C O P YR I GHT , 1 9 2 1 ,

B Y GE O R GE H . DO R AN CO M P A NY

I D AND E NLAR GE D E DIT I O N

RE V S E
C OPYR I GHT 1 9 2 2
, ,

B Y GE O R GE H D O RAN CO M P ANY
.

P R I NTE D I D S TATE S
I N T H E UN T E O F AM E R ICA

AP R 5 922

! 8LA6 5 9 8 08
 I N TRO DUCT I O N

T ENNI S i s at once an a rt and a s ci ence T h e game .

a s playe d by such men as N o rm an E B r ookes the .

,

lat e A n t h ony W i ld i ng W i ll i am M Johnston and

, ,

R N Willi ams i s art Yet li ke all true a r t i t ha s

‘

. . .
,

i ts b a s is i n s ci ent i fic met h ods tha t must b e l e a rned

and learne d th o r oughly fo r a f oundati on b e f ore t h e
art i stic st ru ctur e o f a g r eat tenn i s game can b e con
s truc te d .

Eve ry p l aye r wh o h elps to atta in a h ig h deg r e e

o f e ffi ci ency sho ul d h a v e a clea r ly define d met h o d

o f development and a dh ere to it He s h oul d b e .

ce rta i n t h at i t i s b ased on s ound p ri nci ple s an d once ,

assure d o f t h at f ollow i t e v en t h ough his progr e s s

, ,

seems slow and d i scouraging .

I began tenni s wrong My st r okes were w r ong

.

and my V i ewpoint clou de d I ha d no e arly tra i n in g

.

S u ch a s m a ny of ou r Ame r ican b oys h ave at the p re s

e nt time .N o one told me the i mportan c e o f the

f undamentals o f the game su c h a s keep ing the eye
,

on th e b all or cor r e c t bo dy po s ition and footwork .

I was giv en a r a c quet and allowed to hi t the b all .

N a tu rally l i ke all b egi nne r s I a cq ui red many ve ry

, ,

ser i o u s fault s I w orr i e d along w i t h moderate su c

.

cess u nti l I had b een g r aduated fr om sch ool b eat i ng ,

vi ii INTR O DUC TI O N

some f ai rly g ood playe r s b ut l o s i ng s o m e m a t c h e s

r

to men b el ow m y cla ss T h e yea r f oll ow i ng my

.

’
g r a du at i on the new C apta i n o f my Alma M ate r s
team a sked me if I would a i d h im i n develop i ng
t h e squa d f o r next yea r Well “ Fo o ls ru s h i n
.
,

w h e r e angels f ea r to t r e ad so I sa i d Yes ,
.

At t h at p o i nt my tennis e ducat i on b egan .

T h e y o ungste r s c o mpri s i ng ou r tenni s s qu a d all

kn ew m e well and f elt a t per f ect l i b erty to a sk m e
a s ma n y qu e st i o n s a s t h ey could t h ink u p I wa s .

b es i ege d w i th r e qu e s ts to expla i n w hy J o ne s m i s sed

a fo r e h an d d ri ve d own the s i de l i ne or Sm i th -
,
’
couldn t se rve we ll o r B ro wn f a i led to hi t th e b all
”
,

a t all Frankly I d i d not kn ow b ut I a n sw er e d

, , ,

t h em s o meth i ng at t h e moment and s a i d to mysel f

i t was t i me I lea rn e d s o m e fu ndamental s o f te nni s .

So I b ega n t o s tu dy the r eas o n s why c e r tain sho t s

a re m i sse d and ot h ers ma de W hy ce r ta i n b alls a re .

h it so much f a ste r t h oug h wi t h less e ff or t t h a n

others and wh y s om e playe r s a r e g r ea t whi le m o s t
,

a re only goo d I am st i ll stu dyi ng b ut my r es u lt s

.
,

t o date h ave r esulte d in a d efi ni t e system t o b e

lea rned and it i s t hi s wh i c h I h op e t o e xp lain to yo u
,

i n my b ook ,

Tennis h as a langu age all i ts own T h e i d io ms .

o f the gam e shou l d be l ea rned a s all b ooks on the ,

ga m e are written i n tenn i s p a rlance The te c hn i c al .

terms and t h e ir c o unterpa r t i n slang need to be

understo od to thorough ly g r asp t h e i dea i n any
wr i tten tenn i s a cc o u nt .

I do n o t b el i eve i n u s i ng a g r ea t deal o f s p a ce
 IN TR O DUCTI O N ix

c a r e fu lly de fi n i ng e ac h b la de o f g r ass on a o rt
c u ,

o r ea ch rul e o f the game I t gets now h e r e . . I do .

a dvocate t ea chi ng t h e te rms o f the gam e .

1 . THE C OU RT .

T he B ase li ne z T he
-
b ack l ine .

T he Serv i ce li ne z T he -
b ack l ine of the servi ce cou rt ,

extend ing from si d e l ine to s i d e l ine at a point 2 1

- -

fee t from the net .

T he Alleys z T he sp ace on each s i de of the court

,
-

b etween the s i d e servi ce l ine and the ou ts i d e s i d e

-

line of a d ou bl es court T hey are use d only

.

when p l ay i ng doub les and are not m arke d on a

si n gl e cou rt .

T he N e tz T he b arri er that st ret ches ac ross the

court i n the ex act centre I t i s 3 feet hi gh .

at the centre and 3 feet 6 i nches hi gh at the

p o s ts w h i ch s t an d 3 f e e t o ut s i d e the side
l i nes .

2 . STR OK E S G eneral Cl asses )

( T wo .

A Grou nd s trokesz All shots hi t from the base

.

l ines ofi the bounce of the ball .

B Volle ys: Shots hit whil e the ball i s i n fl i ght

.

throu gh the ai r p revi ous to i ts bound

, .

T he Servi c T he m ethod of p u tti ng the ball i n

p lay
T he D rive l
“
ground s troke
A
- hi t w i th a fl at rac qu e t
f ace and carry i ng top sp in .

T he ChO p Z An un d e rcu t ground s troke i s the gen

e ral d e fi nit ion of a chop T he slice an d chop .
 IN TR O DUCTI ON
s ly re l ate d that ex cep t i n stroke analysis
are so clo e , ,

they m ay be called chop .

Stop Volley z B locki ng a b all shor t i n its fl i ght .

H al f Volley or Trap Shot z A p i ck u p .

T he Sm as t i tt i ng on the f u ll a ny ov e rhe ad b al l .

T he LobZ H i tti ng the b all i n a h i gh p arabola .

TWI S T O N THE B A LL .

T op Sp i nz T he ball sp ins tow ard s the ground and

in the d i rection of i ts fl ight .

C hop ,
Cu t , or D ran b all sp ins u pward s f rom
he
th e ground and a g ai nst the l i ne o f fl i ght This i s .

s l i gh tly d evi a te d i n the sl i ce b u t all thes e term s ,

a re u se d to d es i gnate the u nd e r s tru ck b ack sp i n -

,
-

ni ng b all .

Reverse T wi stz A ball t ry sp i n

th a t carr e is a ro a

that curves one way and bou nc es the opposite .

B re as sp in wh i ch c au ses the b al l to bo u nce a t a n

a ngl e to i ts l i ne o f fl i gh t .

4 . LET : A serv i ce that tou ches the net i n i ts fl i ght y e t

f al ls i n court or any i ll egal or i rregul ar poi nt
,

that does not cou nt .

5 . FA U L T z An i ll egal se rv c ie .

6 . O U T z Any sho t hi t ou ts id e legal b ou nd ari es of the

cou r t .

7 G o
.oo z Any s hot th a t stri kes in a l eg al m anner r
p e
scr ibe d by l
ru e s o f the g am e .
 I N TR O D U CTI ON xi

8 . FOOT E A U LT z An ille gal serv ice d el ivery due to in

correct pos iti on of the s erv er s feet
’
.

9 . SERVE RZ P l ay e r d el iveri ng serv ice .

10 . RE C E IVER or ST RI KEk z P laye r re t urn n i g servi ce .

W T T
. . .

WIM BLEDON , J uly 1 92 0

 PREFA C E T O N EW E DITI ON

The s e ason o f 1 9 2 1 wa s s o ep o c h making in th e

-

gam e o f tenni s c omb i ning a s i t di d the gre atest

,

number of D a v i s Cup mat c hes th at have e v er been

he l d in one ye ar the invasi on o f Fran c e and Eng
,

l and by an Ame ri can team the fi r st app e aran c e in

,

Amer i ca o f M l le Suz anne Lenglen and he r un f or

.

tuna te collaps e , and final l y the ris e to prom i nen c e

of J ap an a s a le ading fac t or in the tenn i s wo rld
’
that I h ave i n c orp orate d a r eco r d o f the season s
outstanding fe a tures and some s i delights and p er
s on ali ty sket ch e s on th e new sta r s in the new add i

tion of thi s b ook .

’
The imp ortan c e o f women s tenn i s has grown s o
tremendously in the p ast few ye ars th at I h ave als o
added a r eview o f the game and its progress i n
Amer i c a N o t o nl y h as Mlle Lengl en pl ace d h e r
. .

mark indelibly o n the p age s o f tenni s hi sto ry bu t

1 9 2 1 se rved to raise M rs Moll a Bj urste dt M al
.

lory t o th e pos i tion i n the world th at sh e r i ghtly

dese rves th at o f th e g r e atest mat c h winner o f all
,

women Th e p ast s eason brought the r etu rn to

.

Ameri c an c ourts o f M rs M ay Sutton Bundy and

.

Miss M ary B rowne in itself an event o f su ffi c ient

,

impo r tance to s et th e ye a r ap a rt as one of h ighest

v a l ue
.
 P RE FA CE T O N E W E DITI O N

T h e outstanding p re f orm ance s o f the two j un i ors ,

Vincent Ri c hards and Arnold Jones must b e re

,

garde d a s worthy o f p erm anent recogniti on and

among the outstanding f e a tures o f a noteworthy
ye ar Thus i t i s with a sense o f re cord i ng histo ry
.

m ak i ng fa c ts t h at I t urn to the events o f 1 9 2 1 .

WI LL IAM T . T I LDEN 2D
G ERM ANT OW N ,

P H I LAD E L P H IA
 C ON TE NT S

I N T ROD U C TI O N
PR E FAC E T o N EW EDIT I O N

PART I : T ENN I S T E C H NI ! U E ST RO KE S
é - -

AN D FU N DAM EN TAL S O F T H E GAM E

C H AP TE R

FO R N O VIC E S O N LY
THE DRIVE
SERV IC E
T HE VOLL EY A N D O VER H EAD SM A S H
C H O P HA L F VOLL EY A ND C O U RT PO S I TI O N
, ,

PART I I :T H E LAW S OF T ENN I S

P SYCH O L O GY
VI G EN ERA L T E N N I S PSY C H OLOGY 63
VII T H E PSYC H OLOGY O F M AT C H P LAY 77
VIII T H E PSY C H OLOGY O F PH Y S ICA L FIT N ES S 88
I! T H E PSY C H OLOGY O F SI N GL E S A N D D OU B L E S 97

PART III : M O D ERN T EN N I S AN D

IT S FUT U RE

! T HE GROWT H or TH E M OD ERN GA M E
! I T H E PRO B A B L E FU T U RE O F TH E GA M E
 C ON TE N T S
PA RT IV : SO M E SID E L IGHT S ON
FAM O U S P LAYERS
CH APTER
I N T RO D U C T O RY
A M E RICA
B RI T I S H I SL ES
FRA N C E A N D J A P A N
SP A I N A N D T H E C O N T I N E N T
T H E C OLO N I E S
FA M O U S W O M E N PL AYERS
 I LL US T RAT I O N S
P L ATE

I WI LL IA M T TI LD E N C H A M P I O N
.
, OF T H E
W O R L D I N A C TI O N Fr onti spz
’

, e ce

II FORE H A N D G R I P . FR O NT V I EW
FO RE H A N D GRI P . B AC K VI EW
III T HE C O M P L ETED SWI N G O F TH E FORE H A N D
DRIV E
IV BAC K H A N D G RI P . FR O N T V I EW
B AC K H A N D GRI P . B AC K V I EW
V C O M P L ET I O N OF T H E B AC K H AN D DR IVE
VI T HE FOR E H A N D V OLL EY
VII T HE B AC K H A N D V OLL EY
VIII D AV I S CU P C H A LL E N G E ROU N D 1 92 1 .

W I LL IA M M J O H N ST O N Am i
.
, er ca , A ND
l C H I YA KU M A GA E , J a pa n

I! D AV I S CU P C H A LL E N G E ROU N D
Z ZO S
,
1 92 1 .

EN H I M ID Z
U ,
J a pa n , AN D WM .

T T I L DE N
. 2 N D, A m e ri ca

FA M OU S D AV I S C U P D OU B L E S T EA M S .

N O RM A N E B ROO KS A N D G ERA LD L
. .

PATT ER S O N Aus tra li a 1 9 2 0 R N

, , . . .

W I LL IA M S 2 N D A N D W AT S O N W A S H
xv ii
x vi i i ILLU S TR ATI ON S
P LATE
B URN , A m er i ca, 192 1 . M . E . MC
‘

LO UG H L I N A N D T C B U N DY . .
, Am er
i ca , 19 14

FAM OU S D A VI S C UP ST A R S . N O RM A N E .

B ROO KE S A us tra lia AN T H O N Y F

Z
.
, .

W I L DI N G ,
N ew ea la nd BEA L S .

WR I G HT , A m eri ca . W A L AR N ED
. .
,

A m eri ca

T HE 192 1A U ST RA L IAN D AVI S C U P TEAM .

J O
. A N D E.R S O N J B H AWK E S N OR , . .
,

M A N P E AC H A N D C V T ODD . . .

T H E 1 9 2 0 A M E RICA N D AVI S C U P T EA M .

R N W I LL IA M S 2 N D W M J O H N
. .
,
. .

ST O N C A P T AI N SA M U E L H ARDY W M
, , .

T T I LD E N 2 N D A N D C S G A R L A N D
. . .

FORM ER C H AM P I O N S O F AM ERICA R N O R . .

RI S W I LL IA M S W I LL IA M M J O H N . .

S T O N M A U R IC E E M C L OUG H L I N
. . .

R O B ERT LI N D L EY M U RRAY

AN E C H O WA R J UL IA N S M Y RIC K
OF T H E . .
,

W A LT ER C A M P E F T ORR EY A N D , . .

R L M U RRAY
. .

D AV I S C U P D OU B L E S TEA M 1 9 1 3 M E . . .

M C L OUG H L I N A N D H H HA C K ETT . . .

FRI E N D LY E N E M I E S I O H IYA KU M A GA E .

A N D V I N C E N T R IC H A RD S

! V W A LLA C E F J O H N ST O N Am i a S
. ,
er c . .

H OWA RD V O S H E LL Am i a I C H IYA ,
er c .

KU M A GAE J p n WAT S O N M
, a a . .

W A S H B U RN A m e i ca ,
r
 ILLU S TR ATI ON S xix

A GR O U P O F YO UN G P L AYERS VI N C E NT .

R IC H A RD S A L W I E N ER ( SA N DY ) . . .

A N D WM T T I LD EN 2 N D M I SS . . .

H E L E N W I LL S CA R L FI S C H ER .

C . S GAR LA N D A N D R N W I LL IAM S
. . .
,

Am i a C H ARDY A m i a A G
er c . .
, er c . . .

G O B ERT F ance W A L A U REN T Z

,
r . . .
,

Fra nce

A . R F KI N G S C O T E B ri ti sh I s les J C
. .
, . . .

PARK E B ri ti s h I s les G ERA LD PA T T ER

,
.

S O N Au s tra li a
, T M M A VRO GO RDA T O . . .
,

B ri tis h I s les

LO U I S A RAYM O ND S ou th Af i ca B I C
Z
.
, r . . . .

N ORT ON S outh Af i ca F SH I
,
r . . .

M ID ZU J apa n N M I S H U R ou m a nia
, . .
,

M RS FRA N K L I N I ! M OLL A B J U RS T EDT ]

. .

M A LLORY A m eri ca M RS M ARI O N

Z
, . .

I N DO R S T E I N J E SS U P A m eri ca M I SS , .

M ARY K B R OWN E A m eri ca .

,

M LL E . L E N GL E N , Fra nce . M I SS E L I Z
A B ETH
RYA N , A m eri ca M RS M AY S U TT O N
. .

B U N DY ,
A m eri ca M RS L A RC O M B E . .

AND M RS . L A M B E RT C H A M B ERS ,

B ri ti s h I s les
 I :T E NN I S T E C HN I ! UE —
S T R O KE S
AN D FUN D AM E NT ALS O F GAM E
 T H E AR T O F L AWN T E NNIS

I :TE NNI S T E C HN I ! UE — S TR OKE S

CHAPTE R I

FO R N O VIC E S O N LY

TR U ST thi s i n i t i al eff o rt o f m i ne in th e world

o f letters w i ll find a place among b ot h nov i ces
and exp e r ts i n the tenn i s wo rld I am st rivi ng t o
.

interest the s tu dent o f th e game by a some what pro

longed d i s cussi on o f ma tc h play whi c h I trust W ill
,

s h e d a new light on t h e game .

M ay I tu rn to the no vi ce at my opening and

speak o f c e rtain matte r s whi c h are se c on d nature
to the ski lle d player !
The b est tenni s equipment i s not to o goo d fo r the
beginner wh o seeks re al ly to su cc eed I t i s a s a v ing
.

in the end a s goo d qu ali ty m ateri al so f a r outla s t s

,
'

po or .

Always dress in tennis c lothes when engaging

i n tennis Wh i te i s t he established c olour Soft
. .

sh irt wh i te fl annel t r ouser s heavy W h ite socks and

, , ,
’
20 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE N N I S
ru bber sole d s hoe s f orm t h e accepted d r ess f or
-

te nnis D o not app ea r on the cou rts i n da r k cl o th es

.
,

a s th ey are apt to b e h e a vy and hi nde r yo ur spee d

o f movement and also t h ey a r e a V io lat i on o f th e
,

u nwr i tten e t hi cs o f t h e gam e .

The quest io n o f choosi ng a r ac quet i s a m u ch mo r e

s e ri ous m atte r I d o not adv ocate f o r c i ng a certa i n
.

r a cquet up on any player All the standa rd makes

.

a re e x cellent I t i s i n we i ght b alance and s iz e o f

.
, ,

h an dl e t h at t h e r e al valu e o f a r acquet f rame de

p ends Wh ile g o o d st ri nging i s esse nti al to ob ta i n
,

t h e b est r esults .

Th e average playe r s h o u ld u se a r a c qu e t t h a t
W e i g h s b e twe en 1 3 % and 1 4 % oun c e s i nclus i ve I .

th i nk t h at the best r es ul ts may be ob taine d b y a

b alance t h a t i s alm o s t ev en or sl i gh tly heavy on
t h e h e ad D e ci de you r h andle fr om t h e i nd iv idual
.

c hoi ce P i ck the one t h a t fits com f o rtably i n t h e

.

h and D O n ot u se t o o sm al l a h andle o r to o li ght

.

a r a c quet as i t i s apt to tu rn i n th e h and I

,
.

r e commend a h an dl e o f 5 to 5 % i nc h es a t the
gr ip D o no t use a r a c quet y ou do n o t l i ke m er ely
.

because you r b est fri end a dvi se s i t I t may su i t hi m .

p erfectly b ut would not do f or y ou a t all D o not

,
.

sta rt c h ildren play i ng tenn i s wi t h an under s iz ed -

racquet I t weakens t h e wr i st and d o e s not a i d

.

t h e chi ld i n lea r n i ng strokes Star t a chi ld b oy .

,

or gi rl wit h a fu ll si z e d r a cqu et of at lea s t 1 3

,
-

o unces .

After you h ave acqui r e d y our r a cquet mak e a ,

fir m r esol v e t o use g oo d t enn i s b alls a s a r e gu la r ,

 F OR NOVICE S ONL Y 21

bounc e i s a great ai d t o a dv an c ement W h i l e a

“ ”
dead ba l l i s no pra ctice a t all .
,

I f you really desire to suc c eed at th e game and

a dvance rapidly , I strongly u rg e y ou to s e e all th e
_

g ood ten ni s you c an Study. the play of t h e lead i ng

player s and s tr i ve to copy t h ei r st r okes Read a l l .

the tenni s inst ru c ti on bo oks you can find They .

a re a gr ea t assi stan c e I s hall b e accu sed o f press

”
.

a gi t ating my own bo ok by t h is sta tement b ut such ,

was my b el i e f long b e fo r e I e v er t h ought o f wr i t i ng

a bo ok o f my own .

More tenni s c an b e learne d ofl t h e cou rt i n the ,

s tudy Of theory , and i n watc h ing t h e b est players

in a c tion than c an e v er b e learne d in actu al play
,
.

I do not mean m is s opp o r tun i t i es to play Fa r from .

i t Play W hene v er p oss i ble but st riv e wh en playing

.
,

t o put i n pra ctice t h e theor i es yo u h ave r e a d or t h e

str okes you ha v e watch ed .

N e v e r b e di scou r age d a t slow p r ogress Th e .

trick over s ome stroke you h a v e wo r ked o v e r f o r

weeks unsu c cess fully w i ll suddenly come to y o u
when least expe cted Tenni s players a re the p r o
.

duct o f ha r d work Ve ry f ew a r e b o rn geniuses at

.

t h e game .

Tennis i s a game t h a t pays y ou di vi dends all your

l i fe. A tenni s racquet i s a lette r o f int r odu ct i on i n
any town The b rotherho o d o f th e game i s un i
.

v ersal for none but a go od spo rtsman c an suc c eed

,

i n t h e game fo r any lengt hy p erio d Tenn i s p ro .

vi des r elaxation ex c itement exercise and pure

, , ,

e nj oyment to t h e man who i s tie d h a r d and f ast

22 T H E AR T
'
O F LA W N TE NN I S
to hi s busines s until late a fternoon Age i s not a
.

d r awba ck . V i ncent Ri ch a rds held t h e N at i onal

D ouble s Champion s hip o f America a t fi fteen W hile ,

Will i am A Larne d won t h e S ingl e s at pa s t fo r ty

. .

Men o f s ixty a re seen daily on the club s c ourts ’

o f England and Ameri c a enj oying their game a s

keen ly a s any boy It i s to thi s game in gre at
.
,

mea s ure that they owe the phy sic al fitness whi c h
,

enable s them to p l ay a t their a d v an c e d a ge .

Th e tennis p l aye rs o f the wo rld wrote a magn i

fi ce nt p age in the hi s tory o f the Wo rld Wa r N0 .

b ran c h o f s port s ent more men to t h e c olours f rom

e v ery c ountry in the world th an tenn i s and these ,

m en returned with glory or paid t h e sup r eme s a c ri

fi ce on the fi eld o f honour .

I tran s gre ss ed from my open i ng to S h ow you that

tenn is i s a game wo rth playing and playi ng well It .

de s er v e s your b e s t and only by lea rn i ng i t c o r rectly

,

c an you gi v e tha t b est .

I f in my book I help you on you r way to fame ,

I feel amp ly repai d for a ll the time spent i n ana

lysing the s troke s and ta c t ic s I set before you i n
these pages .

I am going to commen c e my explanat i on b y talk

i ng to the p l ayer s whose games are not yet fo rm e d .

At l ea s t on c e e v ery s ea s on I go b a ck to fi rst prin

ci p l e s to pu l l my s elf out o f s ome r ut into w hich

c a r e l es s nes s dropp ed me .

From a l ong and many times s ad exp e rience

, ,

ove r a perio d o f s ome ten yea r s o f tournament

 F OR N O VI CE S ONLY 23

tennis I belie v e the following o r de r o f de v elop

,

ment pro du c es t h e qui c kest and most lasting r esult s : ‘

I . Con c entration on the game .

2 . Keep the eye on the b all .

3 . Fo ot work and weigh t cont r ol

- - .

4 . Stroke s .

5 . C o urt p o s ition .

6 . C ourt genera l ship o r mat c h play .

7 . Tennis p sy chology .

Tenni s i s a game o f i nt i m ate p e r sonal r elation .

You c onstantly find yours el f m eet i ng some definite

i dea o f y our opp onent The p ersonal equation is
.

the b a s is o f tenni s succe ss A great player n o t .

onl y knows him s elf i n bot h st r engt h and we akness

, ,

but he mu s t s tu dy h is opponent a t all t i mes In .

order to b e able to do t hi s a playe r must no t b e

hampere d by a glaring weaknes s in t h e fundamenta ls
o f hi s ow game or he w i ll b e s o occupi ed t rying
n
,

to hide i t t h a t he wi ll h ave no t i me t o wo rr y his

opponent Th e fundamental we aknes s o f Ge ra l d
.

’
P a tt e rs on s b a ckh and stroke i s s o app arent that any
player within hi s clas s dwa rfs Patte rson s style by ’

continua ll y pounding a t it T h e Patters on o v erhea d

.

and Ser v i c e are fir s t c las s yet b ot h are r endere d i m

,

p o tent on c e a man has s ol v e d the meth o d o f re tu rn

,
a

in g low to the ba ckhand fo r Pa tte rson s eld o m su c

,

c e e d s in taking the O ffensi v e aga i n in that p o int .

I am trying to make c le a r the importan c e o f s u c h

fir st p rin c iple s a s I will now expla in .
 F OR NOVICE S O NL Y 25

Yet a wander i ng m i nd i n th at ca se meant t h e loss o f

a set .

Th e sures t way to hold a match i n m i nd i s to

play for e v e ry set eve ry game i n the s e t e v ery
, ,

point in the game and finally eve ry s h ot i n t h e , ,

point A s et is merely a conglome r at i on o f ma de

.

and mi s sed shot s and the man who does not mi s s is

,

the ult i mate V i c tor .

Plea s e do not think I am a dv ocating pat b all -

.

I am no t I b elie v e in play i ng f or y ou r shot e v ery

.

time you ha v e an op ening I do not b elie v e i n .

trying to W in th e p o i nt every time you h it the

ball N e v er a l low y our c on c entration on any game
.

to be c ome s o great that you do no t a t all times kn o w

the s c ore and play to i t I mean both p oint s cor e .

and game s c o re In my explana tion o f m atch play

.

in a later chapter I am go i ng i nt o a deta i led a c c ount

o f play i ng to the sco r e It i s a s vi tal in tennis as .

i t is in bri dge and all b ridge players kn ow t h at the

,

s c ore i s the determin i ng factor i n you r mo de of

bidding Le t me urge again concent r ation Fra c
. .

ti se ser i ou s ly Do no t fool on t h e court a s it is

.
,

t h e wor s t enemy to p rogress C arelessness o r la zi .

ness on l y result s i n retrogress i on ne v er progress ,

.

Let me tu rn now to the fi rst pr i nciple o f all b a ll

game s whethe r tennis golf cri cke t b aseball p olo
, , , , , ,

o r fo otb all .

KEEP Y O U R EYE ON THE BALL !

Just a few sta tisti c s to S how you how V i tal i t is
that the eye mu s t be kep t on the b all u ntil th e
m om e nt of s tri ki ng i t .
26 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
About 8 5 per c ent o f t h e p oints i n tenn i s a r e
er r ors and the r emainder ea rned po i nts As th e
, .

standa rd o f play rise s the p e rcentage o f erro r s drop s

until i n the average h igh class tournament ma tch
,
-
,

6 0 pe r cent a re error s and 4 0 per cent a ces Any .

a v erage super i o r to thi s is sup er tennis

- .

Thu s the i mp ortan c e o f getting the b al l i n play

c annot b e too great ly emphasi zed E v e ry t i me .

you put the b all ba ck to you r o pp onent you g l v e

him anot h er ch ance to m i ss .

T h er e a re several c au s e s fo r m i ss i ng st r okes .

Fi rst and by f a r the la rge s t class i s not lo o k i ng

, ,

at the b a ll up to the moment o f st ri king i t Fu lly .

8 0 per c ent o f all e rror s a re cau s ed by taki ng th e

eye from the b all I n t h e last one fif th o f a sec o n d
-

o f i ts flight The rema i n i ng 2 0 pe r cent o f e r ro r s

.

are ab out 1 5 per cent b a d footwork and t he oth e r ,

5 p er c ent p oo r r acquet wo r k and b a d bounces .

The eye i s a small came r a All o f us enj oy

.

dabbl i ng i n ama teur p h otography and e v e ry amateu r

“ ”
,

must take a c t i on pi c tures w i th hi s fi rst c ame r a .

I t i s a natural desire t o a tta i n to t h e h ardest be for e

understanding how to reac h i t T h e result i s one o f
.

two th ings : e i t h e r a b lurre d mo v ing obj ect and a

clea r ba ckground o r a clea r m o vi ng obj e c t and a
,

bl ur re d b a ckgr ound B o t h suggest s p ee d but only

.
,

o ne i s a goo d p i ctur e of t h e obj ect one attempte d to

photograp h In t h e fi r s t case t h e c amera eye wa s
.

focu sed on t h e b a ckground and not on t h e obj ect ,

while i n t h e second w hi c h p r oduce d the r es u l t de

,

s ir ed
, t h e came r a eye wa s fi rmly focu sed ou the
 F OR N OVI CE S O NLY 27

movi ng obj ect itse l f Just so with t h e human eye

. .

I t w i ll gi v e both e ff e c ts but ne v e r a clea r b ackgr ound

,

and mo ving obj e ct a t the sam e t i m e once that ,

obj e c t rea che s a point 1 0 feet from the eye The .

per s pe c ti v e i s wrong and the eye c annot adj ust i t

,

s e l f to the di s tan c e range s peedi l y enough .

N ow the tennis ball i s your mo v ing obj e ct while

t h e c ourt gal l ery net and your opponent c on s titute
, , ,

y ou r ba c kground You .des i re to hit the b all c leanly ,

t here fore do not look at the ot h er factors c on c erned ,

b u t con c entrate so l ely on fo c u si ng the eye firm ly

o n th e ball a nd wat c hing i t until the moment o f
,

i mp act with you r racquet fa c e .

How do I know where my op p onent is o r how

”
,

m u c h c ourt I have to hi t i n ! ask countless b e

g inn e r s
.

Rememb er this : that a tennis cou rt i s always the

s ame s i z e wi th t h e net the same h eight and in the
,

s ame relation to you at all time s s o there i s no ,

n ee d to look at it eve ry m oment o r s o to s e e i f

it ha s mo v ed O nly an e arthqua k e can change its

.

p O S I tI
‘

O I l . As to your opponent i t makes li ttle di

, f
fe r en c e ab out h is position b e c ause it is determined ,

by the s hot you a re st r i v ing to return Where h e .

will b e I will str iv e to explain I n my chapter on

court posi ti on ; but hi s whereabouts are known W it h
Out look i ng at h im You are not trying t o hit him
. .

You stri v e to m i s s h i m T h ere fore s i n c e yo u must .

,

watc h W h at you st ri ve to hi t and not follow W hat yo u

only wi sh to mi s s keep you r eye on th e ball and let
, ,

y o ur O pponent take ca re o f h i msel f .

28 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
Sc i ence h a s p ro ve d t h a t g i ven a tenn i s b all pass in g
from p oi nt A t o p o in t B w i th the r ece i vi ng playe r a t
B that i f t h e playe r a t B ke ep s h i s eye on t h e b al l
,

th r o u gh out i ts full fl i gh t hi s c h ance o f mak i ng a g oo d

A 1 2 3 4 B

ret u rn at B i s fi v e time s as grea t as i f h e took hi s fi

eye off t h e b all a t a p oint 4 o r , o f a se c ond o f it s

flight Likewis e i t i s ten t i mes a s gre at a t B as it i s
.

i f the eye i s r emoved from the b all a t 3 o r i o f a

,
i

second o f i ts flight W hy i nc r ease you r chances o f

.

e rr o r by five t i me s o r t en t i mes w h e n i t i s um
necessary !
Th e average player f oll o ws th e b all t o 4 and the n ,

h e take s a last look at his opp o nent to s e e wh e r e h e

i s and by s o do i ng i ncre ase s h i s c h ance o f er r o r fi v e
,

t i mes H e j udge s the fl i gh t o f the b all s ome 1 0 fe et

.

away and neve r r eally se es i t a ga i n until h e h a s hi t

,

i t ( i f he d o e s ) A sligh t defl e ct io n cause d by the

.

w i nd or a small m i sjudgment o f curve will ce r tainly

'
m e an e rror R em emb e r ing the 8 5 per cent errors in
.

tenn i s I aga i n a sk yo u i f i t i s wo rt h while to ta k e

,

the r i s k !
T h ere a r e many ot h e r r e a s o ns why kee pi ng t h e
eye o n t h e b all i s a gr e at a i d to t he playe r I t tends
.

to h old hi s a ttention s o t h at outside oc cu rr en c es

wi l l not d i st r a c t M ovements i n the gallery are not
.

s een and stray dogs tha t seem to pa rti cularly enj o y

, ,

sleep i ng In t h e m i ddle o f a tenn i s c o u rt du ring a h a r d

match a r e not see n on th ei r w ay to t hei r sleep i ng
,

q u a r ters Hav i ng le a rne d the k nack o f wa tc hi ng

.
 F OR N OVI CE S O NLY 29

t h e b all at all t i mes I f elt th at not hi ng wo u ld Wo r ry

,

me unt i l t hr e e yea r s ago a t th e Ame ri can C h am

,

p i on sh i p s when I was
, play i ng T R Pell A p ress . . .

camera man el u ded the wat chful eye o f t h e o ffic i als ,

and unob t rus i vely s e ate d h i mself clo se to our s i de

!

line to a c qui r e some a c t i on p i ctures P ell angle d .

s h a rply by to my b a c khand and I r an at my ha rdest ,

f or the shot eyes fixed solely on t h e b all I hauled

,
.

off to hi t i t a mighty dr i ve whi c h would h ave prob ,

a bly gone o ve r the b a c kstop w h en s u ddenly I he ard ,

a came r a click j u st under me and th e next momen t ,

c ame r a pressman and tennis player were r olling i n

, ,

a heap all o v e r t h e c ou r t T h e p r essman got hi s .

a cti on picture and a so r e foot w h ere I walke d on

!

hi m and all I got wa s a so r e arm and a r u ffled

,
’
tem pe r That s why I don t like cameras r ight under
.
’

my nos e w h en I play m atc h e s but f or all tha t I s ti ll ,

a dvoca te keep i ng you r eye on t h e b all .

GRI P ,
F OO TW O R K AND S T RO KE S
,

Footwork i s we i ght c ont r ol It i s c orr ect b ody

. .

p o sitio n for strokes and out of i t a ll st r oke s s h ould

,

gr ow In explaining the var i ous f o rms of st r oke and

.

footwork I am writing a s a r i ght h and playe r Le ft - .

h anders S hould simply r eve r se t h e fe et .

Ra c quet grip i s a ve ry essential p a r t o f stroke ,

because a fa ul ty grip wi l l ru i n t h e finest se rv i ng .

There i s t h e s o called Western o r Cali f o rni an gri p

-

a s typ i fied by Mauri c e E M L ou ghli n Will i s E .

‘
, .

Da v is and to a sligh tly mod i fied deg r e e W M

, , , . .
80 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
Johnston the Amer ic an champ i on I t i s a natu ral
, .

grip fo r a top fo rehand dr iv e It i s i nherently weak .

fo r the b a ckhand as the o nly nat ural shot i s a ch op

,

s troke .

The Engl ish gri p w i t h t h e low wrist on all ground

,

s trokes h a s pro v e d ve ry s u cc e s s fu l in the pa s t

, Yet .

t he broken lin e o f the arm and hand does no t com

mend itsel f to me a s any b r o k en line i s we ak unde r

,

s tre ss .

The E aste rn Ame r ic an gr i p w hic h I a dv o c ate i s , ,

t h e Engl i sh gr i p Without the low w rist and broke n

line To a c quire the fo rehand grip h old the rac q ue t
.
,

W ith the edge o f the frame towards the ground and

t he fa c e pe r pendi cula r t h e handle to w ards t h e
”
,

b o dy and s hake hand s with i t j ust a s i f you we re

, ,

greeting a friend The h andle settle d c omfortably

.

a nd natura l ly into the h and the l i ne o f the a rm

, ,

hand and ra c quet a re one The swing bring s t h e

, .

ra c quet hea d on a line with the a rm and t h e w h ole ,

ra c quet i s mere l y an extension o f it .

The ba ckhand grip i s a qu arte r circ le turn o f

h and on the hand l e bringing the hand on top o f
,

the h andl e and the knu c k l es dire c tly up The shot .

tra v el s a cr os s the wri s t

.
.

This i s the be s t b a s i s for a grip I do not a dvo .

cate learning thi s grip exa c tl y but mo del your natu ,

ral grip as c lo s ely a s p o s sible on these lines W i thout

s a c rifi c ing your own c om fort o r i ndi vi duality .

Ha v ing on c e s ettle d t h e ra c quet in the hand the ,

next que s tion i s the p osition o f t h e b ody and t h e

o rder o f de v e l oping strokes .
 F OR NOVICE S ONLY 31

In ex p l aining footwork I am in future going to , ,

refer in all forehand s hot s to the r ight foot a s R or

“ ”
ba ck foot and to the le ft a s L o r front “ ” Fo r
,
“ ” “ ”
.

the ba ckhand the L foot i s ba ck and R i s front .

A ll tenni s s troke s should b e made with the b o dy

at right ang l e s to the net with the shoulder s lined up ,

para ll e l to the line of flight o f the b all The W eight .

s hou l d a lways tra v e l forwa rd It should pa s s from .

the b a ck foot to the front foot a t the moment of

s triking the b a ll N e v er allow the weight to b e
.

going away from the stroke It i s weight that de

“ ”
.

termines the p a c e o f a s troke ; s wing th at de

“
c ide s the sp eed ” .

Let me ex plain the definition s o f spee d and

“ pace ” “ ”
Sp eed i s t h e actual rate with whi c h a
“ ”
.

b all travels through the air Pa c e i s the m o men .

tu m w i th whi c h it c ome s off the groun d Pa c e is

“ ”
.

W eight I t i s the s ting the b a ll c arri e s when it

.

c omes off the ground gi v ing the ine xperi en c ed o r ,

u nsuspect i ng p l ayer a s ho ck o f force whi c h the

stroke in no way s howe d .

N otable examples o f p a c e a r e su ch men a s W .

A Larned A W Gore J C Parke and among

.
, . .
, . .
,

the younge r player s R N Wi ll iam s M aj or A R , . .

,
. .

F King sc ote W M John s ton and on his fore hand

.
,
. .
, ,

stroke C h arle s S Ga rland

, . .

M E M L oughli n Wi l lis E D a vi s Harold

. .
‘
, .
,

Th r o ckmorton and se v eral o t h ers a re famous

“ ”
sp eed e xponents
”
.

A great many players h ave b ot h sp eed and

“ pace .Some s h ots may ca rry b ot h .
 CHA PTE R I I

T HE D RIVE

HE forehand dr iv e i s t h e op en i ng o f eve ry
o ff ensi v e i n tennis and a s s u ch should b e
, , ,

most care fully s tu d i ed T h ere are c ertain rules o f

.

f ootwork that apply to all s hots T o re a c h a b all .

th at i s a sh ort di stan c e away a dvan c e th e fo ot t h at

,

i s away from t h e shot and thus sw i ng i nto p osition

to h i t I f a b all i s t oo clo s e to the b o dy ret r eat the
.
,

fo ot closes t t o t h e shot an d drop t h e weigh t b a ck

'

on it t h us aga i n being i n positi on f or the stroke

, , ,
.

When h urr i ed and it i s not p oss i ble to change the

,

foo t p O S I tI O Il th row t h e weight on th e f oot c losest

‘
‘

to t h e ball .

The recei v er should always await the se rv i ce f ac

i ng the net but on c e the s er v e is sta rted on the
,

way to c ourt t h e re c e iv er s hou l d at on c e attain the

,

p o s ition to re c ei v e i t with the body at righ t an gl es

to the ne t .

The forehand dr iv e is made up o f one cont i nu ous

s wi ng o f t h e ra c quet that for t h e purpos e o f analy
,

sis may b e d iv ided i nto th r e e parts

,

1 T h e p ort i on o f t h e swing b eh i nd t h e b o dy
.
,

w hich dete rm i nes the speed o f the stroke .

2 T h at po rt i on i mmedi ately i n front o f t h e b o dy

.

33
3 45 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
whi c h determ i ne s the d i re c tion and i n conjunct i on ,

wit h we i g h t shift from one f oot to t h e other the ,

p a ce o f the s h ot .

T h e p orti on beyond the b ody compa r able to

3
“ ”
,
.

’
t h e g o lfe r s f ollow t h rough dete rm i nes sp i n top
, ,

o r sl i ce i mp a r te d to t h e b all
,
.

All dr iv es should b e topped T h e sl ic e s ho t i s a .

totally diff e r ent s troke .

