The legendary essays by David Foster Wallace on tennis uniquely combine the knowledge of an amateur athlete and the enthusiasm of a passionate fan.

Wallace artistically colors and delves into our relationship with sports, the idols that captivate us, the idea of physicality; he praises the genius of Roger Federer, surgically dissects the autobiography of Tracy Austin, and reflects upon the craftsmanship of Michael Joyce, a tennis player on the brink of fame.

He describes the encroachment of commercialism within the context of the U.S. Open and recalls his own "almost great" career as a teenage tennis player.