruce Schoenfeld. Published 2005 and on Amazon. Sensitive portrait of a talented and troubled player, and also of the era she grew up in.

    Note on Singapore – can’t say I’m enamoured of round-robins but I’m aware of the commercial reasoning behind them. Kerber looks pretty tired to me and I expect her to exit next match to Simona.
    But the whole circus is pretty meaningless and I can’t stand all that barbie doll parading. Have we gone back in time ?

  • Hartt · October 24, 2016 at 12:53 pm

    Catherine, I read The Match and enjoyed it a great deal. I’ve read a lot of books on tennis but am always looking for others.

  • catherine bell · October 24, 2016 at 1:18 pm

    Hartt –

    If you’re a devoted reader then I suppose the best thing to do is just keep up with what’s rolling off the presses 🙂 You’re probably familiar with the ‘key texts’.

    I haven’t been really swept away by any tennis book over recent years I have to admit. I have a feeling the game is perhaps harder to write about now, in an original way.

    (I was interested in the The Match because through work, some years ago, I knew Angela Buxton quite well but didn’t know the story about Althea Gibson)

  • Hartt · October 24, 2016 at 2:13 pm

    I found the interesting part of the book was about Angela Buxton because I was not familiar with her, although I knew quite a lot about Gibson. In the book Buxton comes across as a remarkable woman. What did you think of her?

  • catherine bell · October 24, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    Well – Angela’s still with us at 82 which doesn’t surprise me. I found her an indomitable woman in many ways, and although we didn’t always see eye to eye I did appreciate her knowledge and expertise particularly around junior coaching. She was a regular contributor to the magazine I edited and was generous with advice and opinions, together with her companion C M Jones (my forerunner as Editor).
    As is clear in the book Angela was completely committed to her Jewish identity and Jewish causes and did a lot to promote Jewish ideals and combat the antisemitism which I’m afraid was still a feature, although largely unexpressed, in certain British social circles in her era (and maybe now).
    I wouldn’t say she was universally popular but how many really forceful people ever are ? And her humanity, shown in her friendship with Althea, balanced that out.

  • Dan Markowitz · October 24, 2016 at 3:25 pm

    Catherine,

    Do tell what is the book you wrote?

  • Hartt · October 24, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    Catherine, thanks for your thoughts on Angela Buxton.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 24, 2016 at 5:01 pm

    Angela Buxton is a fixture at the US Open. She’s always hustling and working on something. Quite the busy woman. She was a contributor to the late great TENNIS WEEK magazine. She obviously has a tendency to mix a little politics in with tennis which also tends to happen around here at times 🙂 I think it happens everywhere nowadays given the cultural climate 🙂 What was her pro ranking? Was she a top 25 or 10 player?

  • catherine bell · October 25, 2016 at 3:58 am

    Scoop – you’ll find Angela’s details on Wikepedia. Of course she was a player of the 50s, so not comparable to today in terms of rankings etc which they didn’t really have then. I tended to stay off politics with Angela. Made for a calmer ride. But glad to hear she’s still around.

    Dan – the book I referred to is just a collection of articles which was published a few years ago. It’s called ‘Different Courts: some years around the old game of tennis’. Covers 70s to end of 80s. I did it for fun really. It’s on Amazon but not in shops now.
    There is another one, called ‘Passing Shots’ (yep, really original) which I did together with a photographer in 1981. Black and white pics and long out of print but was published in US.

    Our magazine was a bit off the wall. Didn’t please everyone. But it was a good time.

  • catherine bell · October 25, 2016 at 9:41 am

    Singapore (if anyone is following 🙂 )

    My Kerber/Halep prediction was astray – Kerber in 2. Seems to me Cahill is not right for Simona – she’s not using what weapons she has and thinking for herself and there’s been time enough.

    I think Martina should coach her 🙂 !

  • Scoop malinowski · October 25, 2016 at 11:17 am

    Nothing ever pleases everyone Catherine. What was your magazine name. Gonna look for your book. I like to explore other tennis eras. The sport is constantly changing. I remember attending my first event as media – the Pathmark Classic in mahwah. No internet no email. Wonder how much media coverage will change in 20 yrs?

  • catherine bell · October 25, 2016 at 11:54 am

    Scoop – magazine started out as Lawn Tennis, then was briefly owned by NYTimes and became Tennis, then was closed and started up again for a few months as Top Tennis (copyright reasons) then back to Tennis 🙂

    Ran until early 1989 and then was sold and I departed.

    My name on book is Catherine J Bell BTW. You’ll find it different, maybe won’t like it – I give impressions rather than blow by blows of tournaments. Of course with a magazine reports are published long after the event.

    I remember Mahwah although never went there.