To d riv e st r aight d own the s i de l i ne constru ct -

,

in theory a paral l elogram w i th two sides ma de u p

o f the s i de l i ne and you r shoulders and t h e tw o
-
,

ends the line s o f you r feet w h ich s h ould i f ex

, , ,

t e nde d fo rm t h e ri g h t angle s w i t h t h e s i de l i ne s
,
- .

M e et t h e ball at a p o i nt ab o u t 4 to f ee t f r om the
b ody i mmed i ately i n f r ont o f the b elt b uckl e and ,

shift the we i ght fro m th e b ack t o t h e fr ont f oot

a t th e m om e nt of s tri ki ng the b a ll T he sw i ng of .

the r a cquet s h ould b e fl at and stra i ght t hro ugh T h e .

ra cquet h ea d shoul d b e on a l i ne wit h t h e h and o r , ,

i f anyt hi ng sligh tly i n a dvan c e ; the whole a rm and

,

the r a cq u e t s h o u ld tu rn sl i g h tly o v e r t h e b all a s i t

leave s t h e r ac qu et f a c e and t h e st r oke cont i nue to t h e
lim i t o f the sw i ng t hu s i mp a r ting top sp i n to the
,

b all .

T h e hi tt i ng plane f o r all g r ound st r oke s Should

b e b etween t h e knee s and shoulders Th e m ost .

favourabl e plane i s on a l i ne w i t h t h e w a i st .

In dr i v i ng a c r os s the court f r om the r ight ( or

N o 1 ) c ou rt a dva n
. ce th e L or f ront f oot sl i ghtly
,

t o wa rds the S i de l i n e a n d s hift t h e we i gh t a f r a ct i o n

-
 THE D R IVE 35

of a second sooner A s the weight shi fts p i v o t

.
,

slightly on th e L foot and dri v e fl at diagonally

“ ”
across the c ourt D o not pull you r cross cou rt
.
,

-
,

dr i ve unl ess w i t h the expres s p urp ose o f p ass i n g

,

t h e ne t m anand using tha t metho d to di sgm se yo u r

s ho t
.

N e ver s tep a way f r o m th e ha ll i n d r i v i ng cr os s

“

cour t . A lway s thr ow y our we i g h t i n th e s h ot .

Th e forehand dri v e from the N o 2 ( or left ) .

c ourt is identi c a lly the s ame for th e straight s h ot

down your opp onent s forehand ’
For t h e c ros s
.

dri v e to h i s b a c khand you mu s t c on c ei v e o f a di ag

,

onal line from your ba c khand c orner to his and t h u s ,

make your s troke with the footwork a s i f thi s im agi -

r

nary line were the side line In other words line up

-
.
,

our b ody a l ong your s hot and make your r e la r

“ g
y u
”
dri v e ! D o not try to s p oon the b all o v er wit h a
de l ayed wri s t motion as i t tends to sl i de the b al l
,

off your ra c quet .

All dri v es s hould b e made with a sti ff lo cked ,

wri s t There is no wri s t mo v ement in a tru e dri v e

. .

Top s pin i s impa rte d by the arm not the wri s t ,

.

The ba ckh and dri v e follows cl o s e ly the prin c iple s

of the fo rehand exc ept that the weight sh i fts a
,

m oment so oner and th e R o r front foot Sh ould

,

always b e a d v an c ed a trifl e closer to t h e side l in e -

t h an the L s o a s to br i ng the b ody c lea r of the sw i ng .

The ba ll s hould b e met in front o f the ri ght leg ln ,

stea d o f the b elt bu c kle a s the great tenden cy in

,

b a ckh and s hots i s to s li c e them out of the side line -

,

and thi s will p u ll the ba ll c ro s s c ourt ob v i ating t hi s

,
36 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
e rr o r T h e r acqu et hea d m u st b e sligh tly i n a dva nce
.

o f t h e h and to a i d i n bri ng i ng t h e ball i n the c ou rt .

D o n ot st ri ve f o r too m u ch t op sp i n on yo ur b ack
h and .

I st r ongly u rg e t h at no on e s ho uld e v e r f av our

one dep artment o f hi s game i n de fence o f a weak ,

ness D evelop b ot h fo r ehand and b ackh and and

“
.
,

do not ru n a round yo ur b a ckh and part i cu larly ,

In r e tu rn o f se rv i ce To d o so me r ely open s yo ur
.

co u r t I f yo u s h ould do s o str i ve to a ce yo ur re
.
,

turns b ecau s e a we ak eff o r t wo u ld only r es u lt in a

,

ki ll by y our opponen t .

D o n o t develop one f av ouri te s h ot and p lay n o t h

i ng bu t tha t I f you h ave a f a ir c r oss co urt d ri ve
.
-
,

d o n o t u se i t i n p r a ct i ce but st rive to d evel op a n

,

e q ually fine s tra i g ht S ho t .

Rememb e r t h at the f a s t s hot i s t h e s tr a i g ht s ho t .

T h e c r oss d ri ve m u st b e slo w f o r i t h a s not t h e ,

r oom ow i ng to t h e inc r ea sed angle and h e i ght o f the

ne t P a ss down t h e l i n e wi t h yo ur d ri ve b u t o p e n
.
,

th e cou rt w it h you r c ross co urt s h o t - .

D ri ves s h ould h ave dept h T he ave r age d ri v e .

s h ould hi t b e hi nd the s e r vice li ne A fine d ri v e

!
- .

s h ould hi t w i t hi n 3 f eet o f the b as e l i n e A - .

c r oss cou r t d ri ve s h ould b e s ho rte r th an a stra i g h t

-

d ri ve s o a s t o i n cr ease th e p ossib le angle Do no t

, .

a lways play o ne lengt h d ri ve but le a r n to vary you r

’

d i stance acco r d i ng to you r man You s h ould drive.

deep aga i ns t a b as e line r bu t s h o rt aga i nst a net

“
-
,

playe r st ri v i ng t o drop t h e m at hi s f ee t a s he
,

c om e s i n .
b o nd ad j
l
sfl b ne d e d
”1 10
B AC K H A N D GR I F R ON T V W P IE
N ote the h n d on top of the r q et h n d l e y et ret i n i n g the str i g h t
.

a ac u a a a
l i ne of m h n d d r q et i n the foreh n d T h h n g e fro m the
,

ar a an ac u as a e c a
foreh n d g r i p i one qu rter l of the h n d l e T h knu k l es
.
,

a s a C l rc e p a e c a re u
d d i re t l y to w r d s the opponent T h he d of the r q uet dv n e d
.

an c a e a ac IS a a c
l i g ht l y to w r d th e b ll
.

S a s a .

B AC K H A N D G R I P B AC K V IE W
N ot i e the l i ne of nd r quet i s str i g ht d the h n d o n t op of
.

c m ar a ac a an a
the h n d le T h thu m b i n m y stroke i roun d the h n d l e but m y be
a e s a a a
pl e d up the h n d l e f d e i re d P erso n ll y I d o n ot n d d o n ot
,
.

ac a I t
s a use I a
d vo te ten d s t o d e t r t f r o m the f ree d o m of the g r i p
, ,
.

a ca I t, as It ac .

P L A TE I V
 P L A TE V

C O M P LE ION T A C K H A N D DR V
OF T H E B I E
N o t i e the feet
c fi rm ly t w i th the we i g ht on t he r i ght f oo t t o
a re se
Wt h it w sh fte d fro m th e l ft w i th the W n T h r que t h
, ,

as i e S e ac as
tru k d p sse d over th e b ll t pp i n g I t T h body i s t r i gh t n gle
.

s c an a a o e a a s

t o the n et the lef t m e ten d e d to d i n pe r fe t b l n e T h wh l e

.
,

ar x a1 c a a c e o
m ove m ent i for w r d wh 1 the ey e i s on the b ll in i ts fl i g h t T h
.
,

s a 1 e a e
trok e in t he p i ture w ff hi g h boun d i n g b l l wh i h ou nt s for
, , .

s c as o a a c acc
the r quet s po i t i o n b g bove the wr i t i n or d er to br i n g d own the
ac
’
s el n a s
b l l T h perfe t b kh n d d r v e i s f f the w i t d the r quet p sses
a e c ac a i o a s an ac a
l on g th t h i tt in g pl ne M ee t t h e b l l wel l for w r d o n th e b kh d
.
,

a a a a a ac an
t le st in fro nt o f t he r i g ht h i p T h i s w 11 obv i te the o m m on error
. ,

a a 1 a c
of l i i n g f f to the i d l d W l l t en d t o pu l l the b l l i nto ourt
.

S c o s e lne an l a c
T h lo ke d w ri s t w it h no turn i s e sent i l on ll b kh n d sh ot bel w
.

e c s a a ac a s o
the shoul de r s I t i nsu r es sol d i t y of i m p t d dd s p e to th return
,

i ac an a ac e
I be l i ev e in l l be g i nners p l y in g t he r b kh n d shot ross ou r t unt i l
. .

a a i ac a s c c
the y h ve f l l y m te r e d th e foot work d lo ke d wr i s t sw i n g T h
a u as an c e
o m m on er r or f sl i i n g t he b kh n d nn ot b e too stron g l y m p h
.

c o c ac a ca e a
i d
s se d o n d em n e d
an c d ro ourt n g the hot te n d s to
an c d it
ss c i s av 0 1 .
 T HE D R IVE 37

N ever allow you r opp o nent to play a s h o t h e likes

i f you can p ossibly for c e him to one h e disl i kes .

Aga i n I u rge that you pl ay y our dr i ve

W i t h th e b o dy s i deways to t h e net
“

1. .

2. Th e swing fl a t w i t h long f ollow thr ough

, .

3. Th e we i g h t sh if t i ng j ust as t h e ball i s h it
.

DO n o t st ri ve f or te rri fi c sp ee d at fi r st T h e mos t
.

e ssent i al thing a b ou t a d ri ve i s t o put the ball i n

play I o n ce h ea r d W i ll i a m A La rne d r ema rk
. .
,

when a sk e d th e m o s t im p or tant th i ng in tenn i s

“ Pu t the b all o ve r t h e n et i nt o th e ot h e r man s ’
,

c o u rt ” Accur a cy fi rs t and th en pu t on y our spe ed

.
, ,

f o r i f y our s hot i s corr e ct y ou can al w ay s l e a rn to

hi t h a r d .
 C HAPTE R III

SERVIC E

E RVI CE i s the open i ng g un o f t enn i s I t i s .

putt i ng t h e b all i n play T h e old i de a was

.

that s ervi ce s h ould never b e mo r e th an me r ely the

b eginn i ng o f a rally W i t h the r i s e o f Ame ri can
.

te nn i s and the a dven t o f Dwi g ht Dav i s and H ol

c ombe Wa r d se rvic e to ok on a new s i gn i ficance
, .

T h es e two men o r igina ted W h at i s no w k nown as

th e Ameri c an Twi s t del i ve ry .

From a mere f ormal ity s e rvi ce b e c ame a p oi nt

,

winner S l owly it ga i ne d i n impo r tance until

“ ,
.

M auri c e E M L oughlin t h e wonder ful C al i fo r nia

‘

”
,
.

C omet bu r s t a c ross the tenn i s sky wit h the first

,

o f those terrifi c c annon ball deliverie s tha t rev olu

-

ti oni z e d t h e gam e and c au se d t h e old school player s

,
-

to s end o u t hur ry c a ll s for a Severe foo tfault rul e

o r s ome way o f stopping the thre atened destru c tion
o f all ground strokes M L oughli n m . a de ser vic e
‘

a great fa c to r i n t h e game I t r emained for

.

\
R N Willi am s to supply the ant i dote that
. .

ha s aga i n put s ervi c e i n the normal p osition o f

mere imp ortance not omn i potence
,
W i l l iam s .

stood in on th e del iv e ry and to ok i t on t h e ri sing

b ound .
 S E RVIC E 39

Se rvi c e mus t b e speedy Ye t sp ee d i s not t h e .

b e a ll an d end all
- Ser v i c e mu s t b e a c curate reli
-
.
,

ab l e and var i ed It must b e u s e d with dis c reti on

, .
’

and se rved wi th bra i ns I b e li eve p erfect s ervice .

is about 4 0 p e r c ent pla c ement 4 0 p e r cent sp eed , ,

and 2 0 p er c ent twi s t

Any tall playe r h a s an a d v antag e ove r a sho r t
one in se rv i ce G iv en a man ab out 6 f e et and
, .

allow hi m t h e 3 f e et added by hi s r ea ch i t ha s ,

b een p r o v e d by tests that should h e d eliver a s erv i c e ,

p e rfectly fl at wi th n o var i at i on cause d by twist

,

o r W i nd th at j ust clea r ed t h e net a t i ts lowe s t

,

po i nt ( 3 feet i n the c entre ) t h e r e i s only a ma rgin ,

o f 8 i nch e s o f t h e s e rvi c e c ourt i n wh ich the b all

can p oss i bly f all ; t he r emainder i s below t h e net ‘

angle Thu s i t i s e asy t o se e h ow imp o r tant it is

.

to u se s om e fo rm o f twist to b ri ng the b all int o

c ou rt N ot only must i t go int o court but i t must
.
,

be su fli ci e ntly sp ee dy t h at the rece iv er does not ha v e

an opp ortun i ty o f an ea sy ki ll I t must also b e .

pla ced so a s t o allow t h e se rve r an a dv antage for

his nex t r e t u rn a dm i tt i ng the r ece i ve r p ut s th e b all
,

in play .

Just a s t he firs t law of receivi ng i s to pu t t h e

ba l l in play so o f s er vi ce it is to c aus e the re c e i ve r
,

t o fa l l into e rro r Do no t stri v e undu ly for clean

.

a c es but use your s erv i c e to upset th e ground

,

stroke s o f y our opponent .

There a re se v e r a l s tyle serv i c es in vogu e i n all

c ountr i es Th e Am eri c an twi s t ha s be c ome one
.

o f the most p opular form s o f deli v e ry and as such

40 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
de se rve s sp e ci al t r eatment T h e usual f orms o f
.

se rv i ce a re ( I ) the sl i ce s e r v i ce ( 2 ) the Ame ri can

twi s t ( 3 ) t h e r everse del i ve ry ( 4 ) the cannon “ ,

”
, ,

b all or fl at se rve .

Th e sl i ce se rv i ce i s t h e ea s i est and most natural

for m f or all b eg i nn e r s and p r o v es s o e ff e cti v e that
,

m any gre at playe r s u se i t I t i s the ser v i c e o f

.

W i ll i am M Jo hn ston A R F Kingsc ote N o rman

.
, . . .
,

E B r o okes and many others

.
,
.

Se r v ic e shoul d b e hi t f rom as hi g h a p oint as

t h e se rve r can c omf or ta bly r eac h To stret ch um .

necessa r ily i s bot h we ar i ng on the server and un

p ro duct iv e of res ults .

The S l ic e ser v i c e s h o uld b e hi t f rom a p o i nt above

t h e r ight shoulde r and a s hi g h as possible The .

s e rve r s h ould stand at a b out a fo r ty fiv e degree -

angle to t h e base line wi t h b oth f e et firmly planted

-
,

on the gr oun d Drop t h e weight ba ck on the r i ght

.

f oo t and sw i ng th e ra cquet f reely and e asi ly b e hi nd

t h e b a ck Toss t h e b all hi gh enough int o the ai r
.

t o ensu re i t p ass i ng t h r ough th e desire d hi tting

plane and t h en sta r t a slow shift o f the we i ght
, .

fo r wa r d a t t h e s ame time i n cr eas i ng the p owe r

,

o f t h e swi ng fo rwa r d a s t h e r a c quet c ommences

i ts up w a r d fl i gh t to t h e b all Just a s t h e b all
.

meet s t h e r a c qu et f a ce t h e we i ght s h ould b e thrown

f o rwa r d and the full p ow er o f t h e swing smashed
i nt o t h e s e rvi ce Le t the b all stri k e the ra cquet
.
\

i ns i d e t h e fa c e o f th e st ri ngs wi t h the r a c qu et ,

tr avell i ng di rectly towa r ds the cou rt Th e angle .

of the r a c qu et f a ce w i ll i m p a rt t h e t wi st necessa ry
 S E R VIC E i f

to bring the b all i n c ou rt The w r ist s h ould b e .

somewhat fl e x ible in servic e I f necessa ry lift t h e .

right foot and swing th e W h ole body f o rwa rd wit h

the a rm Tw i st s l ightly to the r i ght using the le ft
.
,

foot a s a pi v ot The general lin e o f th e r a c quet

.

s wing i s fr om ri g h t to lef t and always forward .

At this point and be fore I take up th e o th er

bran ches o f ser v ing let m e put in a wa rning against
,

footfaulti ng I c an on l y s ay t h at a footfault i s
.

c rossing o r tou c hing the li n e with eith er foot b e fore

the ba l l i s deli v ered o r it is a jump or step I am
, .

not going into a te c hni c al dis cu s s ion o f fo otfaults .

It i s unneces s a ry and by pla cing you r feet fi rmly

,

before the se rv i c e there i s n o need t o fo otfault .

I t i s just a s unfair to de l ib erately foot f ault a s to

mi sc all a b all and i t i s W h olly unnecessa ry T h e
, .

a v erage footfault i s du e to ca r ele s s nes s over ,

anx iety or i gno ranc e of th e rul e All playe r s are

, .

o ff enders a t t i me s but i t can qui ckly b e broken up

, .

Fo ll ow i ng t h i s outburst o f warning let me r eturn

to th e American twi s t servi ce T h e stance fo r .

this i s the same as f or th e sl i c e but the ball i s ,

thro wn slightly to t h e left o f t h e hea d wh i l e the

r a c que t pa ss es up and ove r th e call tra v elling fr om ,

left to right and slightl y forwa r d The result is a .

curve to the le ft and the b reak o f t h e b oun d to t h e

right Thi s serv i ce i s not fast but g iv e s an ex
.
,

celle nt chan c e to follow t o t h e net s i n c e i t trav e ls ,

high and sl owly and i ts bound i s deep The .

Amer ic an tw i st serv ic e s h ould b e h it w i t h the

mu scles o f the s i de T h e sl ic e i s a s h oulder swing
. .
42 T H E A RT O F LA W N TE NN I S
T he r eve r se tw is t i s o f an ab solutel y di s ti nct
typ e T h e stance i s fa ci ng the net wi t h b ot h to es
.

fronting th e li ne Th e r a c que t i s grippe d a s a

.

club . T h e b all i s thrown i n front o f the body and

n ot high T h e s wing i s a s h arp wrist tw i st from
.

r ight t o le ft t h e b all c a rr i e d fo r some distance on

,

the f ace o f the r a c qu et T h e curv e i s f rom left to

.

r ig h t While the b o und i s hi gh and b reaks sharply

to the le ft T hi s del iv ery i s slo w i ne ff e c ti v e and
.
,

very un c e r ta i n T h ere i s l i ttle opp ortun i ty to

.

follow i t to the net

“ ”
.

T h e cannon b all s e rv i c e i s noth i ng b ut a sl i ce

-

a s r ega r ds swing a nd stance b u t i t i s hi t wit h a fl at

,

r a cquet fa c e t h u s i mp a r ting no spin to the b all

, .

I t i s a ca s e o f sp e ed a lone T h is ser vi ce i s a po i nt
.

W i nner when i t goes i n ; b ut i t s ave r age m u st n oces

s ari ly b e po o r S l nCC I ts marg i n o f e rro r i s s o small .

I t i s only use f ul to a tall m an .

Va ri e d p a c e a nd var i e d sp ee d i s the keynote t o

a good s erv ic e I sp ent h ours i n ser vi ng alon e
.
,

strivi ng to d i sgu is e t h e t wi st and p a c e o f the ball .

I wou ld take a b ox o f a do z en balls out o n th e

c ourt and se rv e the wh ole doz en to N 0 1 c ourt w i t h .

one s tyle o f deli v ery Then c rossing I would serv e

.
, ,

them ba c k wi th anot h er typ e o f s e rvi ce N ext I .

,

would try t h e le ft c ourt f rom both s i des My next .

m o v e woul d b e to p ick ou t a c ertain se c t i on o f t he

s er vic e c ou rt and se rve for t h at until I could put
,

the b all where I wante d it F i nally I would s t ri ve

.
,

t o p u t it t h e r e w i th s pe ed .

All t h e time spent i n t hi s pra ct i c e h as sto o d m e:

in
t
 S E R VIC E 43 ’

g ood stea d fo r to day it is my se r vi c e tha t p u ll s me

,
-

out o f many a deep hole and c auses many a play er

,

to wi s h h e wa s del iv er i ng t h e b all Wil l iam M . .

J ohn s ton the Ameri c an Champion h a s a rema rk

, ,

able s er vi c e for s o short a man He time s hi s .

stroke perfe c t l y and hit s it at the top o f hi s r e a ch

, ,

so that he get s th e full b enefit o f eve ry in c h of hi s

sta ture and e v ery p ound o f h i s we i gh t He use s .

the sl i c e del iv ery in the maj or i ty o f mat c hes .

D o not try freak s er v ices Th ey are useles s .

again s t high c la s s players S h a rp breaki ng unde r

-
.

h and c uts c an b e e a s ily angle d off f o r p o i nts by a

man who kn ows anything of the angles and e ff ects
of twi s t Thes e deli v eries a re a fl e ct a ti on i f u sed
.

more than on c e or twi c e in a long m at ch A S ud den .

sh i ft m ay surpri s e your opp onent ; b ut to c onti nu e

t o se rve t h e s e freak s is to destr oy th e ir u se .

M is hu th e Rumanian star h a s m any ve ry

, ,

pecu li a r del iv eries ; bu t when play i ng aga i nst h i gh

,

cla ss tenni s , h e ha s b r ains enough to use a straight

ser v ice Th e freak ser v i c e s de l igh t and ye t annoy
.

a galle ry for on c e the no v el ty h a s worn off nothing

, ,

but th e c on c eit remains .

The obj ect of s e rv i c e i s to obta i n t h e maximum

return with th e minimum e ff ort T h i s statement .

hold s tru e for all tenni s str okes b u t i n non e s o ,

strongly a s in s e r v ice .

The average p l ayer hits h i s fir s t s e r vi ce s o h ard ,

and with s o litt l e rega rd for di r e c tion tha t about ,

nine out o f ten fir s t delive ri es a r e faults Thus one .

,
 C HA PTE R I V

T HE V O L L EY AN D O V ERH EA D S M A SH

HE net attack i s th e heavy a rt i llery of tenn i s .

It i s s u pp o s e d to c ru sh all de fence As such .

i t m u st b e r egarde d a s a p oi nt w i nn i ng st r oke a t
-

all t i mes no ma tt e r w h e th e r t h e s ho t i s volley o r

,

smas h .

O nce at the net hi t fro m the p oi n t at the fi r st

opp o r tun i ty g i ven to get t h e ra c quet squa r ely on
.

the b all All t h e laws o f foo twork expla i n ed fo r

.

the dr iv e a re t h eo r etically the same i n volley i ng .

I n p ract ic e you s eldom h ave tim e t o change y our

feet t o a s et p os i t i on so you obv i ate t ro uble by
,

throw1ng t h e weigh t on t h e f oot nea r est to t h e b all

and pu s h i ng I t I n t he s h ot .

Volleys a re o f two classes ( 1 ) t h e low volley ,

ma de from b el ow t h e wai s t ; and ( 2 ) t h e high v ol

ley from t h e w a i st to th e hea d In contra di sti nc
, .

tion to t he hi tt i ng plane c la s sifi c ati on a re t h e two

sty le s known a s ( 1 ) th e deep volley and ( 2 ) the
stop volley .

All lo w volleys a r e b locke d H i gh volleys may

.

b e e i the r b locke d or hi t Volleys should nev er b e

.

s tr oke d . The r e i s no fo llo w t hr ou gh o n a lo w

volley and very little on a hi gh one .

45
46 T H E AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S
You w i ll h ea r mu ch talk o f c h op volleys A .

c h op s troke i s one w h e r e t h e r a cque t tr avel s fr om

ab o v e t h e line o f flight o f t he b all down and t hr oug h ,

i t and t h e angle ma de b eh i nd th e r ac qu e t i s g r eate r

,

than 4 5 degre es and m any appro a c h 9 0 degre es

,
.

The re fo r e I s ay t h at no volleys should be c hoppe d ,

fo r the tenden cy i s to pop t h e b all up i n the a ir off

any chop Sl ic e vol l eys i f you want to o r h it them
.
,
’

fl at f or b oth these S hot s are made at a very small

,

angle to the flight line o f t h e b all t h e r a cquet face

-
,

tra v elling almo s t a l ong i t s plane .

In a l l v olley s high o r lo w t h e wr i s t shoul d b e

, ,
“
lo cke d and ab s olute ly st i ff I t s h ould alway s b e
.

b e l ow the ra c quet hea d t h us b r a ci ng the ra cque t

,

against the i mpa c t o f the b all Allo w th e f o r ce o f

.

t h e i n c oming s hot plu s you r own we i ght t o r e t urn

,
,
“ ”
the b a ll and do not s tri v e to wr i st i t o v e r The
,

tilte d ra c quet fa c e w i ll gi v e any r equire d angle to

t h e return by g l an c ing the b all off t h e str i ngs s o no ,

wrist turn i s needed .

Low v olley s c an ne v er b e hi t h a r d and owing to ,

the h eight o f the net should usually be s h arply

”

ang l ed to allow di s tan c e fo r the r ise Any b all me t

, .

at a higher plane than the top o f the net m ay b e

h it hard Th e s troke s hould b e crisp snappy and
.
, ,

de c i s i v e but it s hou l d s top a s i t meet s the b all

,
.

The fo ll ow through should b e v e ry small M os t .

low v ol l ey s s hould b e s o ft and s h ort M ost hi gh .

v olley s re quire s pe e d and lengt h

“ ”
.

The s top v olley I S nothing m o r e th an a s h o t

b l o cked short Th ere i s no f o rc e used T h e r a c
. .
 T HE VOLL E Y AN D OVE R H E AD S MA S H 4 7

quet simply me ets the on c om i ng b all and stops i t .

The b a ll rebounds a nd fa lls o f its own We i ght .

There i s little b oun c e to su c h a sh o t and t h a t may

,

b e redu c ed by allowing the racquet to s lide s light ly

unde r th e b all a t t h e moment o f i mp act t hu s i m
’

pa rting b a c k s pin to t h e b all .

Vo ll eying i s a s c i en c e b ased o n the old geometri c

axiom that a s traigh t line i s t h e shorte s t di s tan c e
between two p oints I me an t h at a v olleyer must
.

always c o v er the st r aigh t p a s sing shot s in c e i t i s t h e

shortest sh ot w i th whi c h to p as s him and he must ,

v olley straight to his op en i ng and not waste t i m e

trying freaki s h c ur vi ng v olleys t h a t gi v e t h e b ase
’
l i ne r t i me to re c ov er It is Johnston s gre at st r a i ght
.

v olley tha t makes h i m suc h a dange r ou s net man

“ ”
.

He i s always punch i ng hi s v olley st r aigh t and

hard t o the open i ng i n h i s opponent s court ’
.

A ne t player must h a v e ground str okes i n or de r

to atta i n the net pos i t i on D o not th i nk that a
.

servi c e and volley will su ffi ce aga i nst firs t clas s -

tennis .

H
I am not a b eli e v e r i n t h e c ent r e t h eory .

Briefly e xpre ss ed the c entre theo ry i s to hit down

t h e midd l e o f the c ourt and foll ow to t h e net s in c e ,

the ot h er player ha s the smallest angle t o p ass you .

That i s true but rememb e r t h a t he h a s an e qual

,

angle on either s i de and gi v en goo d ground s trokes

, ,

an equal c h ance to p as s w i t h only your gue ss o r

i ntention to tell you w hic h s ide he w i ll choo s e .

I a dvi se hi tt i ng to t h e side l i ne w i t h good lengt h

-

and follow i ng up t o the net com i ng i n just to the

,
48 T H E AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S
centre s i de o f t h e st r a i gh t r eturn s down t h e l i ne .

Th u s the natu r al shot i s co v e r e d and your op p o n

’
ent s court i s op ene d f o r a n angle volley c r oss
’
.

S h ould you r oppon e nt try t h e cros s d ri ve h i s ,

c h ance s o f bea ting you clean and keep i ng the b all

i n court are muc h le s s than hi s c han c es o f er r or .

S t r i ve to kill your volleys a t once but s h ould ,

y o ur s h o t not wi n follow t h,e b all c r os s and aga i n ’

cove r t h e straigh t s h o t Always force the m . a n ~

s tr ivi ng to pas s y ou t o play t h e h a r des t p oss ib le

s h ot .

Attack w i t h you r volleys N eve r defend t h e b all .

is

when at the net The only defens i ve volley i s one

.

a t you r feet a s yo u come i n I t i s a mi d co u rt s h ot .

- .

Volleys s hould wi n wit h pla cement m or e t h an s p ee d ,

a lt h ough spee d may b e use d on a h i g h volley .

Closely relate d to t h e vo ll ey yet i n no w ay a

3
!

volley st roke i s t h e ove r h ea d smash It i s the

,

B i g B e r t h a o f tenn i s It i s t h e long r ange te r ro r

.
.

;
t hat should alway s sco r e The ru le s o f foo t work
.
,

pos i t i on and dire c tion t h a t govern t h e v olley w i ll

,

su ffi c e for th e o v erhea d The swing alone is d i f

.
~

f e rent .The sw i ng should b e closely allie d to the

sl i ce se rv i ce t h e ra cquet and a rm swi nging freely
,

from the s h ould er t h e w ri st fl ex i ble and t h e racquet

,

i mp a r t i ng a s l i gh t tw i st t o t h e b all to hold i t in
cou r t Th e ove rhe ad i s m ainly a p oint w i nner
.

t h roug h sp eed s i nce i ts b o u nc e i s s o high t h a t a

,

slow placement o ften all o ws t i me fo r a recove ry .

T h e o ve rh ea d i s ab out 6 0 pe r cent speed and ,

4 0 p e r c ent comb i ned pla ce and tw i st Any o ve r .

 T HE VOLL E Y AN D OVE R HE AD S MA S H 4 9

h ead s ho t ta k e n on or wi t hin th e se rv i ce line sh o uld-

be k i lled Any o ve rh ea d b e hi nd the se rvi ce l i ne

.
-
,

and ba ck t o th e b a se l i ne sh ould b e de fended and

-
,

p u t b a ck dee p to all ow y ou a n ot h e r a dv an c e to th e
net .

T h e a v e r ag e o v e r h ea d s h ot t h at i s m i ss e d i s
n etted Th ere f o r e hit deep It i s a p eculia r f a ct
. .

t h at o v e r 7 5 p e r cent o f all e rro rs a r e nets wi th

only 2 5 p er cent o u ts Let t hi s b e a con s tant re
.

m i nder t o yo u o f the fa ct t ha t all gr o und stroke s

should h a v e a clea r margin o f sa fety o f s ome 8
i nches t o a fo o t ab ove t h e net except when att e mp t
,

i ng to p a ss a v e ry a ct i ve v olleye r I n the latter cas e

.

the s h ot must b e lo w and t h e attendant ri sk i s com

,

p e ns a t e d b y t h e i nc r eased chances o f w i nn i ng t h e
po i nt w i t h a pass .

D o not le ap i n t h e a ir unnece s sa ri ly t o hi t o ve r
h ea d b alls Keep at least one f o ot a n d when p os
.
,

s ib le bo t h f e et on the gr ound in sma sh i ng a s it

, ,

a i ds i n r egu lat i ng t h e weight and g i ve s b ette r

,

b alance H it fl a t and dec i s i vely t o the p o i n t i f

.

d es ir ed .

M o st m i ssed ove rh ea d s h ots a re du e t o the ey e

le avi ng t he b all ; b ut a second class of er r o r s are du e
to l ack o f con fi denc e that g i ve s a cramp ed h al f ,

h ea r ted swi ng F o ll o w th ro u gh y ou r o verhe a d s h o t

.

to t h e l i m i t o f y our s wi ng .

Th e ove rh e a d is essent i ally a doub les s h ot b e ,

.

ca u se i n s i ngle s t h e ch ance s of p a ss in g th e ne t m an
are g r e ate r t h a n l obbi n o v e r hi s h ead w hi le in
g ,
5 0 T H E AR T OF LAW N TE NN I S
doubles two men cove r t h e ne t so eas i ly t h at the b e s t
Way to open the cou r t i s to l ob one man b a ck .

In smashing the longest d i stance i s the sa fest

,

sho t sin c e it allows a gre ater margin o f e rror .

There fo re sm ash c ros s c ourt w h en pres se d but pull

’
,

y our short lob s e i t h e r s i de a s dete rm i ned by t h e m a n

y o u a r e playi ng .

N eve r drop a l ob you c an h it overhea d a s i t ,

for c e s y ou b a ck and gi v e s t h e atta ck i ng pos i ti o n to

your O pponent N ever sma sh w i t h a r e v ers e twi s t
.
,

always hit wi t h a st r a i gh t r ac qu et f a Ce and d ir ec t

t o the op ening .

Closely connecte d to t h e o v erhea d s i nce I t i s the

u sual de fen c e to any ha r d smash i s t he lo b , .

A lob i s a hi gh toss o f t h e ball lan di ng b e twe e n

th e se rvi ce l i ne and t h e b ase l i ne An excellent lob
- -
.

s h ould b e W i th i n 6 f eet o f the b as e l i ne -

.

Lob s a r e essent i ally de f e ns i ve T h e i de a s in

.

lobb i ng a r e :( I ) to give you r self t i me t o r e c o ve r

’
p o siti o n when pulle d out o f co urt b y you r o pponent s
s ho t ; ( 2 ) t o dri v e b ack t h e net m a n and b re ak
up h i s atta ck ; ( 3 ) t o t ir e your opp o n ent ; ( 4 )
o ccas i onal ly to Wi n cleanly by placement T hi s .

i s usual ly a lo b volley fr om a close ne t r ally and i s ,

a s l ightly di fferent strok e .

There i s ( 1 ) th e c h op lob a heav i ly unde r cu t

,
-

spin tha t hangs i n the a i r Thi s i s t h e best de fens i v e

.

lob a s it goe s hig h and gi v e s plenty of time to

,

re c over p osition ( )
.2 The stroke l ob o r fla t lob ,

h i t wi t h a slight top sp i n Th i s i s th e point winn i ng

.
-

lob s i n c e i t gives no time t o the playe r to ru n around

 THE VOLL E Y AN D OVE R HE AD S MA S H 5 1

i t a s it i s lowe r and faste r t h an t h e ch op In mak

,
.

i ng th i s lob start your sw i ng like a dri ve b ut allow

, ,

the r a cquet to s l ow up and the face t o t i lt u pwa rd

just a s you me et the ball Thi s s hot sho u ld s eldom
.

go abo v e 1 0 feet in the ai r s i nce i t te n ds to go out

,

w i th the fl oat of the ball .

The ch op lo b wh i ch i s a dec i ded u nder cut

, ,

should rise from 2 0 to 3 0 fe et o r m ore hi gh and , ,

must go deep I t i s b e tte r to lob out and run your

.

opponent ba ck thu s tiring h i m t ha n to lob short

, ,

and gi v e him c onfiden c e by an e asy kill The v a l ue .

o f a lob i s mainly one o f upsetting yo u r opp one nt ,

and it s eff e c ts a re ve ry apparent i f you unexpe c ted ly

b ring off on e at the cru c ial per i o d o f a mat ch .

I owe one o f my most notable victor i e s to a v ery

t i m ely and s omewha t lu cky lob I wa s playing .

N orman E B r ookes in the fi fth round of the

.

Ameri c an Champi onships a t For est Hi lls i n 1 9 1 9 ,

.

The sc o r e sto od one s et all 3 2 and 3 0 1 5

— —
, ,

Brooke s s e rv ing In a s eri es of dri vi ng retu rn s fro m

.

hi s forehand to my b a ckhand he suddenly swit che d ,

and p ounded the b a l l t o my forehand corner and

ru s h ed to the net I kn ew B rookes c r owded the net
.
,

and with 4 0 1 5 o r 3 0 all at stake on my s hot I

— -
,

took a c han c e and tossed the ball up i n t h e ai r o v er

’
B r ookes head I t wa s not a great lob but it wa s
.
,

a good one For on c e B rooke s was c aught napping

.
,

expe c ting a drive down the line He h e si ta ted .

,

t h en turned and c ha s ed the b all to the ba ck s top ,

missing it on hi s return I hea rd h i m g runt as he

.

turned and kn ew that he was b a dly winded

, He .
 P L A TE

THE FO R H N D V O LL Y
E A E
N oti e t h e bo dy t r g ht n g les t o t he n et t he l e f t f o o t d v n ed to t h e
c a i a a a c
S h ot t h e we i g ht ev e nl y d i str i bute d on the feet the wr i s t sl i g htl y bel o w
,

th e r q u e t he d the r quet“he d”i tself sl i g ht l y t i lt e d to li f t t h e volle y

,

ac a ac a
,

d t h e wh ol e m ove m ent blo k of the b ll T h wr i s t i s s ti ff T her e

, , ,

an a c a e
i s no sw i n g T h e y es d o wn w t h i n g the b ll T h lef t m i s th
. .

e a re a c a e ar e
b l n e wheel T h bo dy rou he d d the knees be n t
. .
,

a a c . e c c an .
 P L A TE VI I

TH E BAC K H A N V O LL
D EY
Th bo dy pos iti on d we i g ht ontr o l d b l n e
e an c the s m e
an a a c a re a as n
th e foreh n d vo ll e y T h rou h i s m ore prono n e d hi tt i n g
i
a e c c h u c as t
p l ne i s l o w er T h he d of the r q et fi r m l y b l o ke d b y the sti ff
.
e
a e a ac u ls c
lo ke d wr i st T h e y e entere d on the b ll wh i h h J st left the
.
,

c e s a re c
r q u et
. a , c as u
ac
 T H E VOLL E Y AN D O VE R H E AD S MA S H 5 3

I f a shot wi n two su c h ma t ch e s as th ese it

can ,

i s a s hot w or t h lea rn i ng to us e and kno wing w h e n

,

to u se . T he lo b i s one of the m o st u seful and

ski lful s h o ts i n tenn i s I t i s a g r ea t de fence and a
.

fine a t ta ck .

The st r okes al r eady analysed d ri ve se rv i ce , , ,

volley o ve rh e a d and lob a r e the or th o d o x st ro ke s

, ,
’
of te nn is and s h ould b e at eve ry playe r s c ommand
,
.

Th es e a re th e fr a m ewo rk of your gam e Yet no .

h o u se i s c om plete wi t h fr ame work al one T h e r e .

a re ce r ta i n t ri mm i ngs , ornaments and deco r a t io n s

,

n ecessa ry T h ere a re t h e l uxur i es o f m o dern i m

.

p r ov e m e n ts and, tenn i s bo asts of s u c h i m pro ve m e nt s

in the m ode r n gam e .

Among th e l u xuri es so m e say the e ccen tri c i t i es

, ,

of th e mode rn gam e one fin ds ( 1 ) the c hop st r oke ,

( ) th e li c r ok ( l o r ela ti ve ) 3) h d rop
“
2 s e st e a c s e t e
”
,

sho t ( 4 ) t h e h al f v o lley or tr a p s h ot
,
- .

All t h e s e s ho ts h av e th eir use Non e shou l d be .

c on s i de re d a stock shot .
 C HA P TE R V

C H O P HALF
,
V O L L EY, AN D C O U RT PO SIT I O N

AM c alle d at times a c hop s troke player I -

.

s e ld om c h op My stroke i s a sl i c e
. .

A chop stroke is a shot where the angl e towards

t h e player and be h ind the ra c quet ma de by the ,

l i ne o f flight o f t h e b all and t h e r a cq ue t t r avell i n g

,

down a c ross i t i s gre ater than 4 5 d egree s and may

,

b e 9 0 degrees The r a cquet fa c e p a s se s s l ightly

.

o u ts i d e the b all and down the side c hopping it , ,

a s a m an c ho p s wo od The s pin and c u rve i s from

.

right to l eft It i s made with a s ti ff wrist I rv ing

. .

C Wright b rother o f the famous B e als i s a true

.
, ,

c hop p l ayer whi l e B e a l s him s e l f be i ng a le ft

, ,

h ander c hopp ed from the le ft c ourt a nd s l iced from

,

the right .

The s l i c e shot merely redu c e d the angle men

ti one d from 4 5 degre e s down to a ve ry sma l l one .

T h e r a c quet f ace passes e i ther i ns i d e or outs i d e th e

ball a c co rd i ng to d i rect i on de s ired whi l e the stroke
, ,

i s ma i nly a wr i st twi s t or s lap Thi s s lap imp a rt s

.

a dec i ded sk i dd i ng b reak to the b a l l whi l e a c hop

“ ”
drags t h e ball off t h e ground w i thout break
,

Walla ce F Jo h nson i s t h e g r eates t sli c e e xp o nent

.

i n t h e wo r ld .
 H AL F VOLLE Y A N D C OUR T P O S ITION 5 5

The rules o f footwork for bot h these shot s should

b e the same as th e dri v e but because both are ma de
,

with a sh o r t s wing and mo re wr i st play without ,

the need o f weight the rules o f fo otwork may b e

”

more sa fely di sc arde d and body pos i tion not s o

c are fu l ly c on s i dered .

