Courtship

Anyone for tennis? This photographic ode to the most beloved of racket sports spotlights the beauty and pull of the tennis court, and ranges from high-altitude to semi-secret locations, taking in chic clubs and inner-city concrete courts along the way. To a tennis fan, wherever one finds a court is an exciting discovery. Bailey and Arrigo have documented a range of tennis courts, from the glory of Wimbledon to hidden gems in city and country settings, capturing the spirit and locale of each court and club in evocative photographs shot exclusively for this book. With their extraordinary appreciation for the ordinary, Bailey and Arrigo pay tribute to one of the great global sports and their passion for it. This is a book about discovery. It’s about the many dimensions of tennis and what the court can offer to those who show up and play. But above all else it’s about the pull of the court to those who love the sport. From a coastal tennis club on the French Riviera to courts adjacent to a hectic concrete flyover in the UK, all those featured here are destinations to the tennis devotee. Bailey contributes an essay that depicts her life on the court, expressing the joy, the sadness, the triumph, and the moments of enlightenment she has experienced through tennis. A selection of quotes from Bailey’s own community of tennis-enthusiast friends accompanied by a series of curated photographs evoking the legends and lore of this most stylish of sports complete this celebratory volume and capture the spirit of tennis, a game that will always ultimately be a sociable pursuit where whom and where you play defines the whole experience.

Auteur
Laura Bailey is a London-based model, writer, and photographer, an ambassador to Chanel, as well as a long-term ambassador for Save the Children. She is a contributing editor at British Vogue. Mark Arrigo is a Maltese-British photographer, filmmaker, and author.