Venus Envy: A Sensational Season Inside the Women's Tennis Tour

by L. Jon Wertheim

Book Overview

Venus. Serena. Anna. Martina. Lindsay. Like other modern-day heroines -- Madonna, Hillary, Mia -- they need only one name. They are the stars of professional tennis -- the young, brash, and often reckless women who hold court, and serve. The last several years have seen such a seismic explosion in women's tennis that you might be surprised to learn there's still a men's game. Fans flock to the high-voltage matches, which come packaged with tales of...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060197749
• ISBN13: 9780060197742
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable quick read for tennis fans

A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the players and personalities in the women's tennis world. I also learned a great deal about the women's tennis circuit. Very quick read and quite enjoyable.Do not buy this book if you are looking for something deep or substantive. This is popular-pulp people-magazine style reporting. And I loved it!

A great read!

Too bad the author didn't get to conclude this book with the Williams sisters penultimate match against one another. Short of that, however, I can't imagine this book being more entertaining. Fans of women's tennis know that matches have gotten more exciting in recent years, arguably as entertaining as men's tennis. Author L. Jon Wertheim has managed to score a cup by getting into the hidden inner circles of the women's tennis world, spending a year with a tour. The result is a close-up view that is intriguing, exciting and impossible to put down and profiles the major players in tennis, including Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati and the Williams sisters.What even the most avid fans of women's tennis don't get to see - the behind-the scenes gossip, intrigue and behavior that are part of the whole scene - are revealed here. Egotism, bitchiness and incredibly dysfunctional famililies add to the drama. I'd suggest that any family with an aspiring young tennis "star" in their midst give this book to that person and let her know what could await her in the future. If she decides to pursue the sport, anyway, maybe she truly has the determination to become the next star of the courts.

Venus Envy, By L. Jon Wertheim

Wertheim serves up a grand slam with this revealing look at women's tennis. He takes the reader off court to scrutinize who these superstars really are and how they got there. I now have more fun watching women's tennis since reading this well written book.

A fantastic read

I'm a big fan of Wertheim's Sports Illustrated work, and this definitely lives up to the hype. The key is detail: Venus Envy is full of it. there are tons of tidbits I never knew, even about my favorite player, the ass-kicking monica seles. I've already bought a copy for my mom, also a big tennis fan. i love this book.

An addictive guilty pleasure of a book

When I got this book, I couldn't put it down. If you have any interest in women's tennis, you must read this book. There is more behind-the-scene information in it than you can get from any television broadcast. It's fascinating to hear about all the locker room activities. It's so much like high school with all of the cliques: the popular girls, the wannabees, the rookies, the pretty girl everyone hates. So interesting. Interesting profiles on all the major players.Yet this book goes beyond gossip and give the casual tennis fan an insight beyond game-set-match. Tour politics. Money. Tournaments.A great look at the year in Tennis. The anecdotal style makes for an easy read. The book went by so quickly, it could have been 100 pages longer and not gotten stale.