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 his upcoming autobiography “Serving First: Dreams Realized and Lessons Learned from Family, Friends and a Life in Tennis” (published by New Chapter Press and available for pre-sale here https://a.co/d/07aXoSn9), the International Tennis Hall of Famer shares a deeply human collection of stories about the people who shaped him—his tennis-champion parents; life-long friends like Arthur Ashe; and legends like Pancho Gonzalez, who mentored Pasarell and later faced him in a five-hour Wimbledon epic. Ranked America’s No. 1 player in 1967, NCAA champion, two-time National Indoor 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.
After years of encouragement from his family, Pasarell decided to write a book about his incredible life in tennis and the many lessons he learned from family and friends and traveling the world during his illustrious tennis career. A decades-long friendship with tennis writer Joel Drucker, forged at tennis events around the world and at the annual “Tennis Fantasies and the Legends”.at John Newcombe’s tennis ranch in Texas, made for a perfect partnership in this editorial project. As one of the world’s most prominent tennis historians, Joel’s work has appeared in such media outlets as Tennis Channel, HBO, CBS, Tennis.com, ESPN, Racquet, The Second Serve, and The New York Times. He’s also the historian-at-large for the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Over the course of hundreds of hours of time together, Charlie, his family, and Joel have crafted a story that readers will hopefully find thorough, thoughtful, and meaningful. Most of all, this book seeks to convey the valuable lessons Charlie has learned from his loving family, wise mentors, and dear friends – and how all these wonderful people have greatly influenced his life and remarkable journey.
