QUEEN OF THE COURT

An adept biographer chronicles the life of a resilient Renaissance woman and tennis champion who should not be forgotten.

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Blais, author of In These Girls Hope Is a Muscle and other books, presents a vividly complete portrait of Alice Marble (1913-1990), one of the first celebrity champions in women's tennis, who also happened to be an actor, singer, writer, and civil rights pioneer. The author deftly shores up inconsistencies in the two memoirs that Marble penned while also utilizing that material and her own thorough research to form a definitive story. Blais includes a fascinating chapter about the origins of tennis and its evolution in the U.S., the rivalry between the coasts, and the popularity of tennis in California—particularly the Bay Area's production of players like Marble, Helen Wills Moody, and Helen Jacobs. The author also focuses on the significance of the idyllic Golden Gate Park to Marble's life and career and writes evocatively—and with just the right amount of detail—about significant tennis matches at places like Forest Hills, Wimbledon, and Paris. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the book is the author’s exploration of Marble's relationship with Eleanor "Teach" Tennant, who served as coach, agent, defender, and friend. Tennant introduced her student to the worlds of Hollywood, wealth, and fame that Marble loved, and she traveled the world with Marble as they built a career that saw Marble defeat men and women alike—most notably, the misogynistic tennis promoter Julian Myrick. Blais is excellent when describing what could be viewed as Marble's greatest contribution, the 1950 editorial that appeared in the influential journal American Lawn Tennis, which was instrumental in the integration of U.S. women's tennis and helped pave the way for the ascendance of Althea Gibson. The high level of detailed research and compelling writing show why tennis player Hazel Wightman described Marble as "the first girl who became sensational."

An engagingly thorough biography of a dazzling woman.