    God knows what will be happening in 20 years – maybe virtual tennis matches and anyone can join in 🙂 🙂

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 26, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    Did it compare to the old Tennis Weeks? Did you ever see Gene Scott’s Tennis Week magazine? I think it was the very best magazine of all time.

  • catherine bell · October 26, 2016 at 12:12 pm

    Scoop –

    Yes – I did see Tennis Week – not regularly because we didn’t subscribe but I’d catch up when I was at US Open. It was indeed a good publication. Missed, I think.
    (I mentioned a while ago that I met Gene over here when he was promoting his book in the 70s)

    I also knew Linda Pentz who was involved at one time I believe.

    Ours was a magazine, 10 issues per year, so no, it couldn’t be said to compare. We weren’t able to be topical in the same way.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 26, 2016 at 12:23 pm

    Did you save copies of your magazine? I have a closet with about a hundred old TWs 🙂 A friend just gave me 80s copies of Tennis magazine and it’s very good also.

  • catherine bell · October 26, 2016 at 12:37 pm

    No, haven’t saved copies – when I left the magazine I sort of cut my ties. We were all a bit disgusted the way it was sold but maybe was time to go anyway.
    I went to the Wimbledon Museum library to retrieve my articles – they have files of every tennis magazine ever published 🙂

    You probably have copies of the US Tennis mag – which I wrote some profiles for briefly in the 70s. Not sure if it’s still going ?

  • Andrew Miller · October 26, 2016 at 2:33 pm

    An ode to Simona. You hire the best and give such straight talk but when push comes to shove there is no walking the walk. First Serena you say she stands in your way oh she’s out you’re free to claim prizes. But then Angelique faces off and slices your game to strands. And now you lack excuses let alone devices. Perhaps meldo may help you. Or some Romanian coach somewhere. But in all earnest Simona some honesty is in order. Lets facet it you hate coaching or getting called on your bluffing. And your game needs some work as well as some toughing. But fear not opportunities await you. After all you’re Simona god save you.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 26, 2016 at 8:09 pm

    Yes it is still kicking but considerably thinner in pages and ads compared to the 80s issues I have – That Wimbledon library must be incredible –

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 26, 2016 at 8:11 pm

    Andrew unchained –

  • catherine bell · October 27, 2016 at 3:40 am

    Andrew –

    Your ode is on the money 🙂 No excuses now.

    I have to say I was slightly stunned to read Darren’s remarks in one of those stupid OCCs (stop that and get her ready for GS events please ) which basically gave the game away about Simona’s inability to comprehend a)the court b) Kerber c)her own tactics.

    Any player happening on that should have felt well chuffed. I’m amazed that this sort of thing can happen in what is supposed to be the top flight of the WTA.

    Simona’s 25 now and the word is she doesn’t work quite hard enough or truly understand what’s required of her out on her own. Cahill may stay around but she really is too dependent and lacks insight. I’ve suggested before she needs a mental coach (Kerber used one)but maybe that idea wouldn’t appeal.

    (I’d love to know what her colleagues think about her)

  • catherine bell · October 27, 2016 at 6:10 am

    Well that’s Simona out of Singapore. Get plenty of rest 🙂

    Scoop – W’don library is a great place. Hope you have a chance to visit someday.

  • Andrew Miller · October 27, 2016 at 7:44 am

    Catherine, sorry to see Dommi Cibulkova fire it up against Halep. Dommi has actually made the most of Sharpie and Serena’s absence, pulling off a decent wta finals and showing Halep how it’s done from across the net. Cibulkova is also more outspoken than Halep, piping up on her dislike of Sharpie, which is pretty amusing to me. Only because Dommi is slamless herself and doesn’t seem to be going on much in the results dept. Halep has more game for sure.

    In all fairness wta finals isn’t the big show just one of them. Amd Simona has a nice game with a blast em off the court aspect to it in the tradition of Henin. Only that the moment always gets to Halep and she seems to do the opposite of playing her game.

    Not great that Cahill says stuff like that in a I told her but…way. A bit unprofessional on the Aussie coach part. He does have the same stature as Brad Gilbert and others who couldn’t separate their commentators persona from their coaching and commenting on their players. But put a sock in it, mate! Cahill should know better than to diss his player and should probably either get a stern talk or well, see that job go poof.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 27, 2016 at 8:39 am

    Doesnt really look like Halep loves playing tennis – More like a player who plays because she just is very good at it – Gotta have that love and passion for it –

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 27, 2016 at 8:39 am

    Will for sure Catherine – is it on the grounds?

