How do you play with worse mechanic against players that have pretty advantage on strokes and other aspect of tennis, and win?

The book gives the perspective of ugly way of winning, the perseverance, the mental machination that can surpass stronger player. Using the improved observation, winning is on your hand with odds of 20%.

Using every single strategy to win is natural especially in multi-million dollar match.

My four stars is an average between two main points I found in this book. First the positive one. I find the part of playing strategy very complete and exhaustive. Brad tries to give tips about how to play against several kinds of club players you might encounter (retrievers, pushers, weak service...). These tips are very concrete, really he guide you though the shoots you can produce to win the point.
I find beautiful the part of set up points, like 30-..., 4-... About this, you rarely are instructed by normal club coaches. In fact very often I see good club players getting lost on the middle of game or set not understanding the critical points.
According to me the initial part is a bit outdated. Not much is said about physical training, warmup and stretching routines are obsolete (still effective for very beginners), the pages about the importance of keeping hydrated, the readiness of your equipment, all of them are quite obvious and obsolete now.
If you are a club players between 8 and 6 mandatory to read, however good and fast book even for higher class club players

To me, an adult beginner, this book felt like a long, friendly conversation about all the different aspects of the game that a lesson or clinic isn't going to cover. I have a feeling I'll be coming back to it time and again. I understand the critiques about how it's dated, but the proof is still in the pudding. Go Coco!!!

Helped my game massively from an analytical perspective. I used to play “with my eyes shut” as Brad wrote.

Not going to implement every strategy from the book, but it’s impossible not to view matches and matchups through Gilbert’s lense after reading this.

Reading this book is an essential for any young tennis player.

Great tennis book, Brad is a legend.

Disappointed this book wasn't narrated by Brad. His recollections will appeal largely to tennis fans of a certain age but his advice, tips, and experience is pertinent to all that are continually working on their game.

A quarter century later, Brad's concise advice is still relevant despite advances in rackets, shoes, and balls. Most of tennis is in the head, and this book helps sort out how to use the most of what you have, physically and mentally, to win. -Sally Ann Sims, Author of Halt at X: A North of Boston Novel

Former professional player and coach of Andre Aggasi, Andy Murray, and Coco Gauff's book on the mental aspect of tennis. Wish I had read this a while ago but have picked up on some of the strategies outlined through playing in high school and tournaments. Biggest takeaway is to think on the court. Very easy to become braindead idiot once stepping foot on the court. Using your brain during a match allows you to see opportunities (e.g. hidden AD points) that most other players will fail to recognize and apply your strengths against the opp's weaknesses.

After reading on "Open" about the amazing results Andre Agassi had once he added Brad Gilbert on his team it was clear for me that the next book I needed to read was Winning Ugly.
In his book, Gilbert, teaches all the "not so talented" tennis players out there that you don´t need to be a prodigy to win tennis matches. You just need to know how to exploit your strengths, minimize risks and attack your opponent's weaknesses.
If you are looking forward to increase your percentage of winning matches, this book is definitely for you.

One of the most underrated self-help books of all time. In the world of goggins and Tates, Gilbert’s real life experiences against the best in the world in from of thousands if not millions highlights how to really turn experience into advice. Absolutely pick this up — worth your time.

I liked the book, it was a fun, easy and at time even informative read. Gave me a lot to think about and validated some of my own thoughts and experiences about this sport. The frustration is however is every time I am on the court now I keep telling myself - I have READ about this but what DID it say I need to do in this situation? haha great in theory - hard to use in practice. Also loved following up as a read with the YouTube videos of events mentioned in this book - great fun for those who appreciate the sport!

As a tennis player struggling to get to the next level, I enjoyed this book. It talks about the mental aspect of the game, and how out-thinking your opponent can trump talent sometimes. I have always had a tough time with the mental part of my game, drifting in and out of matches without any real plan or intent. Brad talks about focusing on formulating a plan and then adapting as the match goes on. There are lots of great pointers in here and I also enjoyed his stories about playing some of the all-time greats in the Men's game.