Short Synopsis
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Madeleine Blais, the dramatic and colorful story of legendary tennis star and international celebrity, Alice Marble.

Full Synopsis
In August 1939, Alice Marble graced the cover of Life magazine, photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt. She was a glamorous worldwide celebrity, having that year won singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles tennis titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open, then an unprecedented feat. Yet today one of America's greatest female athletes and most charismatic characters is largely forgotten. Queen of the Court places her back on center stage.

Given a tennis racket at thirteen, she took to the sport immediately, rising to the top with a powerful, aggressive serve-and-volley style unseen in women's tennis. A champion at the height of her fame in the late 1930s, she also designed a clothing line and sang as a performer. World War II derailed her amateur tennis career, but her life off the court was even more eventful. Perhaps her greatest legacy lies in her successful efforts to persuade the all-white US Lawn Tennis Association to change its policy and allow African American star Althea Gibson to compete for the US championship in 1950, thereby breaking tennis's color barrier.

In two memoirs, Marble showed herself to be an at-times unreliable narrator of her own life, which Madeleine Blais navigates skillfully, especially Marble's claims of having been a spy during World War II. In Queen of the Court, Blais recaptures a glittering life story.

"Narrator Moniqua Plante's clear voice and steady cadence enhance this fascinating examination of tennis legend Alice Marble." —AudioFile

"The definitive account of Marble’s life." —Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"The author’s journalistic strength shines throughout . . . Essential addition to tennis and sports history collections." —Booklist Starred Review

"An engagingly thorough biography of a dazzling woman." —Kirkus Reviews