Tennis and Philosophy: What the Racket is All About (Philosophy Of Popular Culture) - Hardcover

Tennis volleyed onto the worldwide athletic scene soon after its modern rules and equipment were introduced in nineteenth-century England. Exciting, competitive, and uniquely accessible to people of all ages and levels of talent, tennis continues to enjoy popularity, as both a recreational activity and a spectator sport. Each year, millions of fans around the world tune in to the Grand Slam championships to witness the intense drama and fierce rivalries of the game.

In Tennis and Philosophy: What the Racket Is All About, editor David Baggett assembles a team of champion scholars to reflect on philosophical questions that often emerge in the sport. Profiles of tennis greats such as John McEnroe, Roger Federer, the Williams sisters, and Arthur Ashe are paired with analyses of ethics, aesthetics, politics, and other fields of philosophical inquiry. Each chapter demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the game as well as a heartfelt respect for its history and value.

The volume opens with a piece by the acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, who, with equal parts humor and adoration, likens the athletic performance of Roger Federer to a religious experience. David Detmer examines the ethics of rage by applying the theories of utilitarianism and deontologism to the behavior of athletes on the courts. David Baggett and Neil Delaney Jr. dissect the complex roles of rivalry and friendship in competition. Kevin Kinghorn explores the culture surrounding "tennis parents" and their children, who are often pushed at a very young age to compete and succeed as tennis players. Helen Ditouras centers a discussion of race and gender on the media's disparate coverage of Anna Kournikova and Serena Williams.

Written by philosophers and lovers of the game, Tennis and Philosophy offers substantive philosophical analyses of tennis for fans and scholars alike.