395 W7 4 1 IV fS AIT | 11 ^^"^ fe^^ | IT i I ~THE GIFT OF| IMrs. Kztheri'ne HawleyI I ^ irnrf~inni^ 1 ,f 151 4; 0 TENNIS CONTENTS PAGE ix INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I. THE VALUE OF TENNIS IN KEEPING FIT IN GIVING PLEASURE 3 IS II. THE BEGINNING AND THE GOAL THE GOAL THE IDEAL GAME III. THE BEGINNER AND PRACTICE SHALL EVERY YOUNG PLAYER TRY CHAMPION? IV. THE STROKES.. THE FOREHAND DRIVE THE BACKHAND DRIVE THE SERVICE THE LOB THE CHOP V. THE NET GAME THE FOREHAND VOLLEY THE BACKHAND VOLLEY THE OVERHEAD SMASH VI. THE JOURNEY TO THE NET VII. TACTICS AND STRATEGY THE CENTRE THEORY V TO BE A 24 3~ SI 63 67 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE VIII. VARIETY IN TENNIS...... 79 IX. SPEED......... 84 X. EASY MOTION......91 XI. TIMING........ 94 XII. THE EYE AND THE BALL..... 99 XIII. CONCENTRATION........ I03 XIV. EXPERIENCE AND CONFIDENCE... 107 PRACTICE TOURNAMENT PLAY FOR THE BEGINNER XV. DOUBLES..... II5 XVI. THE IDEAL TEMPERAMENT FOR TENNIS. 121 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MATCH PLAY XVII. WHAT PLACE HAS TRAINING IN MATCH PLAY?.. 134 XVIII. TENNIS DRESS..... 37 XIX. ETIQUETTE......... I45 XX. MATCHES I HAVE PLAYED AND SEEN. I58 XXI. AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS.. 173 ILLUSTRATIONS Helen Wills.................Frontispiece PAGE Rene Lacoste-finish of a forehand volley..... 21 A backhand shot by Miss Elizabeth Ryan. Facing page 26 Ren6 Lacoste-finish of a forehand drive... 31 William Johnston-forehand drive...... 33 William Tilden-a forehand drive...... 37 Manuel Alonzo-finish of a backhand drive. 40 The author following through on the service. Facing page 44 Jean Borotra-overhead smash....... 53 Vincent Richards-a forehand volley..... 57 Mlle. Suzanne Lenglen in an overhead smash Facing page 60 Vincent Richards-a backhand volley..... 64 Jean Borotra-an overhead......... 71 The centre theory........... 73 Diddie Vlasto's backhand..... Facing page 80 Rene Lacoste-backhand volley....... 89 Vincent Richards-a half volley....... IoI The backhand of Mlle. Suzanne Lenglen. Facing page IIo Betty Nuthall-forehand drive........ I125 Mrs. Godfree does a low backhand volley. Facing page I30 Seforita Lili de Alvarez serving. Facing page 138 Jean Borotra-forehand drive........ 143 Betty Nuthall-overhead smash........ I53 Francis T. Hunter-a forehand volley...... I60 vii viii ILLUSTRATIONS The author demonstrates a forehand volley. Facing page I66 PAGE Betty Nuthall-forehand volley........ I69 Wightman Team emblem.......... 176 Mrs. Franklin I. Mallory in the finish of a backhand drive Facing page I78 Miss Eleanor Goss-low backhand volley..... I83 R. Norris Williams-a backhand volley...... 85 Vincent Richards-finish of a half volley..... I89 The author does a forehand drive... Facing page I92 Sefiorita Lili de Alvarez executing a half volley Facing page 202 Betty Nuthall-the finish of a backhand drive.... 2 Joan Fry-a forehand drive......... 212 INTRODUCTION THE play spirit is a heritage of man, and the love of play is in the heart of every one. Its expression is in sport. The sports that have become most popular are the ones that best meet the demands of the play-loving instinct. The sport, to be popular, must be wellrounded, playable, and adaptable to a great number of people of varying ages and circumstances. This is why tennis has become so widely popular. Its action and competition appeal to the sporting instinct. Its elements of excitement, of suspense, and of risk add to the fun of the play. After the game, the shower, and the rub-down, there is the pleasant feeling of physical exhilaration. Tennis is valuable because it gives the pleasure of play to the participant, and because, at the same time, it benefits him both physically and mentally. It is not the champion alone who enjoys the game. The same feelings and experiences are shared by the beginner and the moderately good player-perhaps for a shorter period of time in the actual play, but shared nevertheless. The thrill of seeing a ball nick the line, the fun of x INTRODUCTION a rally, the satisfaction of having a difficult return to go in, can come to every player. Then, too, tennis is a game for all ages. Children love it. I recall when, at twelve, I began to play, and I spent every moment that I could on the court. I know a man who, at sixty-nine, enjoys his tennis keenly. It would be difficult to overemphasize the benefits of exercise derived from tennis. In a short period, say, even three-quarters of an hour, one can get a great deal of fine exercise. Keeping fit is an all-important matter, and I cannot think of a better way than by playing tennis. The pleasure of play that tennis gives, along with resulting health and happiness, is indeed something that every one should enjoy. TENNIS I CHAPTER I THE VALUE OF TENNIS IN KEEPING FIT-IN GIVING PLEASURE A CERTAIN American tennis-player went to England to take part in some of the English tournaments. Her game was excellent. Her play was respected by her adversaries and admired by the onlookers who watched from the side-lines. One day she was in the locker-room of the club, choosing a racquet for a match. A young English girl, also taking part in the tournament, was watching her. "What fine racquets you have there," she said, smilingly. "Yes, they are good racquets," answered the American. "But, really, you know, a nut like you could use almost any sort of a racquet and win!" Surprise in the face of the American was the only answer. What was the girl saying? Annoyed, the American left the locker-room. Meeting a compatriot outside she told her what had happened. "I have never before been called a 'nut' "! 