B oth these s hot s are es s ential ly de fensi v e and ,

are labour sa v ing de v i c e s when your oppon e nt i s

-

on the b a s e l ine A c hop o r s l i c e i s v ery ha rd to

-
.

driv e and wi ll b reak up any d ri v i ng game

, .

It i s not a s hot to u s e again s t a v ol l ey as i t i s to o ,

slow t o p as s and too high to c ause any wor ry It .

s h ould b e used to drop sho rt so ft sho t s at t h e feet,

o f the net man a s he comes in D o not stri v e to .

pass a ne t m an with a chop o r sl ic e e x cept t hr oug h ,

a big op ening .

The d rop shot i s a ve ry s oft sharply angled c hop

b
,
-

stroke p l ayed w h olly with the wri st It should

, .

drop wit hi n 3 to 5 f ee t o f the net to b e o f any

The ra c quet f ac e p asse s around t h e outs i de
“
u se.

o f t h e ball and unde r i t with a dis tin c t w ri s t

tu rn . Do not s wing the r a c quet from th e s h oulde r
i n making a drop s hot The d r op shot ha s no .

relation to a stop v ol l ey The drop sho t is all

.
-
.

wr is t The stop v o l ley has no wr is t at all

.
-
.

U s e all your wr i s t shots ch op sl ic e and drop, , , ,

mere ly a s an aux i lli a ry to your orthodox game .

’
T hey a re i ntende d to upset your opponent s game
through t h e va ri ed 3 p m on t h e ball .
 HA LF VOLL E Y AN D C O UR T P O S ITI O N 5 7

lead i ng exponent o f the st r oke in the p r esent day ,

a ch ie v es remarkable r esults w i th i t M aj o r A R . . .

F King sc ote w i ns many a p o i nt s eemingly l o s t by

.
, ,

hi s phenomenal h alf volley re turns p a rt icu la r ly

-
,

f rom the b a s e line These m en tu r n a defence i nto

-
.

an atta ck and it p ays

,
.

So mu ch fo r t h e act u al st r okes o f t h e game It .

i s i n t h e oth er depa r tments su ch a s gene r als h ip and

psychology t h at mat c hes a re won J u st a few su g .

gest i ons a s to st roke techn iq ue and I w i ll close ,

thi s sect i on .

Always play your shot w i t h a fi xed defin i te i de a ,

o f what you are do i ng and w h e r e it is go i ng N eve r .

hi t h ap h aza r d .

Play all s h ots a c ro ss t h e s hort s tri ngs of the

r acquet Wlth t h e r a cquet h ea d and h andle o n t h e
,

same hi tting plane fo r ground st r okes and t h e h ea d

above t h e h andle fo r volleys T h e ra cquet h ea d .

s h ould b e a d v ance d sl i ghtly b eyond t h e wrl st for

gr ou nd s trok e s .

C O U RT P O S ITI O N

A tenn i s cou r t i s 3 9 f e et long fro m b ase l in e to -

ne t Mo s t players t h ink all o f t h at ter ri to ry i s a

.

co rr ect pla c e to stand N ot hi ng c o uld b e f a r t h e r

.

fr om the t rut h T h ere are only two place s in a

.

tenni s c ourt t h at a tennis playe r s h ould b e t o awa i t

th e b a l l .

I Ab out 3 feet behind t h e b ase line nea r th e

.
-

m i ddl e of t h e c ourt o r ,
5 8 T HE AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S
2 A b o u t 6 t o 8 fe et b ack f r om t h e net and
.
'

almost oppos i te t h e b all .

Th e fir s t i s the plac e fo r all b ase l i ne playe r s -

.

T h e s econd is t h e ne t p o si t i on
.
.

I f you a r e drawn out o f these p os i t i ons b y a s h o t

wh ic h you must return do not r ema i n a t th e p oi nt
,

w h ere you st ru c k t h e b all but a tta i n one o f t h e two

,

p ositions mentione d a s r apidly as p oss ib le .

T h e d i stance from t h e b ase line to about I O feet

“
-

fr om the net may be considered a s no man s— land ” ’

“
-

o r t h e blank ” N ever l i nge r the r e s i n c e a dee p ,

.

s h ot w i ll c atc h you at your fe et A fte r mak i ng .

yo ur shot from t h e blank a s you must often do , ,

r e t r eat b e h ind t h e b ase lin e to awa i t the r etu rn s o

-
,

y ou may aga i n c ome fo rwa r d t o meet the b all I f .

you a r e drawn i n sho r t and cannot retre at sa fely ,

cont i nue all the way to the net posit i on .

N e v e r stand and wa tc h your shot fo r to d o s o ,

s i mply me ans y o u a re o u t o f p osition f o r you r next

st r oke Str i ve to atta i n a p os i t i on s o t h at y ou
.

always ar ri v e at the sp ot the b all i s going t o b efore

i t a ctually arri v e s D o you r ha rd running whi le the
.

b all i s in the air s o you w i ll n o t be h urried i n your

,

st r oke a fter it b o unces .

I t i s in lea rning to do t hi s that natural antic i pati on

plays a big rOle Some playe rs instin c ti v ely know
.

where the ne x t retu r n i s going and take positi on

a cco rdingly while othe r s will ne v e r sense i t It i s
,
.

to th e latte r clas s th at I ur ge c o u rt p os i t i on and ,

recommen d al w ays c o m in g in fro m b e hi nd t h e b ase

 HALF VOLL E Y A N D C OUR T P O S ITI ON 5 9

l i ne to meet t h e b all sm ce It i s m u ch e as i e r t o run

,

f o rward than b ack .

Should you b e c aug ht a t the net w i th a s h o rt s hot ,

t o you r opponent do not stand still and let him p as s

,

you at wi l l as h e c an e as i ly do P i ck out t h e s i de
,
.

whe r e y ou th i nk he w i ll hi t and jum p to i t su d ,

denly as he sw i ng s I f you gu es s ri ght yo u wi n

.
,

the p oint I f you a r e w ro ng you a r e no wo r s e off

.
, ,

s i nc e h e w o u ld h ave b ea t e n y ou a nyway w i t h hi s
s ho t
.

A n o table exampl e o f t hi s met ho d o f ant i c i p at i o n

i s N orma n E B ro oke s wh o i nstinct i v ely senses t h e
.
,

stroke and suddenly bob s up i n f r ont o f you r be st

,

shot and k i lls i t S o m e may s ay i t i s luck but to

.
, ,
“
m y m i nd i t i s t h e r eward o f br a i n wo rk
, .

Y o ur p os i t i on should alway s str iv e to b e suc h t h a t

you can co v e r the greatest possible a rea o f cour t
wit h out sa cr i fi ci ng sa f ety s i nce the s tra i ght s h ot i s
,

the s u rest mo st dange ro us and must b e co v e r e d

, , .

It is m e r ely a quest i on o f how mu c h mo r e c o urt

th an t h at i mmed i a t ely i n fr ont o f th e b all may b e
guarded .

A well grou n de d kn o wledge o f court p o s i t i on

-

save s many points to s ay noth i ng o f mu c h b r eat h

,

expende d i n long ru ns a fte r hope l e s s shots .

I t i s the p h enomenal knowle dge of c ou r t pos i t io n

that allows A R F K i ng sc ote a ve ry s hort man to
. . .
, ,

atta c k s o c onsi s tently from the net Walla c e F . .

Johnson i s seldom c aug h t out o f pos i t i on so his ,

game i s one o f extrem e ease O ne seldo m s ees .

60 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
Jo hnso n ru n ni ng h a r d on a tenn i s cou r t He i s
.

’
u sually th e re awa i t ing t h e b all s a rri val.

Save yo ur step s b y u s i ng you r h e ad I t p ays in

.

t h e end T i me spent in lea rn i ng whe r e to play on

.

a tenn i s c o u rt i s well exp ende d si nce i t r e turn s t o

,

you i n t h e f o rm of m a t ch e s won br e at h s aved a n d

, ,

energy conse r ve d .

It i s seldom yo u n eed c o ve r m or e t h an two t hir ds

- t

o f a tenn i s c o u r t s o w h y wo rry abou t the unneces

,

s a ry p or t i on s of it !
II :T HE OF TE NN I S
P S YC HOL O GY
 P ART II :T HE LAWS O F T E NN I S
P S YC HOLO GY

C HA P TE R VI
“
GEN ERAL T E NN I S P SYC H O LO GY

E NN I S p sych olo gy i s n o t h ing m or e t h a n

understand i ng the w ork in gs o f you r o pp on
ent s m i nd and gauging the eff ect o f you r own gam e
’
,

on hi s ment al v i ewp oin t a nd un de r stand i ng the

,

mental e ff e cts r esulting fr om t he va ri ou s exte rna l -

ca u ses o n y ou r own m i nd Y ou cannot b e a suc

.
v

ce s s f ul p sy ch olog i st o f ot h e r s w i t h o u t fi rst unde r

standing your own m ental process es you must study ,

the eff ect on yoursel f o f the s am e h app en i ng un de r

di ff erent ci r cumstan c e s .Y ou r ea c t diff erently i n .

d i ff e r ent m o o ds and unde r diff e r ent c o nd i t i on s .

Yo u must r e ali z e t h e e ff e ct o n yo ur gam e o f t h e re

sulti n
g i r ri tat,i on pleasu r e conf u s i
, o n o r w h atever
,

form yo ur re act i on takes D o e s i t i nc r eas e y ou r

.

e ffic i e n cy ! I f s o st ri ve for i t bu t n eve r g i ve i t t o

, ,

y o u r opp onent
.

D o es i t depr i ve y ou o f c o n cent r at i o n ! I f s o ,

e i t h e r r em o v e t h e ca u se o r if th at i s not po ssi b l e
,

str iv e to i gnore i t .
 TE NN I S P S YC H OL O GY 65

wi t h l i ttle i dea o f w h at h e i s do i ng w hi le t h e la tte r ,

always h a s a defin i te plan and adhere s t o it Th e .

h a r d hi tti ng e r rat i c net ru shing playe r i s a c r eature

-
, ,
-

o f i mp u lse Th ere i s no re al system to hi s atta ck

.
,

no u n derstand i ng o f you r game H e wi ll m ak e .

b rilliant coups on the s pu r o f the m oment la rgely ,

by i nst i n c t ; but the r e i s no mental p owe r o f con

s i stent thinki ng I t i s an inte r esting f ascinating
.
,

typ e Su ch men a s Ha r old Thr ockmorton B I C

.
, . . .

N o r t on and a t t i mes R N Will i am s a r e example s

'

,
. .
, ,

alt h oug h W i ll i am s i s r e ally a b ette r p sychologi st

t h an th i s sounds .

T h e danger o u s man i s t h e playe r wh o m i xe s h i s

'
s tyle f rom ba c k t o f or e court at the d i rection o f an
e v e r ale r t m i nd Th is i s t h e man to study and lea rn
’

- .

f ro m He i s a playe r w i th a de fin i te purpo se A
. .

playe r who h a s an answe r to e v ery query y ou p r o

po u nd him i n you r gam e He i s t he most s ub tle .

antagon i st in t h e wo rld He i s o f t h e sch ool o f .

B r ookes S econd only t o hi m i s the man o f dogge d

.

d eterminat i on t h a t sets hi s m i nd o n one plan and

ad h e r es to i t b i tterly fier c ely figh ti ng t o t h e end
, , ,

wi th neve r a t h ought o f c hange He i s t h e man .

wh os e p sychol o gy i s e a sy to u nderstand but wh os e ,

mental vi ewp o i nt i s h a r d to upset f o r h e neve r ,

all ows hi msel f to t hink of anyt hi ng except the bu s i

n ess at h and Thi s man i s yo u r Jo h nston o r you r
.

W i ld in g I r e spect t h e mental capa c i ty o f B r o oke s

.

m o r e b ut I adm ir e t he te n a c i ty o f p urp o se o f
,

Jo h nst on .

P i ck o u t yo ur typ e fro m y our own men t al p ro c

66 T H E ART O F LAW N TE NN I S
esse s a n d t h en w o rk out your game along the l i ne s
,

b e s t su i ted to you Few o f u s hav e the mental.

b rill i ance o f B r ook e s ; but all can a cqu i re the dogged

de term i na t io n o f Johnst on even i f we h av e not h i s ,

tenn i s a bi l i ty .

W h en t wo m en a re i n t he same clas s a s r ega r d s

st r ok e e qu i pm ent th e det e r minin g fa ct or i n any
,

gi v en m atch i s t h e m e ntal vie wp oi n t Luck .

,

s o c alled
- i s O ften grasp i ng t h e psych olog i cal valu e
,

of a b r eak i n the game and turning i t t o yo u r own ,

ac count .

We h e a r a gre a t deal a b o u t th e s hot s we have

ma d e ” Few real iz e the i mp or tanc e of the shots“
”
.

we ha v e m i s s ed T he sc i ence of m i ss i ng shots i s
.

a s i mp o rtant a s t h at o f maki ng t h em and a t t i mes ,

a mis s by an i nc h i s of m or e value th a n a r etu r n .

tha t is kille d by yo u r opp onent .

Let m e exp la i n A playe r d ri v e s y ou f a r out

.

o f court w i th an angl e s h ot You r un h a r d to i t .

,

and r e a ch i ng dr iv e i t h a r d and fa st down t h e s i de

,

l i ne m i ss i n g i r b y an in ch
, Your opponent i s .

s u rp ri se d and shaken real izi ng t h at you r s h ot m i gh t

,

a s well h ave gone i n a s ou t He will exp ect yo u .

to t ry i t aga i n and will no t tak e t h e r i sk next t i me

, .

He w i ll try to play the b all and may f all i nt o e rror , .

You h ave thu s taken som e o f yo ur op po nent s con ’

fid e nce a n d i nc r ease d hi s c h ance o f e rror all b y

,
.
,

a m i ss .

I f yo u h a d me r ely p o pp ed b ack t h a t r e turn and

—

i t had b ee n k i lled y our oppone n t would h ave f el t

,

in cr eas i ngly confi dent o f yo ur in a bi l ity to g et the

 TE N N I S P S YC HO L O GY
b all ou t o f hi s r eac h wh i le y ou wou l d m e r ely h ave
,

been w i nded wit ho ut r esul t .

Let u s supp ose you ma d e the s h ot dow n the s i de

l i ne I t wa s a s eemingly i mpo ssibl e get F ir st i t
. .

a m ount s t o two points in t h at i t took o ne away

'

f rom yo u r O pp onent that s ho uld h ave b een h i s and

ga v e you one y o u o ught neve r to h ave h ad It .

also worri es your opponen t a s h e f eels he h a s

,

“
thrown away a b i g c h ance .

The p sy ch ology o f a te nn i s m a tc h i s ve ry i nte r

est i ng but easily understanda b le B o t h men star t
,
.

w i th equ al c h an c es O nce o ne m an esta b l i shes a

.

r eal lea d h is confidence g o es up w hi l e hi s o pponent

, ,

wo rr ies and hi s mental vi ewp oi nt b ecome s po o r

, .

Th e sole obj ect o f t h e first man i s t o h old hi s lea d ,

thus h old i ng hi s c onfidenc e I f t h e s econd playe r

.

p u lls even o r dra w s a h ead the i ne vi ta b l e r ea ct i on

,

occu rs wi t h e v en a greate r c o nt r ast i n psyc h ology .

Th ere i s the natural confidence o f t h e leade r now

w i th th e second man a s well a s t h at gr ea t st i mu l u s
o f h aving tu rned seeming de f ea t i nto p rob a b l e v i c
to ry Th e re v e r se in the cas e of the fir st playe r
.

i s ap t to h op elessly de st ro y hi s ga m e a n d collaps e
,

f ollows .

It i s thi s twi st in t e n n i s p sycho l o gy th a t make s i t

po ss ib le to wi n so many ma t ch e s a fte r t h ey a r e
seem i ngly lo st T hi s i s al so t h e r ea s on tha t a ma n
.

wh o h a s lost a s ub stant i al lea d seld o m turn s i n t h e

u l ti mate v i ct ory He ca nn ot ri s e a b o v e th e de
.

p r ess i o n cause d b y hi s temp or a ry slum p Th e val u e .

o f a n e a rly le ad c ann o t b e o ve r es ti m a t e d I t i s .
68 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN IS
t h e a bi l ity to cont r ol yo ur me n tal p ro cesses and ,

n o t wo rry u nduly ove r ea r ly r eve r s es t h at m a k e s ,

a g r e at match playe r .

Playin g t o the sco r e i s the fi r st r e qui s i te o f a

thi nki ng matc h playe r T he t w o c ru c i al p o in t s in
.

any gam e a re th e t hir d a n d fou rt h I f t h e fi rst .

t wo po i nts a re d i v i ded f o r 1 5 all th e t hir d means -

,

a n a dvantage ga i ned I f w o n b y y ou you s hou ld

.
,

—
s t ri ve to c o ns o l i da t e i t b y t ak in g t h e next for 4 0 1 5

a nd two ch a n ce s f or gam e w hi l e if l o st y ou m u s t, ,

draw eve n at 3 o all to h ave an ev en ch an ce for

-

game .

In or de r to d o thi s b e sure to al w ay s put the

,

b all i n play sa f ely a n d do not take u n n eces sa ry

,

c h ances a t 1 5 2111 or 3 0 1 5
,
-
Always make the
-
.

s e rver w ork to ho ld hi s d el i ve ry I t worri e s hi m .

t o se rve lon g games and in c r ea se s the n e rv ou s

,

st r a in o f the ma t ch .

I n t h e game sc or e the s ix th s eve nth and ei ghth , ,

game s a r e t h e c ru x of eve ry clo s e se t T h ese game s .

may m e an 4 2 o r 3 all 5 2 or 4 3 t h e m o s t vit al

— - —
,
—
,

a d v antag e i n th e ma t ch or 5 3 o r 4 all a m a t te r
—
,
-
,

o f extreme m ome n t to a t iri ng p laye r I f a h ea d .

,

you s hou ld s t ri v e to ho ld and i nc r eas e y our lea d .

I f b e h ind you r on e ho pe of vi cto ry r es t s i n cut t in g

,

down t h e a d v antage o f t he o th e r man b ef or e one

slip me ans de f eat 5 2 i s usually t o o late to s t art
.
—

a rally but 4 3 i s a re al c h ance

,
— .

N eve r throw away a s et b eca u se a playe r h a s a

—
lead o f 4 1 or even 5 1 u n less yo u al r e ady h av e
—
, ,

two se ts i n a t m t c h and d n ot w i s h t o ri sk
5 s-e a o ,
 P L A TE VI I I

D A V IS CU P C H ALL E N G E RO UN D ,
192 1
PL A TE I!
 T E NN I S P S YC H OL O GY 69
t irin g b y t ry i ng to pull i t o ut and po ss ibi ly f a i l i n g
,

at 6 4 — . T h e g r e at a dvantage o f 3 1 on yo ur o wn
—

se rvi c e i s a s tu mbling block for m any playe r s f or

-
,

t h ey u nconsc i ously le t up at the fi f th game th i nk i ng ,

t h ey h ave a 2 game b a d Howeve r by d r opp i ng

- .
,

t h at game t h e sc or e w i ll g o 2 3 a n d 3 all i f y our

,
- -

opp onent h olds s e rv i ce i ns t ea d of 1 4 and 4 2— —

, ,

th u s r etain i ng a d i stinct a dvan t a ge a n d d i s cour ag in g

y ou r oppone n t i n tha t s e t .

T he fir st se t i s v i tal in a 2 ou t of 3 matc h Pla y .

for all o f i t The s ec o nd and th ir d s ets a r e the

.

t urnin g poi nt i n a b est o f 5 set m atch T ake th e

- - .

fi r s t whe r e poss i ble b ut p lay t o t h e l i m i t f o r the

,

next two .N eve r allow a 3 o ut o f 5 set m a tch to -

g o t o t h e fift h s et if i t i s p oss ib le t o w i n i n less ;

”

bu t n eve r gi ve up a ma t c h un t i l the last p oi n t i s

p layed , eve n i f y ou a r e two sets and fi v e games down .

S o m e occu r r ence may turn the ti de i n y o u r f avou r .

A n o ta b l e example o f s u ch a m a t c h o cc urr ed at
N e wp o rt , i n 1 9 1 6 Walla ce F J oh nso n a n d
. .

Josep h J A rmst r ong we r e play i ng I chi j a Kum ag a e

.
,

t h e famou s Jap anese sta r and Ha r old A T hr ock

, .

m or t o n t h en Juni o r Champ ion o f Am e ri c a in t h e

, ,

s econd ro und o f the dou b les .

It wa s Kum ag a e s first yea r i n A m e ri ca and he

’
,

d i d not understand Am er i can s and t h e ir customs

Well . Kum a g a e and Throckm orton were lead i ng
o ne s e t a t 6 0 5 1 and 4 0 1 5 Kum ag a e s e rv ing
— —
, ,
—
, .

Thr ockm or ton tu rne d and s pok e t o hi m and t h e ,

!J a p an es e sta r di d not understand w h a t h e s a i d .

H e se rved w it ho ut kno wi ng and Armstrong p assed ,

70 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
hi m down t h e cent r e Johns on dupl i cated t h e f ea t
.

in t h e next co urt and Kum ag a e gre w flu stere d

,
.

Th rockmo rton not u nderstanding t ri e d to stea dy

, ,

h im w i t h out r esult a s Kum a g a e double faulte d to

,
-

A rmstr o ng and h e to o grew wo rr i ed B ot h men

, , , .

b egan m i ss i ng and Jo hnson and A rmstrong pulle d

,

o ut the s et and won t h e match i n a runaway in the

las t stan z a Jo h ns on and Arm s trong met W M
. . .

Johnston and C J Gri ffi n the N at i onal Champ i ons

. .
, ,

i n t h e final and de feated them in fi v e sets i nfl i ct i ng ,

t h e only re v erse the t i tle holders su ff e r e d duri ng -

t h e ir two ye a r re i gn a s c hampions
- .

Anothe r much mor e r egrettable in ci dent oc curre d

i n the famou s mat ch be tween R L Murray o f . .

C ali fornia and George M C h urch o f N e w Yo rk in .

the fourth round o f the Amer ic an N at i onal Cham

i n hi i n 6 Geo rge Chu r c h t h en at the
‘

p o s p 1 9 1 .
,

c rest o f hi s wonderful game ha d won t h e fi r st two ,

s ets and was lea ding Murray i n the third w h en ,

the famous C ali fo rn i an sta rted a s ensat i onal r ally .

Mu r ray w i t h hi s te r ri fic sp eed me rry sm i le and

, , ,

genial per s onality ha s alway s b een a popula r fi gu r e

,

w i th the public and when he began hi s s e em i ngly

,

hop ele s s fight t h e c rowd cheere d him wildly He

, .

broke t h roug h Chur c h s s e rvic e and drew e v en am i d’

a terrifi c din Chur ch always a very h igh stru ng

.
,
-
,

ne rvo u s playe r showe d that the crowd s p artiality

,
’

wa s getting on h i s ne rves Th e gallery no ticed i t .

,

and be c ame mo r e p a rt i san than e v e r The sp i ri t .

o f m ob rule took h old and f o r once t h ey lost all ,

sense o f sp ortsma ns h ip They clapp ed errors a s .

 TE NN I S P S YCH OL O GY 71

they r ained from C h u rch s ra c quet ; the grea t game

’

’
collapse d unde r the terrific strain and Chur ch s la st ,

c han c e wa s gone Mu rray won large ly a s he

.

wante d i n t h e last two sets N o one regrette d

‘

.
, _

the i n ci dent more than Mu r ray him s elf fo r no fine r ,

sport s man steps upon the court than thi s player ,

yet there wa s nothing that c ould b e done It wa s .

a cas e o f e x ternal c ondition s influen c ing the p s y c hol

ogy o f one m an s o greatly that i t cost him a v icto ry
t h at wa s hi s i n ju s ti c e .

The p rimary obj e c t i n match tenni s i s t o break up

’
the ot h e r man s game The first lesso n to lea r n i s
.

to h old you r ne rv e under all ci rcum s tan c es I f yo u .

’
can break a player s ne rv e by pounding at a weak
ness do i t I remembe r winn i ng a 5 s et double s
, .
-

mat ch m any ye ars a g o against a team fa r ove r

,

th e c las s o f my p a rtner and myself by lobbing con ,

t i nu a lly to one man until he cra c ked under the stra i n

and threw the mat ch away He b e c ame s o a f raid .

o f a lob th at he would not appro a c h the net and ,

h is whole game broke up on a c c ount o f h i s la c k

o f c o nfidence O u r psy c hology wa s good for we
.
,

h ad the c onfiden c e t o c ontinue ou r p l an o f attack

even whi le lo s ing two o f th e fi r st t h ree sets H i s .

wa s b ad for he lost h i s ner v e and le t us know i t

, , .

Sensational and unex pe c ted s h ot s at cru cial mo

ments have won many a mat ch I f your O pponent .

make s a m ar v ell ou s re c o v ery and w i ns by i t g iv e ,

him full c red i t for it and then f orget it f o r by

, ,

worryi ng o v e r i t you not only los e that point but

se v eral ot h ers a s well wh i l e you r mind i s sti l l wan
,
- n
72 T H E AR T O F LAWN T E NN I S
der i ng N eve r los e yo ur tempe r o v e r your oppon
.

’
ent s good s h ots I t i s b a d enoug h to los e i t at
.

y o ur own b ad one s Rememb e r t h at u sually t h e

.

l os e r o f a match p lays j u st a s well as the wi nner

allows hi m N eve r los e you r tempe r a t a b a d de
.

ci s i on I t n eve r p ays a n d h a s c o st many a mat c h

.
, .

I rem embe r a f am o u s mat ch i n P hi ladelp hi a b e ,

t w een Wallace F Jo h n so n t h e fi ft h r anki ng playe r

.
,

in Ame ri ca and Stanley W Pea r son a lo c al star

, .
, ,

in the Interclub tenn i s leagu e o f that c ity Jo h nson .

,

w h o h a d enj oyed a commanding lea d o f a set and

4
-
,
1 h a d slumped and Pearson , h ad pulled even a t
—
a s e t all and wa s le ading a t 5 1 and 4 0 1 5 p oint
- —
, ,

s e t mat ch He pu l le d Jo h ns o n f a r out to t h e f o r e
.

h and and came to the net Jo h nso n c h oppe d .

v i c i ously down the s i d e l i ne bu t P e a rs on v o lleye d

-
,

to Jo h nson s deep b a ckhand c or ne r J ohn s on h a d

’
.

sta r ted r unni ng i n that d ir ect io n a s he hi t hi s r e tu rn ,

’
and a r r i ve d almost a s Pea r son s volley bo unced .

Unfortunately Jo h nson sl i pp e d and went down on

b ot h knees but h eld hi s r a c qu e t H e r e ach ed t h e
, .

b all and c h oppe d i t down the s i de l i ne f o r an e arned -

po i nt b e f o r e Pe a r s o n r ea li z e d h e h a d even o ff e r ed
a t it .

Pea rson wa s s o su rp r ise d and ange re d t h at h e

doub le f aulte d f o r deu c e and Johnson won t h e
-
,

gam e Jo h nson pulle d even at 5 all b efore Pea rs on

.
-
,

re c o v ere d hi s equ i libr i um and finally won the s e t ,

’ ’
at 1 7 1 5
— T ruly Pearson s lapse at Johnson s ma r
.

v e llou s get wa s a costly mental b r eak .

Tennis psy c h ology i s f a r more t h an th e e ff ect of

 TE NN I S P S YC H OL O GY 73

c er ta i n sho ts made or m i ssed on t h e playe r O ne

, , .

Can sum up su ch thing s by saying that eve ry k i ll

g i ves c onfidence e v ery erro r tends to destroy it
,
.

These t h i ngs a re ob v ious T he bran c h o f p sy c hol

.

ogy that i s i ntere sting i s t h e r ea c t i o n on th e v ar i ou s

playe r s o f d i ff eren t c ourts d i ff e r ent c ro wds and
, ,

othe r playe r s .

T h e r e i s a p ecul i a r a tmosp h e r e a b out t h e centr e

cou r t a t Wimbledon t h at i s un i que i n my knowledge
of t h e game C erta i n pla ye r s rev el i n i t T h e
. .

maj ori ty do not feel i t and since t h ey do not s ens e

,

i t t h ey find only the mat e ri al disa dvantage s o f

,

rat h er b a d ligh t and much n o i se f r o m the stand

, ,

and disl i ke the cent r e co ur t P e r s o nally I enj oy .

,

p lay i ng o n the c ent r e c our t at W i mbled o n m ore

t h an any co urt I h ave e ve r st ep p ed u p o n .

T h e t r a d i t i ons o f the g r e at playe r s of t h e p as t ,

t h e notable p ersonage s t h a t m ake u p t h e p a rti e s in

t h e Royal B ox and C omm i ttee B ox t h e h ono ur of ,

a vi s i t fr om the ir M aj est i es th e K i ng and ! ueen ,

a nd , above all the g ene r ous non p a r t i san sp o rts

, ,
-
,

manl i ke a t t i tud e of t h e B r it i s h p ubl i c make i t a ,

un i que pr i vilege to e nt e r t h e centre co ur t i n cham

p i on s h i p c omp et i t i o n T.h ese t hi ngs i nsp i re t h e
m i nd to an almos t a b no rmal keenness It i s thi s .

atmosphere t h at m ade N E B r ookes Ant h ony F

. .
, .

Wild i ng A W Go r e R F and H L Do h e rty

, . .
, . . . .

more dange ro u s th ere t h a n anyw h e r e else I t i s .

t hi s f a ct or that spurs o n J C P a rk e and A R F . . . . .

Ki ngscote t o t h ei r gr ea tes t t e nn i s to day - .

T he g r e at ch amp i ons hi p t urf a t Fo r est H i lls ,

74 T H E AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S
whe r e th e Amer ic an C h amp i onsh i p is held o ff ers a ,

unique c ontrast to W i mbledon .

The age o f Wimble don i s i ts great a ttra c t i on It .

i s the spir i t o f youth o f p rogres s o f busines s like

, ,

me ch an ic al p er f e ct i on o f management and the ,

enorm ous cr owd s and a ttendant enthu s ia s m that i s

the ch i e f attra ction a t Fo r est Hills Fully .

were present on t h e c lo s ing day o f the e v ent in 1 9 1 9 .

O rde rly courteous enthu si ast i c but pa rti san the

, , , ,

Ameri c an tenn i s publi c c ome s out to c he er on its

f a v ou rite N o p eople i n the world appre c iat e
.

vi s i t i ng players more w h ole h e a r tedly and none do

-

m ore for t h e i r com fort t h an the American p eople .

It i s p a rti san p ers onal sp o rt i ng fr i endl i ness

, , ,

warme r yet not so correct as t h e manner o f t h e

B r itis h publ i c t h at the Ame ric ans g i ve We hav e
, .

much to lea rn f r o m ou r B r i tish fr i ends Yet I .

h op e we w i ll n e v e r s ac ri fic e t h e wa rmth o f f eel i ng
t h a t at t i me s may run away w i t h us y et i n the main ,

i s th e c hi e f attra ction o f the Ameri c an p eo ple I t .

i s t h i s enthus i a sm t h at sp u rs on the men to the ir

gre atest eff o rts i n t h e N at io nal Champ i onship .

The Au s tral i an team N o rman E B ro okes

, .
,

Gerald Patterson Rand o lp h L y ce tt and R V

, , . .

Thomas who vi s i ted t h e Un i te d State s i n 1 9 1 9

, ,

score d a un i que p ersonal t ri umph Th e whole gal .

lery present a t the nota b le matc h i n t h e Champ i on

sh i p when Patte r son went d o wn t o de fea t in a
,

te r rifi c 5 set st ruggle w i t h W M Johnston ro se

-
. .
,

and c h e ered Patterson a s he walke d off the c ourt .

It wa s a r eal ovat i on ; a tr i bute to his s po rtsman

 T E NN I S P S YCH OL O GY 75

s hip and an outbu r st o f p ersonal a dm ir at i on

, .

B rookes wa s t h e r e c ipi ent o f an e qual demonstra

t ion on h i s final app earance at Forest Hills The .

stimulus o f the su r roundings p r oduced t h e hi gh e st

tennis o f whi ch thes e men we r e capable .

Ye t i n all champ i onships i t i s th e p ersonal ele

ment tha t i s ,the mo v ing factor Pe r sonalities a re.

t h e dec i ding fo r c e in popular it y Pat ri ot i sm i s .

p artially submerge d i n p ers onality .

The D a v is Cup m atch es b ring o ut t h e gamest

‘

stru ggles in the h isto ry o f tennis It i s i n these .

uni qu e s eri es o f m atches that t h e fame o f Anthony

F .Wilding N orman E B r ookes J C Pa rke B C
, .
, . .
, . .

W ri ght M E M L oughli n and ot h ers r ea c hed i ts

, . .
‘
,

crest I t wa s the uns elfis h gi vi ng o f one s b est

. ,
’
,

unde r all c ondit i ons f or the h onour o f t h e country

,

that calle d out the finest tenn i s i n ea ch man Pa rke .

reach e d his c r est i n hi s memo r able de f eat o f

B rookes M L oughli n has ne v e r quite equalled his
.
‘

ma rvell ous gam e o f 1 9 1 4 against B r ooke s and Wild

i ng.

I t i s th e psycho logy o f p at rio t i s m th at bri ngs o u t

thi s tenn i s .

Pe r sonal i ty i s sub me r ged Un i ty of p u rp o s e a s

.

a team r epla ces t h e o b j ect o f pe r sonal glory t h a t

,

i s t he keyno te o f champ io ns hi p .

I t i s th e f ri endly ri v alry o f sp o r t b etwee n s u c h ,

men a s f orm t h e b ackb one o f tenn i s i n eac h co unt ry ,

that d o es m or e f or i nte rnat io nal unde rs tand i ng tha n

all t h e notes ever wri tten from the White Hous e .

I c ou ld g o on wri t i ng tenn i s p syc ho l o gy a s ex

 C H APTER VII

T HE P SY CH O LO GY O F M AT C H P LAj g,

HE fi r st a n d most i mpo r tant p o i nt i n mat ch

p l ay i s to know h ow t o lo se Los e c he er .
-
L

fully gen e r ously and l i ke a sport sman T h is is

, , .

the first g r ea t la w o f tenn i s and t h e second i s l i ke

,

—
u nto it to w i n m odestly ch e e rfu lly gene rously
, , ,

and l i ke a spo rtsman .

The obj ect o f matc h play i s t o wi n b ut no cre d i t ,

goes to a man wh o doe s not wi n fa irly a n d squ a r ely .

A vic to ry i s a de feat i f i t i s ot h e r t h an f a ir Ye t .

aga i n I say t o wi n i s t h e obj e ct and to do s o one

, ,

should play to t h e last ounc e o f hi s st r ength th e ,

!

'
last gasp of h i s breat h and t he la st sc r ap o f hi s
,

nerv e I f you d o s o and los e t h e b e tt e r man won

.
, .

I f you do not yo u h ave robb e d yo u r O pponen t o f

“

,
'
h is ri gh t o f b e ati ng y our b es t B e f a ir t o b oth
.

hi m and yoursel f
“
.

’
Th e Play s t h e t hi ng and i n m atch play a goo d
,
‘

de f eat i s f a r mo r e c r e dita b l e th a n a h ollow v ic tory .

’
Play tenn i s f o r t he game s sake Play i t fo r the .

m en y ou meet the fri end s yo u make and the

, ,

p le asu r e y ou may g i ve t o th e p ub l i c b y t h e h ard

w orki ng ye t spo rt i ng ga m e th a t i s ow ed t h em b y
t h e i r p r e senc e a t t h e m atch .

Ma ny t e nn i s playe r s f eel t h ey ow e the p ub l i c:,

77
”
78 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN IS
n o t hi n g and a r e grant i ng a f avo ur b y playin g
, .

i s my b el i e f th at when the public s o honou r s a p lay

t h at t h ey a tten d match es t h a t playe r i s in du ,

b ound t o gi v e o f hi s b est fr e ely w i ll i ngly , , ,

c hee rfully f or only by s o do i ng can h e r epay

,

h onour p ai d him T h e tenn i s sta r of t o day 0.

h i s publ i c a s muc h a s t h e a cto r o w es th e aud i .

!

and only b y meet i ng hi s o b l i gat i on s can tennis b

r e ta i ne d i n pub l i c fa v o ur T he players get t h ei .

rewa rd i n t h e personal po p ula ri ty t h ey ga i n b y the i

consc i ent io us wo rk .

Th e r e i s ail oth e r f a cto r that i s even stronge r t

t hi s t h a t w i ll al ways p r odu c e fine tenn i s i n ch
,

p i on s h i p events I t i s t h e.c ompet i t i ve spi ri t that i

th e b re a t h o f li f e to e v ery t ru e sportsman :th
d es ir e to p r o ve to hi m sel f h e can b eat t h e b est 0
t he ot h er m an ; the r eal r e gret t h a t c o m es w h en he
w i ns and f eels t he lose r wa s not at hi s b est
, It is .

t h a t wh ich h a s m a de p opula r i dols o f Anthony F .

W i lding M E M L oughli n and o t h e r f am o u s

, . .
‘
,

p laye rs I t i s t h e gre a t attract i on o f J C Pa rke

. . . .

A R F Kin gscote W M Jo h nston Andr é Gob e r t

. . .
, . .
,

W L au rent z and many o t h e r sta r s It i s t h e s i gn

P

. .
,

of a tru e sp o rtsman .

T h e keen c ompet iti ve spirit t h a t st i mula tes a

m at ch playe r also i n cre a se s t h e nervou s st r a i n .

T hi s s h ould b e r ecogn iz ed b y to ur nament c om m i t

te e s and the c on d i t i ons o f play sho u ld b e as n ea rly
,

s ta n da r d iz e d a s weat h er p e rm i ts .

A t ourna men t c o mm i tte e s h o u ld n eve r kee p a

p laye r wa iti ng f or a n i m port a nt m a t c h t o c o m m e n ce
 MAT CH P LAY 79

they scou r t hr oug h the crow d for l i nesme n .

necessa ry an d I trus t u se fu l a ccesso ri es to

, ,

mat ch o f i mp ortance s h ould b e p i cke d a n d o n

wh en t h e player s a pp ea r A go o d l i nesma n .

gr eat ai d to matc h tenni s A p oo r one m ay .

a g r eat battle N o t o nly w i ll b a d deci s i ons

.

t h e t i d e by putt i ng a po i nt i n the w r ong c o l

3
, b u t sl ow decis i ons w i ll of te n upset playe r s ,

a r e not play to the l in e k ept by sl u mb e r o u s

nesmen .

A l i nesman sh ould take hi s first judgment a s the

all st ri ke s I f outs i de h e s h o u ld call o ut at
.
“ ”
c lea r ly deci s i vely but n o t too loudly ; a ye ll
, ,

often a s h ock to th e ne rve s I f t h e b all i s goo d

.

e s h ou ld r em a i n di sc r eetly silent .

T h e um p i re s h ould announce t h e sco r e a fte r ea ch

o i nt in a vo i ce u ffi i ently loud t o b e he a rd by the
“
p s c
”
ent ir e gal le ry H i s dec i s i ons a s to lets or b all s
“ ”
.

not u p s h ould b e m a de only lo u d enough to ensu re

t h at t h ey are h eard by the playe r s The ga l lery .

h a s eyes Follow i ng e a c h game the game score

.
,
’
s h ould b e called givi ng the l ead i ng playe r s nam e
,

and t h e s et b ei ng played Fo r example “Fou r

”
.
,

game s t o t hr ee Parke lea ds Second s e t

, . About .

every t hir d game fol low i ng t h e c o mpletion o f the

fir st set an announcement a s t o the w i nne r o f the
,

fi r st s et i s an excellent i dea T h e ump i re c ould

“
.

a dd to t h e ab ove an nouncemen t First s e t Pa rk e

, , ,

6 Thi s latte r ann ou ncement i s u nne c ess a ry

wh en t he r e i s a score bo a r d th at gi ve s fu ll de t a i ls
of t h e m a t c h .
80 T HE AR T O F LAW N TE NN IS
T ournamen t comm i tt e e s s h ould se e th a t all c ourt s
h ave sufli ci ent r o o m b e h ind t h e b ase l i n e and at -

t h e s i de s t o in s ur e a playe r aga i nst ru nn i ng i nto

t h e stop s .

Galler i es s h ould s t riv e t o reta i n the ir appre ci a

tion and ent h us i asm until a p o i nt i s completed sin c e ,

nois e i s ve ry d i sconcert i ng to a p l aye r Ho weve r .

,

all players enj oy an enthusia st i c gallery .

The players t h emselves must now b e c ons i de r ed

i n relation to t h e react i on o f t h e match .

