It is widely recognised that each sport has its own unique demands and injuries. Therefore the IOC, ITF, ATP, WTA, and Society for Tennis Medicine and Science should be congratulated on producing, in this publication, a comprehensive overview of tennis sports medicine. Together they have assembled an impressive array of experts in this field to write succinct and relevant chapters.

Every aspect of tennis is covered to cater for a broad range of readers, including players themselves. Some areas are covered in a high level of technical detail to please the biomechanists, in particular. However, some of the sports medicine is basic in concept and lacking significant evidence based validity.

Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this book to any health professional who treats a large number of tennis players. Most chapters provide a clever link between common sports medicine problems and their occurrence in tennis, including conditions that are unique to this sport. At times, some authors are somewhat optimistic with their view of recovery time from surgery—for example, three weeks for arthroscopic debridement of the infrapatellar fat pad.

Overall it is well presented with relevant and useful photographs and diagrams to aid the reader, and each chapter gives a list of further recommended reading. Unfortunately the book does not provide an answer to where 14 million tennis balls go, imported each year into Australia, as discussed by the editor recently!