3 4 TENNIS "Why," the answer was, "you've just received the biggest compliment of your tennis career!" "A compliment?" "The girl thinks you are a wonderful player. 'Nut,' in tennis circles over here, is a term of distinction! 'Rabbit,' on the other hand, designates mediocrity. A 'rabbit' is one who plays bad tennis, but hops around the court in spite of it. So, you see, you should be very pleased! " Whether the little story interests you or not, it has served in one way. It has brought to your attention the fact that there are both "nuts" and "rabbits" in the world of tennis. A "nut" is an enthusiastic person who plays an exceedingly good game, and who can talk wisely about the "centre theory." A "rabbit" is an equally enthusiastic person who plays mediocre or poor tennis, and who, off the court, can discuss just as learnedly the "centre theory" or any other fine point of the game. The proficient player and the mediocre player, alike, find tennis fascinating. It holds the attention of the beginner and of the champion. Sisters under the skin are "rabbit" and "nut" in their feeling for tennis. The reason for this is that both derive from the game the same benefits. Both have fine exercise; both know the thrill and pleasure of play. The less THE VALUE OF TENNIS 5 experienced player may get even more exercise than the proficient, because he has to use more muscle and more effort in making a successful stroke! Although the better player experiences pleasure in the regular execution of successful strokes, the less skilful player may experience a greater thrill when one of his balls goes where it should, because it is, to him, a surprise. I shall never forget my first forehand drive. I was a little girl with pigtails flying, playing on one of the side-courts at the Berkeley Tennis Club. I didn't intend doing a drive, because I didn't know anything about strokes and their names. But when my ball went over the net I knew that I had discovered a new and satisfying way of hitting the ball. I liked the feeling of racquet and ball when they came together. I thought that I would like to become better acquainted with that feeling. Since then nine years have elapsed. I have played on an average of four times a week. I still love tennis. It seems to me that the love of play must be in the heart of every one, and that, for this reason, sport has become an important part of modern life. Tennis has become one of the most popular sports. It is well-rounded, playable, and adaptable. Children take to it. Older people can derive pleasure from it. It meets the demand with its action and competition of those who have sport-loving natures. 6 TENNIS Its elements of excitement, of suspense, and of risk make the game even more enjoyable. There is the thrill of seeing the ball skim over the net, of having a sharply contested rally, and of working out some bit of strategy. Along with the pleasures derived from the game, there are the benefits of exercise. The problem of keeping fit is an ever-growing one in modern life. In a short period of time, say even three-quarters of an hour, a great deal of exercise can be gained from tennis. By playing three or four times each week it affords sufficient exercise to enable one to keep in excellent condition. My reason for speaking of tennis in such enthusiastic terms is that I believe it to be an ideal sport, and to be especially suited for helping one to keep healthy and strong. Exercise is an investment that pays a high rate of interest to the investor. To good condition it is the key. A good figure, a good complexion, strength, and health are the results. "Health and happiness" are mentioned so often together that the phrase has become trite and time-worn. Yet is it not true that the person in good physical condition i's usually goodnatured, while the confirmed grouch is the one who doesn't know what it is to feel fit? One naturally finds that women who have taken THE VALUE OF TENNIS 7 regular outdoor exercise and who have kept it up are young-looking for a longer time than those who have not. Good complexion, young eyes, strong bodies are the rewards. No artifices of beauty, no matter how cleverly applied, no gowns from the smartest dressmakers, can make up for the absence of health and good condition. To have beneficial and lasting effect, tennis for exercise should be played regularly, and in moderation. Emphasis should be put on "regular," for irregular or infrequent exercise has no real value. Moderation in exercise is another important point. So frequently people begin exercising violently before they are ready for it, and injure themselves seriously. It happens frequently in tennis. Torn ligaments and injured muscles are common among players who, not being used to exercise, begin too strenuously at first. As a person becomes older, it is more and more difficult to get back into fit condition if exercise has been neglected or given up. Sometimes it is impossible. This is why regular exercise in moderation throughout all of one's life is an excellent thing. It is here that tennis comes in as an ideal game. Violent exercise is dangerous to any one not accustomed to it. The muscles are not prepared and cannot stand the strain. 