Th e fi rst th i ng to fix firmly in you r mind i n play

i ng a mat c h i s ne v e r to allow your oppone n t t o
,

play a s h o t h e l i kes i f i t i s possible t o force hi m

t o make one h e doe s not Study you r opponent
.

bo th o n and off the co u rt Look f or a we akness

.
,

and once finding i t po und it w i tho u t mer cy Re

“

, , .

membe r t h at you d o not dec i de you r mode o f a t

ta c k It is de ci ded for you by th e we akness o f
.

you r opponent I f h e d i slikes to meet a netman

.
,

go t o the net I f he wants yo u at the net stay

.
,

b ack a nd f o r ce h i m to c om e i n I f h e atta cks .

v i c i ously meet hi s attack with an e qu ally st r ong

,

o ff ens i ve.

Rem em b e r t h at t h e st r ongest de f ence i s t o a t

ta ck for i f the o t h e r m an i s oc cup i ed i n meet i ng
,

y ou r atta ck h e w i ll h a v e le ss ti me to f o rm u la t e! hi s
,

own system .

I f yo u are play i ng a ve ry steady man d o no t ,

str i v e t o b eat h i m at hi s own game H e i s b ette r .

a t i t tha n you i n many cases s o go m and hi t to ,

w in O n t h e other h and i f you find t h at yo ur

.
,
 MATCH P LAY 81

oppo nen t i s w i ld and prone to m i ss play sa fe and ,

r eap t he full crop of h i s e rr o r s I t saves y ou .

troubl e and takes hi s c onfiden c e .

A b ov e a ll, ne v e r cha ng e a wi nni ng g a m e .

A lways c ha ng e a l osi ng g a m e, s ince , a s yo u a re

ge tting b eaten that way yo u a r e no w or se off and
.

may b e better wit h a new styl e .

T h e q uest io n of ch an ging a los i ng game i s a

very seri ous thing It i s hard to s ay j ust when
.

you a r e really b eaten I f you f eel you a r e playing

.

well yet h a v e lost the first s et ab out 6 3 or 6 4 — —

,

wi th the l os s o f on ly one s erv i ce you should not ,

c hange Your game I S n ot re ally a losing game

. .

I t i s S imply a c a s e o f one b re ak o f s er v i c e and ,

might wel l win the nex t s et I f howeve r you .

, ,

ha v e droppe d the f i rst set in a 2 out o f 3 matc h

w i t h b ut one or two games now yo u are ou tclasse d
,

and s ho uld try something else .

Take ch an c es when you a r e b e hi nd neve r w h en ,

ah ea d Risks are onl y worth w h ile w h en yo u have

.

eve ryth i ng to wi n and not h ing to lo se I t m ay .

spell victory and at least will n o t h aste n de feat

, .

Above al l ne v er lo s e your ne rv e o r confidence i n a

,

m atc h. By s o do i ng you ha v e h ande d your opp o

—
nent about t wo p oint s a game a ra t h e r h ar d
h andic ap to beat at yo u r b e s t .

N e v er l et your opp onent kn o w yo u are wo rri ed .

N e v er show fati gue o r p a i n i f it i s poss i ble to av oi d ,

s i n c e it wi l l only gi v e him confidence Rememb e r .

t h a t he feels j ust a s b a d as you and any sign o f,

weaken i ng on you r p a r t e n cou r ages hi m to g o o n .

82 T H E AR T O F LAWN TE NN I S
In oth e r wo r ds ke e p you r teet h al w ays i n the
,

m atch .

’
D on t w or ry D on t fuss Lu c k evens up in th e
’
. .

long run and to wo r ry onl y up s ets your own game

,

with out aff ecting yo u r opponent A smile wins a .

lo t o f pomt s b ecause i t give s t h e i m p re s s i on of con

'

fi d e nce on yo ur p a r t t h a t s h ake s tha t o f t h e oth e r

man F i g h t all the time Th e h a rde r the st rai n
. .

the h arder y ou s h o uld fig h t b ut d o i t ea s i ly h appily

, , ,

and enj oy i t .

M a t ch play w h er e bo th m en a re i n t h e sa m e
,

clas s a s tenn i s playe r s r es olv e s i tse l f i nt o a b att l e

,

o f w i ts and ne rv e T he man wh o use s th e first

.

and reta i ns t h e se cond i s t h e ultimate v ic tor .

I do not b el i ev e i n a m an w h o exp ects t o g o

“ ”
.

through a long tournament going all out fo r ,

e v ery mat ch C onse rv e your s trengt h an d yo ur

.

finesse f or the t i mes you need t h em and win yo ur ,

othe r match es decis iv ely b ut not destru c t iv ely ,

.

Why should a great sta r disc ourage and dishe a rten

a playe r s eve ral classe s b elow h i m by c ru shing h i m ,

a s h e n o doub t could ! A f ew game s a set well ,

e arned would b e a bi g f a c tor i n en c ouraging tha t

,

ris i ng player to play i n tourn ament s while it woul d ,

i n n o way i njure the reputation o f the sta r .

N e v e r hur ry your opp onent by se rv ing b efore

he i s fu lly s et t o re c ei v e T h is i s a fa v ourite tri ck o f
.

a few un s crupulous players yet i s r eally an unfai r ,

a dvantage Do you r h u rry i ng a fter t h e b all i s in

.

play by ru nn i ng h im to unexp e c te d pla c es i n t h e

,

c ourt S h ould anyone attempt to work the hu r ri e d

.
 MATC H PLAY 83

se rv i ce on yo u a f t e r seve ral attem p ts p r ov i ng i t i s

,
“
intentional let th e b a ll go by and say not rea dy
,
”
,

The s er v e r will s ho rtly rea l iz e tha t you w i ll tak e

you r t i me regard l es s o f him and h e will slow up , .

I do not a dv o c at e s ta ll in g nothing is wors e I t

— .

i s a breach o f ethi c s that i s wholly un c all e d fo r .

Play th e gam e natural ly and give y ou r opp onent

~

,
e

ful l c ourte s y in all matters I f y ou do you will .

,

r e c ei v e it in return .

Take e v e ry a d v antage o f any and e v ery weak -r

ness in your opponent s game ; but ne v er tresp as s ’

on hi s right s a s regard s e x ternal a d v antages

“
.

Personally I do not b e l i eve in default i ng a

” ”
mat c h To scrat c h or retire as the term goes
.
, ,

i s t o ch eat your opponent o f hi s just triump h and

“

you s h ould neve r do th i s unles s i t i s abso lutely i m

p os s ible to a v oid Si ckness or some equally impo r
.
-
r

tant r eason should b e the sole caus e o f scr a tching ,

fo r you owe t h e tou rnament you r p resence on c e you r

ent ry is in .

Mat c h play should st i mulate a player He should .

produce his b est under the excitement o f competi

tion Learn you r s ho ts in practi c e but use them in
.
,

mat ches .

Pra c tice i s played w i t h t h e racquet matches a re ,

won by the mind J C Parke is a great mat c h

. . .

playe r b e c ause he i s not only a great player but a

,

g r eat student o f men He siz es up h i s opponent .

,

and se iz es e v ery op ening and turns it to his own

acco u nt N o rma n E B ro okes i s t h e greatest matc h
. .

p layer the world h as eve r known b ecause h e i s eve r ,

N ORM A N E B R OO K E S A N D G ER ALD L PA TT R S O N
. . E
A u s t ra l i a ,
19 2 0
N OR M A N E B R OO K E S A N T H O IT Y WI LD I N G
Zl
. , F .

A u s tr a l i a N ew ea a nd

B E ALS WRIG H T W . A . LA R N ED
A m e ri ca
A m e ri c a

FA M OU S DA VI S C UP S TA R S PL A TE ! I
 MATCH PLAY 85

moment Kum ag ae h eld the wh ip h and He de f eated .

Mu r ray at Ni agara ou the Lake a week late r - - -

.

Murray b a r ely nosed out t h e Jap anes e sta r at

C le v e l and in fi v e sets a fter Kum a g a e ha d t h e matc h
won only to h ave Ka maga e again defeat h im i n a
,

te rr ific match at N ewport in August .

Kum a g a e s game i s v e ry e ff e c ti v e aga i nst Murray

’
,

because Mu r ray es s entially a volleyer c ould not

, ,

exc h ange ground st r okes wi t h t h e Japanese sta r

playe r s u c c essfu lly and could not stand t h e ter ri fic
,

p ace o f ru sh i ng t he ne t a t eve ry oppo rtu n i ty Ku ma .

ga e c onclus iv ely p ro ved hi s slight sup er i o ri ty ove r

Mu rr ay last sea son .

_ V i ncent R i chards w h o i s n
, ot yet th e e q u al of
Mur r ay S cored two clean cut v i cto ri es ove r Ku ma
,
-

ga e during the same p er i od Why s h ould R i cha r ds .

wo r ry Kum ag a e wh o i s certa i nly Mur r ay s supe ri o r

,
’
,

and yet not cau s e Murray trouble !

The a n swe r l i e s i n t hi s style o f game R i cha r ds .

u ses a p eculi ar ch op stroke f r om the b a se l i ne tha t i s -

v ery steady He c an meet Kum ag a e at hi s o wn

.

base line game until h e gets a c h an c e to close i n to

-

the net wh e r e hi s v olley i ng i s rema r kable T h e

, .

res ul t is aga i nst Kum ag a e s dr iv ing he is perfectly

,
’

at home Murray i s a vici ou s net player who swept

.

Ri c hards off hi s fe et The b oy h a s not th e s p eed

.

on his ground strokes to p ass Murray who volleys ,

off his c hop for point s and c annot take the net away
,

from h i m a s h e cannot h andle the terr i fi c spee d o f

’ ’
Murray s game T h u s M ur r ay s spee d be ats
.

’
R i ch ards wh i le Ri ch a r ds stead i ness t ro u b les
,
86 ,
T H E AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S

Kum ag a e ,yet Kum ag ae s p e r s i stent dr i vi ng ti r es

’

Mur r ay and b e ats h im W h at g o o d a r e comp a r a

.

tive s core s i >

Charles S Ga rland always de fe ats Ho w a r d

.

Voshe ll yet l oses t o men whom Vo s hell de feats

, .

Willi ams p ro v es a stumbling block to Jo hnston yet -

,

seldom do e s well agains t me .

The moral to b e drawn from the eve r i nte r esting -

up sets that o c cu r every ye a r i s t h at the style o f you r

,
’
atta c k should b e de te rmined by the man s weaknes s
you are playing Su i t your s tyle to hi s weakness
. .

A c hop is the ant i d ote for th e drive The volley .

i s the answe r to a chop ye t a dr i ve i s t h e only s a f e

,

attack again s t a v olley The smas h w i ll k i ll a lob

.
,

yet a lob is t h e surest defence f rom a smash Ra th e r .

a complicate d c ond i t io n but one w hi ch i t wo uld d o

,

wel l to think o v er .

The most dangerous enemy to R N W i ll i ams i s . .

a ste ady base line r o f second class Willi am s i s apt

-
.

to c rus h a top fli ght player i n a bu rst of superlat iv e

-

terms ye t fall a V ictim to the erra ti c stre ak that

,

i s i n him when some se c ond class player plays p at -

b all w i t h h im Su ch de feats were h i s portion at the

.

h ands o f Rit ch i e and M av rog ord ato in England yet ,

on the same tri p h e sc or e d notable v i ctor i e s o v e r

‘

Parke and Jo h nston .

Abno rmal c onditions fo r mat c h play always tend

to a ff e c t the better p l ay er mo r e than t h e p o o r e r and ,

br i ng play t o a le v el .

The reason fo r this i s i n the f a ct that t h e hi ghe r

’
t h e standard o f a player s game the smaller h i s ,
 MATCH PLAY 87

ma rgi n o f e rr o r the mo r e p e r fec t h is b o un d m ust

,

b e and any vari ation from the no rmal i s apt to spell

,

er r o r T h e a v erage playe r allows hi msel f mo r e

.

leeway and unknowingly inc r eases hi s chances on a

,

b a d cour t H i s sho t i s not j u dged to t h e fr a ct i on

.

o f an i nch i n swi ng a s i s t h e top fli ght playe r so fa

-
,

s l ight v a ri at i on doe s not affect h i m .

M any a grea t match h a s been rui ned by ab norm al

’
c onditions R ain cause d Will i ams downfall to N
. .

W N iles i n the 1 9 1 7 Am e r ican C hamp i ons h i p s

. .

Ra i n and wind mar r e d a gre at b attle b etween

Go b e rt and Johnston a t Ea stbou rn e i n t h e D a vi s
Cup in 1 92 0
Th e cle v e r match playe r must always b e w i lling
t o change h i s game to meet c o nd i t io ns Failu r e t o
.

d o s o may sp ell de fea t .

It i s th i s uncertainty d u e to exte rn al condi tio n s

, ,

t h at make s comp arati v e re c o r ds so useless i n ju dgi ng

t h e r ela ti v e mer i ts o f two playe r s you know nothing
o f Ranki ng s b ase d on mat h ematical calculations
.

o f score s a r e abs olutely useless and ch i ld i s h unles s ,

tempered by common s ense .

T h e questi on o f th e fitness o f cond i t i ons o f play

c an neve r b e standardiz ed In Ame ri ca you play
.

only i f c lea r In England sometimes w h en c lear

.

but mo r e o ften i n rain j udging by the e v ents I swam

,

t h rough i n my re c ent trip A match player should

.

not only b e ab l e to play tennis but should combine,

t h e v i rt u es o f an a eroplane and a sub ma ri ne a s well .

 PHY S ICAL FITN E S S 89

little ha rm although i t to o hi ts eye and w i nd

, , , .

A man wh o i s fa c i ng a long season o f to urnament

play should r e fr a i n from eit h er alco h ol or t o bacco
in any form Excesse s of any kind a r e b a d for
.

p hysi c al cond i t io n and s h ould not b e ch an c ed

, .

Late h ou r s caus e sluggi shn ess o f m i nd and body

the next day I t i s v e ry dange r ous to r isk t h em
.

b e fo r e a ha r d mat c h T h e mo vi ng p i ctures i m m e di
.

ately be fore playi ng tenn i s a r e b ad, ow i ng to the eye

st r ain caused by t h e flick e r o f the film and t h e
strong lig h t o f t h e came r a Lea d a n orm al healthy
.
,

li fe and conse rve you r ne rv o us f o r ce w h e re v e r p os

,

si b le a s y ou w i ll need i t in th e ha rd matches
“ ”
.
,

Staleness i s th e gre at enemy o f play e r s who

p lay long seaso n s I t i s a cas e o f t oo muc h t enn i s
-

. .

Staleness i s seldom p hysical wea ri ness A playe r .

c an always rec o ve r hi s streng th b y r e st Stalenes s .

i s a mental f at i gu e due o f ten to wo r ry or to o cl o se

a ttent i on to tenn i s and n o t enoug h va ri ety o f
,

t h ough t I ts sym p to ms a re a d i sl i ke f o r the tenn i s

.

game and it s sur r ound i ngs and a la ck of i n t e r est i n

,

t h e m a t c h wh en y ou a re on the c o u r t I a dv o cate .

a b r e ak i n tr a i ning a t s u c h a t i me Go t o th e
.

th ea tr e or a co n ce r t and get y our m i nd c o m p le t ely

,

off ten ni s D o yo ur w orryi ng a b o ut te nn i s w hi le

!

y ou a r e p lay i ng i t and f orget t h e unpleasantnes s of

,

ba d play o nce you a re off t h e c our t Alway s have.

some outs i de i nteres t yo u can tu rn to fo r relaxat i o n

du ri ng a tou rnament ; but n eve r all o w i t to i nte rf e r e
wi th yo ur t enn i s w h en y ou s h o u ld b e intent o n y ou r
g ame A ni ce b ala n ce i s h a r d t o ac hi ev e but on ce
.
,
90 T H E AR T O F LAWN TE NN I S
atta i ned i s a g r ea t a i d t o a tou rnament playe r I .

find my r elax at i on i n a uc tion b ri dge I know many .

o th e r players wh o d o l i kew i se Am o ng them are

.

M rs F r ankl i n M allo ry Walla ce F Jo h nson W

.
, .
, .

M Jo h nston and Samuel Hardy

. .

T h e laws o f t r a i n i ng should b e closely followe d

be fo r e and a fte r a m at ch D o not get chilled b efore
.

a matc h a s i t make s yo u st i ff and slow Ab o v e all

,
.

e l s e do not s tand a round wit hout a w r ap a fte r a

match w h en you a re hot o r you will catch c old .

Many a p l ayer has a cqu i red a t ouch Of rheuma

ti sm from wasting time a t t h e c los e of hi s ma t c h i n

stea d of gett i ng h i s s h owe r w hi le st i ll wa r m That .

sl i g h t st i ff ness the next day may mean defea t A .

serious chi ll may m e an s e v e r e illness D o not tak e .

chances .

Change y o u r wet clothes t o d ry o ne s b etween

mat c hes i f y o u a r e to play twice in a day I t will .

mak e yo u feel b ette r and als o avo i d the ri sk o f

,

cold .

To u rnament players must sac r ifi c e some pleas u re s

fo r the s ake o f success T r aining w i ll wi n many a
.

matc h fo r a man i f h e sti cks to i t Sp asmo di c .

tra i ning i s useless and s h ould neve r b e attempted

, .

T h e c o nditi on a playe r i s i n i s ap t to dec i de hi s

mental v i ewpoint and ai d him in ac custom i ng hi m
,

s e l f to the external c onditi ons o f play .

All mat ch playe r s s h ould know a l i ttle about th e

phenomen o n o f cr owd psych olo gy s i nce a s in the
-
,

c as e o f t h e Churc h Mur r ay mat ch I related some

-
 PHY S ICAL FITN E S S 91

t i me b a ck t h e crowd may play an i mpo r tant pa rt

,
”

i n t h e result .

It seldom pays to get a cro wd down on y ou It .

alway s pays to win i ts sympathy I d o not mean .

play t o th e galle ry for that w i ll ha v e the opp os i te

,

e ff e c t than the one de s ired .

The gal l ery i s always for th e weaker p l aye r It

“
i s a c a s e o f he l ping the under dog ” I f you a re
-
.
.

a c on s istent winner you mu s t a ccus tom your s elf to

ha v ing the gal l ery s ho w pa rtia l ity for your oppo
nent I t i s no p ers ona l di s like o f you It i s merely
. .

a na tu r al rea ction in favour o f the lo s er S ome .

times a b a d de ci sion to one play will wi n the c rowd s ’

symp at hy for h im Gal l erie s are eminently just in

.

their desires even tho u gh a t time s thei r emotions

,

ru n away wi th them .

! ui te as i de from t h e eff e c t on t h e gal l ery I wis h ,

to st ate here that when you a re the fa v oure d one

in a de c i s ion that you kn ow i s wrong s tri v e to equal ,

iz e i t i f p oss ible by uno s tentatiou sly losi n g the next

point Do not hit the b all over t h e b a ck stop or
.

i nto t h e bottom o f the net wit h a j aunty a ir o f

“ Here you a re ” Just h it it slightly out o r in t h e
.

net and g o on about your bu s ine ss in the re gula r

,

way Your O pponent always kn ows when you ex

.

tend him thi s ju s ti c e and he apprec ia tes it e v en

, ,

though he doe s not e xpe c t i t N e v e r do i t for e ff e c t

. .

It i s extremely ba d ta s te O nly d o i t when you r .

sense o f j u s t i ce tells you you should .

The c rowd obj e cts and j ustly so to a display o f

, ,

r eal temp e r on the co ur t A playe r who loses hi s

.
TH E 192 1 U ST L A N D A V IS U T A M
A RA I C P E

J 0 . . A n d erson J B H wkes N or m n P e h
, . . a ,
a ac and C . V . T o dd .

TH E 19 2 0 A MER I CA N D A V I S CU P T EAM
R N W
. .
ill i m s 2 nd W
a , , . M .
John to
s n ,
Ca pt i S uel
a n am Ha rdy W , . T . Ti l d en ,
2uc
 PH Y S ICAL F IT N E S S 93

Oh ,said the s ec ond lady r es i gnedly I ,

t h ought s o T h e tall one ! mean i ng m e] looks

.

r athe r queer .

Du ring the D av i s Cup mat ch ag ai nst t h e F r ench

a t E astbourne I went o n t h e c ourt aga i n st L aurentz
“ ”
,

i n my blu e woolly sweate r The day was c old .

,

a nd I played t h e matc h 4 1 i n L a u rent z f avou r

’
—
,

still wea ring i t I sta rted to r emove i t at t h e b e

.

ginn i ng of the s i xt h game when the galle ry b u rst,

i nto l oud applaus e out o f whi ch flo a ted a sweet

“ ,

fem i nine voice : Go od ! N ow m ayb e the p oo r b oy

will b e able to play ! ”
Fo r t h e first t i me I r e al iz ed just wha t t h e galle ry
t h ought of my e ff or ts to play tennis and also o f
t h e han di cap of the famous
“ ”
blue b ea rski n a s t h ey
-
,

termed it .

My fav ou ri t e expre s s i on du ri ng my D a vi s Cup

“ ”
trip happened to b e Peach f or any p articu larly
good shot by my opp onent T he g alle ry at t h e .

Champions hi p qu i ck to app r ec i ate any manne ri sm

,

o f a playe r a n d to kn ow h im b y i t enj oyed the

, ,

r em a rk on ma ny o cca s i on s as t h e b all w ent flo at i ng

b y m e I n my m at ch w i t h K ingscote i n the final
.

s e t th e c ou r t wa s ve ry slipp e ry ow i ng to t h e heavy
,

dr iz zle t h at h a d b een f alling t hr ough o ut the matc h .

At 3 2 i n my f avou r I essaye d a j o urney to the

- 5
,
’
net only to h ave K i ngsc o te p ass m e c r oss court t o
,

my b a ckh and I turned and started r ap i dly f e r

“ ”
.

the shot mu rmu ri ng Pea ch a s I went Suddenly .

my feet went out and I r olle d ove r on t h e g r ound ,

s l i d i ng s om e d i s t ance m a i nly on my f ace

, I aros e .
,
 P H Y S ICAL FITN E S S 95

n ot h andle at all S o e a c h time t h e V I S I tIng playe r

.

se rve d close to t h e line t h e b oy wou l d s wing at it

“
miss i t and call Fault !
,
”
,

There wa s no umpi r e
,

a v a ila bl e and there wa s no qIIe s ti on o f the olde r

team losing s o they let it go f or s om e time Finally
, .

a serv i ce fully 3 feet i n wa s casually c al l ed out by

t h e youngster This pro v ed to o mu c h fo r t h e
.

se rv e r wh o haile d his brother a t t h e net w i th the

“,

qu ery :What wa s wrong t h at time ! ”

“ ” “
I don t know came the r eply ; unles s he calle d
’

”
,

a footfault on you !
T h e assurance o f s ome young playe r s i s rema rk
a b le They know f a r more ab out the game o f othe r
.

men t h an the men themsel v es I on c e tra v elled to .

a tourna ment with a boy who c a sually s ea ted h i m

self b es i de me i n t h e t r ain and see i ng my tenn i s ,

bag opened the con v ersati on on tenn i s and tenni s

,

playe r s He finally turned hi s attent i on to var i ou s

.

p eople I knew well and suddenly burst out with

”
,

Tilden i s a ch op stroke playe r I know him well

- . .

I let hi m talk fo r about ten minutes learning things ,

about my gam e th at I ne v e r kne w b efo re Final l y .

I asked his name wh ich h e told m e In rep ly he

,
.

a sked mine Th e last vi ew I ha d o f him for s ome

.

t i me was a h as ty retreat t h rough the doo r o f the c a r

f or a i r .

I playe d my fi r st mat ch aga i nst J C Parke at . .

Wimbledon i n 1 9 2 0 T h e tim e b efore tha t I ha d

.

b een on t h e cou rt w i th him wa s at Germantown

C ri cket Club i n 1 9 1 1 w h en I a ct ed a s b all b oy i n
,
-

t h e Dav i s Cup b et w een hi m and W A La rn ed . . .

96 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE N N I S
T h e Jun i o r memb e r s o f t h e club sons o f t h e m em~
,

b e r s use d to c ons i de r i t a gre at honou r t o a ct a s

,

b a ll boy i n thes e mat c hes and wo rked eve ry means

-
,

t o b e pi ck ed
. I pi cke d up mu ch te nn i s i n those days
,

fo r I ha v e wo rke d at the ball b oy pos i tion for P a rke

-
,

Cr awley D ix on La rned W ri gh t and W a rd

, , , ,
.
 CHAPTE R IX

T HE P SYCH O LO GY O F SI N G L E S AN D D O UB LE S

I N GLES the gre atest stra i n I n tennis i s the

, ,

game for two p l ayers I t I s in this phase of the

.

game that th e person a l e quation re a c he s i ts crest o f

impo r tance Thi s i s th e g ame of i ndi v i d u al eff ort
.
,

mental and phy si cal .

A h a r d 5 s et s i ngle s match i s the gr e atest st r ain

-

on the b ody and ne rvous system o f any f orm of

sp ort R ic hard Ha rte and L C W i ste r t h e fo rmer
. . .
,

a famous Ha rv ard Un iv er si ty foo tb all and b aseb all

playe r th e latter a f ootb all sta r at P ri n cet on b oth
, ,

o f w h om a re famous tenn i s players h ave to l d me ,

th at a close 5 s et tenn i s mat c h was fa r more wear i ng

-

on them than the b igge s t footb all game they h ad

e v er played .

S i ngle s i s a game o f daring da sh sp e e d o f foot

, ,

and stroke I t i s a game o f c han c e fa r more than

.

doubles S ince you ha v e no partner dep endent up on

.

you you c an a ff o rd to risk error for the pos si bili ty

,

of speedy v i ctory Mu ch o f wha t I wrote under

.

mat ch play i s more f o r s ingles than doubles yet let ,

me c a l l your attention to c ertain p ecul i a ri t i e s o f

s i ngles from the s tandpo i nt o f t h e sp ectator .

A galle ry enj oys p ersonal i ties fa r more t h an

 S I N GL E S A N D D OUBL E S 99

were and are well l i ked and dese rvedly p opula r

, ,
!
,

but are no t idoliz e d a s were M L ou ghli n o r Wilding ‘

.

S i ngl e s is a game of the i ma ginat i on doubles a ,

sc i en c e of exact angles .

Doubles i s f our hande d tenni s Enoug h o f thi s

-
.

p rimary rea der definition I only u s ed that s o a s .

not to b e a c cus ed of trying to wr i t e ove r the h ea ds

o f the uninitiated .

I t i s just a s vi tal to play to you r p artne r i n tenni s -

a s in b ri dge E v e ry time you make a stroke you

.

must do i t with a definite p l an to a v o i d putting your

partner i n trouble The keynot e o f double s s u c c es s
.

i s team wo rk ; not i nd ivi dual b ri lliancy There i s .

a certa i n o f te m work dep endent w h olly up o n

typ e a

I ndi vi dual br i ll i ancy W h e r e b ot h players a r e in

.

the same cl as s a team i s a s strong a s its weakest

,

player at any gi v en time for here i t i s e v en te am ,

work with an equal di v ision o f t h e court tha t should

b e t h e method o f play In the c as e o f one strong .

playe r and one weaker player t h e team i s as good as ,

the s trong player can make i t by p r ote c ting and de

fending the weake r This pa i r should de v elop it s
.

team work on t h e i nd i v i dual b r illiancy o f the

stronger m an .

The first essent i al o f doubles play i s to put the

b a ll i n play. A double fault i s b a d i n singles b ut ,

i t i s ine x cusable in doubles Th e return o f s e rv i ce .

s h ould be certa i n A f te r that i t s h ould b e low and

.

to t h e se rv er coming in Do no t st riv e fo r clean a c es

.

i n doubles until you ha v e the opening Rememb e r .

t h at to pass two men i s a d i ffi cu lt task .

1 00 T H E ART O F LAW N T E NN I S
Always atta ck i n dou b le s T h e net i s t h e o nly .

pla c e in the c ou r t to play the doubles game and ,

you should always st ri v e to a ttain the net p os i t i on .

Th ere a re two fo rmat i ons f or t h e rece ivi ng team

one i s t h e Austral i an f o rmat i on w i t h the r eceive r s ’

’
p a r tne r stand i ng i n to volley the server s r eturn
volley ; t h e othe r i s t h e Engl i s h and Amer i can style
w i t h bo t h men b a c k t h us gi ving the net a tta ck to
,

t h e se rve r Th i s is sa fer but les s likely to p r oduce

.
,

a w i nn i ng r esult unless the team i s a wonde r ful lob

bi ng co m binat i on L ob bing i s a sound d e f ence i n
.

doubles and i s used to open the c ourt

, .

I b el i eve i n always t ry i ng fo r t h e k i ll w h en yo u
se e a r eal op en i ng ”
Poac h ( go f o r a s h ot w hi c h
.

i s n o t r eally on you r s i de o f t h e cou rt ) w h ene v er

you se e a chance to sc ore N e v er p oa ch unles s y ou .

go fo r t h e ki ll I t i s a w i n o r noth i ng shot s i nce i t

.

op ens yo u r w h ole cou rt I f you a re miss i ng ba dly

.

do not poach a s I t I S v e ry d i sconce rt i ng to your p a rt

,

ne r.

The quest i on o f c o ver i ng a double s co u rt s h oul d

no t b e a s e r i ou s one Wit h all men stri vi ng t o
.

a tta i n t h e not all the time e v e ry s h o t should b e

bu i lt up w i t h th at i dea Volley and smash w h en .

e v er p oss i ble and only retreat w hen a b solutely

,

ne c essary .

W h en t h e b all goe s toward the side line the net -

playe r on that side goe s in c lo s e and towa rd the

line His p artner f all s slightly ba ck and t o the
.

c entre o f t h e c ourt thu s c o v ering the shot b e tween

,

the men I f the nex t retu rn go e s to the othe r

.
 S I N GL E S A N D D OUBL E S 1 01

s i de t h e two men reverse p os itions T h e theory

,
.

of c o urt co v e ri ng i s two sides o f a t ri angle with ,

the angle in the centre and th e two si des runn i ng

to the s i de li nes and i n the d i rect i on o f the net
-
.

E a ch man sh ould cover overhea d b all s o v e r h is

own h ea d and hit them in the ai r whene v e r p oss i bl e
, ,

since to allow them t o dro p gi v es t h e net to th e

oth er team Th e o nl y tim e for t h e pa rtne r to
”
.

p rotect the o v er h ead i s when t h e net man p o a ch es ,

i s outgu es sed and the b all t os s ed o v er h i s head

, .

T h en the se rv e r c ove r s and str i ves f o r a ki ll at

on c e .

Always b e r ea dy t o p r otect y ou r p a r tner b u t d o ,

not take s h ots o v er h is hea d unle ss he c alls for yo u

to o r y ou s e e a c e rtain ki ll Then s ay Mine
, .
“ ”
,

step i n and hit de cisiv ely T h e mat t e r o f ove rh ea d

.

b alls cr ossing under t h em and such in c identals o f

, ,

team work a r e matters o f personal op i nion and ,

shoul d b e a rranged by ea ch te am according to t h ei r

j oint vi ews I only o ffer general rules t h a t can b e
.

mo dified to me et the wi s hes o f th e ind iv i duals .

Us e t h e lob a s a de fence and to give t i me to

,

ext ri cat e y ourself and you r p a r tne r from a ba d pos i

tion The v alue of se rvic e i n doubles cannot b e
;

to o strongly e m pha sized s i n c e I t g i v es t h e net to

the s e rver Serv i c e should always b e h eld To lo s e
. .

servic e is an unp a rdonabl e sin i n first clas s doubles

-
.

All shot s in double s should b e lo w or v e ry high Do .

not hi t s h oulder high a s it i s too ea sy to kill Volley

-
.

down and h a rd i f p oss i ble E v e ry shot y ou make

.
 S I N GLE S AN D D OUB L E S 1 03

want to play w i th y ou Thi s will do away with

.

much fricti on Hi s st yl e sh ould no t b e too nearly

.

your o wn , sin c e you dou b le t he faults w i t h out greatly

i nc r easing t h e v irtues .

I am a grea t bel i e v e r i n a br i ll i ant man teaming

up w i th a ste ady player Let y ou r stea dy man .

keep th e b all i n play and allow you r b rilli ant man

“ ,
”
all the r oom h e wants to po a c h and kill Thus .

you g et the b est o f b oth men .

Doubles i s a game o f fine ss e more th an sp eed .

T h e great doubles playe r s the Dohertys N orman , ,

E B rooke s the g r eatest i n th e world t o day Rope r

.
, ,

B a rrett B eals Wrigh t and F B Alexander a r e all

, ,
. .
,

men of subtle fine ss e r at h e r t h an terr i fic sp eed .

It r equ i re s mo r e than spee d o f s h ot to b ea t two

men o v e r a b a r ri e r 3 to 3 feet hi g h w i t h a d i stance
o f some 3 2 feet I t I s angles p a c e and a ccu r acy
.
, ,

t h a t should b e t h e a i m i n a g r e a t d ouble s game .

Resour c e ve rsat i l ity and s ub tle ty not s p eed wi n

, , , ,

do ub l e s ma t ch e s .
M O D E R N T E NN I S AND I T S
FUT URE
 PART III :M O DER N T E NN I S AN D I TS
FUT URE

CHAPTE R !

T HE G RO W T H O F T HE M O D ERN GAM E

AWN tenn i s I s the o u tg ro wt h o f the old F r enc h

game o f th e cou rts o f t h e early Lou i s I t .

sp r ea d to England w h ere it gained a fi rm hold on

,
,

public fa v ou r T h e game di vi ded ; the o riginal fo r m

.

being closely adhere d to in the game known in

”
America a s Court tennis , but whi c h i s calle d
“ ”
Tenni s i n England Lawn tenn i s grew out o f it
. .

T h e old style game was playe d o v er a net s ome

5 feet h i gh, and t h e ser v i c e was al w ays from the
same end the players c h anging court s ea c h game
, .

It w a s mo re on the style o f the pre s ent game o f

badm i nton o r b attledo r e and shuttleco c k .

Gra dua l ly t h e des i re fo r active play ha d its e ff e c t ,

in a lowere d net and c h ange d laws and tennis a s we

, ,

know i t grew into being F r om i ts ear l ie s t period

, .
,

w hi ch i s deeply s h rouded in mystery came the term s

“ “ “
o f love for not hi ng and deu c e fo r 4 0 all ”
,
“ -
” .

W h at t h ey m eant o ri ginally o r how they gained

,

th e ir h old i s u nkn own but the t e rms a re a tradit i on

,

10 7
1 08 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
o f t h e game an d j u s t a s mu ch a p a r t o f t h e scor i ng
“ ”
system a s t h e game o r se t call “ ” .

In 1 9 2 0 t h e Rule s C omm i tte e o f t h e Ame ri can

Tenn i s A sso ci at i on advo cate d a change i n scor i ng
t h at r eplaced love 1 5 3 0 4 0 with the mo r e com pr e
, , ,

h ensi v e 1 2 3 4 T h e real r e ason fo r t h e p r opose d

,
“ ”
.
, ,

c h ange wa s t h e b elie f th a t t h e w or d l ove i n

tenn i s ma de the un i n i t i ate d cons i de r the game e ff em i
n a te and rep e lled p ossi ble supp orte r s T h e loyal .

a dhe r ents o f the old customs o f t h e game p r o v e d

t oo st r ong and de fe ated t h e p r op ose d ch ange i n
,

sco r ing by an ove rwhelm i ng maj or i ty .

Personally I th i nk t h ere i s s ome sl i gh t cl a i m to

,

c onsiderat i on f o r the rem o v al o f t h e wo r d

“l ove ” .

I t can do no goo d and t h ere a r e many su b st itu tes

,

f o r it I t can ea s i ly be eliminated w i thout rev olu

.

ti oni z i ng t h e w h ole sco ri ng system I t i s f ar e asi e r

“ ” “ ”
.

t o subst i tute th e w o r ds z e r o noth i ng for

“ ”
lo v e th an ca u se su ch an up h eaval a s wa s p r op o se d
, ,

In my op i n i on th e b e s t w ay t o obv i a t e t h e matte r
’
i s to us e t h e playe r s name i n conjunct i on w i t h t h e
po ints w on b y hi m when hi s oppone n t h a s none , .

I f t h e fi r st p o i nt i s won b y W i lliams ; call t h e sc or e

”
-

W i ll i ams and w ith hi s opponent scor i ng t h e

“
15
”
, ,

next the call wou ld b ecome 1 5 all

,
- .

I f tenn i s loses one a d h erent i t co u ld ot h erw i se

“
ga i n sim ply by i ts r eta i n i ng t h e wo r d love i n the
,
”
,

s c ore I hea rt i ly a d vo cate r emov i ng it Thi s re

, .

m o v al wa s success fully a c complis h ed i n C hi ca go i n

1919 wi t h n o c o n fu s io n t o p l aye rs u mpir e s or
, , ,

pub l i c .
R NORR IS WI LL IA M S
. WI LL IA M M OH N S T ON
J
in d I n 19 1 9
.

19 1 4 and 19 16 19 1 5 an

M AU R C E E
I . BI C L O UG H LI N R OBERT L I N D LE Y DI U R R A Y
19 12 i n 19 1 3
an d 19 1 7 d I n 19 18
an

F OR MER C H A M P I ON S OF A ME RI CA
P L A TE ! III
 T HE GR OWTH OF T HE M O D E R N GAME 1 09

H owe v e r return i ng fr om my l i ttle dig r ess i o n on

,
” “
the relat i ve value o f lov e and n oth i ng let m e ”
,

continu e my s h ort h is tory o f t h e game The play .

i ng o f te nnis sprang i nto public fav o ur so qui ck ly

t h at in a c omp a rati v ely s h ort sp ace o f time i t wa s
u nive r sally playe d in England and France Th e .

game wa s brought to Amer i ca i n th e latter p ar t o f

t h e nineteenth century Its growth the r e i n the
.

past twenty fiv e yea r s ha s b een p henomenal Dur

-
.

i ng t h e las t half c entury tennis ga ine d a fi rm f o othold

i n all t h e colon i es o f the B r i t i s h Emp i re and e v en
,

found f a v ou r i n t h e O r i ent a s i s exp la i ned i n an

,

o th e r port i on of th i s b oo k .

Tenn i s fills many nee ds o f p r ov i des

an outlet fo r p hys ic al ene rgy r elaxa ti on mental
!

, ,

st i mulus and h e alt hful exer ci se The m o r al tone is

, .

a i ded by tenn i s because t h e fi r st la w o f tenn i s I S

th at every player m ust he a go o d sp o rtsman and
x
i nherently a gentleman .

Tenn i s wa s re c ogn i zed b y t h e All i ed Gove rnments

a s one of the most benefici al sp orts du ri ng the
World W a r N ot only were t h e men i n s e rv i ce en
.

cou ra g e d t o play whene v er p o s s i ble but the Allie d

,

Go v ernments l en t o ffi c ial a i d to the v a ri o us se rv i c e

tournaments h eld in France follow i ng the s i gning o f
the Armisti c e The im portan c e o f tenn i s i n the
.

eyes o f the Ameri c an Government may be gleane d

from t h e fa c t t h at great numb ers of h a rd c ourt s
were ere c ted at the var i ous big cantonments and ,

organized play o ff ered to the s old i ers .

Many of t h e leading players wh o we r e i n t r a i n i n g

1 10 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE N N I S
i n Amer i ca at the time o f t h e N a ti onal C h am pion
ship wh ich wa s playe d solely to r a i se mo n ey for
,

the Red C r oss were granted le ave fro m t h e ir v a

,

ri ou s stat i ons to take p art i n t h e compet i t i o n .

A mong t h e mo s t notable we r e Wallace F Jo h nson .

,

Conra d B Doyle Ha rold Th roc kmo r ton S Ho w

.
, , .

a rd Vos h ell and my s el f all o f w h o m were grante d

, ,

le a v e o f two we eks o r a month C apta i n R N . . .

W i lli ams and Ensigns Will i a m M Johnston and .

Mau ri ce E M L oughli n and many ot h e r sta rs were

.
‘
, ,

o v ers eas O ffi ci al re c o gnition a t suc h a t i me puts

.

a stamp o f appro v al on t h e game whi c h g o es f a r

t o justi fy i ts world w i de p opula r i ty -
.

The tenni s wo rld los t many o f i ts b e st i n tha t

t itani c s truggle T h e p assing o f s o many fr om i ts
.

r anks left gaps t h at will be h a rd to fill .

Th e gallant de ath o f Ant h ony F W i ld i ng i n Flan .

der s cost t h e game one o f its greatest players and

fi nest men I h a d no t the pleasure of knowing
.

W i l ding p ersonally yet I like all the tenni s world , ,

felt a s en s e o f keen p er s onal los s at h i s heroic

p as s ing Wilding wa s a m an who s e sterling qual i
.

ti e s ga v e e v en mo r e to the game than h i s play and ,

t ennis i s b etter for hi s all to o brief c a reer .

