Mental Warfare in Tennis--Lessons from a Master - Winning Ugly

This book gives you great insight. This book is an eye opener, great for any level of players but specially for recreational ones. It would be great if it was also on dvd so you could listen to it wherever. Recommended.

My 11 year old son who plays tennis competitively loves this book. He learned a lot from the book, especially on mental toughness - which is a sore topic for us. This book offers a lot of great advice for serious tennis players.

I highly suggest this book to anyone around the intermediate/recreational level. But, if you are somewhat advanced and experienced I dont suggest it. It simply didn't tell me much. I read this book expecting something that was a real winner. Instead all this book said is win on the important pts. that lead to ad pts. and analyze your opponent so that you can attack strength to weakness! UM DUH! It really does not tell you how to sucessfully break apart your opponent's game instead it just explains why it works and gives some examples. On the other hand, I did like the several rather funny stories Brad talkes about. And it does prove that a mental game is very important, it just doesn't help you improve it too much. I expected something much more... something that helps my strategic game and mental game.

After first reading "The Inner Game of Tennis" by Gallwey and "Best Tennis of Your Life" by Greenwald (both excellent books!) I had higher expectations for this book which weren't met. It read more like a memoir of Brad's years of playing than a book to sharpen your mental game. We aren't going to be playing McEnroe so all the focus on playing him, for example, isn't relevant to people playing the club/USTA circuit.

Makes you think while playing. Only read if you want to win. Club players do nothing that he talkes about ,so if playing at that level you will have a leg up on your opponents. Pros do this stuff ! Do not waste your time and money if you just like to hack at the ball and aimlessly flail around the court

Not bad. Gilbert gives some good tips and advice, and advise on how to model some of the top pros from at the time the book was written. My problem with this book is that Gilbert writes it as if he had no natural talent at all and was just better at scouting people and breaking down their films and tendencies. While that may be true (after all he went on to be a great coach and now analyst), I find it difficult to apply some of his suggestions. I am an enthusiastic and competitive club player. Some of the strategies he recommends would require me to quit my job to scout out other club players. Obviously, he had to have way above average athletic ability, and had to have practiced tens of thousands of hours to get to the level he was at.

Overall I liked reading the book, I just found some of his advice to be impractical for club players.

Not bad. Gilbert gives some good tips and advice, and advise on how to model some of the top pros from at the time the book was written. My problem with this book is that Gilbert writes it as if he had no natural talent at all and was just better at scouting people and breaking down their films and tendencies. While that may be true (after all he went on to be a great coach and now analyst), I find it difficult to apply some of his suggestions. I am an enthusiastic and competitive club player. Some of the strategies he recommends would require me to quit my job to scout out other club players. Obviously, he had to have way above average athletic ability, and had to have practiced tens of thousands of hours to get to the level he was at.

Overall I liked reading the book, I just found some of his advice to be impractical for club players.

I enjoyed reading about the game of tennis from Brad Gilbert's viewpoint. While I don't agree with everything he said, at least the book lets you think about various possible ways to accomplish a goal. If you're a tennis fan then this book is definitely worth a read.

During my Achilles rehab I read Winning Ugly. The information has helped my mental game very much. I won two matches after being down 1-4 in the second set because i was able to apply the lessons in this book. Everyone on my men's 4.0 tennis team has now read the book based on my recommendation. Thank you.

Really one of the most practical books that gives many specific ways to prepare, analyze and take action during your matches to keep one step ahead of your opponent. You will read through it quick but then want to go back to reference key material over again.

Tha Book is very good, it takes you to understand tennis more completely It gives you different tools for win against different kind of players. You will feel more secure with your tennis. It support what your couch said.

This book got me thinking about my game. I realized that I always enter the court with no game plan at all. No I always plan what I'm gonna do. Totally recommended if you already have the technical part of the game and need to work on the mental, strategy and tactical part of the game. 7550000

Clearly Brad knows what he is talking about. With his intense tactical strategies on and off the court he has won as a player and as a coach/mentor. A key point for me that he focused on was the idea of mental preparation before even playing. It was essential to me to read about that. Brad also carefully points out nearly every possible on court situation that could happen and has plans on how to mange them. While other books on the mental aspect of tennis focus on the intuitive aspect, Brad methodically goes through the tactical side. Both sides are important. As a player I need to hear about strategy on and off the court. My only negative is, at times, Brad spends a little too much time self-promoting to the point of being tiresome. I agree he has earned it but I don't need it to be pounced into my brain nor do I repeatedly need to know how much money he's won. I get it. Overall, this is a great book that I may reference back to as I keep playing.

The book deals with every aspect that I faced and had trouble with regarding my game. It's a great how to, with examples and it's amazing how it pinpoints every problem, with its cause and also gives you tips on how to overcome it.

Very helpful book.. Especially for younger players who probably never thought of the mental part of the game. My 14 year old was definately somebody who just "showed up" for the game. After reading your book he started winning again..Great!

Charles

This was a gift that has really helped my boyfriend with tennis psychology. Brainy, highly analytical people tend to naturally have a harder time with sports, because they put their trust in their minds, rather than in their bodies. It's hard to "zone out" when your brain is whirring 24-7 at warp speed.

A lot of the tips in this book really helped him focus his energy elsewhere, and helped him with his very... generous... philosophy about winning.

Great book. Lots of useful tips to make your tennis game better. Entertaining as well, since the book is peppered with personal anecdotes to illustrate his point. The only thing is that I was not following tennis during his professional career, so I only know the players of his era superficially.