The Tennis Court

A fresh approach to a beloved sport, The Tennis Court is a photographic journey of the 200 most breathtaking tennis courts around the world.

"Nick Pachelli takes us on court in every corner of the world with a sharp eye for what makes our game and the people who champion it so special." --Billie Jean King

Every one of the world's half a million tennis courts is, at its most basic, an identical blank canvas: a 78-foot by 36-foot rectangle, divided by a 3-foot-high net in its center, and marked with eleven straight lines. But add in the elements of surface, space, wind, acoustics, crowds, shadows, humidity, and even air density, and every tennis court is unique--a work of art. And some are masterpieces.

Nick Pachelli curates and profiles 200 of the world's most beautiful, iconic, significant, alluring, and idiosyncratic tennis courts from across the globe, each photographed. He explores the heavyweights, including Wimbledon's All England Lawn Tennis Club, which employs a hawk to keep stray birds from soiling the meticulous lawns; Arthur Ashe, the Grandstand, and Court 17 in Flushing, Queens, where hundreds of thousands of tennis fans gather every summer for the US Open; and Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland-Garros, whose clay seems to take on a different shade every time you see it.

We visit far-flung treasures, such as Waiheke Tennis Club in New Zealand; indoor marvels, including the Tennis Club de Belgique; and hidden jewels, such as the tiny Tennis Club San Stin in Venice, a secret, single outdoor clay court tucked away behind a villa and a 15-foot wall shrouded with vines. There are urban courts, including the Knickerbocker Field Club in Flatbush, Brooklyn; academies, like Rafael Nadal's tennis temple in Mallorca, Spain; and the extreme: a single court completely isolated in the wilds of Scotland, a court in northern Spain revealed when the tide goes out, and a court in Kenya made out of termite mounds.

Throughout, Pachelli captures the real passion--some might say obsession--that tennis inspires. Because it's on the court, no matter how grandiose or mundane, where tennis players truly see themselves.