Amer ic a lost some o f i ts finest manhood i n t h e

Wa r and tenni s paid its toll N o player wa s a m or e
,
.

likeable p ersonality nor p opular figure among t h e

rising s tars t h an Jo h n P la ff m an t h e young Ha rva rd ,

m an wh o gave hi s li fe in Flanders fields I c annot .

tou ch on the many heroe s who made e v erlasting

f am e i n a b igge r game than t h a t w hi ch they love d
 THE GR OWT H O F T HE M O D E R N GAME 111

so well Ti me i s too s h o r t I t i s s u ffi c i ent to kn ow

. .

that the tenni s playe r s o f t he world d r opped t h e i r

spo r t at the call o f War and playe d a s well w i t h
,

deat h a s ev e r t hey d i d on the tenn i s cou rt .

T h e Wa r i s ove r please God neve r to r etu rn and

, ,

t h e men a re ba ck f r om the i r ma rvellous ta s k The .

game o f Wa r i s d one th e game s of Peac e a r e again

,

be ing playe d Tenni s suff ered t h e world ove r from

.

war s blight but e v eryw h ere the gam e sprang up

’
,

i n r enewed li fe a t the clos e o f h o stilit ies The s e a .

s on of 1 9 1 9 was one o f r econstru c t i on a fte r t h e

“

devastat i on N e w figu r es we r e standing i n prom i

.

ne nce where old sta r s we r e a c cu stomed to b e s een .

T he que s tion on the lips o f all the tenn i s players

wa s wh eth er t h e stars of p ro Wa r days would r etu rn -

t o them form e r g r e atnes s .

T h e Champ i onsh i p o f the Wo rld fo r 1 9 1 9 a t

W i mbledon wa s anxiously awa i ted Who would .

stand forth as t he s hi n ing l i ght o f tha t meet i ng !

“
Gerald Patter s on the Australian Hurri c ane a s
,
” ,

t h e press ca l led him came throug h a n otable field

,

and su cc essful l y challenged N orman Brookes for the

title Gob ert and King s cote fell b e fore him and
.
,

the pres s hailed him as a playe r o f tran sc endent

powers .

T h e Austra li an team o f B rookes Patterson R , ,

.

V Th omas and Randolph L y ce tt j ourneyed home

.
,

to the Antipodes by way of Amer ic a to c ompete i n

the Ame ric an C h amp i onship M eanwhile R N . . .

Will i am s W , M Johnston and M auri c e E

. .
,
.

M L oughlin were demob i l i zed and we re again on

‘
,
 T HE GR OWTH O F T HE M OD E R N GAM E 1 13

Th e whole se as on saw ma rke d i ncrease i n tenn i s in

te re st th r oughout t h e ent ir e world .

I h ave gone into more deta i l c on c e rn i ng the s e a

s on o f 1 9 1 9 than I othe rw i se would to attempt to ,

s h o w the re vi val of th e tenni s game i n the publ i c

i nterest an d why i t i s s o
, .

The e v olu tion o f th e tenn i s gam e i s a natural

logical one T h er e i s a definite cycle o f e v ents that
.

can b e tra c e d Th e p i c ture I S c lea r est i n Ameri c a

.

a s th e step s o f a dvancements a r e mo r e definitely

de fined It i s fr om Am e ric a t h at I am going to
.

analyse the growt h o f modern tenn i s

“
.

The old s aying T h re e gene r at i ons f rom shirt

”
,

slee v es t o s h irt slee v es may well b e p arod i ed to

“ ,

Three de c ades from ground strokes to ground

strokes . T h e game o f tennis i s one great c ir cle
t h at ne v e r quite c lose s Prog r ess will not allo w a
.

c omplete re turn to the old s tyle Yet t h e style .

,

W i th out t h e metho d o f th i r ty yea r s ago i s com i ng ,

ba c k i n v ogu e It i s a poli s hed deco r ated ve r s i o n

.
,

of the old ty p e ga m e It i s expanded and developed

. .

History tel l s us that the ci v il iz at i on o f t h e old

G r eeks and Romans held many s o called m o de rn -

luxur i e s but not the met h ods o f a c quir i ng t h em

,

we ha v e t o day Just s o w i t h tenn i s ; f or the g r ound

.

stroke game wa s th e style o f t h e p ast j ust as i t w i ll ,

b e t h e s tyl e o f the future ; b u t the mode rn meth od

of mak i ng gr ound stroke s i s a ve ry d i ff e r ent th i ng
fr om t h e o ne used b y t he old t i me sta r s -
.

W e a r e on the bri nk o f th e u p h e aval T h e next .

fe w yea rs w i ll s how r e su lts in t h e tenn i s game t h a t

1 1 4: T H E AR T OF L AW N T E NN I S
we re n ot thought o f b e f o r e t h e Wa r Tenn i s i s .

b e c oming an o rgan iz ed sp ort w i t h ski lle d manage ,

me nt . M odern m et h ods w h e r e e ffic i ency i s t h e

,

wat chword i s the ne w i dea i n tenn i s development

, .

Tenni s i s on the v erge o f the greatest i n c rea se i n

i ts h i s tory N e v er b efore ha s tenn i s o f all typ es
.

b een s o un iv ersally played nor by su ch great multi ,

tudes Its drawing p ower i s p h enomenal h und r ed s

.
,

o f t h ousands o f peop l e W i tnessing m at c he s the w orld

o v er and played during the season o f 1 9 2 0

,
.

There are mor e players o f f ame now b e fore the

public than a t any p re v ious time s i nce tenn i s b ecame
e stabli s hed T h e standa rd o f play o f the ma s se s
.

and qual i ty o f gam e o f t h e sta rs h a v e rise n t rem end

ou sly i n the last de c a de N o less an author i ty t h an
.

N orman E B ro okes W h ose a c t iv e playing days

.
,

co v er a p er i o d o f twenty ye a r s told me during the ,

Amer i can Champ i on sh ip s last yea r a t Forest H i lls ,

t h a t i n hi s op i nio n the game i n Amer ic a h a d a d

v a nce d fully
“15
” in ten ye a rs He state d that h e .

b elie v e d t h e leading playe rs o f to day we r e the supe -

ri o r o f the Larned s Dohertys and P i m s o f t h e p ast

, , .

The most r e markable a dv ance ha s been along t h e

l i n e s o f junior play :t h e de v elopment o f a large
group o f boys ranging i n a g e from thi rt een to
,

eighteen W ho wi l l i n time repla c e th e Jo h nstons

, ,

Wi l l i am s and M L oughli ns o f to day

,
‘
- .

Amer ic an tenn i s h a s p assed t h rough a s e ri e s o f

r e v oluti onary stages that ha v e change d t h e complex
o f t h e game Englis h tennis has merely f ollo wed
.

i ts na tu ral developmen t u na ff ected by external i n,

 T HE GR O W TH O F T HE M OD E R N GAM E 1 15

flu ence s o r i nternal uphea v al so tha t th e gam e to

,

day i s a refine d pro du c t of the game o f twenty yea r s

ago Refin e d but not v italized The Wo rl d Wa r
. .

a l one p l a c ed its b l ight on the Engli s h game and ,

changed t h e e v en teno r o f it s way N atura lly th e .

War ha d on l y a de v a s tating e ff e c t N 0 go od s prang .

from i t .I t i s to the e v erla s ting c redit o f the

Fren c h and Engl i s h that during thos e horrib l e fou r
years o f pri v ation su ff ering a nd d e a th the s ports
, ,

o f the nati ons l i v ed .

The tru e typ e o f Englis h tenni s from whi c h ,

Ameri c an tenni s ha s sp rung wa s the b ase l ine d ri v

,
-

i ng game It i s s till the same

. Well e x e cuted.
-

dri ve s hi t lei s ure ly and gra c eful ly f rom the b a s e

,

line app ealed to th e t emp e rament of the Eng l ish

,

p eop l e They de v elope d thi s s tyle to a p erfe c tion

. .

we l l nigh in v in c i bl e to c op e with from the s ame p os i

-

t i on The Englis h ga v e t h e tennis world i ts tra di

.

t i ons it s Dohe r tys and its Sm i t h s

, .

Tenni s de v elopment j ust a s t enn i s psycholo gy i s

, ,

largely a matte r o f geographi c al d is tri buti on This .

i s so well re c ogniz ed now i n Amer ic a that the c oun

t ry i s divi ded i n v ari ous geograp h ic distri c ts by the
n a t i onal as s o ci at i on a nd s e cti onal asso ci a tions c arry
,

on the development o f thei r l ocal i ty under t h e sup er

v i s i on of the national b ody .

N a turally new countri e s w i t h di ff e r ent customs

, ,

would not de v e l o p along the same l ines a s England .

America Australi a and Sout h A fr ic a to ok t h e Eng

, ,

lish s tyle and began t h e ir tenn i s c aree r on t h e b ase

,

l i ne game Each o f t h ese ha s s i nce h a d a distinct

.
 T HE GR OWT H O F T HE M O D E R N GAM E 1 17

h im a fo llow i ng and fame bot h i n Amer i ca and ,

Engl a n d t h a t h av e seldom bee n equalle d in t h e

,
-

sporting world .

M L oughli n wa s the disciple Of speed Cycloni c

‘
.
,

dynamic energy emb od i ed i n a fi e ry headed boy,

-
,

t r ansfo rme d te n n i s to a game o f brawn as well a s

“
bra i ns Ame r ica went cra zy ove r Red M ac and
.
”
,

all th e ri sing y ou ng players sought to emulate hi s

game N 0 man ha s b rough t a more striking per
.

s onali ty o r more gene r ous sp o r ts mans h ip into ten

, ,

n i s th an M L ou ghlin T h e game owe s h im a gr eat

‘
.

per sonal debt ; but this v ery p ersonal cha rm that was
hi s made many playe r s st riv e to copy hi s styl e and
met ho ds w h i ch unfo r tun a tely we r e not f undam en
,
e

tally o f the b e st M L oughli n was a un i qu e tenn i s

.
‘

player H i s wh o le gam e w as b ui lt u p o n se rvi c e and

.

o v e rh ea d H i s g r ound s tr okes we r e very faulty

. .

By hi s pe r sonal popular i ty M L ou ghli n dwa rf e d t h e ‘

i mp o rtan c e of ground st r oke s and unduly e m pha ,

s iz ed t he i mpo rtance of serv i ce M L oughli n gave .

‘

u s sp eed dash and ve rv e i n o u r tenn i s I t r emained

, , .

f or R N Will i am s and W M Jo h nston to restore

. . . .

the b alan c e o f t h e m o de rn game b y sol vi ng the r i d dl e

’
o f t h e Cali fo rn i an s s e rvi ce B r o okes and W i lding .

led t h e way by fi rst meet i ng the ball a s it c ame off

the gr ound Yet neithe r o f these two w i zards o f t h e
.

c o u r t success fully handled M L ou ghli n s se rvice a s ‘ ’

d i d W i lliams and Jo h nston .

M L ou ghli n swe p t B r ookes and W i ld i ng i nto t h e

‘

d i sca r d on thos e memor able days in 1 9 1 4 when ,

t h e dyn am i c game o f t h e fie ry h eaded Cal i forn i a n -

1 18 T H E AR T O F L AW N T E N N I S
r os e to h e i gh ts i t h a d n eve r a t tained previou sly ,

and h e de f e ate d b ot h men i n t h e Da vi s Cup Les s .

than one month late r Williams play i ng a s o n ly ,

W i ll i ams c an ann ihi late d th at mighty del iv ery and

,

c ru s h ed M L ou ghlin i n t h e final o f the N at i onal

‘

C h ampionship It wa s t h e b eginn i ng o f the end

.

f o r M L ou ghli n f or once h i s atta ck wa s r epulsed

‘
,

h e h a d no sound de fen c e to fall b a ck on .

W i lliams and th en Johnston tri um ph e d by t h e ‘

w o nderful g r ound st r o k es t h a t h el d ba c k M L ough ‘

’
l i n s atta ck .

T o day we a re still i n t h e p er i od o f ser vi ce and

net atta ck w i t h t h e cy c le clos i ng towa rd the g r ound
,

stroke game Yet the c i r c le will ne v e r close fo r the

.
,

net game i s t h e final word in atta ck and on ly atta ck ,

w i ll suc c eed The e v olution means th a t t h e g r ound

.

st r oke i s aga i n establishe d as t h e only mode rn de

f en c e against the n et playe r .

M o dern tennis should b e an atta cki ng se rvi ce ,

not neces s a rily epo ch making as wa s M Loughli n s

-
,
‘ ’
,

b ut p owerfully offens iv e wit h t h e ma i n p ort i on o f ,

t h e play from the base l i ne i n sp arring fo r open i ngs-

t o a d v an c e to the net O n c e the O p en i ng i s ma de

.

th e a d v ance sh ould follow qui c kly and the point ,

ended by a de c is iv e kill That i s the mode rn Am er i .

can game I t i s t h e game o f Australi a a s typi fied by

.

Patterson sch ooled under the B rooke s tutelage It .

i s the game o f France played by Gobert L au rentz , , ,

and B rugnon It h a s sprea d to Sout h Af ric a and

.
,

i s u sed by W i nslow N o rt on and Raymond Japan

, , .

s ee s i ts poss i b i l i t i es and Kum ag a e and Shi m i dz

, u are
 T HE GR O W TH O F T HE M O D E R N GAME 1 19

e v en now lea rning the ne t a tta ck to c ombi ne wi t h

t h e base line game England alone r ema i ns obstina te
-
.

i n h e r loyalty to h er old standby and e v en t h e r e

,

s i gns o f t he j oint a ttack a r e fo u n d i n t h e game of

Kingsc o te .

Tenn i s h a s sp r ea d s o r ap i dly t h at t h e o ld i dea of

class and c lass game ha s p assed away with s o many
othe r an ci ent yet snobbish t r a d i t i ons Tenn i s i s
, , .

uni v ersal ly p l ayed The nee d o f p r op e r de v elop

;

ment o f the game b e c am e so great in America t h a t

t h e Ame ri can Lawn Tenn i s Ass oci at i on o rgan iz ed ,

i n 1 9 1 7 a system o f de v elop ing the b oys unde r

,

e i gh teen years of age all ove r th e Un i te d States .

Th e fundam ental i dea i n th e system wh i ch h a d ,

i ts ori gi n i n t h e abl e b rain o f Jul i an S My ri ck

'

.
,

P r es i dent o f the Un i te d S ta tes Lawn Tenn i s Ass o

ci ati on, wa s to arous e and su sta i n interest i n the
v ar i ous s e c t i ons by dealing wi th local cond i t i ons .

Thi s wa s su cc e ss fully done t h rough a system o f l oc al

open tournament s t h at qualifi e d b oys to a s e ctional
,

champ i on s hip These s e ctional ch amp i onships in

.

tu rn qualified t h e w i nners fo r t h e N ational Jun i o r

C h ampion s hip whi ch i s h eld annually i n conjunct i on
,

w i th the men s e v ent at Forest Hills

’
.

T h e s u c cess o f the system has b een stupendous .

T h e growth o f tenni s in c ertain localiti es h a s be en

phenomenal In P h iladelphi a alone o v er 5 00 b oys
.

c ompete i n s anct i oned play annually w hi le the city ,

r ank i ng for 1 9 1 9 contained the names o f 8 8 bo ys

under eigh teen and 3 0 unde r fi fteen all o f w h o m
, ,

h ad compete d in a t leas t t h ree sanct i oned even t s .

 T HE GR OWT H OF T HE M O D E R N GAM E 12 1

s ome r emarkable youn g pla y ers I t i s la rgely du e .

to the junio r sy s tem tha t V i ncent R i c h ards h as

b ecome the m ar v ellous playe r that h e i s at such an ,

ea rly age Se c ond only t o R i c h a r ds and but a shade

.
,

b ehind are Ha r old Taylo r and C ecil Donaldson

, ,

who h a v e just pass ed out o f the juni or age l i mit .

C h arles Wood t h e Indoo r B oys C h amp i on i s a

, ,

r emarkable youngste r .

I n N ew Engl and p art i cula rly i n P r o vi dence

, -
,

t h roug h t h e e ff orts of J D E Jone s j u ni or tennis. . .

,

i s r apidly a ssum i ng an i mpo r ta nt place and m any ,

young stars who will b e h ea r d o f i n the fut u re are

c om i ng to th e fo r e : By a strang e c oin c idence the
l i st i s h eade d by the t wo sons o f Jones T h ey .

seem to haVe i nhe ri te d t h e ir f athe r s ab i l i ty A rnold ’

.

W Jones th e N at i onal B oy C h amp i on i s a playe r

.
, ,

o f ma rked abi l i ty wit h a fine all around game

,
-
.

Following closely on h i s h eels c o me J D E Jones . . .

,

J r
.
,and Wm W . Ingraham . From the Sout h one .

finds John E Howa rd Around C h i c ago a gro up

. .

o f men led by Samuel Hardy capta i n o f the 1 9 2 0

, ,

Dav i s Cup te am and assisted by R T Van A r sdale

, . .
,

bu i lt up a ma gnifi c ent system o f t o urnaments and

coa ch ing Ha rdy left Ch ic ago and c ame to N ew
.

Yo r k in 1 9 1 9 ; but the work wh ich he so ably organ

iz e d w i ll c ont i nu e under the supe r v i s i on o f the West

e rn Ass oci ation The lea d i n g jun i o r s develop ed

.

in Chi c ago we r e Lu ci an W i ll i ams a n d t h e We b e r

bro t h e rs Jam es and Je rry
, .

F r om t h e Pacifi c C oast the p i o ne r in j u n ior de

,
e

v elopm e nt wonderful boys a r e c ontinu ally c o min g

,
12 2 T H E ART O F LAW N TE NN I S
’
E ast . A b oy s t enn i s game m a ture s ea rly i n C al i
f orni a M L oughli n wa s a bo ut eighteen w h en h e
‘
.

fir s t came E ast ; Jo h nston less t h an twenty o ne w h e n -

h e won t h e na t i onal t i tle th e fi r st t i me ; M ervin

G ri ffi n and Morgan Fottrell a r e i n 1 9 2 0 th e le a d
i ng youngste r s i n C al i fo rn i a .

The su cc ess o f t h e C ali f o rni ans i s due la rgely t o

the eff orts o f D r Sumne r Ha r dy br ot h e r o f Samuel
.
,

Ha r dy and one o f t h e most r ema rkable fi gur es i n

,

t h e tenni s wo rld D r Ha rdy p r a ctically ca r r i es

. .

the C al i forn i a Asso ci at io n s i ngle handed H e i s a .

bi g facto r i n Amer i can tenn i s success .

F r om up i n Washington State a fine y ou ng ,

p laye r M a r s h all Allen h a s c o me to t h e fo r e

, , .

C h arle s S Ga rland th e D av i s Cup sta r i s a

.
, , ,
,

forme r Jun ior C h amp i on o f Ame ri ca and a p r oduct ,

of t h e juni o r system i n P i tt s burg wh i ch i s s o ably ,

h andled by hi s fat h er Charle s Ga rland O th e r , .

y o ung sta rs develop i ng i nclude Ge or ge M o r el an d

and Leonard Reed .

M ost o f the fo rego i ng i s irr elevant I suppose , b ut ,

I ha v e gone i nt o detail b ecaus e I want to p rove that

Ame ri ca has gone i nto the matte r o f j unior develop
m ents ca r e fully systemat i cally and ha s p r o duced
, , ,

r esults .

It ha s b een p r ove d conclus i vely t h a t i t i s i n the

sch o ols that th e most f avourable p r ogress could be
made O nce tennis i s pla c ed on the b asis o f i m
.

p ortance i t dese r ves the b oys will take it up At ,

.

p resent t h ere i s a tendency to d i scount tenn i s and

golf i n s chool T hi s i s a b i g mistake a s t h ese two
.
,
 T HE GR O W TH OF T HE M OD E R N GM I E 12 3

games a re the only one s that a man can play r eg u

l a rly a fte r h e leaves college and ente r s into bus i
ness The s chool c an keep a sport al i ve I t i s
.
_
.

school s t h at kep t c ri cket a l i v e in E ngland and lack ,

o f s cho l asti c s uppo rt that kille d it in Ameri c a Th e .

futur e o f tenni s in England France Aust r alia , , ,

Jap an et c re s ts i n th e hands o f the b oys I f t h e

, .
,
.

game i s to grow tenni s mu s t be en c ou r age d among

,

t h e youngsters and played in the s choo l s .

England i s fa c ed with a s eriou s p roblem E ton .

and Harrow the two big school s are firm s et

, ,

aga i n s t tenni s T h e othe r in s titutions na turally fol

.

low i n the lea d o f the s e famous s chool s Th e .

younger generation i s grow i ng up wit h little or no

k nd wle dg e o f tenni s O ne thing that for c ibly b ore
‘

i n on my mind during my tr i p in 1 9 2 0 wa s the com

, ,

p l e t e ab s en c e o f boy s o f a l l age s at the v arious t o u r .

na m ents . In Ameri c a young s ters f r om ten yea rs o f

age up swa rm a l l o v er the grounds a t big tenn i s
e v ent s I saw v ery few o f eithe r at ! ueen s Club
.
’
,

Wimbledon E astbourne o r Edgbaston w h e r e I

, ,

played The boys do not understand tenni s i n Eng

.

land and na tural ly do not c a re to play it

, .

Th e Engli s h Lawn Tenn i s Asso ci at i on i s ve ry

desi r ous o f building u p tennis in the sc hools ; but
s o far has not yet s u cc eeded in bre aking down the
o l d p rejudi c e It i s rea lly a quest i on of li fe o r death
.

wit h English tennis at th i s time M aj o r A R F . . . .

King sc ote the yo ungest o f the lea ding playe rs in

,

England i s older than any man i n the Amer i can

,

F irs t ten w i th the s i ngle ex c ept i on o f Walte r T

, .
AN E CH O E W OF TH AR

Jul i n S M y ri k pres i d en t U S L T
a c A ; N W N l r u n ner
l es, -
up ; Wa l
C m p D i re t r of th l et i E F T orrey i e re s i d n t U S L
. , . . . . . . .

a c o a cs ; ex V c
-
P e T A
R L M u rr y W nne r the P tr i ot C h i on ip 19 1 7
.
, .
, . . . . .

. . a ,
i at a 1o am p sh , .

DA V S
I C UP DO U B L E S T EAM ,19 13
M . E . M cL ou g h h n and H . H .
 T HE GR O W TH O F THE M O D E R N GAME 12 5

p ortant me et i ng s Th e co u rts r e q ui r e f a r less care

.

i n upkeep than gra ss .

Wh a t ha s b een the a c tu al tenden cy i n th e la s t

deca de ! In Am er i ca t h e hard c ourt s e r e cted h a v e
b een approximately nine to one grass Ame ri c a
'
.

i s rapi dl y b e com e a h ard court c ount ry France is

-
.

entirely on a ha r d c ourt b asis ; there a re no gras s

-

c ourts at all Pl ay i n Sout h Afr i c a is entirely on

.

h a rd cou r ts Australi a and t h e B ri t i s h I s les ha v e

.

su cc e s sfu l ly r epelle d t h e ha r d c ourt invasion thus

-

far although du ring t h e p ast two years t h e numb er

,

o f h a rd courts put up i n England h a s ex c eeded

gr ass .

T h e en tout ca s c ou rt of p ecul i a r r e d surf a ce i s

- —

th e most popula r co mp osit i on in England and t h e

C ont i nent .

The r e seems l i ttle doubt but t h a t t h e h a rd c ou r t

i s the c oming su r face i n t h e next deca de G r ass w i ll.

c ontinue to b e u s ed for the m ost imp ortant events ,

but the g r eat maj ority o f the tenni s played ex ,

clu s i v e o f the ch ampionsh i ps w i ll b e on hard cou rts

, .

The result on t h e game will b e one o f increasing

the v alue o f the ground stroke and p art i ally cu tting
down the net atta ck since the surface o f a ha r d cou rt
,

i s slippery and tends to make i t h ard to reac h th e

net to volley Thu s the natu r al atta c k w i ll b ecom e
.

a dr i ve and not a v olley Hard c ourt play speeds

.
-

up the g rou nd strokes and make s the game m o r e

,

orthodo x .

The i n stallat i on o f h ard courts un iv e r s ally s ho uld

sprea d tennis rapidly s i n c e i t will a ff o r d m or e c h anc e
,
 T HE GR OW TH OF T HE M OD E R N GAM E 12 7

p r i v ately owned on Long I s land N ew York C ity

, .

us e s the big armouri es for indoo r play ; but the su r

fa c e and l ight in these are not fit for re al tenni s .

The Bro oklyn Height s C asino has the only a dequate

c ourt in the Metropolitan distri c t .

Phi l ade lphi a and Chi c ago c i ties o f enormous

,

popu l ation s and great tenn i s intere st h a v e no c ou rts ,

or fa c ilitie s for indo or play Th i s c ondition mu s t b e

.

rectified in Ameri c a i f we wis h to keep our s up rem

a cy in the tenni s world The Fren c h p l ayer s are re
.

ma rkable on wood Gob ert i s said to b e the s up e

.

ri o r o f any player in the world when playing under ,

goo d condit i ons indoors The game o f tenni s i s

.

wo r t hy o f h a v ing a l l typ es o f play within re a c h of its

de v otees Why sh ould a playe r drop his s po r t in
‘

O ct obe r because the weat h e r i s c old ! Indo o r p l ay

du r ing t h e w i nte r me ans an i mp r o v ement from sea
s on t o season . Lack of i t i s p r acti cally stagnation
o r retrogres s ion .

The future will se e a growth o f h ard cou r t play -

the wo rld o v er Gra ss mu s t fight to hold i ts p o s i

.
!

ti on Ind o o r p lay will come mo r e and mo r e int o

.

v ogue.
 CHAPTE R X I

T HE PRO BABLE FU TU RE O F T H E GAM E

HAT w i ll b e t h e out c ome o f t h e wo rld w i de -

b oom i n tenni s ! W i ll the game c h a n g e

mate ri ally i n t h e c oming yea r s ! Time alone c an , ,

answe r ; but with that rashness t h at s e iz es one wh en

the oppo r tun i ty to prophesy a rr iv e s and no one i s
“ ”
a t hand to cry Ho l d hold I dare to subm i t my
, ,

V i ew s on the c oming yea rs in i nte rnational tenn i s .

I do not look t o s e e a mater i al change i n t h e play

i ng rules A re vi val o f the fo otfault fiend who de
.
,

s ire s to handi c ap the ser v er i s i nte rna ti onal i n ch a r

,
“,
,

a cter and like t h e po or always w i th us ” T he .

International Fe derat i on has pra c ti c ally a dopted a

fo otfault rule for 1 9 2 1 that prohibit s the se rv e r
li fting one foot unless repla c ed be h ind t h e b ase l i ne - .

It i s b elie v e d this w i ll do away with th e terr i fic

se rv i c e s T h e only eff e ct I c an se e from i t i s to mo v e
.

the se rv er ba ck a few i n c hes o r po s sibly a f oot

, ,

while he de l i v er s t h e same s er v i c e and follo ws i n

with a little more sp eed o f fo ot It will no t ch ange
.

the game a t al l Sir O l iv er Lodge the eminent

.
,

sc ient i st ha s j oined the a dv o c ates o f but one s er vic e

,

p er point This seems s o radi c al and in all s o u s e

.

less s i n c e i t entire ly k ills serv i ce as othe r tha n a

,
T HE P R O BABL E FUTURE OF T HE GA M E 12 9

mere fo rmal i ty and put s i t b ack wh e r e i t w as

,

t we nty fiv e ye a rs a go
-
t h at I d o ub t i f eve n t h e
,
’
we i ght o f S ir O liver Lo dge s e m i nent op i n i on can
p ut it o ver To allow one s e rv i ce i s to h and th e
.

’
game mo r e ful ly into the rece i ve r s h ands t h an i t now
’
r est s i n the ser v er s .

T h e playing rul e s a r e a deq u ate i n eve ry way and ,

t h e p erfect a c co r d wit h whi ch r ep r esentat i ves o f t h e

various countr i es meet and play h appily success , ,

fully and what i s more i mp o r tant annually i s su ffi

, , ,

c i ent endorsement o f the fundamental p ri nciples .

Th e f ew sligh t va ri a t i ons o f t h e di ff ere n t co u ntr i e s

,

a r e eas i ly learned and wo r k n o h a r ds hi ps on v i s i t i ng

players W h y ch ang e a known s u ccess ful qu ant i ty
.

f o r an unknown ! It seldom p ays .

T h e s tyle o f play i s n o w appro ach ing a typ e whi c h

I b el i e v e w i ll prove to h ave a long l i fe T o day we .

a r e b eg i nn ing to combi ne the va ri ous styles i n o ne

m an . Th e champi on o f t h e fut ur e w i ll necessa ri ly
need mo r e equipment t h an t h e c h amp i on o f to day -
.

T h e p resent sh ows u s th e f or e h and d ri v i ng o f John

ston t h e s e rvi ce o f Mu r r ay t h e volleyi ng o f R i c h
, ,

a r ds t h e chop of Wallace F Jo h nson th e smas h o f

, .
,

Patterson the h al f volley o f W i ll i ams and t h e b ack

, ,

hand o f Pell T h e futu r e w ill find the gr eatest

.

players comb i n i ng muc h o f t h ese games I t ca n b e .

don e if t h e playe r w i ll stu dy I b el i eve t h a t eve ry

.

lea d i ng player i n t h e w orld in 1 9 5 0 w i ll h ave a d ri ve

and a chop for e and b ackh and fr om t h e b as e l i ne
,
- .

H e w i ll use a t leas t tw o s tyles o f s e rv i ce s in c e one ,

wi ll not s uffice aga in s t the s trok e o f th at p eri o d H e .

T HE P R OB AB L E FU T UR E OF T HE GAME 13 1

conse rv at i sm i n s po rt St i ll h e r gam e will ch ange

. .

Al r ea dy a sl i gh t mod i fi c ation i s at work T h e next .

d e c ade w i ll se e a big ch ange c om i ng ove r t h e style

o f Engl i sh tenn i s The wonde rful s p o r ting a bi l i t i e s
.

o f t h e Englis hm an hi s ab i l i ty to p ro du ce h i s b est
,

wh en seemingly d o wn and o ut mean th at no matte r ,

h ow low the ebb to w hi c h tennis m i g ht f all the i n ,

h e r ent ab i l i t i es of t h e Engl i sh a t h let e w o uld always

bri ng it up I sound p ess i m i st i c ab o u t th e i m m e di
.

ate futu r e I am not pro v i de d Engl i s h b oy ho o d is

.
,

i ntereste d in t h e game .

Japan i s t h e co u nt ry o f t h e futur e Th e r e i s no .

more remarka b le race o f s tudents on t he gl ob e t h an

t h e Japanese Th ey l i ke tenn i s and a re c o m i ng
.
,

w i t h i n c reas i ng numb e rs to o ur tou rnaments T h e y .

p ro v e t h emsel v e s ste r l i ng sportsm e n and rema rkable

playe r s I lo ok to s e e Japa n a p owe r i n ten ni s
.

in t h e n ext twen ty fiv e yea r s -

.

Fran c e w i th h er b r i lliant tempe r am en tal unstable

,

p eople wi ll always p r o vi de i nteresting players and

,

c harming opponents I do not look to s e e Fran c e .

mate r i ally c hange h e r p r esent p os i t i on which is—

one o f extreme honou r o f great fr i end li ne s s and , ,

keen compet i t i on He r game w i ll not greatly r i se

.
,

nor w i ll she l o s e i n any way t h e p r e s tige tha t i s

h ers .

It will b e many long years b e f or e t h e playe r s o f

t ho se enemy count r ies who plunged t h e world i nt o ,

t h e horrib le b apt i sm of bl oo d f r o m w hi c h we ha v e
only just eme r ged w i ll eve r b e met by t h e player s
,

o f the Alli es Pe r sonally I tru s t I may no t see t h e ir

.
,
132 T HE AR T OF LAWN T E NN I S
re entry into the game N ot from the qu est i on o f
-
.

the individuals but from the fee l ing whi c h will not
,

down There is no ne e d to de a l at this time with

.

t h e future o f Germany and Austri a .

Australa sia and South Afri c a the gre a t colo ,

ni es o f the Br i t i sh Emp ire should b e on the e dge o f

,

a gre at tenn i s wave I look to s e e gre at pl ayers

.

ri se i n Australasi a to refill t h e gaps le ft by the p ass

i ng o f Wild i ng and th e re ti rement o f B ro okes It .

t ake s g r e at players t o fill su c h gaps ; but gre a t pl ay

ers are b re d from the t ra dit i ons o f the forme r m a s
te r s .

The e a rly s e ason o f 1 9 2 1 s aw a si gnifi c ant and

to my way o f looking a t i t wi se move on the p art o f ,

N ew Ze al and when the N ew Ze aland tennis a ssoci

at i on w i thdrew from the Australasi an tennis assoc i
ati on and de c ided to comp ete fo r the D avi s C up i n
fu tu re ye ars as a sep a r ate nati on .

N o one c an deny the gre at h elp Austral i a h as

been to N ew Ze aland i n tenni s development b ut ,

the time h a s c ome now fo r N ew Ze aland to stand

!

on h e r own Si nc e the regre ttab l e death o f An

.

th ony F W i ldi ng i n w h ose memo ry N ew Ze aland

.
,

h a s a tenn i s asset and standard that will always

h old a pl ace i n world sp ort the N ew Ze aland ten ,

n i s players have been unable to p roduce a playe r

o f skil l enough to make the D a v i s Cup te am o f

Austra l asi a It ha s fa ll en to Austral i a wi th N or
.

m an E B ro oke s to whose unfai l ing supp ort and

.
,

interest Austra l asi an tennis owe s i ts progress since

the war G L Patterson W H Ande rson R L
, . .
, . .
, . .
T HE P R O BABLE F UTUR E O F T HE GAME 133

H e at h and Pat O H ara Wood to up h old t h e tradi

’
,

t i ons of the game .

The D avis Cup cn alleng e round o f 1 9 2 1 was

s tage d i n N ew Ze aland in a c c ord w i th the agre e
m ent between Australi a and N ew Ze aland and als o
i n memory o f A F W i lding
. . T h e t r emendous i n
.

t e re s t i n the p lay throughout t h e ent ir e country

s h o we d the time was rip e fo r a drast i c step forw a r d

i f the step wa s ever to b e taken So afte r ca r e ful

.

consi derati on the spli t o f Australi a and N ew Ze a

l and h a s taken pl a c e Wh at will th i s me an to N ew
Z
.

e al and ! F i rst it me an s t h at i t w i ll b e ye ars b e f o r e

a no th e r D avi s Cup match will b e stage d on he r

s hores for i t takes time and plen ty o f i t to produce

,

a w i nning team but at the time the fa c t i s b orne

, ,

i n on the tenni s pl aying f a c tion in N ew Ze aland

t ha t a s soon a s they desire to c hallenge the i r play ,

e rs will ga i n the opp or tun i ty of Inte rnati onal com

p etiti on.

E xper i ence mature s pl ayers fa ster than anything

else and I am sure that the move tha t will p l a c e a
te am o f N ew Zealand players in the fi eld in the
D a vi s Cup wi l l b e the fi rst and biggest step forward
to re al world p ower i n tennis N ew Ze a l and pro
.

d u ce d one Wilding why should no t anothe r ap

,

p e ar !
I wa s tremendously i mpresse d b y the i nterest e x
i s ti ng among the N ew Zealand boys in tennis .I
m e t a gre at numbe r during my few weeks in Auck
l and and seldom have s een su c h a m agnifi c ent phys i
cal type c oupled w i th mental keenness These boys .
,
T HE P R O BABLE F UT UR E O F T HE GAME 18 5

Engl and and Fran c e c lo s e on the i r heels to j u mp ,

in the l e a d at the first fa l te ring .

It i s only a m atter of time befo re the l ast di ff e r

e nce s between the Internat i onal Federation and the

Ameri c a As s o c i ation are p at c he d up The funda .

m ental de s ire s o f e a c h to spread the growth o f

,

tenni s are the s ame So oner or late r the b ar wi ll

,
.

fa ll and a tru ly International Fede ration world

, ,

wide i n s c ope will fo ll ow

, .

I look to s e e the D a v i s Cup m at c hes ga i n i n

i mp ortan c e and publi c intere st a s e a c h ye ar goe s
by The growth o f the pub l i c intere s t in the gam e
.

i s se en a t e v ery h and Wimbledon mu s t se ek new

.

quarters The new grounds o f the A ll Engl and

.

Club wi l l p ro v ide a cc ommodation f o r to

wi tne s s the c hampionships Thi s enormous stadium .

i s th e resu l t o f pub l i c p ressure owing to the c rowds ,

that c ou l d not b e a cc ommo dated a t the o l d ground s .

Westside Club Forest Hil l s where the Ame ri c an

, ,

C ha mpion s hip wa s held is planning a cc ommodation

,

for provide d that they are awa rde d the

c hampi on s hip for a long term o f ye ar s D a v i s Cup .

m at c he s a re n o w drawing from to
where the a cc ommo dation i s a v ai l ab l e What wi l l .

the fu ture ho l d !
I be l ie v e th at 1 9 5 0 wi l l find the game o f tenni s
on a plane undre ame d o f to day Tennis is s ti l l in -
.

i ts infan cy M ay I ha v e the pleasure to help in

.

ro cking the c radl e .

My ta s k i s c ompleted I have delved into the

“
.

p ast ana ly s e d the p re s ent and prophes i e d the f u

, ,
13 6 T H E AR T OF LAW N T E NN I S
ture w i t h a comple t e dis r ega rd o f c onvent i ons and
,

traditi ons .

The old order c h ange th and I trust tha t my bo ok ,

m ay ai d slightl y i n turning the tenni s thought in

the d i re c ti on o f organi z e d de v elopments The day .

o f self i s p ast The day o f c o op eration i s dawning

. .

I t i s s een in the j un i o r tennis the muni c ip al tennis , ,

and the spir i t o f i nternati onal b rothe rho o d in the

game .

Assistan c e i s ne c essary to s u cc ess in any venture .

My b ook has been ma de p o ss ibl e only by the ai d

a ff o rded me by se veral o f my c omp anion s on the
D a v i s Cup te am t ri p The task o f arranging the .

m ateri al in c oherent orde r and prop er style i s one

of the most imp ortant p oint s I owe a debt o f .

gratitude to Mrs S amuel Hardy wi fe o f o ur cap

.
,

ta i n for her never failing inte re st and keen j udg

,
-

ment i n the m atter o f style .

M r Hardy with hi s gre at knowle dge o f the game

.
,

o f tennis a s playe r o ffi c i al and organ i zer free ly

, , , ,

gave o f hi s store of e xperi en c e and to him I owe ,

mu c h that i s interesting in the tactics o f the game .

R N Wi l li ams my te am m ate was always a

. .
,
-
,

willing c r i ti c and generous li s tener and hi s playing ,

abi l itie s and de c ided i de as on the game gave mu c h

m ateri al th at found i ts way int o these p ages I .

wi s h to e xp re ss my grati tu de for hi s ab l e assi s tan c e .

Charles S Garl and m y doub l e s p artne r and c lose

‘

.
,

fri end ga v e ne v er waver i ng faith and a wi lling e ar

,
-

to my ra vings over strokes ta c ti c s and the o ri es , , ,

T HE P R O BAB L E F UTUR E O F T HE GAM E 13 7

while hi s orthodo x v iews on tenni s acted a s a stop

on my rathe r B o l she v i k i de a s .

To all thes e p eop l e I expre s s m y thanks fo r their

p art in any su cc es s I may attain with thi s b ook I .

h ave a fi rm beli e f in the future o f tennis I re com .

mend i t to a l l It gi v e s firm friends a he althy b ody

.
, ,

a keen mind and a c le an spo rt I t c a ll s forth the

, .

best that i s in you and rep ays you in i ts own coin

, .

THE 1 92 1 SEAS O N
The season o f 1 9 2 1 wa s th e most r emar k able
ye ar in tenni s hi story throughout the who l e world .

M o r e tennis wa s played and mo r e p eople vi ewed i t

th an eve r b e fore .

The cl i ma x o f famous D a vi s Cup comp et i tion

wa s re a c he d when Engl and Fran c e J ap an A u s , , ,

t rali a the Phi l ippines D enma rk B elgium Argen

, , , ,

tine Sp ain Indi a C ana da and Cz

, , , e ch o Slo v aki a c hal -

lenge d for the right to pl ay Ameri c a the holding ,

nation Thi s wonderful representation naturally

.

produ c e d not on ly m any new stars but also thou ,

s ands o f new enthusi asts in the va ri ou s countri e s

where the mat ches were pl ayed .

The e arly rounds s aw s everal br i lli ant m atc h es

and natu rally some defaults Argentine and the .