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 27, 2016 at 8:43 am

    How about Muguruza calling her coach on the court and he speaks his words of advice and then Muguruza chastises the coach “Why are you speaking so slowly?” These players can be silly and abusive to their coaches – It’s got to be really annoying for the player to see the know it all coach sitting leisurely in the stands while the player is busting a nut in war on the court – Not sure if that phrase fits WTA tennis but I like it and found a chance to use it 🙂

  • catherine bell · October 27, 2016 at 9:18 am

    Scoop – I think you’re right about Simona – she seems sometimes stifled to me, as if she really would prefer to be doing something else (shopping ?). Apparently she’s only just stopped travelling with family – that safety net should have gone long ago. Maybe too late now ? Maybe a different coach could instil some passion ? Henin was her idol when Simona started out.
    It’s a shame – it’s as if S has all these shots packed away in her bag, she takes them on court, sees her opponent and then just leaves them there.

    The Wimbledon Library/Museum is on the grounds but closed during The Championships – so check dates.

    Andrew- Cahill’s comments came during one of Simona’s on court coaching moments. That’s what I thought so absolutely wrong, and doing S no favours. God I hate OCC (in my day etc….)
    Definitely some psych help would encourage her to stand on her own. Her current opponents aren’t giants of the game IMO.

  • catherine bell · October 27, 2016 at 10:06 am

    Oh – and Simona had her knee taped – she hasn’t played an enormous amount this year (& had 2 awful losses in China) so suggests to me she isn’t fully fit – needs a good training regime ?

  • Andrew Miller · October 27, 2016 at 1:56 pm

    We’ve seen players actually get a few coaches, one to send the message and the other to implement it. Cahill may have the perfect instincts on seeing the court from the player point of view, but someone else has got to be able to work with Simona to implement it. Like Toni Nadal. He has the big message and gets other coaches to work with Nadal to make it happen. Maybe there’s a Bela Karolyi or his wife who can say to Simona:
    SIMONA, YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN DO IT KERI! (former gymnast, etc).

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 27, 2016 at 2:28 pm

    Halep is one very intriguing player around here 🙂 Her and Kyrgios head the category of most intriguing players – Everyones loves an enigma —

  • catherine bell · October 27, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    Andrew –

    Well Nadia Comaneci is a friend of Simona’s- maybe she can do a bit of yelling at her 🙂

    But I do agree with your coaching point – Simona could benefit from an on-the-ground-coach to carry out Cahill’s recommendations.

    Just saw the end of S’s match with Cibulkova and the net exchange – my word there was a bit of frost there. Seemed almost a dislike – or maybe just disappointment. Odd anyway. Simona didnt do that to Kerber.

    Scoop – enigmas are the reason I watched and still on and off watch tennis and no doubt why I have a soft spot for Kyrgios 🙂 !

  • Andrew Miller · October 27, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    Catherine, we know Cibulkova dislikes Sharapova.
    But does anyone like Dommie Cibulkova? I appreciate her scrappy game (if you’re Dommie’s height, we have to applaud her), but she does have a way with the microphone. Can’t imagine that doesn’t earn her some frowns among peers, even if they agree with her.

    Scoop, though I’m sure few agree here, I actually see in Kyrgios some Agassi. Both way ahead of the curve for their age, both enjoying a love/hate fascination from the media. Either they take it to their opponents or lost quickly, including a tank job from Agassi in the 1990 Davis Cup back end match against Cahill, where he withdrew after a 6-4, 4-6 scoreline…to boos from the crowd and some serious rebuking from Cahill and coaches.

    Ironic that a good 15 years later, Cahill coaches Agassi. People change, and I think Kyrgios will too. I think he will find his place among the Aussie greats and they’ll like him at the end. For now, disappointment and shock and lauding of players like Kokkinakis. But if he slams it up in the next few years I guarantee they’ll be the first to say, we knew he could do it and fall in line.

    As they should. Few want to be the same person they were at age 19, 20, 21. Few are.

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 27, 2016 at 7:43 pm

    Sock and Kyrgios have fun and they like to liven things up on the Tour and enjoy the Tour – I think it’s all an act by Kyrgios to be that Most Controversial guy in tennis – BTW Kyrgios vs Sock at Madison Square Garden next year with Delpo vs Kei and Venus vs Muguruza I think – good night of tennis – hope they squeeze in Mixed Dubs too – Yes I do see the Nick and Agassi young rebel with a cause shtick and for sure Nick will change –

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 27, 2016 at 7:43 pm

    Catherine: The Greatest ENIGMA of all was Marcelo Rios –

  • catherine bell · October 28, 2016 at 5:36 am

    Scoop – And Hana Mandlikova was right up there too with enigmas.
    (Have I mentioned the time when she hid in the ladies toilets to get away from the press ? It was at the USO)

  • Scoop Malinowski · October 28, 2016 at 7:53 am

    I see her in Bradenton quite a bit actually and she is pretty intense and wary of the press – very serious person –

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