Beyond Center Court: My Story

The youngest U.S. Open singles champion in history tells about surviving the challenges that exist off the tennis court and shares how she was able to put her losses behind her and find new meaning and new rewards. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Tennis celebrity Austin, raised in a California family of tennis devotees (her physicist father was the worst player in the house), won her first national title at age 11. She made her Wimbledon debut at 14 and turned professional a year later, immediately picking up $2 million in endorsement fees. She won the Italian and U.S. opens at age 16 in 1979, was rated the best woman player in the world in 1980 and reclaimed the U.S. Open crown in 1981. But Austin began to be plagued with injuries, including pulled hamstrings and sciatica, and she sat out the years from 1984 to 1988, occasionally working as a TV commentator. A near-fatal auto accident in 1989 halted her comeback and left her with a weakened leg. Coauthored with Washington, D.C., sportswriter Brennan, this upbeat account of Austin's career and family life includes almost-candid reports about fellow players and celebrities. Austin strongly believes that her success as a teenager set a terrible precedent, as she sees tennis-mad parents pushing their children hard at earlier ages. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Strikingly bland memoirs from the former teen tennis-phenom. Sports Illustrated cover story at 13, professional at 15, US Open champ at 16, top-seeded in the world and a millionaire at 17, and forced by injuries into retirement at 21, Austin (with the assistance of sportswriter Brennan) here turns a potentially fascinating tale of early fame and loss into a dull, albeit likable, autobiography. Irritated by misperceptions of her meteoric rise, Austin takes pains to separate herself from today's adolescent superstars. The youngest of five tennis-mad siblings, she never received any parental pressure, resisted turning pro until she had outgrown the amateur ranks, and insisted on finishing high school as normally as possible, even if it meant missing the Australian and French Opens until after graduation. Furthermore, she stresses, contrary to rumor, she did not ``burn out,'' but fell victim to a series of back, leg, and foot injuries, capped by a leg-shattering car accident in 1989 on the eve of a long-planned comeback. Today, ``beyond center court,'' she mainly still plays tennis (with income from numerous exhibitions as well as TV, motivational-speaking, and endorsement contracts providing ``a very nice living''). Here, Austin concentrates mostly on saying nice things about people--primarily former opponents and current players, but also old boyfriends and the various celebrities she has met--although a glint of malice shows up now and then (e.g., regarding Pam Shriver, who criticized Austin in her own book: ``I beat Pam nine times in a row in age-group competition...I bugged her''). Lacking is any perspective on the ``intensity and concentration'' that propelled Austin to the top or on the consequences of being ``finished'' when most people are just starting. A weak net-ball of a book, best reserved for tennis fanatics looking for something to thumb through during changeovers. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This is the autobiography of a child prodigy in women's tennis who reached her pinnacle early in life only to fall victim to injury, accident, and circumstance. Austin tells of growing up in the world of tennis and joining the professional tour at the tender age of 15. Her story of entering an all-adult world at such an immature and naive time is interesting, but her insights into how the sport has changed in the last ten years with the overwhelming influx of prize money, television, and sponsorship are more worthwhile reading. Austin suffered many injuries after winning her second U.S. Open in 1981, then attempted a comeback only to be sidelined by an automobile accident. She is currently doing television and promotional work and again attempting to return to professional tennis. One can feel the urgency and anxiety of her second comeback attempt, and if she makes it her perspective on the new game of women's tennis will be fascinating. However, at this point in her life she does not have enough of interest to say to justify an autobiography.
- Melinda Stivers Leach, Precision Editoral Svcs., Wondervu, Col.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.