Phi l ippines cou l d not put a te am in the field at the

la s t moment B elgium a fter de feating Cz
.
, e ch o Sl o -

v aki a wa s unable to finan c e her te am to Am eri c a

,

to mee t the winne r o f Engl and and Austral asi a .

Engl and s c ore d a fine vi c tory over Sp ain when

Rando l ph L y ce tt F Gordon Lowe and M ax E
, . .
T HE P R O B AB LE F UT UR E OF T H E GAME 13 9

ti onal star wa s a l s o out o f the game having re

, ,

tired from a c tive c ompe titi on l ast ye ar The Eng .

l i s h te am wa s made up of Gordon Lowe M ax ,

W oosnam J C Gi l bert and O E H Turnbu ll

, . . . . . .

They were a cc omp anied by tha t de l ightfu l autho r

a nd c ri ti c A Wa ll i s M eyers
. .

The Engl i s h met the Australi an s at Pitt s burgh

i n July . The l atter won three mat c he s to two with
J . O
. Ander s on the ou t s,
t a n d i n g fi gu re of a we l l
p l ay e d me eting The . ta ll Austra l i an defeate d b oth
Lowe and Woosnam in th e singl e s and a ide d in the
d oubles vi c tory thus s c o ring all the p o i nts fo r his
,

te am .

Meanwhi l e the Indi an te am ha d arri v ed in Amer

i ca and pr o c eede d to Chi c ago where they met the
,

J ap anes e te am o f Kum a g ae and Shi m i d z u The .

b attl e o f the O ri ent resu l ted in a vi ctory for the

1
\ li pp on e s e
.

The final round found Austra l i a p l aying J ap an in

the fam ou s old tenni s c enter o f N ewp ort R I , . .
,

where the N a tiona l Singl e s s o long he l d s way It .

w a s a bitter stru ggl e with the Au s tra l i an s within

,

two l i tt l e p oint s of V i c tory in two mat c h e s they

afterward s l o s t S hi m i d z . u and Ku m a g a e took a l l

the single s but Kum a g a e wa s two se t s down to

,

Hawke s and one to two down to Ander s on Thus .

Japan in it s fir s t year in D av is Cup c omp etition

e arned the right to c ha ll enge Ameri c a fo r the tre as
u re d trophy .

It wa s a mar v e l lous meeti ng o f these two te ams .

Ov er p eop l e wat c hed the players in thre e

1 40 T H E AR T O F LAW N T E N N I S
days . Although Amer i ca won all fiv e ma t c h es ,

Sh i m i d z
u c ame w i th i n two po i nts o f de fe ating me i n

straight s ets and c arr i ed Johnst o n to a bitter four

s e t s truggl e
.

Th e Cup i s s afe fo r anothe r ye ar but the new

blo o d infuse d into the c omp e ti tion by su ch men a s
Shi m i d z,u A l onzo Woosnam , Anderson and ,

Hawke s shows cl e arly tha t Ameri c a must keep

working o r we wil l f a l l from our pre sent p ositi on .

It i s a he a l thy thing for the game that this i s s o .

I hop e we wi ll see many more new player s o f equa l

p r omise nex t ye ar .

The United State s Lawn Tennis Asso c i ati on fol ,

lowing i ts p oli cy o f co oper ation with the Interna

-

ti on Fede rati on de c ide d to send a te am to Fran c e

,

and Engl and for the ch ampi onships The person .

nel o f the te am wa s M rs Franklin I M allory Mis s

. .
,

Edith Sigourney Arnol d W Jones ( boy c hampi on

, .

o f Ameri c a ,
and myself J D E Jones . . . .
,

father of Arno l d hims e l f a tenni s p l aye r of r en own

, ,

a cc omp anie d the te am a s did M r M allory

, . .

The invading tenni s player s sai l e d M ay 1 2 th on

the M a ure mni a to Cherb ourg and from there j our
n ey e d to Paris , where they engaged i n the Ha rd
Court Champi onship of the world .

The first week o f the s tay wa s de v ote d to pra c ti c e

on the c ourts at the S tad F ra ncai s St C l oud where , .
,

the c hampion s hip wa s he l d The team we re the .

gu e s ts o f the Ra c ing Club at a most de l ightfu l

l un c heon and s hort ly afterward d i ned a s the guests
o f the Tenni s C l ub o f Paris .
W AL LAC E F J OH N S T O N S H OW AR D V O S H E LL
r
.
.

Am e i ca A m e ri c a

I C H I YA K U M A GA E
WATS O N M WA SH BUR N
.

J apa n A m e ri ca

PL A TE ! V
T HE P R O BABL E FU T UR E O F T HE GAM E 1 45 1

The fina l s o f the c hampi on s hip o f France we r e

held during our stay an d gre atl y to our surprise , ,

A H Gobert the d e fending title ho l der fell a

. .
, ,

v i c tim to h i s o l d enemy hea t and went down to de , ,

fe at b e f ore S am az i e uh l The Hard Court cham .

m

p i o n s h i p s o f the wor l d produ c e d a series o f th e

most sens at i ona l upsets i n the history of the game ,

a series I might add that di d mu c h to a l low me

, ,

to win the e v ent Gobert lost to N i c ho l as Mi s hu in

.

the fir s t round Alonzo a fte r defe ating Sa m a

.
,

z i e uhl went down to de fe at a t h ands o f L au re ntz

, ,

who in turn co ll ap se d to Tegner Fate pursued the .

winners fo r Tegner wa s eliminated by Washer

, ,

wh o c ame through to the final against me Eithe r .

Alo nzo or L a u re ntzshould have been finalists i f the

une xpe c te d had no t o ccurred and either would ,

ha v e b een a hard propo sition for me p arti c ularly in

my c ondition I ha d been taken il l on my arri v a l in
.

Paris and wa s sti ll far from well However Fortune .

,

s mi l ed on me and I s u cc e ede d in de fe ating Washer

6 3, 6 3, 6 3
— — —
.

Meanwhi l e the long awaited meeting b etwe en

M ll e Lenglen and M rs M allory wa s at h and
. . .

Mr s M a ll o ry had c ome through one side o f the

.

tour n ament after a bi tter b attle with Mme B i llou tt .

( M l le B ro ca.d i e s ) in the sem i final .

M ll e Lengl en h ad pro c eeded in her usual lei

.

s ure ly fashi on t o the fina l s w i th the los s o f but two

games .

What a me eting these two gre a t players M rs , .

M a ll ory and Mlle Lenglen h ad ! Every s eat in.

,
“
1 42 T H E AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S
the stands s old and e v ery in ch o f standing r oom
c rowded ! I t was a m arve l lous match b ot h women ,

playing gre at tennis M l le Lenglen ha d consi s

. .

t e ntly b etter dep th and more p atien c e S h e out .

m a nce uv re d the Amer i can c hampion and won 6 2 —

,

6 3— . The ma t c h was far c loser than this one sided -

s core sound s Every ra ll y wa s long drawn out and

.

b i tterly c ontested but the French girl ha d a slight

,

s up eriority th at brought her a well deser v e d v ic tory .

A H Gobert and W L au rentzretained their

. . .

d oubles tit l e a fter one o f the most terrifi c stru ggl e s

o f their c areers in the semi fin al round a ga i n s t Ar -

nold Jones and me The b oy and I h a d p re V i ou sly

.

put out S am az i euhl and his p artner in thre e sets and

j u s t nosed out the Sp ani s h D a v is Cup te am M anuel
“
,

Alonz o and C ount de Gomar .

The s emi fina l between Gob ert a nd L au re ntzand

t h e Ameri c ans brought out a c ap a c ity audie n c e th at
l itera lly j ump ed to i ts fee t and c hee red during the
s p ark l ing ra ll i es o f the fi v e bitter l y c onte sting sets .

Just as Gobert drove his te rrifi c s er v ice a c e p ast me

for the mat c h L a u re ntz s udden ly c ol l ap se d and
,

fainte d de ad away on the c ourt It was a dramati c .

e nd to a s en s ationa l mat c h .

The s c ene then s hi fte d to England where the ,

Ame ri c an te am j ourneye d a c ro ss the C hannel to

p rep are for the Gra s s Court c hampi o nship o f the
wor l d a t Wimb l edon My prep arat i on c onsisted
.

o f a hasty j ourney to a hospita l -

where a minor ,

o peration put m e to be d unti l the day Wimble don

ts t a rted .
T HE PR O BABL E F UT UR E O F T HE GAM E 1 43

The remainder of the te am j ourneyed first t o

B e ckenham and then to Ro ehampton for the i r first
grass c ourt p l ay of the se ason Mrs M a l lory me t .
_
.

d efe at at the hands of Mrs B e ami s h at B e c ken

.
.

h am while the other m embe rs fe l l by the wayside

a t sund ry p oints M rs M allory won Roe h am p
. .

ton de c isively de fe ating Mi s s Phi ll is Howkin s i n

,

the final Fran c is T Hunter another Ameri c an

. .
,

who j oined the team i n Engl and although he wa s ,

abroa d on busine s s s c ored a vi c tory in the men s

,
’

event a t Roe h am p ton

'

T h e world s c hamp i on s hip at Wimbledon was

’

anot h e r series o f sensati onal m at c hes and startlin g

u psets The d r aw as usual was tophe avy all th e
.
,

s trength i n the upp er h alf with Frank Hunte r and

'

B I C N orton in the lower E v e ry day s aw i ts

. . . .

f eatu re m at c he s produ c e the une xpe c ted Shi m i d z u .

and Ly ce tt b attle d for ne arly four hours i n a stru g

gle tha t combined all the v i r t ues and V i c e s o f te n
n i s and pugili s m Col A R F Kings c ote a f ter
. . . . .
,

three s ens ational V ic tor i es o v er Fisher Di x on and ,

Lowe c ollapsed again s t A l onz o and wa s de c i s i v e l y

,

de feated Sh i m i d z u looked a c ertain winner against

.

Alonzo when he l e d at 2 s ets to 1 and 4 1 but the

—
,

Spani ard rose to gre at heights and by sensationa l

play pu l le d out the m at c h in five s et s .

N orton and Hunte r a fter s e v era l cl o s e c a l l s me t

, ,

in the semi final N o rton took two s ets and led

.

—
5 3 i n the third only to have Hunter fo ll ow i n
’
Alonzo s foot s tep s and pul l out the set and wi n
T HE P R O BABL E FU T UR E O F T HE GAME 1 45

ment put hi s re t urn out by in c he s It wa s a l i fe .

and fortunate ly for me I s eize d my c han c e and su c

cee d e d in pu ll ing out the ma t c h and retaining the

c hampio ns hip N orton de s erv ed to wi n for noth

.
,

ing but l u c k s a v ed m e a s I wa lked to the net think ,

i ng my s hot wa s out N orton i s the youngest m an.

to h ave won the A l l C omers Singles He i s j ust .

2 1 .

The c hampionship s h ad two s a d moments O ne .

wa s the absen c e o f J C Parke due to retiremen t . .

,

from singl es The othe r was the ret i rement o f A

.

W Gore the famous v eteran afte r 3 0 ye ars a

.
, ,

p articip ant i n the champi onship s .

’
The women s events found an even more unf or ~

ta nate dr aw th an the men A l l the strengt h wa s .

i n one eight Miss Ryan defe ated Miss K M cKane

. .

in the first round and M r s Be am i sh her old ri v al i n .

the s e c ond She met Mrs M a ll ory in the third

. . .

For one s e t M rs M al l o ry playe d t h e finest ten

.

nis o f her c a reer to that time and in fact e qua l e v en

to her play again s t Suzanne Lengl en in Ameri c a
She ran off si x games in ten minutes Miss Ryan .
,

cle v er ly c hanging he r game finally b roke up the ,

p erfe c tion of M rs M a ll o ry s stroking and j u s t

.
’

n ose d her out in the ne x t two sets I t wa s a well .

d eserv e d vi c tory .

Mis s Ryan e as i ly won the tournament and chal

l enged M l le Lengl en but her old j inx i n t h e fo rm
.
,

o f Suz anne again pro v e d to o much and s h e playe d

far be l ow her best The French gi rl e as i ly r eta i ne d
.

her title winning 6 2 6 0

,
— —
, .
1 46 T H E ART O F LAW N T E NN I S
The j our ney o f the wandering tenni s troupe
abro ad wa s far from the most important develop
ment o f the year The Ameri c an s ea s on wa s pro
.

d a c ing remarkab l e re s u l t s E v ery ye ar produ c e s i ts

.

out s tanding figure and the e ar ly months o f 1 9 2 1

s a w Vin c ent Ri c h ards lo oming l arge on the tenni s

h ori zon .

The fi rst sensa ti on o f the ye ar wa s the de cis i ve

d e fe at in fl i c te d on Kum a g ae by young Ri c hards a t
A m ak a ss i n C l ub N ew York Thi s wa s immedia te l y
, .

followe d by Ku m a g a e s vi c tory over Di c k Willi ams

’
,

a venging Wil l i ams wi n at Palm B e a c h s o

’
me months
b efore Ku m a g a e s c ore d i n the inter c ity ma t c h for
.

t h e Ge orge Myers Chur c h Troph y playe d in 1 9 2 1

in Philade l phi a T h e fo l lowing day Wallace F
. .

Johnson de fe ated Kum ag a e in one o f the most te r

ri fi c b a tt l e of the ye a r .

Vin c ent Ri c hards went thro u gh the se ason to the

m idd l e o f July w i thout sustaining a defe a t H e won .

fi v e tournament s .

I arri v ed home from France and Engl and July

i 2 th and j ourneye d a t on c e to Pro v iden c e where I

t o ok c harge o f the Rhode Is l and State Champion

s hip a t the Agawam Hunt Club Zenzo Shim i d z

. u

h a d a cc omp anied me to Ameri c a on the O ly m pi c

a nd m ade hi s fi rst tournament appe aran c e two days

a fter l anding at Greenwi c h C onn b efore c oming

, .
,

to Pro v i den c e He went down to une xpe c te d de

.

fe at a t the h ands o f S H Vo s he ll . . .

The Pro v idence tournam e nt held th e g r e a te st

entry l ist o f any e v ent e xc ept the N ationa l Singl e s
T HE PR O BABLE FUTUR E OF T H E GAM E 1 47

i tself The singles h ad Shi m i d z

. u W i ll i ams Ri c h , ,

ards C S Gar l and Watson Washburn S H Vo

, . .
, , . .

s he l l Samue l Hardy N W N i l es many young

, , . .
,

Western c o l legi ate stars and myself I chiy a Ku .

m agae arrive d to play double s with Shi m i d z u in

p rep arati on for the Da v i s Cup .

Then the fun began Shi m i d z u again fell b e .

f ore the n e t atta c k o f Voshe ll who was h imse l f de ,

f e ate d by the c alm qu i et ste adiness o f Washburn .

Garl and went out at my hand s Wil l i ams fa c ed .

ce r tain de feat when N i l es l ed him 4 0 in the final

—

s et
, but in one o f his sup er tennis stre aks tor e -

t h rough to vi c tory on ly to c o ll ap se aga i nst V i n c ent

,

Ri c hards and su ff er a c ru s hing defe at 6 2 6 2 i n

— —
,

the sem i fina l M eanwhile Washburn had droppe d

-
.

by the wayside to me 6 2 6 2 and yo u ng Richard s

— —
,

and I took up our annu a l b attl e .

Youth i s c ruel The worl d i s c ruel L i fe i s ha rd

. . .

I know i t for Vinni e wi th c are and dis c reti on

, , ,

quietl y le d me a l ong the Ro ad o f the Has B e cu s - -

,

where he dep osited me to t h e tune of 6 1 6 2 1 6

— — —
, ,

6—0 .

Ri c hards with the s c a l ps o f Kum ag a e Wi ll i ams

, , ,

Vos he ll and myse l f dangl ing a t his b e l t s eeme d ,

destined for the c hampi on s hip itse l f A l as p ri d e .

,

go eth b e fore a fa ll The fa l l c ame to Vinni e sud

.
a

d enl y .

The following we ek wa s the Longwood Singl e s

”
.

Lit tl e Bi ll John s ton arri v e d Ea s t toge the r wi th ,

the re s t of hi s C alifo rni a team the day the event ,

s tarted Johnston wa s the holder of the trophy

.
T HE PR O BABL E F UTUR E OF T H E GAM E 1 49

ve nge for hi s defe at at Longwood Washburn .

played the best tennis o f hi s l ife in defe ating John ,

s ton and Wi ll i am s whi c h c oupled with Ri c hards

, ,
’

cru s hing de fe at place d Washbu rn on the D avis Cup

,

te am .

A sensational upset o c curred i n the first r ound

when L B Ri c e de fe ate d W E D a v i s Ri c e h as
. . . . .

mad e a gre at improvement th i s ye ar and bids fa i r to

go far .

Se abright the ne x t week found L ittle B i ll John

, ,

ston p l aying the ste l lar rOIe Washburn took a .

week off but Wil l iams and R i chards were in the

c ompe ti tion .

John s ton c ru shed Ri c ha rds when t h e t wo met in ,

a disp l ay o f aggress iv e tennis so remarkab l e that

the b oy wa s he l p l ess be fore i t Ri chards wa s stal e .

and b elow fo rm but even i f h e ha d b een a t h i s

,

best h e c ou l d no t h ave withstoo d Johnston s a t

,
’

ta ck Littl e B i ll followe d thi s up by sweep i ng Wil

.

l i ams off th e court by another ma rv ellous stre ak o f

we ll nigh p e r fe c t tennis .

Southampton and the Women s N ational Cham ’

p i ons h i p c on fl i c ted the ne x t week The story o f .

’
Mr s M a ll ory s s en s ational triumph and su cc e ss ful
.

de fen s e o f her title i s to l d e l sewhere in this bo ok .

Southampton a s alway s proved th e goat for

, , ,

a l mo st a ll the l e ading p l ayer s took a week s rest ’

be fore the N a tiona l D oubles Champion s hip .

The Engl i s h Davis Cup team Wi ll i s E Davi s , .

,

Vin c ent Ri c hard s and the Kin s ey brothers B ob and ,

Howard were the l ea ding stars The e v ent nar

, .
15 0 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
rowe d to D a v is and Richards in the finals w i th no
up s et s o f a s tart l ing nature D a v is ha d ha d a very .

p o or re c ord all year while R ic hards bo asted o f the

,

finest l i s t o f v i c tori es o f the season O n the othe r .

h and the boy wa s o v er t enni se d and stale and i t -

p ro v e d hi s undoing for a fter one s et whi c h he won

, ,

easi l y the s ting went out o f h i s game and D av i s took

,

the mat c h in four set s .

The c hampion s hips were j ust ahe ad Th e D oubles .

he l d at Longwoo d Club B oston found s e v eral teams , ,

c losely mat c hed Wil l iam s and Washburn w i th the

.
,

Rho de I sl and State and N ewport to their credit

were the fa v orite s for the title “ ”
Little B ill Johns .
,

ton and W E Da v is and B ob and Howard K i nsey

. .

o f Cali forn i a ha d both press ed them c losely Vin .

c ent Ri c hard s and I teame d together fo r the first

t i me sin c e N E Bro okes and G L Patterson ha d
. . . .

won the tit l e from us in 1 9 1 9 Samuel Hardy and .

S H Vo s he l l were a p a ir o f veterans who neede d

. .

w at c hing .

Wi ll i am s and Washburn ha d a close ca ll in the

third round when Hardy and Voshell le d 3 1 i n the —

fi fth s et but an unfortunate mis s o f an easy vol l ey

,

by Hardy and a fo otfau l t on game p oint at 3 4 and —

3 0 —
4 0 by Vo s he l l t u rned the tide and the fa v orites
were s a fe Johnston and D a v is ha d several c han c e s
.

in the s emi final but D a v is wa s to o un c ertain and B ill

-

too anx iou s and they to ss ed away the opp ortunities .

Vinni e and I met th e Kinseys in the semi final and -

a fter c ha s ing their l obs a ll o v er the c ourt for hours

and s ma s hing until our ba c ks a c hed we final l y pul l ed ,
T HE P R O BABL E F UT UR E O F T HE GAME 15 1

out three s equen c e s et s I have s e l dom s een a te am .

work together more s mooth l y than the Kinseys .

The fina l mat c h between Willi ams and Wa s hburn ,

Ri c hard s and I for two s et s wa s a s s en s ational and

cl o s e l y c onte s ted doub l es as e v er fe atured a national
c hampion s hip O ur s l ight sup eriority in returning
.

s e rv i c e ga v e u s ju s t enough margin to pu l l out the

first two s et s 1 4 1 2 1 2 1 0 Th en Ri c hard s went
— —
, .

mad There is no other way to de sc rib e it E v ery

. .

time he go t hi s ra cquet on a b al l it went fo r a cl e an

p l a c ement I stood around and wat c hed him Al
. .

most s ingl e hande d this remarkab l e b oy won the last

-

s et 6 -
2 .

T he Davis Cup c h a l lenge round s tret c he d it s elf

b e twe en the Doubles and Singl es Champi on s hip .

There wa s no work e xc ept for u s p o or hard working -

p l ayers who were on the team The rest wa s a .

ble ss ing to Ri c hards who needed it b a dl y a s h e , ,

wa s ti re d a nd drawn .

F ollowm g the Ameri c an vi c tory in the D avis Cup ,

the sc ene shi fted to Phil adelphi a and the eye s o f the
tennis wor l d were c entere d on the Germantown
Cri cke t Club where the gre atest tourn ament o f a ll
,

time wa s to b e held P l ayer s o f s e v en nation s were .

to c ompe te The Da v i s Cup star s o f Engl and

.
,

Au s tra l ia and Japan added their bri ll ian c e to that o f

al l the l e ading Ameri c an p l ayer s Si x Ameri c an .

c hampion s W A Larned W J C l othier R N

, . .
, . .
,
. .

Wi lliam s R L Murray W M John s ton and m y

, . .
,
. .
,

se l f were entered .

Fate took a hand in the draw and for on c e I think

T HE P R O BABL E F U T UR E O F T HE GAM E 15 3

John s on wa s v ery steady and out l a s te d Washburn

in the first set whi c h he won Wa s hburn then too k
, .

to s torming the net and carried off two set s de c i s ively .

The strain took i t s tol l and he wa s p er c eptib l y sl owe r

when the fourth set op ened John s on ran him fro m .

c orner to c orner or to s se d high l ob s when Wa s hburn

,

took the net It proved too mu c h for e v en Wa s h

.

burn to stand and the Ph il a de lphi an won the ne x t

,

two sets and with it the mat c h M any p eop l e c on .

s i d e r e d it a grea t upset Persona l ly I e xp e c te d i t

.
,

a s I know how dangerous John s on m ay b e .

The John s ton Ri c hards mat c h and my meeting

-

with Shi m i dz u c ame on the third day Fu l ly .

p eople j amme d themsel v e s around the c ourt and

yelled cl a p p e d and howled their e xc itement through
,

th e a f t e rno on It wa s a splend i dly behaved gallery

’

but a v ery enthusia sti c one .

Ri c hards e ager to a v enge hi s c rush i ng de feat by

,

John s ton a t Se abright started w i th a rush “ Littl e

”
.
,

B i ll wa s un c ertain and rather ner v ou s Ri c hards .

ran away with the first two s ets a l most b e fore Johns
ton re aliz ed what wa s happening The tennis .

Ri c hards played i n these s ets wa s a l m o st unb e atable .

Johnston nerved himself to his ta s k and held even

to 3 all in the third Here he broke through and
-
.

R ic hards I th i nk fool is hly ma de little attempt to

, ,

pu l l out the s et The b oy staked a l l on the fourth

.

s e t Johnston led at 5 3 but Ri c hards p l aying des

.
—
,

ra t e ly pu l le d up to 6 5
— and w a s within two p oint s
p e ,

o f the mat c h a t 3 0 a ll on Johnston s s er v i c e It was

-
’
.

hi s last effort Johnston to ok the game and Rich

.
15 4 T H E AR T OF LAW N T E NN I S
ard s fade d away H i s strength fa iled him a nd th e
.

mat c h wa s John s ton s’

.

I hit a go od streak against Shi m i d z u and ran

away with three s traight sets more o r l ess e asily .

M eantime one o f the most s en s ational upsets o f

the whole tournament wa s taking pla c e on an out
side c ourt where Stanley W Pearso n o f P hi la d el
.

phi a wa s running the le gs off N W Ni les o f . .

Boston and b e ating him i n five s ets

“ ”
.

Little B i l l John s ton and I met the ne x t day in

wh at wa s the de c iding m at c h o f the tournament even ,

though it wa s only the fourth ro u nd Ev e ry avail .

ab l e in c h o f s p a c e Wa s j ammed by an o v erfl ow gal

lery when we took the c ount It wa s a b itter matc h
.

from the fir s t p oint We were b oth pl aying well

. .

In the e ar ly stages Little B i l l ha d a slight edge but ,

a fter one s e t the b alan c e shi fted and I held the wh i p

hand to the end .

The s ame day D i c k Wi l liams went down to sud

den and une xpe c te d de feat at the hand s o f J O . .

Ander s on o f Au s tra l i a in fi v e we ll p l aye d s ets It .

wa s a typ i c al Wi ll i ams e ff ort gl oriou s tennis one

,

minute fo ll owed by ine xc u s ab l e l apse s The Aus .

tra li a n wa s s teady and c lever throughout .

The keen s p e c ulati on a s to the out c ome o f the

tournament fe l l off a fter the meeting o f Johnston
and I and w i th it a de c re as e in attendan c e This
, .

ran v ery high however again rea c hing c ap ac i ty on

, ,

the day o f the final s .

The round b e fore the sem i finals saw a terrifi c

struggl e b etween two Cali forni ans B ob Kinsey and
,
T HE P R O BABL E F UT UR E OF T H E GAME 15 5

Willis E D a v is Kinsey ha d de fe ated D av i s i n the

. .

M etrop o l itan Champion s hip the week before and

wa s e xpe c ted to repeat but D avis managed to out ,

l a s t hi s team and no s ed out the matc h Kinsey c ol .

l ap s ed on the c ourt from e xhau s tion a s the last p oin t

wa s p l ayed .

Gordon Lowe went down to me in a fine mat c h

whi l e J O Ander s on and Wa l l ac e Johnson c om
. .

p l e t e d the ! u artet of s emi fi n al i s t s .

_

I fina ll y got my re v enge on D a v i s for the many

de feat s he ha d in fl i c ted on me in years gone by .

Wa ll a c e John s on sc ored a magnifi c ent vi c tory over

J. O Ander
. s on in four sets a fter the Australi an
led at a s et all 5 2 and 4 0 1 5
— — Johnson ran
, , .

the visiti ng D a v is Cup s tar a l l o v er the c ourt and

,

fina l ly pu ll e d out the mat c h in one o f the finest di s

play s of c ourt genera l ship I ha v e e v er s e en .

The finals wa s more or less o f a fami l y party .

It wa s an a ll Phi l a de l phian aff air two P hi la d el

-
,

p h i a n s c omp eting with more c heering them

on .

John s on wa s unfortunate Saturday the mat c h .

wa s started under a dark s ky on a s o ft c ourt that

j u s t s uited him I ha v e s eldom s een John s on p l ay
.

s o we ll ; a s a l way s hi s j udgment wa s fault l e ss

, We .

d i v ided game s with s er v i c e with monotonou s regu

l a ri ty The sc ore wa s 5 a l l when it began to driz
.
-

zle The c ourt s o ft at best that day grew more

.
, ,

trea c herou s and s l ipp ery by the minute John s on s .

’

s hot s hard l y le ft the ground He broke my ser v i c e

.

at 7 a ll when the rain materially in c rea s ed He

-
.
 V I N C E N T R I C H ARD S
Th g re te t J n i or pl y er i n the
e a s u a

w or l d

A L W IE N E R ( S A N D Y ) A N D
. .

W M T T IL DE N 2 N D
om ing m t h the y
. .

Di mg scu ss a c a c as
t ke the o r
a c u t

DI I S S H E LE N W IL L S CA R L F I SC H ER
G ir l C h m p ion o f A m er i
a ca

A G OU R YOUN G L AYE R
P OF P S .

P L A TE ! VI
C S GA RL A N D A N D R N WI LL IA M S C . H A RDY
r
. . . .

A m e ri ca
Am e i ca

A . G G OBE RT
.

F r a nce W . A . L A U RE N T z
F r a nc e
T HE PR O B AB LE FUTUR E OF T H E G A ME 15 7

1 W M Johnston
. . .

B eat V Ri c hards 2 Will i ams

. Ka magae Sh i m , ,

i dz u Ro l and R o berts
, D av i s and o the r s L o s t to , .

Washb u rn T i lden Rob e r ts , , .

2 .R N Williams 2 d . . .

B e at R ic hards Shi m i dz u Ku m a ga e Vos h ell

, ,

and others Lost to Johnston . R i cha r ds J 0 , . .

Anderson Kum a g a e , .

3 .V in c ent Richa rds

B e at Tilden R ic hards Kum ag a e , Shi m i d z
u ,

( in e x h i b i t i on a t To ronto ) V os h ell Hawkes , , ,

Lost to Johnston W i lliams D av i s , .

4 . I shi y a Ku m a g a e
B e at W i lli ams Voshell Anderson Hawkes Lost , , , .

to Johnston Tilden W i ll i ams R i c h a r ds , , , .

5 . Zenzo S h i m i d z
u

B ea t Walla c e Johnson Ande rson Hawkes , ,

N i l es Lost to Johnston T i lde n

. V os h ell ,

Richa r ds ( 2 ) ( in exh i b i t i ons ) .

6 . Walla c e Johnson
B e at Wat s on Washbu rn An de r s o n Lost to T i l , , .

den Shi m i d z
, u

7 . Watson Washburn
B eat Wi ll i am s Johnston Voshell Lost to Wallace , , .

Johnson Ti l den Atherton R i cha rds ( a most s en

, ,

s a ti on al upset ) .

8 .
J O Anderson . o f Australi
. a
B eat R N Wi l liams Tilden Hawkes Lowe L o s t
. .
, , , .

to Wa l la c e John s on Kum a ga e Shi m i dz u , ,

.

9 . S H Voshell . .
15 8 T H E AR T O F L AW N T E NN I S
B eat Shi m i dzu D a vi s Lost to Ri c ha rds Wil .
,

liam s Wa s hburn N e er ( an up set ) Allen B ehr ( a

, , ,

gi ft ) .

10 W E D avi s
. . .

B ea t R ic hards R K i nsey Lowe Lost to Ni les

, .
, .
,

L B R ic e ( an u p set ) R Kinsey Voshel l and Til

. .
, .
,

d en .

These few r ecords show h ow useless c omp a r at i ve

s cores may b e I f another season lik e 1 9 2 1 strikes
.

Ameri c an tenn i s the rank i ng w i ll nee d either cla ir

,

voyan c e or a p a dde d c ell .

These upsets a re p art o f the z est o f the ga me and

i t is due to the very un c ertainty o f tennis that the
pub lic is daily be c oming more enthu si asti c about the
game I b eli e v e ne x t year will s e e e v en a g r eater
.

i ntere s t taken in i t than was s hown this .

Se c ond in i mp ortan c e only to the big events them

s el v e s wa s the s ea s on ln Junior tennis .

Little Mi s s Helen Wi l ls in her first Ea s tern s e a ,

.

s on , won the Junior c hampion s hip for girl s and

b rought to the game one o f the most de l ightful
p er s onalitie s that h as app eare d in many year s Her .

s u cc e ss at her e arly age s hou l d prove a grea t boom

to girls tenni s a l l o v er Ameri c a

’
.

Vin c ent Ri c hard s p a s se s from the Junior ranks

this yea r but le aves a s u cc e s sor W ho i s worthy to
wear hi s mantle i n the p erson o f Arnold W Jones .

o f Pro vi dence Jone s shou l d outcl ass the fi e l d in

.

1 92 2 by a s w i de a marg i n a s did R ic hards th i s

,

year .
T HE P R O BABLE F UT UR E O F T HE GAM E 15 9

Arno l d Jone s ha s h ad a remarkab l e re c ord He .

won the b oy s c hampion s hip o f Ameri c a in 1 9 1 9

’
.

In 1 9 2 0 he c arried Ri c ha rd s to a c lo s e mat c h i n
the N ationa l Junior Singl es taking one s et He
”
, .

wa s ranke d two for the yea r .

This ye ar Arnold ha d hi s greatest yea r o f h i s

b ri e f c areer He j ourneyed to France and Engl and
.
,

a s the o ffi c i al Juni or rep re s entative o f Ameri c a re c ,

ogni z e d by the N ational Tennis A ss o c iation He .

playe d s p l endid ly in Fran c e de fe at i ng A C ousin in

, .

the hard c ourt c hampi onship o f the world and for c ed

Tegner the D anish D a v i s Cup s tar to a cl o s e b at
, ,

tle b efore admitting de feat H i s s en s ational play

.

i n th e double s wa s a gre at ai d i n c arrying him and

m e to the s emi final ground where we lost to Go
-
,

bert and L aurentza fter fi v e terrific sets In Eng .

land young Jones played Ja c ob C apta i n o f the ,

Indian D avis Cup te am a splendid mat c h

, .

O n hi s re turn to Ameri c a he c arve d hi s ni c he i n

the Hall o f Junior Tennis fame by de fe ating Har
old Godshall o f California W W Ingraham o f , . .

Pro v iden c e and M organ B ern s tein o f N ew York on

su cc e ss i v e days in the Juni or c hampion s hip He .

for c ed Ri c hard s to a bi tter fight in fina l and again ,

pro v ed beyond que s tion tha t he is but a step b ehind

Ri c hard s to day a l though h e i s a fu l l yea r younger
‘
, .

God s ha ll Ingraham Char l e s Wo od Jr B ern

, , ,
.
,

stein Jerry Lang Charle s Wa t s on III Fritz M er

, , ,

c ur and many other boy s are but a s tep b ehind

Jones With thi s l ist o f rising p l ayer s nee d we
.
,

fa c e the future with anyth i ng but the mo s t s upreme

T HE P R O BABL E F UT UR E O F T HE GAM E 161

2 o cl o ck Pre s ident Harding persona lly c alled play

’
.

S i ngle s between Willi ams and me opene d the

mat c hes Then Wil l iam s and Wa shburn de c i si vely
.

de feated John s on and me fo ll owing whi c h Wi l liams ,

and I nosed out Wa s hburn and Johnson to c lose the

program .

The se c ond out s tand i ng fe ature was the tour for

the benefit o f the Ameri c an Committe e for D e v a s
t a t e d Fran ce The app earan c e in Amer ic a of M ll e
. .

Suzanne Lengl en wa s due primarily to the e ff ort s

o f M i s s Anne M organ wh o se c ured the s er v i c e s ,

o f the famou s Fren c h c hampion for a tour o f the

States the pro c e ed s to go to D evastate d Franc e
, .

M ll e Lengl en s regrettable c ollaps e and for c ed de

.
’

p arture le ft the C ommitte e in a s eri ous p osition .

The Ameri c an Tennis A s so c iation whi c h had co ,

operate d with M is s M organ in the Lenglen tour ,

found its cl ub s eager for a c han c e to stage mat c he s

for Fra nc e but no mat c hes a v ai l ab l e Final l y in .
,

Oc tober in re s pon s e to the v o l untary o ff er o f se v

,

eral o f th e le ading p l ayer s a team wa s organize d ,

th at toure d the E a s t for the benefit o f D e v astate d

Fran c e It in cl uded Mrs Frank l in I M a l lory
. . .
,

Ameri c an c hampion M i ss Eleanor Goss M i s s Les , ,

l ie B an c roft M rs B F C o l e Mrs F H Go dfrey

, . . .
, . . .
,

V in c ent R i c hard s Watson Wa s hburn N W N iles

, , . .
,

R N Wil l iams W F Johnson and my s elf

. .
, . . .

M at che s were staged a t O range Short Hills M o r , ,

ri s town and Eliz ab eth N ew Jer s ey Green M ea dow , ,

Club Jackson Heights Club Ardsley on the Hudson

, ,
- - -
,
1 62 T H E AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S
N ew Ro c helle Yonkers N ew York N ew H aven
, , , ,

and Hartford C onne c ti c ut They pro v e d a tre

,
.

m e nd ou s su cc e s s finan c ially and France netted a

,

s um i n excess o f
IV :S OM E SI D E L I GHT S ON FAM OUS
P LAYE R S
P ART IV :S OM E S ID E L I GHT S ON FAM OUS
P LAYE R S

I N TR O D U C T O RY

T BAR N U M i mmo r talised L i ncol n s lan ’

“
.

guage by o ften quoting him w i th :You can

fo ol s ome o f the p eople all o f the t i me and all o f ,

t h e people some of the t i me but y ou can t f o ol all

,
’

o f the p eople all o f the time P T wa s an a b le

. . .

j udge o f the publ i c and it i s just t hi s i na bi l ity t o fo ol

,

all o f the p eople all o f t h e t i me that a ccounts for t h e

sudden disappe aran c e from t h e publ i c eye o f s ome
o ne who on ly fooled all o f t h e p eople f o r a l i ttle
wh i le Th a t pe r son wa s a sham a b lu ff a gameste r
.
, ,
.

H e o r she a s t h e ca se may b e ha d no p e r sonal i ty

, , ,
.

Personal i ty n eeds n o d i sgu is e w i t h w hi ch t o fool

t he p eopl e It i s not h i dden i n a long ha ir eccent ri c
.
-

b e i ng That typ e i s merely on e o f t h os e who a r e

“ ”
.

bo rn eve ry minute ,a s t h e say i ng goes Pe r .

s onali ty i s a dynam i c comp elling fo rc e I t i s a

, .

p os i t i ve t hi ng t h a t will not b e oblite r ated .

Personality i s a sexless th i ng I t transcends s ex

. .

T h eodo r e Roose v elt was a comp ell i ng p ersonal i ty ,

and hi s f o r ce and a bi l i ty we r e r ecogn iz e d b y h i s

fri e n ds and enem i e s alike whi l e t h e publ i c t h e ,

m a sses a d or e d hi m w i t h out know i ng why

, Sa r a h .

B e rn h ardt Eleano r Dusé and Ma ry Ga r den ca rry

, ,
166 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE N N I S
with them a f o r ce f a r more p ot ent in i ts a pp e al to
the publ i c than the ir me r e f em i n i ne c h a rm Th ey .

h o l d the ir publ i c by p ersonal i ty I t i s no t tri cke ry .

,

but art plus this intangib le fo r ce

, .

The g r e at figu re s in the tenn i s w o rld t h a t h ave

h eld thei r publi c i n t h e ir hand s all h a v e b een me n ,

o f marke d p ersonality N ot all g r eat tennis playe r s .

ha v e p ersonality Few o f the many stars o f th e .

g ame can lay c laim to i t justly The most powe rf ul .

p ersonality in t h e tenni s wo rld during my time i s

N orman E B r ooke s w i th h i s p eculia r sphinx l i ke

.
,
-

repress i on myste r i ous quiet and ominous calm

, , , .

Bro o kes repels many by his p e c uliar personal i ty .

He ne v e r wa s the popu l ar hero that othe r men ,

no tably M L ou ghli n and Wild i ng h a v e b een Yet

‘
, .

Brookes a lways h eld a gallery enthralled no t only ,

by t h e s h eer w iz ardry o f hi s p lay but by the p o we r ,

o f h i s magneti c for c e .

M auri c e E M L ou ghli n i s the most r emarkable

.
‘

e x ample o f a wonderful dynami c p e rsonality l i te r ,

ally c arrying a publ ic off it s feet Am erica and .

England fell b efore th e dazzling sm i le and v i b r ant

for c e o f t h e re d ha i re d C aliforn i an H i s whole game
-
.

gl itte red in i ts r adian c e H i s was a triumph o f a .

popular hero .

Anthony F Wilding qu i et c ha rm i ng and mag

.
, , ,

neti c c arried hi s publi c away with hi m by his

,

dynami c game It wa s not the whirlwind fl a s h o f

.

the C omet M L ou ghli n that s wept c rowds off thei r

‘

feet it was m or e the p o wer o f r ep r ess i on that com

,

pe ll e d .
 I N TR OD U CT OR Y 1 67

I know no ot h er tennis players t h a t sweep their

publ i c away w i th them to quite the s ame deg r ee a s
t h es e three men I ha v e mentio ned R L Murray . . .

h as much o f M L oughli n s fire but not th e sp o n

‘ ’
,

t ane i ty that won the hearts o f the crowd Tenn i s .

needs big p e r sonalitie s to give the publi c that glow

o f personal i nterest th at h elp s to keep t h e game
al i ve A grea t pers o nali ty i s th e prop er ty o f the
.

publi c It is the pr i ce he mu st p ay for h is gift

!

. .

It is the personal e quat i on the sta r who appeals, ,

to t h e publi c s i magina tion

’
.

