Real Tennis Author John Shneerson Awarded 2024 George Plimpton Prize
The United States Court Tennis Association (USCTA) has honored author John Shneerson with its 2024 George Plimpton Prize, an award given out for literary and artistic excellence in the game of Real Tennis.
Shneerson is the author of several court tennis books including: Two Centuries of Real Tennis (1997); Real Tennis: Today and Yesterday (2015); and MCC: More than a Cricket Club: Real Tennis and Other Sports at Lord’s (2020). He received his award from the USCTA during the organisation's Annual Dinner in December.
“We are all beneficiaries of your fine work as a tennis historian. Your books — a history of tennis at Newmarket, a history of tennis and other sports at Lord’s, and most of all Real Tennis: Today and Yesterday — are fundamental to our understanding of the history of our game,” states a letter shared by John from James Zug. “Your support of other historians, your passion for the game and your leadership in saving and reviving New Market make you a perfect choice for the Plimpton Prize.”
The Plimpton Prize was created in 2003, weeks after the death of literary giant George Plimpton, who was an avid and skilled tennis player at NYC's Racquet and Tennis Club. The New York native was known for his sports journalism, helping to found The Paris Review, and as an editor of the 1971 classic tennis work Pierre’s Book.
Recent winners of the award include Alan P.H. Chalmers (2023), Kathryn Ronaldson McNicoll (2022), Ryan Carey (2021), Richard Travers (2019), David Best (2018), and Mike Garnett (2017).
