Charlie Pasarell: Serving First

About this book

Charlie Pasarell's journey began on the sunlit courts of Puerto Rico and carried him all the way to tennis's grandest stages, like Wimbledon's Centre Court. Along the way, he played record-setting matches, led history-making protests, and became part of the game's most defining stories. In Serving First, the Tennis Hall of Famer shares a deeply human collection of stories about the people who shaped him-- his tennis-champion parents; lifelong friends like Arthur Ashe; and legends like Pancho Gonzalez, who mentored Pasarell and later faced him in a five-hour Wimbledon epic.The 1967 U.S. No. 1, NCAA champion, and a five-time Davis Cup team member, Pasarell also co-founded the ATP, launched the National Junior Tennis League, and built the tennis tournament in Indian Wells into one of the sport's biggest events.But this memoir is about far more than stats or titles. It's a story of character, purpose, and moments that leave a mark-- from traveling to Vietnam during the war to time spent with Robert F. Kennedy.Woven throughout are the words of wisdom from his father and Pasarell's lessons from a life grounded in love-- for family, friendship, and the game that gave it all meaning.