I do not think it is the s tar who keeps th e game

al i ve I t i s that great c la s s o f playe r s who play
.

at c lub s t h e world o v er w h o c an never r i se ab o v e

,

t h e dea d le v el o f med i ocri ty the mass o f tenni s en

,

thu s i a s ts wh o play w i th dea d ra c quets and o l d b alls ,

and w h o a ttend all big e v ents to witness the gi ants

“ ”
o f t h e court i n short T h e Dub s ( with a c apital
, ,

D ) w h o make tennis what i t is and to whom tenn i s

, ,

owes i ts li fe since they a re its s upport and out f r om

,

them h a v e come our ch amp i ons .

C h amp i ons a r e not b orn They a r e made T h ey

. .

emerge from a long h ard s c hool o f de feat dis

, ,

en c ouragement and medio cri ty not b e c ause they a re

, ,

born tenn i s players but b e c ause t h ey are endowed

,

with a for c e tha t trans c ends d i s c ouragement and

“
c rie s I will s u cc eed ” .

There must b e someth i ng that c arrie s them up

from the ma s s I t i s that something whi c h app eals
.

i n some fo rm to the publi c The publ ic may like .

it o r t h ey may dislike i t but t h ey recogn i ze i t

, , .
 C HA PTE R XI I

A M ERICA

WI LL I AM M .
J O H N S T ON

HE Amer i can champ i on i s one o f the r e ally

g r eat o rthodox playe r s i n t h e wo r ld T h e r e .

i s n o thing e c cent ri c not hi ng f reak i s h a bout hi s

,

game .

Jo h nston i s a small man s hor t and l i gh t ; but b y ,

per f ect wei ght c ontrol foo t wo rk and t i m i ng h e hits

-
, ,

with terrific spe ed .

His ser vi ce i s a sl i ce H i t fro m t he top o f hi s

.

rea ch Johnston gets p owe r and tw i st on t h e b all w i t h

littl e e ff o rt H e h a s a w onde r ful for e h a n d d ri ve
.
,

o f a top spin va ri ety Thi s s ho t i s w orld f amo u s

-
.
,

fo r ne v er i n the h i st ory o f the gam e h a s s o sm all

a man hi t w i th suc h t e rr i fi c sp ee d and a ccur a cy T he .

ra cqu et t r avels fl a t and t h e n ove r the b all with a ,

pe c ulia r w ri st snap j ust a s th e b all meets the r acqu e t

-

face T h e s ho t t r avels deep and f ast t o the b ase

.

l ine
.

’
Jo h nston s b a ckhand i s a dec i ded d r ag o r c h op
He hi ts i t w i th the same face o f the r a cquet a s hi s
forehand and with very l i ttle chan g e i n g ri p I t
,
.

i s rema rkably ste a dy and a c cu r ate and all ows J ohn ,

st o n to f o ll ow to th e ne t b e hin d it .

1 69
170 T H E A RT O F LAW N TE NN I S
’
Johnston s volley i ng i s h a r d deep and u s u ally , ,

ve ry r e li able H e c rou c hes b e hi nd hi s r ac que t a n d

.

v o l leys directly in to t h e fl i g h t o f the b all hi tt i ng ,

down Hi s low volleys a r e mad e w i t h a pecul i a r

.

wr i st fli ck that g i ve s the ri s e and sp eed H i s ove r

-
.

h e a d i s accu r ate rel i able b u t not sta r tl i ng in i ts

, ,
’
p owe r Johnston s gam e h as n o r e al w eakness Whi le
.
,

hi s forehand and volleying a r e superlat i ve .

Jo h nston i s a remarkable match playe r He .

r e ache s hi s greatest game wh en b e hi nd He is one .

o f the h a rdes t men to b eat i n the gam e ow i ng to hi s

u tte r la c k o f fe ar and t h e d o gge d d ete rminat io n
w i t h w hich h e h angs on wh en s eemingly be aten He .

i s qui et m odes t and a sterl i ng sp o r tsman He ge t s

, , .

a m ax i m u m r esul t w i t h a m i n i mum e ff o r t .

R . N . WI LLI AMS
R N W i ll i am s , Amer i ca n C h amp i o n 1 9 1 4
. . and
1 9 1 6 , anot h e r o f my D av i s C up team m a te s , is a -

u n i qu e p e r sonal i ty i n the tenn i s wo rld Pe rsonally .

,

I b el i e v e t h at Willi ams a t hi s b est i s the gre atest

tenn i s playe r i n t h e wo rld p ast or p r esent Um , .

f o rtunately tha t b est i s s eldom seen and then not

, ,

f or a c onsistent p erforman c e H e i s always dange r .

o us and his range o f v ar i at i on i s the gre atest among

,

any o f th e le ading players .

W i ll i ams se rvi ce i s generally a f a st sl i ce alt ho ugh

’
,

h e at t i me s use s an A m er ic a n tw i st He i s er r ati c .

i n hi s delive ry s co ri ng many a c e s b ut p i l i ng up
, ,

eno rmou s numbers o f double faults H i s g r o u nd - .

s tr oke s a r e made off t he ris i ng bound o f t h e b all .

 A ME R ICA 17 1

They a r e fl at o r slightly sl i c ed N e v er topped But .

,

sometimes pulled Wi ll iams margin o f s a fety i s

.
’

s o small that unless hi s shot is p e rfe c t l y hit it i s

u s e l ess H e h i ts h ard at a l l times and makes tre

.
r

mendo ns numb e rs of e arne d points yet hi s errors ,

always exc eed them ex c ep t when h e strike s one of

“ ”
h i s s up er days .
,

His v o ll eying i s V ery h ard crisp and de c i s ive , , ,

c oupled wit h an o cc a s ional stop v o ll ey His us e .

o f the half v o ll ey i s une qualled i n mode rn tenni s .

H i s o v erhea d i s s evere and ordinarily reli ab l e al ,

though h e wil l take seriou s s lumps overhe ad H e .

i s a past maste r o f h i s own styl e stroke s but i t i s an ,

unorth odox game t h at s h ould not b e copied b y the

a v erage pl aye r .

H e i s ne v er will i ng t o alter h is game fo r s a f ety s ’

s ake and de feats himself in shee r defian c e b y hitting

,

throughout a m at ch when hi s stroke s a re not wo rk

i ng He i s gr eatly praise d fo r this unwi ll ingnes s
.

to alte r hi s gam e i n de feat Per s onally I think h e

.
,

dese rve s c ondemnation r ather t h an p ra i se fo r i t ,

seems r e ckle ss ne s s r ather than bra v ery t o thus s eek

de fea t tha t c ou l d easily b e a v oided .

Williams takes tennis almos t too ligh tly C h ee ry .

,

modest and ea s y going h e i s v ery p opula r w i th; al l

,
-
,

galler i es a s hi s personality deser v e s He i s a b ri l

,
.

liant e v er intere s ting light i n any tenni s gather i ng

-
,

and hi s game wil l always show s h ee r gen i u s o f exe

ca tion e v en wh i le r ou s ing i rritation by h i s re fusal
to play sa f e He would rat h er ha v e one sup er great
.
-

day and b a d de f ea ts than no ba d de f eats w i tho u t

,
 A ME R ICA 17 3

T hi s i s t ru e o f h i s f orehand b ut hi s b a ckhand la c ks ,

p u nch H i s wh ole game needs sp eed and aggre s

.

s i v e ne s s .

H e i s q u i e t mo de st and ext r emely p opula r H i s

, , .

p e rf ect cou r t manner and ple asant smile have made

Ga rlan d a u n iv e r sal fav our i te i n America and Eng
l a nd His game is the result of h a r d con sci entiou s
.
,

w ork The re i s no geni u s ab o u t i t a nd l i ttle natural

.
,

talent I t i s no t an interesti ng game as i t la c k s

.

br i lli ancy yet i t i s ve ry sound and m u ch b ette r t h an

, ,

i t l o oks .

VI NCENT R I C H A RD S

Vin c ent Ri ch ards N a tional Junio r C h amp i on o f

,

Ameri c a and the m o st rema rkable b oy playing ten

nis i s a d i stin c t p erson ality Ri cha rds who i s now
, .
,
’
on ly s eventeen won the M en s Double s Champion
,

s h i p of Ameri c a a t t h e age o f fi fteen Ri ch ards i s .

a b orn tenn i s playe r and a great tenn is gen i us .

R i ch a rds s e rvi ce i s a fast s l i ce t h a t h e f ollows

’

to the net It i s spee dy and very a ccur ate H i s

. .

ground strokes are b oth s l i ce and dri v e although ,

the b a s is o f h i s game i s sli c e He meets the b all on

“ ”
.

th e ri s e and s poons i t off hi s f orehand It i s lo w .

,

f a s t but none too sure His b a c khand s hot i s a fast

, .

twi sting s l ic e that i s r emarkably eff e cti v e and v e ry

e xc e l lent a s a de fence H e i s learn i ng a fl at dr i ve
. .

His v olleyi ng i s t h e g r eat f eature o f his game .

He i s the gr eatest natural volleye r I ha v e e v er seen .

Low and h igh volleying fo r e and b a ckh and i s p e r ,

f ect i n execu t i o n H i s h al f v o lley i ng i s ph e no m en al

. .
1 74 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
His o v e rhea d i s ve ry s eve r e f o r a b oy and ca rri e s ,

gre at sp ee d fo r s o small a p erson b u t it i s i ncl i ne d ,

to b e s lightly er r ati c He i s tremendo u sly f as t on

.

hi s feet but it in c line d to b e la z y

, .

Vincent Ri cha rd s ha s t h e greatest n at u ral a p ti

tu de and e quipment o f any tennis player I h ave e v e r
s een Again s t i t h e has a temp erament that i s i n
.

cli ne d to ca relessness and la ziness He tend s t o .

sulkine ss w h i c h he i s r apidly outgrowing He i s a

,
.

d eligh tful pers onal i ty on the court wit h h is s l ight ,

figure tremendou s speed and merry s mile He i s a

“,
”
, .

s econd Gus Tou ch a r d i n lo oks and style I h op e .

t o s e e him de v el op to b e the gr eatest playe r th e

w orld h a s eve r seen H e give s that p r om is e T h e
. .

’
m atte r r e s ts i n Ri cha rds h ands a s hi s worst enemy ,

i s his temp erament .

At hi s b e s t h e i s t o day the e qual o f t h e top fl i gh t

i n the wor l d At h is wo r s t he i s a chi l d His
. .

a v erage is fine but not great Tra v el work s i n c ere .

, ,

eff ort and a few yea r s should tu rn th i s a stonishing

, ,

b oy into a ma rv ellou s pla y e r .

R L M U RRAY
. .

”
The ne w C al i fo rni a C omet successo r to M E , . .

M L ou ghli n i s the u s ual sobriquet for R L

‘
.
, .

Murr ay now o f Buff alo Murray won the N ati o nal

, .

C rown in 1 9 1 7 1 9 1 8 - .

Hi s s er v i c e is o f the s ame cy c lon i c cha r acte r a s

M L oughli n
‘
Murray i s left h anded H e hit s a
.
-
.

f a s t c annon b all del i ve ry o f grea t spee d and an

-
 AME R ICA 17 5

Am e r i c an twist o f extreme twist His ground st r oke s .

are not good and he ru shes the net a t every opp or

,

:
tu ni ty H i s f o r ehand dr i ve i s ve ry fast exce ssi v ely
.
,

topped a n d excee dingly er r ati c His b ackh and i s a

“ p oke ” .
,

H i s f oo two r k i s ve ry p oor o n b o t h sh o ts .

He v olleys v ery well sho o t i ng deep to th e b ase l i ne

,
-

and v ery a c curately His s h oulde r h i gh volleys a re

.
-

ma rvellous Hi s ove rh ea d i s r emarkable f or i ts

.

s e v eri ty and a c cur a cy H e s eldo m m i sses an o ve r

.

hea d b all .

M u rr ay i s a t erri fically h a r d wo rke r and t ir es ,

hi msel f out very r apidl y by p r od i g i o u s e ff o r t H e .

i s a hard fi gh te r and a h a r d man to b ea t He wo rks .

a t a n eno rmou s p a c e th rough out th e m a t ch .

H e i s la rge sp a r e r angy w i t h dynam i c ene r gy

, , , ,

a nd a wonder ful p ersonali ty t h at h olds th e ga lle ry .

H i s sm i le i s famous w h il e hi s s en s e o f h umou r ne v e r
,

des erts him A s p ortsman to h i s finge r t i ps t h e r e

.
-
,

i s no more popula r fi gu re i n Ame ri can ten ni s than

M urray His i s not a grea t gam e I t i s a cas e o f
. .

a great athlete making a second class game fi r st -

cla s s by s h e e r p o we r o f pe r sonal i ty and fi ght i ng

,

abi l ity He i s r e ally a s e c ond M L oughlin in hi s

.
‘

game his sp eed and hi s p er s onal cha r m

, ,
.

W AT SO N S
WA H B U R N

In contrast to Murray Watson Washburn pl ays ,

a c o ol never hurried never flu rri e d game that is

,
-
,
-

unique i n American tennis .

’
Th e r e i s little that is noteworthy o f Washb urn s
 AME R ICA 177

Washb u rn b u t fo r pure tenn i s gen iu s J o hnson

,

ranks ne arly the e qu al of B rooke s .

Joh nson is a one stroke playe r -

H e u ses a .

pe culi ar slice shot hi t from the wr i st He uses it .

in ser v ice ground strokes vol l eying and lobbing

, , , .

It is a true one stroke game yet by sheer a uda c ity

-
,

o f enterprise and wonderful spee d o f fo ot Wal l a c e

Johnson has for yea r s b een o ne o f the lea ding
playe r s of Ame ri c a .

S AM UE L HA RD Y

The ove rw h elm i ng s u ccess o f t h e Ame ri can D av i s

C up team i n 1 9 2 0 whe n we brought b ack the cup
_ ,

from A u stral i a wa s due i n no small me asu r e to the

wonderful general sh i p d i s p l aye d b y o ne man ou r ,

C apta i n Samuel Hardy .

The hardest part o f any such tr i p i s t h e attent i o n

to tra i n i ng r ela x ation and accommodat i ons fo r the
,

te am and onl y p erfe c t j udgment c an give the c omfo rt

s o ne e d e d by a team It i s to Capta i n Hardy tha t
.

the te am owe s i ts p erfect condit i on th r oughout the

ent i re miles we j o u rneye d a fter the c up Yet .

C aptain Hardy s su cc ess wa s far bigger than that

’
,

for by h i s ta c t c harm i ng p e r sonal i ty and splend i d

,

sportsmanship a t all t i mes he won a pla c e for u s

in the hearts o f eve ry co u ntry we v i s i ted Hardy .
,

altho u gh a non play i ng membe r o f the team i s a

-
,

gre at tennis player He i s one o f th e b est doubles

.

players America ha s produced H i s cleve r general .

ship and wonder ful knowledge o f the game p roved

17 8 T H E AR T O F LAWN T E NN I S
o f inest i mable value to th e team i n lay i ng out o ur
plan o f atta c k i n the Dav i s Cup ma t c hes themselves .

Clever c h arm i ng j ust and always full o f the most

, ,

delightful humour Hardy wa s an i deal C apta i n wh o

,

kept his team in the best o f sp i r i ts n o matter how

b a dly we might have b ee n play i ng or how de pr ess i ng
appea r e d o ur o u tlook .

CA R L S
FI C H E R

I a m i ncl u d i ng i n my analys i s o f p laye r s a bo y

wh o i s j u s t gain i ng r ecognit i on b u t wh o I b el i eve i s
to b e one o f th e grea t sta r s o f the futur e C a r l ,

F isc her o f P hi ladelph i a .

Yo u ng F i scher wh o i s o nl y 1 9 i s a b r i ll i ant h a r d
, , ,

hi tting le ft hander He ha s alrea dy won the E ast

-
.

ern Pennsylvan i a Champ ionsh i p b e en r unne r up t o ,

-

Walla c e Johnson i n the Pennsylvania State Ph i la ,

de l ph i a Champ i onsh i p and M iddl e States e v ent b e ,

s i de s hold i ng the Jun i or Champ i onsh i p o f P ennsyl

vani a for two years He won the Un i versity o f
.

Pennsylvan i a Champ i onship i n h i s freshman year .

His s er vic e i s a fl at delivery o f goo d sp eed at ,

t i mes verg i ng on th e Amer i can tw i st Hi s ground

, .

game c a rri es top sp i n dr i ves forehand and b ackhand .

Hi s volleying and overhe ad are s evere and p owerful

but prone to b e erra ti c Fis c her is an all court
.

player o f the most modern type He is aggress i ve .

“

a l mo s t too mu c h so a t time s a s he wastes a gre at

dea l o f energy by us eless rush i ng He needs s te a di .

ne ss and a W i ll i ngness to awa it h i s op ening but give s

 AME R ICA 17 9

prom i se o f rounding into a first class p l aye r a s h i s ,

s troke equipment is se c ond to none .

MAR S H A LL A LL E N

Far out i n t h e Pacific N ort hwest i n S ea ttle W as h ,

i ng t on i s a young p l a yer wh o b i ds fa i r to some day

,

b e world famou s I t i s qui te possible he m ay never

.

arri v e a t a l l
.

M arsha l l Allen i s a typ ical We ste rn pl ayer A l len .

h as a hurri c ane servi c e that i s none too reliable His .

forehand dri v e i s reminis c ent o f M cL ou ghli n It is .

a furiou s murderous a tta c k when it go es in and quite

use l ess when i t i s off Allen s b a ckh and is a fl a t
.
’

drive played to either si de W i th equal eas e At .

present it is erratic but shows great promise A ll en .

v o ll eys at time s b rilli antly but i s un c ertain and at

,

ti mes misses una c countably His o v erhe ad is re

.

m a rk ab ly bril l i ant and s evere but a l so errati c

, He .

rea c he s gr eat heights and sinks to awful depths I f .

M arsha l l A l len c on solidates his game and refines

the material h e has at hand he should b e a mar v e l
l ous p l ayer I f h e al l ows hi s love o f sp ee d to run
.
‘

away wi th his j udgment at the e xpens e o f a cc ura c y

and steadine s s he wi ll never rise abo v e the se c ond
cl ass Time will tell the story I look to s e e him
. .

world famous .

O UR R I SI N G J UN I O RS
F ora moment I am go i ng to p ay t rib ute t o some
b oys wh o I l ook to see among the s tar s o f the future .
 AM E R I CA 18 1

I n the y oun ge r class of b oys tho se un de r I 5 one ,

fi nds many yo u ngsters al r eady f o r m i ng r eal style .

The boy who shows the greates t p r omise and today

the b est all r ound game equalling in p o tent i al p o we r
-
,

even Vin c ent Richards at the same age i s Alexande r ,

L ( Sandy ) Wiener o f Philadelph i a At fou rteen

. .

y o un g We i ne r i s a styl i st o f th e h i g h est all c our t -

type .

Am on g t h e o ther b o ys who may well devel o p i nto

sta r s in the fu tu re are M ered i th W Jones A r thur .
,

Ing r aham Jr Andrew C larke Ingr aham M i les

, .
, ,

Valent i ne Raymond O wen Richa r d Chase N eil

, , ,

Sullivan Hen ry N ee r and E dward M urph y

, , .

There are many o the r grea t playe r s I wo u l d l ik e

_

to analys e but space f o rbi ds Amo n g o ur le ade r s

“

, .

are Roland R ob erts John Strachan C J G ri ffi n ,

-
, . .
,

D avis and R o b ert Kinsey i n C al i fo rn i a ; W alte r T

,
.

Hayes Ralph Burdock and Heath Byf or d i n the

, ,

M iddle West ; Howard Voshell Ha r old Throck ;

,

mort o n Conrad B D oyle C raig B i ddle R i chard

, .
, ,

Harte Colk e t C aner N ath aniel W N iles H C

, , .
, . .

J o hnson D e an M a they and ma ny oth e r s of e qu al

, ,

f ame in the Ea st .
 CHA PTE R X III

B RIT I SH I SL E S

J . c . P A R KE

H E RE i s no name i n t e nn i s hi s tory o f the

p ast deca de mo r e f amo u s t h a n t h a t of J C . .

P a rk e. I n twelve mont h s du r i ng 1 9 1 2 and 1 9 1 3 , ,

b e de f e ate d B ro ok e s W i ld i ng and M L ou ghli n a

,
—
,
‘

nota b le r ecord ; and n o w i n 1 9 2 0 a f te r hi s wonde r .

,

ful work in t h e W orld W a r h e r e turn s to tenn i s ,

and sco r e s a d ec i s iv e victory o ve r W M Johnston . . .

P arke i s ess ent i ally a b ase l i n e playe r His -

.

s e rv i ce i s s o f t fl a t but well pl ace d H i s ground

, , .

st r okes are hi t w i t h an almos t fl a t r a cquet face and

a p e cu l i a r s h ort sw i ng He uses a pronoun c e d snap
.

o f t h e w ri st H e sl i ces hi s stra i ght b a ckh and s h ot

.
,
’ ’
b u t pulls hi s d ri ve cross court I t i s Pa rke s famou s .

ru nn i ng dr iv e down t h e l i ne t h at i s t h e outstanding
f e at u r e o f hi s gam e P arke was a ten second
.
-

hundred yard man i n college and st i ll reta i ns h is

-
,

remarkable speed o f foo t He hi ts h i s dr iv e while .

r unning a t top sp ee d and tran s la tes hi s we i ght to the

b all It Sh oot s low and fast d o wn t h e line It i s a
. .

m ar v ellous stroke .

’
Parke s volley i ng is stea dy and well plac e d but
n o t de ci s iv e H i s overhea d i s r el i a b le and a ccu r ate
.
,

182
 B R ITI S H I S LE S 1 83

bu t lacks p unch Th e gre a t fact or o f Pa rke s

.
’

game i s h i s uncanny ab ili ty to p rodu c e h i s greatest

game under t h e greatest stress I cons i de r him one .

o f the fi ne s t mat ch players i n the world His tacti .

cal knowledg e and bra i ny atta c k a re all the mo re

dangerous b e c aus e h e h a s phenomenal power o f
,

d e fen c e a n d fighting qualit i e s o f the h ighest orde r .

Th ere i s no finer sp o r tsm an i n tennis than Parke .

Generous qu i et and modest Parke is dese rv edly a

, , ,

p opula r figure wit h the tenn i s wo rld .

A . R . F . K I N GS C O TE

Th e most r ecen t sta r t o r ea ch t h e he i gh ts of f am e

i n Englis h tenn i s i s M aj o r A R F K i ngs c ote . . . .

Kings c ote h a s playe d good tenn i s for some yea r s ;

but it wa s only in 1 9 1 9 follow i ng h is excellent wo rk
,

i n t h e Wa r t h at h e showe d h i s tru e wo r th H e
,
.

defe ated Gob e rt i n sequen c e sets i n the Da vi s C up

tie at Deau vi lle and f ollowed by de feat i ng Anderson
,

i n Au s tralia and c a r rying Pa tte rson to a hard mat c h .

S i n c e t h en h e h as steadily i mp rove d and t hi s s ea s on

f ound hi m t h e lea ding figu r e o f t h e B r i t i s h tea m .

K i ngs c ote playe d mu c h o f hi s e arly tenn i s wi t h

R N W i ll i ams i n Sw i t z e rland d uri ng 1 9 1 0 and
. .

19 1 1. The eff ect o f th i s t r a i n i ng i s eas i ly S een o n

’
hi s game t o day fo r without Will i ams das h and ex
,

t r eme b r i ll i ancy t h e ir st r oke s are excute d i n ve ry

,

mu ch t h e s ame s tyle .

Ki ngs cote s s ervice i s a fast sl i ce well pla c e d and

’
,

cl eve rly d i sgu i sed I t car ri es a gre at deal of p ac e

.
 B R ITI S H I S LE S 18 5

A memb e r o f eve ry Dav i s C u p te a m s i nce t h e

m atch e s we r e i naugu rated a do u bles playe r o f t he ,

h ighest st r ategy Rop er B a rr ett needs no i ntrodu c

,

t i o n o r analysis H i s game i s s oft His s er v i ce

. .

lo o ks a j oke In r eal i ty i t i s h a r d t o hi t fo r B a rr ett

.
,

p ushes i t to t h e most unexp ecte d pla ces H i s g r o u nd .

s trokes s o f t S hort and l o w a r e i de al doubles shots

, , , , .

He angle s off the b all with a S ho r t shove i n t h e d i re c

tio n H e can d ri ve h a r d wh en pr e ss ed b u t pre fer s
.
,

to use th e S lo w p oke .

H i s vo lley i ng i s the acm e o f fi nesse He angles .

s o ft t o t h e s i de l i nes sto p v o lleys t h e h a r des t dri ve s

-
,

success fully He pi cks op en i ngs with an u ne rrin g

.

“ ”
eye H i s o ve rh e a d lack s pu nch bu t i s stea dy
.
,

and rel i ab le .

B a rr ett i s a cleve r m ixe r o f s hot s He i s p lay i ng .

t he unexpe c ted s h ot to t h e u nexp ected pla ce H is .

s ense o f ant ici pat i on i s r ema r kable a n d he retri e v es ,

the m ost u nu su al S hots It i s hi s great tenni s .

ta ct ic s t h at m ake hi m notewo r t hy H i s game i s .

r o u nd but not wonde r fu l .

T HE L OWE S A , . H . AND F . G .

Th e f am ou s b ro t h e r s alle d i nd i sc r im i na t ely the

, c

Lowes a r e tw o o f t h e b est b ase l i ne playe r s i n t h e

,
-

B ritis h I sles B o t h m en play almost i dentical styles

.
,

an d a t a d i stance a r e v ery h a r d to tell apa r t .

G or d o n Lowe u ses a S l i ce s e rv i ce wh i le A r th ur ,

s e rv es w i t h a r everse sp i n N e i the r m an h as a .

dangerou s del iv e ry B ot h a r e a deq u ate and h a rd t o

.

w i n ear n e d poi nts fro m .

1 86 T H E AR T O F LAW N TE NN I S
The ground stroke s o f t h e Lowe s a re v e ry o r th o
d ox . Full swing top sp i n dr iv e s fo r e and b ack
,

h and straight or c ros s cour t are hi t w i th equal

,
’
,

f ac i l i ty T h e Lowes volley defens iv ely and only

.

come i n to the let wh en pulle d i n b y a S h o rt sh ot .

The ir o v e rh ea d wo r k i s ave r age .

Their game s a re not sta r tl i ng T h e r e i s noth i ng .

to r equire mu ch c omm ent B oth men a r e e x cellent .

t e nn i s playe rs o f t h e tru e Engl i s h s ch o ol :fine b ase

l i n e drivers but subj e c t to de feat by any agg r es siv e
,

v o lleye r It is a la c k o f aggress iv eness that h olds

.

b ot h men down f o r th ey are excell ent c our t cove r ers

, ,

fine ra c quet wielder s b ut do not ri s e t o r eal h e i g h ts

,
.

T h e Lowe s c ould e asily de f eat any playe r w h o wa s

S lightly off hi s game a s th ey a r e ve ry stea dy and
,

m ake f e w m is takes N eithe r would de f e a t a firs t

.

class playe r at hi s b e st .

T . M . M A VR O GO RDAT O

O ne o f t h e mo st consi s tent wi nners i n Engl i s h ten

nis for a sp an o f year s i s a l ittle man w i th a big
name wh o i s un i versally and p opularly known a s
“ M a vro
,

M a v ro a dde d anot h e r nota b le v i cto ry in 1 9 2 0 ,

when he de feate d R N Williams i n the la s t eigh t

“ ”
. .

i n the Wo rld C h amp i ons h ip s M a vr o h a s alway s .

b een a fin e playe r but h e h as n eve r q u i te S cale d t h e

,

top fl i ght .

His game i s stead i ness p e r s o n i fied H e s h o v es hi s .

serv i ce in the co urt a t t h e end o f a p r o di gi ous swi ng

 B R ITI S H I S LE S 18 7

that end s i n a p oke I t goe s where he w i shes i t . .

Hi s ground strokes are fine in splendi d fo rm very , ,

a c curate and rema rkably f ast f or s o l i ttle e ffort .

Ma v r o i s not large enough t o hi t h ard but owing ,

to h i s rema rkable foo twork h e c o v e r s a v ery large

territo ry in a remarkably S ho rt s pa c e o f t i me His .

r a cquet wo rk i s a delight to a s tudent o f o rthodox

f o r m H i s v olleying is a ccurate steady well p l a c ed
.
, ,

b ut de fens iv e He h a s no spee d o r pun ch to h i s

.

volley Hi s o v erhea d i s steady to the point o f b eing

.

uniqu e He is s o small that i t seem s a s i f anyone

.

c ou l d lob o v er h i s hea d but his spee d o f foot i s s o ,

gre at that h e i n v a ri ably gets h is r a c quet on i t and

puts i t b ack deep .

M a v ro turn s de fence int o attack by putt i ng th e

b all b a ck i n play s o o ften that hi s opponent gets
t i red hitting it and take s unne c e s sary c han c es Hi s .

a ccura cy i s s o great that it make s up for hi s la ck

o f sp eed Hi s judgment i s sound but not b rilliant
.
‘
.

He i s a h ard work i ng c on s cientious player wh o de

-
,

s erv e s h is su cc es s .

There a re many othe r player s who a re interesting

s t udie s The two Au s tra l i ans now li v ing in Eng
.
,

l and and to all intents and purpose s Engl i s hmen

, ,

Rando lph Ly ce tt and F M B Fi s her are distin c t . . .

,

and i ntere s ting typ e s o f p l ayer s C P Dixon . . .

,

S tan l ey Dou s t M J G Rit ch i e M a x Woosnam

, . . .
, ,

the ri s ing young s tar P M D av s on A E B eami s h

, . .
, . .
,

W C C r awl ey and s c ores o f ot h e r e xc ellent play

. .
,

e r s will c arry the bu r den o f Engl i s h tenn i s success~

,
 CHAPTE R XI V

FRAN C E AN D JAPAN

Fra nce

ANDR E GO B E RT

N E o f t h e mo st pi c tur es qu e fi gur e s a n d d e
l i ghtfully p olished tennis games i n t he world
a re j oined i n that v olatile temp e r amental player
, ,

Andr é Gob e rt o f F r anc e H e i s a typ i cally F r en c h

.

p r o duct full o f fi ness e a r t and n e rv e surro u nded

, , , ,

b y t h e r omance o f a wo nde rfu l wa r r e c o r d o f hi s

p eople i n wh i c h h e b o re a magni ficent p a r t yet un ,

stable er r at i c and unce r ta i n At hi s b est h e i s i n

, , .

v in c ible He i s t h e gr eat maste r o f ten ni s At h is

. .

wor s t h e i s me dio c r e Gob ert i s at o nce a del i ght

.

and a di s app o i ntment to a student o f tenni s .

’
Gob ert s ser vi ce i s ma rv ello u s It i s one o f the .

grea t de l i v er i es o f th e world His great he i ght .

( he i s 6 f eet 4 inches ) and t r emendous r ea ch e m

able him to hi t a fl a t d eli v e ry a t fr ig h tful speed ,

and s ti l l s tand an e xc ellent c hance o f it go i ng i n

c ourt H e u s e s v ery little twi s t s o th e pa c e i s re
.
,

m a rk ab ly fa s t Yet Gob ert la cks confidence i n h i s

.

ser vic e . I f hi s opp onent h andle s i t success fully

189
 FR A N C E A N D J APA N 191

p laye r V i cto ry i s t h e c ri ter i on o f a m atch player

.
,

and G o be r t h as not pr ov e d h imself a great vi c tor .

Gob ert i s p r obably the finest i ndoor p l aye r i n

the world whi l e h e i s very g r eat on h ard c ourt s ; but
,

hi s gras s play i s not the equal o f many other s I .

’
h ea rti ly re c ommend Gob ert s s tyle to all student s
o f the game a n d endo r s e h im a s a model f o r
,

strokes .

W . LAU RENTZ

Another b ri ll i ant errati c and i ntensely i nteresting

,

figu re t h a t Fr ance h a s g i ven th e t enni s wor l d i s

L au rentz t h e wonderful yo ung playe r wh o a t the
, ,

z
a g e o f s e v enteen de f e a ted A F Wilding . . .

L au re nt i s a cycl o n ic hi tte r of remarkable spee d

and b ri lliance but p r one to ve ry s eve r e lapses Hi s
, .

se rv i c e i s o f s e v e r al va r i et i es all well played H e

, .

uses an Amer i can tw is t a s hi s r eg ular deli v ery but ,

var i e s i t wi th a s h arp sli c e a r e v ers e twi s t o f great

,

sp i n and a f ast c ann o n ball s mas h L au rentzi s

,
-
.

very vers atile He h a s e x cellent ortho do x dri v e s

.
,

fore and b a c kh and and a c omp etent forehand c hop

,
.

H i s volley i ng i s bril li ant almost b eyond d e s cri p

t i on but v ery errat ic He i s v e ry fa s t on hi s feet
, .
,

and anti ci pate s r emarkably well He will make t h e .

mos t ha i r ra isi ng v o ll eys only to fa l l down i nexpli c

-
,

ably the nex t moment on an ea s y S h ot Hi s o v e r .

h ea d i s like his v olley s e v ere bri l li ant but un c e rtain

, , , .

L a urentzi s a ve ry h ard worker and unlik e , ,

G obert i s always a t h i s b e s t when behind He is a

, .

fair figh ter and a great matc h player H i s defea t s .

1 92 T H E AR T OF LAW N TE NN I S
a r e due more to over anxiety than to la c k o f fight
- .

He i s temperamenta l sensat i ona l and br i l l iant

, , ,

a sportsman o f the highest type qui c k to re c ogniz e ,

his opponent s goo d work and to gi v e fu ll c redit for

’

i t He is one o f the most interesting players now

.

be fore the public .

He i s a clever c our t gene r al but not a great tennis

thinker p l aying more by instin c t than by a rea ll y
,

deep lai d plan o f ca mp aign L au rent zmight beat

- .

anyone in the world on h i s day o r lose to the ve ri est

dub when at his
J . Z
SAM A IE U H L

The N ew Fren c h Champ i on o f 1 9 2 1 who de fe ated

Andr é Gobert mo s t une xpe c te dl y in the c ha l lenge
round i s an interesting player o f the mental typ e
!

, .

H e is anything but Fren c h i n his game His s tyl e .

i s rather that o f the cra fty Ameri c an or Engli sh

p l ayer than the hard hitting Fren c hman - .

Sam a z i eu hl i s an exp onent o f craft y patball H is .

s ervice i s a medium p ace S lice well p l a c e d but not ,

de c i s i ve His ground stroke s a re a p e c uliar sti ff

.

arm chop var i ed at t i mes with an equally cramped

drive yet hi s e x treme m ob i l i ty allows him to co v er a
,

tremendou s amount o f c ourt while his return whi c h , ,

is we l l disgu ised i s c apable o f grea t angles Hi s

, .

volleying is rel i ab l e but l a c ks severi ty and pun c h He .

makes e x ce ll ent low volleys b ut cannot put away ,

S houlder high bal ls whi l e h i s overhe a d i s no t dead l y .

It is S am a z ’
i euhl s c le v er generalship and hi s abi l
“w
I
It a s wi th d e e p e s t reg re t th e news of h i s d e ath re a ch e d us , as
th i s e d i ti on w e nt to p re ss .
 FR A N C E A N D J AP AN 193

i ty to re c over s eemingl y imp ossible S hots that wi n

mat c hes for him He i s a c omp arat i ve ly new
.

tournament p l ayer and s hould improve greatly a s

,

h e ga i ns confiden c e and e xp eri ence .

R D ANET
.

O ne o f t h e m o st i nteresting young pl aye r s i n

Fran c e is R Danet wh o has c om e to the fore i n
.
,

the p ast few year s Thi s b oy for he i s little more

.
, ,

has a hard hitting bri l liant game o f great promise .

Hi s ser v i c e i s a sp eedy S l i c e He dri v es with .

great s p eed i f a s y e t with none to o mu c h a cc ura cy

, ,

o ff both fo re and ba c khand Hi s net atta c k i s v ery

.

s evere whi l e o v erhea d he is dea dly Hi s s p eed o f .

foot i s remarkab l e and he i s a v ery h ard worker

, .

His limitations are in hi s la c k o f a set plan o f at

ta c k and the s tea dy adheren c e to any gi v en method
o f p l ay He throws away too many easy c han c es
.
,

but thi s wi l l c orre c t i tse l f a s time goe s on and Danet

ha s fought through more tournaments I cons i der .

h i m a p l ayer o f gre a t prom i se .

Ma x D e cugi s and B rugnon t h e two rema i n i ng ,

memb er s o f the 1 9 2 0 D avis C up team o f Fran c e ,

present tota lly di fferent types D e cugi s c ra f ty c o o l

.
, , ,

and e xp erien c ed i s the veteran o f many long seasons

,

o f mat c h p l ay He i s a master ta c ti c ian and wins

.
,

most o f hi s ma t c hes by outgeneralling the other

p l ayer Burgnon i s b ri lli ant fl ashy h ard hitting
.
, , ,

erratic and inexper i enced He i s very yo ung h ardly

, .
,
 FR AN CE AN D J AP AN 1 95

Kum ag a e and Zen zo Shi m i dz

u, the f am ou s Japanese
stars .

Kum a ga e w h o fo r s o m e ye a r s re i gne d sup r eme

,

in Japan and Honolulu has l i ved in America f o r ,

the p ast three ye ars Shi m i d z u i s a p r o d u c t of

.

C alc u tta where h e ha s l i ve d fo r some ye ars

, .

N o player ha s c aused more d i s c uss i on th a n

Kum ag a e u nl ess i t i s Shi m i d z
, u ; while surely no ma n

re c e iv ed mo r e c ritical comment than Shi m i d z u ex ,

cep t Kum ag a e The press o f Ameri c a and England

.

have v i ed with e ach other i n exploiting these two

men There wa s unanimi ty o f opinion c on c ern i ng
.

th ese two men in one resp ect N o fi ner sportsme n .

nor more delightful op p onents can b e f ound tha n

th ese Jap anese They have w o n t h e r esp ec t and
.

friendship o f all who ha v e met them .

Kum a g a e i s the sp eedier tenn i s pl ayer H e cam e .

to Ameri c a in 1 9 1 6 the p ossessor o f a wonderf ul

,

f orehand dri v e and nothing e l se Kum a ga e i s le ft .

handed whi c h ma de his p e c ul i ar sho t s a l l the ha r der

,

to han dl e He met with fair success during th e ye ar ;

.

hi s crown i ng triumph wa s hi s de feat o f W M John . .

ston at N ewp ort in fi v e sets H e lost to J J Arm . . .

s trong Watson M Washburn and George M

, .
, .

Chur c h He le arne d mu c h du ring hi s ye ar in Amer

.

i c a and returned to Jap an a w is er man with a firm

, ,

determination to a dd to his tennis equipment .

In 1 9 1 7 Kum a g a e returned to Ameri c a to enter

busines s in N ew York O n c e e s tab l i s he d there he
.

began de v eloping hi s game First he learned an .

Ameri c an twist serv ic e and then strengthened his

196 T H E AR T O F L AW N T E NN I S
b a ckhand That ye ar he su ff ere d de fe a t at the
.

hands o f Walter T Hayes and my s elf He wa s . .

'
s t a d i ly i mpro v ing He now started c oming to the
g .

Hist and learn i ng to volley He is no t yet a goo d .

low volleyer and ne v er will b e wh i le he u ses the

,

p ecu l ia r gr i p common to his p eople ; but his high

v olleying and overhea d are now e x cel l ent Last !

y e ar K u m a g a e reache d h i s top form and w a s ranke d

t h i rd in Amer ic a His de fe at s were by Johnston
.
,

Vincent R ich ards and myself ; while he defe ate d

,

Murray S H Voshell Vincent Ri c hards and me

, . .
, , ,

a s well a s countless players o f less note .

T h e se ason o f 1 9 2 0 found Kum a g a e sweeping all

be fo re h i m S i n c e Johnston Williams Garland and
, , , ,

I were away on the D avi s Cu p trip Wi l li ams b arely .

de fea t ed him i n a bitter match j ust prev i ously t o , _

sailing Kum a g ae le ft Amer i c a i n the mi ddl e o f

.

the summer to com p ete i n th e O lymp i c games r e p ,

resent i ng Ja p a n .

Kum a g a e i s st i ll essent i ally a b a se l i ne p laye r o f -

m arvellous ac c uracy o f sh o t and sp eed o f fo ot H i s .

dr i ve i s a lethal weap on that sprea d s destru c t io n

a mong h i s opponents Hi s ba ck hand i s a seve r e
“ ”
.

poke none to o a c curate b u t very de ad l y when it

, ,

go es in His s er vic e overhe ad and high vol l ey are

.

al l severe and rel i able H i s low volley i s the we ak .

spo t in an otherwise gre at game Kum a g a e c annot .

handle a c hop and d isl ikes grass co u rt play as the

“
-

”
, ,

ba ll b ounds to o low fo r his p e c u l iar loop dri v e .

He i s one o f the gre ate s t h ard c ourt p l aye rs in the -

world and one o f the most dangerous opponents

,

a t any time on any surfa c e .

