Tennis Collectables

Humorous Books

The following are humorous books on tennis. They include books of cartoons as well as amusing instruction books. The books are listed in alphabetic order of title.

All books are British hardback editions without dustwrapper (D/W) unless otherwise stated. A description of the condition of each book is given using the following terms/abbreviations:
Mint - as new; VG - very good condition; Good - obviously used but complete with no major faults; Ex library - from a public or school library and may contain the occasional stamp or label but in many cases this is the only indication.

As stock is continually changing please email Tennis Collectables with a list of the item(s) you are interested in. We will then get back to you with details of postage costs. All prices include postage within the UK; overseas customers will be charged postage – it costs around $6 to send an average hardback book by Priority Airmail to the USA. We can accept payment by PayPal, Sterling cheques and Postal Orders, and International Money Orders in sterling.

CRAZY WORLD OF TENNIS - PETER RIGBY. Exley; 1987 1st Edition; 92 pages. A book full of tennis cartoons.
VG £10.00 (approx $17.00)


HUMOUR IN SPORTS – JOHN AYE. Universal Publications; not dated (?1932 1^st Edition); 282 pages. Humorous anecdotes from the world of sport with a chapter on tennis; also includes chapters on Cricket, Football, Boxing, Racing, Gold, Shooting.
VG £7.50 (approx $12.75)

I’D RATHER PLAY TENNIS HOROSCOPE (A KARMIC BOOK) - POPPENBERG & PARRISH. MPM Productions; 1975 US Softcover Edition; 101 pages. A comb-bound ‘Swingin’ book For Tennis Bluffers’ which contains tennis based horoscopes for all the signs together with lists of those players born under the signs. Illustrated with cartoon drawings.
VG (covers slightly creased/marked) £15.00 (approx $25.50)

KNOCKOUT OF SPORTS JOKES – EDITED BY HELEN EXLEY. Exley Books; 1993 Edition; approx 56 pages. A collection of the best sports jokes and wittiest one-liners, illustrated by Bill Stott’s cartoons. Covers a wide variety of sports including tennis.
VG £5.00 (approx $8.50)


LIGHTER SIDE OF TENNIS: WHAT THE UMPIRE HEARD  - DON WIMBLE. SeTo Publishing; 1989 1^st New Zealand Softcover Edition; 34 pages. A book of black and white photographs of players such as Navratilova, Connors, McEnroe & Sabatini with amusing speech bubbles of what the umpire might have heard !
VG £7.50 (approx $12.75)


PLAYING THE MOLDOVANS AT TENNIS – TONY HAWKS. Ebury Press; 2000 Paperback Edition; 249 pages. The unpredictable and often hilarious account of Tony Hawks attempt to beat each member of the Moldovan national football team at tennis. 8 pages of photos.
VG £7.50 (approx $12.75)


PLAYING THE MOLDOVANS AT TENNIS – TONY HAWKS. Ebury Press; 2001 Paperback Edition; 258 pages. The unpredictable and often hilarious account of Tony Hawks attempt to beat each member of the Moldovan national football team at tennis. 8 pages of photos.
VG £6.50 (approx $11.05)


ROD NEWCOMBE’S THE WORLD'S BEST TENNIS BOOK EVER - SHERWOOD & ALDERDICE. Lincoln Green; ?1981 1st Edition; 97 pages. This large format book is an amusing look at tennis. Many cartoons and photographs with entertaining captions.
VG £12.50 (approx $21.25)

SEX AS A SUBLIMATION FOR TENNIS: FROM THE SECRET WRITINGS OF FREUD - THEODOR SARETSKY. Workman; 1985 1st US Paperback Edition; 128 pages. A humorous book which looks at tennis through the mind of Sigmund Freud.
VG £7.50 (approx $12.75)

SO YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE TENNIS SERIOUSLY ? - JACK ROBERTS. Workman; 1974 1st US Softcover Edition; 142 pages. How to deal with guilt, blisters, and overachievers ! A humorous look at tennis with cartoons by the author.
VG £7.50 (approx $12.75) SOLD OUT


TENNIS - PETER JENSEN. Cannonbooks; 1985 1^st Canadian Softcover Edition; 96 pages. 'Everything you ever wanted to know about the game of tennis that books, magazines, coaches, camps and parents never told you'! A humorous alphabetic glossary of the terms that are common to the sport of tennis. Many cartoon illustrations.
VG £10.00 (approx $17.00)  SOLD OUT

TENNIS DICTIONARY - KEITH DUNSTAN. Sun Books; 1984 1^st Australian Softcover Edition; 84 pages. A humorous A to Z of tennis with illustrations by Jeff Hook.
VG £7.50 (approx $12.75)

TENNIS DICTIONARY - KEITH DUNSTAN. David & Charles; 1985 1^st Softcover Edition; 84 pages. A humorous A to Z of tennis with illustrations by Jeff Hook.
VG (light wear to covers) £7.50 (approx $12.75)

TENNIS HACKER'S HANDBOOK - J D SANDERSON. A & W; 1977 1st US Edition; 127 pages. With an abundance of amusing illustrations this book teaches you 'how to survive the game and learn to love it'.
VG in VG D/W £12.50 (approx $21.25)
VG in worn D/W £10.00 (approx $17.00)


TENNIS: IT SERVES YOU RIGHT! - ERIC NICOL & DAVE MORE. Hurtig; 1984 1^st Canadian Edition; 160 pages. Humorous book which aims to show you how to play tennis and remain a pleasant person. Chapters on etiquette, alibis, tactics, the tennis parent and geriatric tennis. Illustrated with lots of cartoons.
VG in VG D/W (gift inscription on front endpaper) £12.50 (approx $21.25)  SOLD OUT

TENNIS RACKET - BARRY WATERS. Queen Anne Press; 1984 1st Edition; 96 pages. A humorous look at tennis - designed to help you reach your level of incompetence that little bit quicker!
VG £7.50 (approx $12.75)
1985 Softcover Edition; VG £6.00 (approx $10.20)

TENNIS SPANNENDE SATZE AUF PAPIER. Europay; 1997/99 Swiss Softcover Editions; 160 pages. German language pocket sized book which appears to be a light-hearted look at the world of tennis. Produced by Eurocard/Mastercard. Contains several colour cartoons.
Mint £5.00 (approx $8.50)

TENNIS TICKLERS - LOUISA T ARNOLD. Tengo; 1994 1st US Edition; 71 pages. A book of ‘tennis poems to make you laugh’. Well illustrated with amusing drawings.
VG in VG D/W though front endpaper removed £12.50 (approx $21.25)


WORLD'S BEST TENNIS BOOK EVER - SHERWOOD & ALDERDICE. EP Publishing; 1981 1^st Edition; 97 pages. This large format book is an amusing look at tennis. Many cartoons and photographs with entertaining captions.
VG (minor damage bottom of spine, top corner of first 2 pages clipped) £12.50 (approx $21.25)