 FR A N C E A N D J APA N 1 97

Sh i m i d z
is to day as dangerous a s Kum a g a e
u -
.

He too i s a b a s e l ine p l ayer but la c ks Kum a g a e s

, ,
-
,
’

terrifi c forehand dri v e Shi m i d z u has a super i or

.

b a c khand to Kum a g a e but his weak serv i c e ra th e r

,

o ffsets this His low volleying is fa r s uperior to

.

Kum a g a e while his high vo ll eying and overhea d

,

are quite h i s e qual He ha s all the fighting qualiti es

.

in hi s game that make Ku m ag a e so dangerous but ,

he ha s not ha d the e xp erien c e Shi m i d z u learns .

very qu ickly and I lo ok to s e e him a great fa c t or

,

i n the gam e i n future ye ars .

B oth Shi m i d zu and Kum a g a e are mar v ellous court

coverers and s eem absolutely untiring They a re

“ ”
,
.

getters o f almost unbelie v ab l e a c ti vi ty and ac ,

curate to a p oint tha t se ems un c anny B oth men h i t .

to th e l i nes w i th a certainty that make s it very

dangerous to attemp t to take the net on anyth i ng
e xc ept a deep forcing shot tha t hurries them .

With such players a s Kum ag a e and Shi m i d z u fol ,

lowed by S Kashio and K Yamasak i and the lat e

. .
,

H M ikami Jap an i s a big fa c tor i n fu ture tennis

.
, .

1 9 2 2 w i ll again s e e Jap an challenging for the D a v is

Cup and none b ut a first class team c an stop them

,
- .

The a dvent o f a Jap anese te am with such players

will mean that th i s ye ar we must c all out our best to
rep el the O ri ental invasi on : so c omp et i t i on re c eives
another st i mulus tha t S hould ra i se our standard o f
play .

The prob ab i l i ty o f j o urney i ng to Jap an to chal

lenge for the D av i s C up is not s o remote b u t that
we m u st cons i de r i t a s a futu re p oss i b i l i ty .
 S PAI N AND T HE C ON TI N E N T 1 99

Alonzo has a terrifi c forehand drive that is the

’
c losest ri v a l to W M John s ton s o f any shot I ha v e
. .

s een He i s re l iab l e on this s troke either stra ight

.
,

or c ro ss Court from the deep c ourt but i f drawn in

-

to mid c ourt i s apt to mis s it His ba c khand is a

-
.

fl at dri v e a cc ura te and low but rather s low and in

,

the main de fen s i v e .

His v o ll eying i s at on c e a j oy and a d i sapp oint

ment Su c h marvel l ous angle s and s top vo ll eys off
.
-

di ffi c ult dri v e s ! Yet immediate l y on top o f a daz

z li ng disp l ay Alonz o will throw away the e asiest
sort o f a high v o l ley by a p i ti able fluke .

H i s overhe ad i s a t once severe deadly and relia ,

ble He smashes with sp eed and dire c t i on I t is

. .

n o t onl y i n his var i ed stroke equ i pment that Alonzo

is grea t but i n h i s marvellous fo otw o rk Such sp eed .

o f f oot and lightning turning I ha v e ne v er b e fore

seen on a tennis c ourt He i s a qu icke r man than .

N orma n E B ro okes and h i ghe r pra i s e I c annot

.

give I look to s e e Alonzo wh o t o day lose s mat ches

.
,

thro u gh lack o f resour c e b e c ome by vi rtue o f ex ,

p e r i e nce and to ur nament p lay the gre atest player

on the continent .

His brother J M Alo nz o although nowhere in

, . .
,

M anue l s class is a fine all court player as are C ount

’
,

de Gomar and Fla quer the rema ining memb ers o f ,

the Cup te am I f A l onzo and h i s te ammate s are

.

an i nd ic at i on o f the typ e o f p l ayers Sp ain is deve l op

ing a new and powerful fact o r i n t h e tennis wo rld is
entering the field to stay .
2 00 T H E AR T OF L AWN T E NN IS

S om e O the r Cha mpi ons

Th e r e a r e s o me i nd i vi du al players o f i n t e r es t fr o m
the countr i es where tenn i s a s a game ha s no t
re ac h ed a pl ace wo rt hy o f nat i onal analys ation but
wh o deserve ment i on among the great players o f the
world .

F ir st among t h em c o mes Ni c ho la s M i shu o f

R u man i a .

N . MI S H U

What can I s ay o f M i sh u ! A S a tenn i s p laye r h e

defies analy s is His game is a fre ak He a dores to
. .

do the unusual and his game ab ounds in fre ak shots

that Mishu e x e c utes with remarkable S kill He ha s .

many and var i e d s er v ices underhand cuts f ore and

“ ”
b ackh and a push o ff hi s nose and even one serve
,
,

,
,

whe r e he turns his b a c k on the cou r t and s erves the

b all b a c k o v e r his he ad .

H i s dri v es are crampe d i n S w i ng and h i t with

excessive top spin Hi s fo o twork i s a defi ance o f
.

all rules His volley i ng game looks like an ac ci dent

.
,

ye t M ishu produ c es resu l ts In 1 9 2 1 he be at A H . . .

Gob ert in the Wor l d s Hard C ourt Championship

’

’
a t St Clo u d M ishu is a winner I don t know how
. . .

h e do es it but he do es He i s ab ove all a u nique

.

p ersona l ity C heery indiv i dual at times e cc entric

.
, , ,

M ishu is a p opular figu re in tournaments abroa d He .

plays with a verv e and ab andon that appe als to the

E u ropean galler i es wh i le his dro l l humour and go od
na ture make h i m a del i ghtful opp onent .
 S PA I N AN D T HE C ON TI N E N T 2 01

J . S
WA H E R

B elg i u m i s r epresented by J Washer my op .

,

p onent i n the fina l round o f the Hard Court Cham

p i on s h i p o f the Wo rld in 1 92 1 Wa s her 13 a fine
.

orthodo x tenni s player His s er vic e is a we l l pla c ed

.

tw i st de l i v ery o f medium p ace He h a s a terrific .

forehand drive that gains in e ff e c tiveness owing to

the fa c t h e is a le ft hander Like s o many players
-
.

with a pronoun c ed strength h e c overs up an e qua l ly

,

pronoun c ed weakne ss by u s ing th e s trength Washe r .

ha s a very feeble b a c khand for so fine a p l ayer He .

oke s h i s b a ckhand when he i s un ab l e to run around

p
it.

H i s ove rhea d i s strong speedy and reliable H i s

, .

volleyi ng la c k s pun c h and stea diness He has had .

little tournament e xp eri en c e and S hows promise o f

g r ea t i mprovement i f g i ven the opp ortun i ty .

E TE G NE R
.

D enmark i s r epresented by a player o f prom i s e

and skill in the p erson o f E Tegner This young . .

s tar de feated W H L au rentzat St Cloud i n the

. . .

H ard Court Champion s hip o f the World in 1 9 2 1

wh en the latter wa s holder o f the title .

Tegner i s a b a s eli ng player o f fine style His .

stroke s are l ong free dri v e s o f fine pa c e and depth .

H i s servi c e is hardly a dequate for first flight tenni s ,

yet whi l e his ground game c annot make up for the

l a c k o f aggression in hi s net atta c k Tegner is not .
 S PAI N AND T HE C ON TI N E N T 2 03

i s a baseliner o f the most pronoun c ed typ e He .

gets everything he c an put his ra c quet to He re .

m i nds me irresistibly o f M avrogord a to seemingl y

,

rea c hing nothing yet they all c ome b a c k I cannot

.

a de qua te ly ana lyse h i s game b ecause h i s first pr i n

ci pl e i s to put ba c k the b all no matter how and
Z
,

th i s h e carr i es into e xcellent e ff e c t

. e rlend i i s a

match w i nne r fi r s t and a styl i s t s ec on d

.
 C HAPTER XVI

T HE C O L O N I ES

Aus tra la s i a

H E death of t h a t sterl i ng s port sm a n A nthony ,

F W i ld i ng and t h e natural decl i n e i n the

.
,

play i ng p o w ers of N orm an E B roo kes o w i ng to

.
,

t h e a dvance o f yea r s and hi s wa r exper i ences leave ,

A u st r alas i a ( A u st r al i a and N ew Zealan d ) i n a

s o mewh at un ce r ta i n cond i t i on r ega r d i ng its te n n i s
p ro s p ects .

N O RMAN E . B ROOK E S

V o l u m e s h ave b een w ri tten ab out N E B r ooke s . .

and h i s ten ni s gen i us but I wo u ld not feel r i ght i f

,

I could no t pay at lea s t a S l i gh t t r ib u te to t h e great

est tenn i s player and genius o f all t i me .

’
There i s no need to dwell on B rooke s S h o ts h i s ,

ma r v ellou s me chan i cal perfect i on his p ecu lia r vol

,

leying style hi s uncanny anti c ipation All t h ese are

, .

too well known t o need my feeble des c r i pt i on Th ey .

a re but t he e x pression o f tha t wonderful b r a i n a n d

dominant p ersonali ty that li e beh i nd t h at sp hi nx

’
like fac e we know a s B rookes .

To s e e a cr oss the net t h ose eve r r estless eve r -

,

2 04
 T HE C OL ON IE S 2 05

th a t i s ve ry s eve r e and c o ns i ste n t b ut h is b ack ,

h and Where in all the re s t o f tennis h i s to ry

wa s t h e r e a first cl ass man wit h a b a ckh and s o
-

fundame ntally wrong ! His gri p i s ba d h e pull s up

“
o n the ball and loops i t h i gh i n t h e a ir I d o n ot
,

mean Pa tter s on always miss es h i s b a ckh and He .

does not He e v en makes remarkable shots off it

.

a t ti mes b ut i f Patterson i s p r e ss ed his b ackhand

, , ,

i s th e fi rs t p o rt i on of h i s gam e t o tra ck b ecause i t ,

i s hi t inherently wrong .

Pa tterson r elie s mainly on sp e e d to win ma tches .

He i s no t a str a tegi st and finess e is not p a rt of h i s

,

tenn i s equipment He h as a m a gni fi ent phys i que

.
,

and reli e s la rg ely on hi s st r ength to car ry him

_

through a long ma t c h and win i n the end .

H e i s v e ry qui et and in c line d to b e s omewha t

,

c areless on the c ourt un les s p ressed when h i s busi

, ,

ne s s lik e determined p l ay s hows wha t a g rea t match

,

player Patter s on can b e c ome H e p ro duces his .

be s t game at the c ru c i a l moment o f the m atch Pa t .

ter s on i s a s up erior match playe r to hi s real te nnis

abili ty His i s not t ruly a top notc h game It h as
.
-
.

sup erlat iv e features but i ts w h ole textu r e i s not of

,

the finest .

Patterson owe s mu ch o f hi s su c cess in 1 9 1 9 to

B r ookes under who s e gu i dance he played The
, .

a b sence o f the ma ster mind direct i ng his a tta ck

pr o ve d a deci de d h andi cap i n 1 9 2 0 and Patterson s ,
’

a ttack wa s n ot so certain nor s u sta ine d as i n t h e

’ ’
p r e viou s s eason Patterson s gam e plus B ro o kes
.

str ategy wo ul d b e a grea t combinat i on in one ma n .

 T HE C OL ON I E S 2 07

P A T o H A RA W OOD
’

Th i s yo ung Austral i an i s one o f the gre ate st

doub l es p l ayers in the world and bids fai r to press
the le ading S ingl es stars cl ose .

Pa t O H a ra Woo d is a player w i tho u t a weak

’

ness y e t also one without a strength He i s a

,
.

typ ic al all c ourt pl aye r wi th no out standing fe a t ure

to his game unless it b e h i s volleying Pa t Woo d .

h a s a natural apti tu de for double s wh ic h a t t i mes

se ri ously i nte r feres with his singles game .

H i s se rv ic e i s a well pla c e d speedy slice t h at h e

m i xes up well It is not a gr e at delivery but very
.

e ff e c t i ve H i s ground strokes taken on the ri sing

.
,

b o un c es are fl at dr i ves a c cura te and va ri ed a s t o

, ,

d i re c tion but la ck ing pun c h H e do es not h i t h ard

.

enough He i s a bri l li ant v o l leyer c utting off at

.
,

sh arp angl es the hardest dr iv es His overhea d i s .

erratic At times he i s de a dly o v erhe ad but is

.

prone to lapses into u n c ertain ty He is remarkably .

qui ck and sp eedy o f foot His sense o f anti ci pa .

tion i s magnificent Hi s generalship good though

.
,

not brilli ant It is la c k o f punch th e inab ility to put

.
,

the b all away tha t keeps Pa t O H ara Wo od from

,
’

t h e first flight in S ingles .

C le v er b l esse d with a keen sense o f humour a

, ,

sterling sportsman and delightfu l opp onent Pat ,

O H a ra Woo d i s a big asset to tennis and a man

’

wh o is needed in the game .

2 08 T H E AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S

J . c . H AW K E S
T h e younge st o f t h e Australasi an pl aye r s and a
b oy o f grea t promise i s Ja c k Hawkes He i s o nly .

2 2 and young i n the game for hi s age .

5

’
Let me sta te now I do not approve o f Hawkes
s tyle H i s fo otwork i s wrong hop elessly wron g
.
,

and I fear that unless he corre c t s it it may keep him ,

f rom attaining the pla c e his na tural abil i ties promi s e

“ ” “
.

Austral the famous cr i t i c des c ribes him a s hav

”
, ,

ing the genius o f the game .

Ja c k Hawkes h a s an e x aggera te d Ame ri can tw i st

ser v i c e that sin c e he i s a le ft hande r pla c es an un
,
-
,

ne c essary str ain ou his heart mus c les It c arries te r .

r i fi c twist but little spe ed and doe s no t p ay him for

the amount o f energy he e xp ends .

Hi s forehand dri v e i s e xc el l ent fast deep and , , ,

well pla c ed yet in making th is he steps away from

,

the ball again wasting energy His b a c khand i s a

, .

p oke and very unreliable To save it he r u n s

.

around e v erything p ossible aga i n c au s ing u nnece s ,

sary e x ertion Hi s v o ll eying i s bri ll i an t wh i le his

.

o v erhe ad i s magnifi c ent .

Hawkes wa ste o f energy h a s c o s t him many a

’

mat c h yet for all the inherent de fe c ts in his ga m e

,

he i s s o c lever in using what he ha s h i s ta c t ic s are s o ,

goo d for s o young a player that I b elieve h e w i ll

b e one o f the lea din g p l ayers o f the world in a few
year s Under the wat c hful eye s o f N orman Brookes
.

I foresee Hawke s c hanging hi s footwork to at least

a rea s onable c opy o f the old ma s ter .
 H
T E C OL ON I E S £ 09

'
J . o . AND E R S O N

Th i s yo u ng pl ayer i s again a promise r ather than

a star He is a big rangy hard hitting typ e like
.
, ,
-

Gera ld Patterson He is c rude at times care l e s s

.
,

and unfor tunately handi c app ed in 1 9 2 0 and 1 9 2 1 by

a s e v ere i ll ne s s that o nl y a ll owed him to resume play
i n the middle o f the latter year Hi s ground s trokes .

are fla t dri v es fore and ba ckhand H i s forehand i s .

a parti c u l ar l y fine s hot He hits it with a s hort .

s harp s nap o f his arm that imp art s great s pe ed and

yet hide s the dire c ti on His b a c khand i s de fensi v e
. .

His volleying cl e v er a cc urate but so ft His ove r

, .

hand s evere and re l i able His s ervi c e fl at fast and .

,

dangerous .

He need s finesse e xp er i en c e and season with

, ,

which he may we l l become one o f the greatest play

e rs as the f u ndamental p otentialit i es a r e the r e .

N ORMAN P EAC H

Th e ste ady base line game o f England has i ts ex

-

p onent in Au s trali a in N orman Pe a c h He ha s a .

b eaut i ful dri v ing game with a de quate but not severe
,

s ervi c e that one finds s o mu c h in England At times

, .

Pea c h wi l l ad v an c e to the net but hi s vo l leying and

overhe ad are se c ondary to h i s b ase l ine game He i s -
.

not a great tenni s player but i s c ertain l y one o f h i gh

standard o f play He I s Just b elow the first fl i gh t
.

i n A u strali a .

R V Thomas i s one o f th e finest d oub les playe r s

. .
 T HE C OL ON I E S 2 11

bou nd ing se rv i ce o f go o d speed w hi c h at ti m es he ,

follows to the net His b est gr ound str o ke i s a .

severe chop not unl i k e Wallace F Johnson He h as

, . .

a good dr i ve bo th forehand and b a c khand wh i ch ,

h e only uses when pressed or in attemp ting to p ass a

net man He vol l eys very well and covers the ne t
.
,

q u i ckly H is overhea d i s very se v ere stea dy and

.
, ,

r eliable He i s a fine na tural player just b elow the

.

top flight He i s an e x cellent stra tegist and m i xe s

.
,

h i s shots very well He has exc eptiona l ly fast foot .

-
r

work a nd rep eatedly ru ns around h i s backh and

,

t o c hop diagonally across the court in a manne r ve ry

s i milar to Johnson .

.B I C N orton t h e So u th Afr i can champ i o n a

. .
, ,

y ou ngster of twenty i s a phenomenal playe r o f ex ,

treme br i lliancy He h as everyth i ng i n st r oke e qu i p

.

ment dr i ves sli c es volleys and a fine service and

, , , ,

overhe ad Unfortunately N orton regards h i s tenn i s

.

largely a s a j oke H i s j udgment i s there fore faulty

.
,

and he is apt to loa f on the c ourt He tr i e s the .

mo s t i mpossible shots that somet i mes go in ; a nd

i n the main his court generalship i s none to o go od
, .

He is an irrepress i ble boy and h i s merry smile ,

and c h atter m ake him a tremendou s favourite with

t h e gallery He h as a ve ry st r ong p ersonality that
.

s hould carry him a l ong wa y .

Louis Raymond the le ft handed star o f the South ,

-

A fri c ans has an e xc ellent ground game c oupled with

,

a goo d serv i ce and fa i r volleying and overhe ad Hi s .

game is not remarkable He is a ha r d working .

-
,

deser v ing player who attains su cc ess by industry

2 12 T H E AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S
rather than natural ta l ent His j udgment i s so u n d
.

and methods o f play orthodo x e xc ept for a tendency ,

to run around his b a c khand .

C R B l a c kbe ard the youngest member o f the

. .
,

te am and G H D odd its captain are b oth very

, . .
, ,

e xc e l lent p l ayers o f the se c ond flight Bla ckbe ard .

i s very young not yet twenty and may develop

, ,

into a star At present he c hop s to o m u ch and i s

.
,

v e ry e rrat i c .

The r e a re many oth e r p laye r s W hom I wo u ld

analys e i f I ha d th e time or sp ace j but in these days
of p ape r shortage and ink s c ar c ity con s er v at i on i s ,

the keynote o f the times .

Let me turn for a few moments to the wo m e n

whose fame in the tennis world i s the e qu al o f the
men I h ave b een analysing .
 CHAPTE R XVII

FA M O U S W O M EN P LAYERS

Wom e n 5 ’
T e nni s

'

H E great bo om that f e a ture d the wh o le tennis

sea s on o f 1 9 2 1 i n America found one o f i ts
most remarkable mani festations l n the i ncreased
amount of play h i ghe r standard o f comp et i t i on and
,
’
remarkable growth o f public i nterest i n women s
te nnl s .

England h a s led and still leads th e world i n

, ,

women s tenu 1s The general standard o f play i s on

’
.

a higher s c ale and there i s more tournament pl ay i n

England than e l sewhere France wit h M l le Su
.
, .

z anne Le ngl en Mme Bi llou t ( M l le B rocadi e s ) and

, . .

Mme Golding f or c es England c losely for Europ ean

.
,

suprema cy but u ntil re c ent years Ameri c a e xc ept

, ,

for ind i viduals has been unab l e to reac h the stand

,

ard o f women s tennis found abroad

’
.

M i s s M ay Sutton now M rs Thomas H Bundy

, . .
,

pla c ed Ameri c an c o l ours in the fie l d by her wonderfu l

p erforman c e s m w1nn1ng the Wor l d s Champion s hip ’

at Wimb l edon mo re than a de c ade ago but a fter her ,

retirement Ame ri ca wa s fo r ced to content i tself with

l o c al honors .

N e i the r M i ss Mary Br o wne n or M i ss H a z el

2 13
 FAM OU S W O M E N PLAYE R S 2 15

in the teens j ump ed to the thirtie s or fortie s in

, ,

the regu l ar e v ent s Young gir l s wh o up to now

.
, ,

ha d not played tournaments fearing they la cked ,

the nece s s ary cl as s ru s hed to p l ay in the Junior

,

girls events From thi s l atter c lass c ame su c h a

’
.

p rom is ing young s tar o f today as Mi s s Marth a

B ayar d wh o bids fa ir to b e nationa l champion at
,

s ome not distant date .

It wa s a tremendous task o f organi z ation tha t

M is s B allin and her a ssi s tants undertook but they ,

did i t in a most efficient manner Mrs M ol l a Bj u r . .

stedt Mallory lent he r inva l uable assistan c e by play

ing in a s many tou rnaments as p os s ible She wa s a .

magnet that drew the other players in her wake w i th

an i rresist ible force .

s aw
’
1 92 0 M rs M allo ry s fi rst invasion of
.

Europ e sin c e he r Ame ri c an triumphs M i s f or .

tune was her p ort i on She wa s i ll be fore s ai l ing

.

and never at he r b es t on shipb oa rd a b ad voyage

, ,

c ompleted the wre c k o f her c ondition She ha d lit .

tle time for pra c tice i n Englan d and it was a playe r

fa r b e l ow h er b e s t wh o went down to c ru s hing de fea t
a t the hands o f M rs Lambe r t Chambers in the semi
.
-

fi nal round o f the World s Championsh i p at Wim ’

ble d on .

D e feated b ut not d i s c ouraged Mr s M a l lory re , .

tu rne d to Ameri c a and again re a c hing her true fo rm

, ,

won the c hampionship with ease She ma de up he r .

m ind the day o f her de feat in Engl and that 1 9 2 1

wo uld again find her on Europ ean c ourts .

Th e se ason o f 1 9 2 1 i n Amer ic a opened i n a blaz e

21 6 T H E AR T O F LAWN T E NN I S
o f tournaments throughout the entire c ountry Mrs . .

M a l lory showed e ar l y in the year s he wa s at her

b est by winning the Indoor Championship o f the
United State s from one o f the most representati v e
fie l d s e v er gathered together for this event .

E arly M ay found Mrs M a ll ory on the se as

.

b ound for Fran c e and Engl and The s tory o f he r .

magnifi c ent i f lo s ing s truggl e in b oth c ountr i es is

, ,

to l d e ls ewhe re in this bo ok but s he s aile d for home

,

re c ognise d ab ro ad a s one of the gre at pl ayers o f

the wor l d a thing whi c h many o f the foreign cr i ti c s
,

ha d not a cknowl edge d the pre v iou s year .

The trip o f the Ameri c an team to Fran c e and ,

parti c u l ar l y the pre s en c e o f Mr s M a l lory c ouple d

.
,

with the efforts o f the C ommittee for D e v a s tated

Fran c e fina l ly indu c ed M ll e Suzanne Lengl en the
, .
,

famous Fren c h Wor l d s Champion to c onsent to

’
,

c ome to Ameri c a The announ c ement o f her de ci

.

sion starte d a b oom in the game that ha s b een un

equa ll ed . O ut in C a l i fornia M rs M ay Sutton
, .

Bundy and Miss M ary Kenda ll Browne ou r former ,

c hampions heard the c ha ll enge and laying a s ide the

, ,

dutie s o f e v eryday l i fe bu ck l e d on the arm our of

,

the c ourts and j ourneye d Ea s t to do b a ttle with

the Fren c h wonder girl Mr s M a l lory fi l led with
. .
,

a desire to avenge her defeat in Fran c e sailed fo r ,

home i n time to p l ay in the Ameri c an c hampionship .

Wha t a marve l ous tournament this proved to be !

In v ery truth it wa s a Wor l d s Champ i onsh i p M rs
’
. .

M ay Sutton Bundy former world s c hampi on ba c k

,
’
,

again a fter fi fteen ye ars w i th a l l her old c harm o f

 FAM OU S W O ME N PLAYE R S 2 17

manner mu c h o f her s pee d o f sho t and foot and

, ,

e v en more c unning and e xp eri en c e ; Miss M ary K .

Browne bri ll iant fa sc inating cl e v er M ary with all

, , , ,

her o l d ti me p er s onality and game that three times

-

ha d c arrie d her to the highe s t honor s in Ameri c an

tenni s ; M r s M a l lo ry keen determined and re
.
, ,

s our c e fu l de fending the title she ha d he l d s o l ong

,

and we l l ; the young p l ayer s ri s ing in the game s trug , ,

gl ing to a tta in the height s and fina ll y lo oming o v e r ,

a ll th e figure o f the famous Fren c h c hampion o f

_

c hampion s Suzanne Lenglen c on s idere d by many

, ,

c ompetent c riti c s the gre ate st woman tenni s p l ayer

o f a l l time .

The s tage wa s s e t for the sens ationa l and fo r ,

on c e it o cc urred The God o f Lu c k took a hand in

.

the b l ind draw and thi s resulted i n all the star s ,

with the e xc eption o f Miss M ary Browne falling in ,

one h al f Mlle Suzanne Lenglen wa s drawn again s t

. .

Mi ss Eleanor Gos s while Mrs M allory met Mrs

Z
, . .

M arion i nd e rs te i n Jessop her famous rival in , ,

the first round with the winners o f thes e mat c hes

,

to play ea c h other in the se c ond .

Unfortunately i l lnes s prevented Mlle Lenglen .

from sailing at her app ointed t i me She arr i ved in .

Amer ic a but one day b e fore the tournament wa s to

start The offi c ials o f the United States Lawn Ten
.

nis As s o c iation wisely granted Mll e Lengl en an .

other day s gra c e by ho l ding her mat c h with Mi ss

’

Gos s until Tuesday M r s M allory playing bril . .

,

li a ntly c rushed Mr s Je ss op on M onday

, . .

Then c ame the deluge ! M iss Goss taken sud ,

 FAM OU S W O ME N PLAYE R S 2 19

She h ad troub l e getting her breath and wa s oh

v i ou sly fee l ing th e strain of h er tremendous ex e r

ti ons She de fau l ted the match ! Mrs Mall ory

. .

walke d from the c ourt c onqueror clearly the sup er i o r ,

o f the mu c h vaunted wor l d s c hampion ’

.

It is regrettab l e Mlle Lenglen de faulted for if

.
,

s h e h ad p l ayed out the match e v eryone would hav e

,

made full al l owan c e for her de feat due it wou l d , ,

b e said to natu ra l rea c ti on fro m her re c ent se a

,

j ourney N 0 one would ha v e b een qui c ker to ma ke

.

allowan c e for M l le Lenglen than Mrs Mallory

. .

herself The who l e tennis public deeply regretted

.

an in c ident that migh t well ha v e b een a v oided .

M rs Ma l lory wa s the woman o f the hour Sh e

. .

marched on to vi c tory and su cc ess fully de fended her

titl e by virtue o f v i c tories o v er Mrs M ay Sutton .

Bundy in the semi final and M iss Mary Browne in

-

th e final .

M arve ll ous M o l la ! World s Champ i on i n 1 9 2 1’

b eyond s ha dow o f di s pute !

It i s deplorab l e that the quite natural rea c t i o n
and ner v ou s upset c oup l ed with a return o f her bron
,

c hia l i ll ne ss for c e d M ll e Lenglen to return to

, .

France before sh e wa s able to p l ay her exhibiti on

tour for the Committee for D e v astated Fran c e .

Po ss ib l y 1 9 2 2 wi ll find conditions more favorable

and the God s o f Fate wi l l sm i le o n the ret u rn o f
M l le Lengl en to Ame ri ca
. .
220 T H E AR T OF LAW N T E NN I S

M RS . F RANK L I N I . MA LL ORY
( M olla Bj u rste dt )

O ne o f the most remarkable p ersonalit i es i n the

t enni s wo rld is Mrs M o ll a Bj u rs te dt M a l lory the
.
,

American Champion and a c tually Champion o f the

World 1 9 2 1
, .

M rs M a ll ory i s a N orsewom an by birth She

. .

came to Ameri c a in 1 9 1 5 In 1 9 1 9 she marrie d.

Franklin I M allory and thus be c ame an American

.
,

c itizen
.

It is a remarkable game which M rs M allory h a s .

de v e l op ed She h a s no ser v i c e o f real value Her

. .

overhead is ni l her v o ll eyi ng is medio c re ; but her

,

mar v e ll ou s forehand and b a ckhand drive s c oup l e d ,

with the wonderful c ourt c over i ng ability and fight -

ing s pirit tha t ha v e ma de her world famous al l ow -

,

h er to rise ab o v e the inherent we aknesse s o f thos e

p ortion s o f her game and defe at in one se ason all
the gre ate s t p l ayers in the world in c luding Mlle , .

Suzanne Lengl en .

Mrs M a ll ory with delightfu l smile never fail i ng

.
, ,

sportsmanship and genero s ity in v i c tory o r de fea t ,

i s one o f the most p opular figu res in tenn i s .

MRS T H OMA S C . . B UND Y

( M ay Sutton )
It i s sa i d “
never come b ack b ut Mrs
they , .

M ay Sutton Bundy h as proved tha t at least one

 M I SS E L IZAB E T H RYA N
M LLE LE N GLE N
.
A m e ri ca
Fr a nce

MRS . A ND
L A RCO M B E

MR S LA M ER T H A M BE R
. B C S
B ri ti s h I s l es
M R S M AY S UTT ON BUN D
.
Y
A m ri e ca

P L A TE ! ! I
 FAM OU S W O ME N PLAYE R S 22 1

gre at ath l ete I S an e xc ep tion to the s aying Fifteen .

ye ars ago M ay Sutton ruled supreme among the

,

women tennis stars o f the world .

In 1 g al M rs M ay Sutton Bundy mothe r o f fo u r

.
,

chi l dren a fter a retirement o f over a decade re

, ,

turned to the game when Mlle Lengl en announ c ed .

her intention o f invading Ameri c a I f Mlle Leng . .

len s visit to our shores did nothing more than bring

’

Mrs Bundy and M iss B rowne b a c k to us i t was well

.
”

worth whi l e .

M rs Bundy i n 1 9 2 1 wa s still a gre at player She

. .

ha s a pe c uli ar reverse twi s t ser v i c e a wonderfu l ,

forehand d e C but with e xc essi v e top sp i n a queer

, ,

b ackh a nd p ok e a fine vo l ley and a re l iable o v er

,

he ad Mu c h o f her old aggressi v eness and speed o f

.

foot are s ti l l hers She retains a l l o f her famous

.

fighting spirit and determination while s he is e v en ,

more c ha rming and de l ightful than o f old She i s .

a remarka b l e woman who stands fo r all tha t i s ,

b est in the game .

MA RY K END A LL B RO W NE

The r eturn o f another former N ational Cham

p i on in 1 9 2 1 in the person o f M a ry K B rowne wh o .
,

he l d the titl e in 1 9 1 2 1 3 and 1 4 brought us again

,
’ ’
,

a p opu l ar ido l The tennis pub l i c ha s mis s ed M i s s

.

Browne s in c e 1 9 1 4 and her return wa s in the na ture

o f a per s ona l triumph .

M ary Browne ha s the best produced tennis game

o f any Ameri c an woman It i s almost i f not qu i te .
 FAM OU S W O M E N PLAYE R S 223

ha s s to od for the b e s t in tennis but she has g iv en,

free ly o f h er time and abi l ity to a id young players

in the game She made Marion i nd e rs te i n Jessop
. Z
th e fine p layer s he i s Mr s Wri ghtm an is always
. .

wi l ling to o ff er sound ad v i c e to any p l ayer wh o de

sires it.

M rs Wightman and M is s Florence B a l lin are the

.

prime fa c tors i n the new o rganization o f woman s ’

tennis t h at ha s resulted in the great g r ow th o f th e

game i n the p ast two ye ars .

M R S J E SS O P

Z
.

( M ar i on i d n e rste i n )
Th e r e i s n o p l ayer in tenni s o f greate r pro m i se
Z
than M arion i nd e rstei n Jessop She has youth a .
,

wonderful game the result o f a sound foundatio n

,

given her by Ha zel Wightman and a remarkable ,

amount o f exp erien c e for s o young a girl She has .

a b eaut i f ul fast s er v i c e but erratic Her ground

, .

game is p erfe c tly b alan c ed a s she ch o ps or dri v es

,

from either side with equal fa c il i ty She vo l leys .

with great se v erity and c ertainty Her o v erhe ad i s .

p oss i bly her weakest point Sh e lacks the confidenc e

.

that her game re al ly deserv es .

HE L EN WI LLS
The most remarkab l e figure that h as appeare d
on the horizon o f woman s tennis s i n c e Suzanne
’

Lenglen first fl ashed into the pub l i c eye i s littl e ,

H elen Wills o f Cali fornia Junior Champ i o n o f

,
2 24 T H E AR T O F LAW N T E NN I S
1 92 1 . She i s onl y fi fteen Sto cky almo s t ungainly
.
, ,

owing to p o or foo t work he r hai r in pigtai l s down

,

her ba c k s he is a qu aint l ittle p ers on wh o i nstantly

,

wa l k s into hearts o f the ga ll ery .

The tenni s this c hild pl ays is phenomenal She .

serves with the p ower and a cc ura c y o f a boy . She

dri v es and c hop s forehand and ba c khand w i th reck
les s ab andon She rushes to the ne t and k i lls in a
.

way that i s reminiscent o f M auri c e M cL oughli n .

Suddenly she dubs the easiest sort o f a shot and

grins a happy grin The re i s no doub t sh e i s al
.

re ady a gre at player She should becom e much.

grea ter She i s a mi nia ture Ha zel Wightman i n he r

.

game Abo v e all sh e i s that remarkable c o mb i na

.
,

tion an un s p oiled c hild and a personali ty

, .

There are many other players o f real p r om i s e

coming to the front B oston b o asts of a group t h at
.

contains M rs B enj amin E Cole ( A nne Sh e a f e ) wh o

. .

h as ma de a gre a t re c ord in the se ason o f 1 9 2 1 M i ss

Edith Sigourney who a c comp an i e d M rs M allory
, .

abroa d Miss Leslie Ban c ro ft and Mrs Go dfr e e

, . .

There are M iss M artha B ayard M iss Helen Gil ,

l e a nd e a n Mr s Helene Pollak Folk M iss Molly

, .
,

Thayer M i s s Phyllis Wa l sh and M iss Anne T o w n

,

send i n N ew York and Ph i la delph i a .

F ra nce
Z
M LL E S U ANNE L ENGL E N
.

There i s no more unique personal i ty no r mo r e ,

r emarkable p l ayer among the women than M a d em oi

 FAM OU S W O M E N PLAYE R S 225

se ll e Suz anne Lengl en the famous Fren ch g i rl ,

wh o ho l ds th e Wor l d s Championship title M l le

’
. .

Lengl en i s a remarkab l e figure in the sporting world .

She h a s p ersona l i ty indi v i dua l ity and magnetism

, ,

that ho l d the pub l i c intere s t She is the biggest .

drawing c ard in the tennis world .

M ll e Lengl en s fame rests on her drive Strange

.
’
.

th ough it m ay s eem her dri v e is the le ast i nteresting

,

part of her game M ll e Lengl en uses a severe over

. .

head se rv i c e o f go od sp eed It i s a remarkab l e .

servi c e for a wom an one whi c h many men might,

do we ll to c opy Her famous forehand dri ve is a

.

fu ll arm swi ng from the shoulder It meets the .

b a l l j ust a s M ll e Lenglen sp ri ngs i n the a i r The

. .

result i s pi c tori a lly un i que but not goo d tenni s She ,

.

loses spe ed and p ower by this fre ak Her b ackhand .

i s b e autifu lly p l ayed from p erfe c t foo t work with

, ,

a free swing and topped dri v e It is a remarkab l e .

stroke Her v o ll eying is p erfe c t in ex e c ution and re

.

su l t She hits her o v erhea d smash freely with a

“ ”
.

pun c h that i s a s great a s many men It is a s .

fine an o v erhea d a s that o f Mrs George Wightman .

,

the Ameri c an Champion .

M ll e Lengl en s s p eed o f fo o t i s marvellous She

.
’
.

run s fa s t and e a s i ly She de l ight s in a c rob atic

.

j umps many o f them unne c e s sary at all times during

, ,

her play She i s a wonderfu l ga l lery player and

.
,

win s the p opularity that her dashing s tyle deserves .

She is a br i l l iant c ourt general condu c ting h er a t ,

ta c k wi th a kee n eye on both the co u rt a n d the

g alle r y.
 FAM OU S W O ME N PLAYE R S 227

E ngla nd

In marked contrast to the eccentri c i t i es o f Mlle .

Lenglen one finds the delightfu lly polished style o f

M rs Lambert Chamb ers
. M rs Chambers has a . .

pure l y orthodo x game o f c are ful e x ecution that any

student o f the game should recogn i z e a s the highest
fo rm o f tenni s strokes .

M rs Chamber s serves an o verhea d delivery o f no

“ ”
.

p a r ti c ula r movement She sli c es or spoons he r

.

ground strokes forehand or backhand She seldom

, .

v olleys o r smas h es H e r on l y ex c u r sions to the ne t

.

are when she is drawn to the net .

I t i s not M rs Chambers game i tself so m uc h a s

.
’

what sh e d oes with i t that I commend s o highly

'

, .

Her c hange o f p ace and distan c e i s wonderful ly

controlled Her accuracy mar v e l lous Her j udg
. .

ment i s remarkable and the way i n which she save s

,

undue e x ertion i s an art in itself She gets a wonder .

ful returnfor her outlay o f e ff ort .

Her s i s a p ersona l ity o f negation Her manne r .

on the court i s negative her shots alone are p osit i ve

,
.

She is never flu ste re d and rare l y show s emotion

“ ”
.
,

Mrs Chambers i s the M avro o f women a s

.

regards her re c overing ability Her errors are re .

duce d to a minimum at a l l times To err is human ; .

b u t at times there is something ve ry nea rly in h u ma n

'
ab ou t M rs Chambe r s te nni s
.
’
.
228 T HE AR T O F LAWN T E NN I S

Z
E L I A B ET H RYAN

T h e Engl i sh Amer ic an star Elizab eth Ryan i s an

-

other player o f marked individu ality B orn in Cal .

i f orni a M iss Ryan m i gra ted to Engl and while

”
,

qu i te young For the p ast de c a de Bu nny a s she

.
,

i s called has b e e n a prom i nent figu re in Engl i sh and

,

C ontinental tour n aments .

M iss Ryan h a s a queer push re v ers e tw i st servi ce -

that i s well p la c e d but carri es little speed She .

chops vic io u sly forehand and b ackh and off the

ground and storms the net at every open i ng H e r .

volleying i s cr i sp and de ci s i ve O verhea d she i s .

s evere b ut errati c She is a dogged fighter never

.
,

s o dangerous a s when b ehind Her ta c ti c s are a g .

g r ess i v e atta c k at a ll t i mes and i f this fa i ls s h,e i s

lost .

Although M i ss Ryan i s an Amer i can by b i rth sh e

must b e c onsidered a s an Engl i s h p l ayer for her ,

development i s due to he r play in England .

MR S . B E AM S H

Th i s Engl i sh player is an exp onent o f the famous

b ase line game o f the c ountry She drives long deep
-
.
,

shots fore and ba c khand c o rner to corner cha s ing , ,

her opponent around the court almost impo ssib l e

di s tan c e s Her s ervice volleying and overhead are
.

fa ir but no t noteworthy Ano ther player o f a l most

.

ident i cal game and o f almost equal c lass is M rs .

Pea c o c k Champion o f India Her whole game is

,
.
 FAM OU S W O M E N PLAYE R S 229

a little bette r rounded than M rs B eam i s h bu t she .

,

la c ks the latter s e xperi en c e

’
.

Among the other w o men i n England who are de

lightfu ll y or i g1na l in thei r games a re M rs Lar .

combe the wonderfu l c hop stroke player whos e

,
-
,

clever generalship and tacti c s pla c e her in the front

r ank and M rs M N ai r wi th her vo ll eying atta ck
, .
‘
, .

Women s tennis in Engl and i s on a slight ly highe r

’

plane at this time than in Am eric a ; but th e standard

o f play in America i s rapidly com i ng up Interna .

ti onal comp eti t i on between women on th e l i ne s o f

the D av1s Cup f or which a tr ophy h as p r eviously
,

been o ff ere d by Lady Wave r tre e in England and in ,

1 9 1 9 by M rs Wightm an i n America
. and twi c e re ,

fused by the Internati on al Fede r ati o n would do

”

more than any o the r facto r to pla c e women s tenni s ’

on the high plane de si red This plan has suc c eede d

.

for the men why sh o uld it not do a s well f or the

,

women