8 8 TENNIS I have played tennis since I was thirteen, but always in moderation. I cannot recall. a time when I played until I was exhausted. Too much tennis may be very harmful. Besides, in becoming too tired, one loses the benefits of the exercise and the pleasure of the game. For a woman player, two sets in an afternoon is the ideal number. I almost always play two sets, unless I am playing in a tournament, and have to take part in several matches. Tennis alone, however, will not help one to attain good condition or to hold it. For example, no one who is not getting the amount of sleep that his system requires can hope to feel fit, no matter how frequently he plays. I have a few little rules that I have found useful for health: Nine hours of sleep. No two late nights in succession. Regular meals, and a well-balanced diet, with many fruits, vegetables, and meats that build firm tissue. /, It seems sometimes that exercise has the power of clearing one's mind, of making one able to think more keenly. A balance between work and exercise is bound to increase the efficiency of work, as has often been proved in school and in business. I can, from my own college experience, recall an THE VALUE OF TENNIS 9 illustration of how too much study and no recreation affected the students. During examination time, when finals were coming thick and fast, no one thought of anything but study. Students took examinations, lasting from nine to twelve in the morning, rushed home for a bite of lunch, and then settled down to study until the small hours of the morning. Very little sleep, black coffee, and continued concentration all produced an unnatural state. At the end of the week all who had thus overdone were exhausted, both physically and mentally. By the time the last final came they did not care much what they wrote in their blue books. But among the students I knew was one who refused to study the evening before a final. He ended as a Phi Beta Kappa and took some of the highest honors of the graduating class. Incidentally, he was a very good tennis-player, and used to go out on the court for mental relaxation, after he had finished writing an examination. Tennis furnishes delightful relaxation and change. I know, from my own experience at college, that it makes studying easier. An interested and enthusiastic outlook can be maintained much more easily when one exercises regularly. When any one becomes accustomed to regular exercise, he wonders how he could possibly have done IO TENNIS without it. It becomes a part of his life. I should feel completely at sea if I should have to give up tennis suddenly. In fact, even if two or three days elapse without play, I feel that something is missing. Among outdoor sports, tennis is one of the most ideal. It can be played for years, and long after the team games of school and college are over. It is a sport that does not require much time. An hour and a half in an afternoon is enough time for the player to change into tennis attire, go out on the court for two brisk sets, come in for a shower and rub-down, and return to whatever work he happens to be doing. In San Francisco the largest tennis club is fortunately situated. It is only ten minutes from the business district. Many enthusiasts come out for the game at noon, and the courts are all taken at this hour. Another thing in tennis, in its favor, is that the expense is not great, when compared to that of other games. Racquets and balls are the main items. UnIess a player goes in for intensive play and tournament competition, two racquets are sufficient. Good racquets can be bought at fifteen dollars. They are sold for ten and less, and up as high as seventeen. The fifteen-dollar racquets of standard make will answer the requirements of most players. Strings in a racquet are sometimes a bother. They should last two or three weeks, even longer, depending upon whether a THE VALUE OF TENNIS II player uses them frequently or not, and whether or not he plays a hard-hitting game. Sometimes, however, for apparently no reason, a string will break on the court, or else at home in its case. Climate-heat, cold, and dampness-all have their effect. The racquet may be used on a dampish day, then put away in a warm place. The strings dry rapidly, the tension becomes too great, and they snap. I have noticed the effect of the climate, in various parts of the country, on the racquet. The thunder-showers in the summer, in the Eastern States, play havoc with racquet-strings. In England, too, great care has to be taken. It is tremendously upsetting to take the cover off your favorite racquet and find that it cannot be used for play, or, worse still, to be awakened from your sleep the night before an exciting match by the popping of racquet-strings in the closet. This is why it is necessary for the tournament-player to be well supplied with racquets. Balls cost fifty cents each, and the player needs three. Balls should be good for at least six sets, and for more with the average player. But if the rallies are long, they do not last as long as this. There is a nap, or fuzz, on the surface of the ball that wears off on the hard court. It becomes slightly lighter, and the air-resistance, because of the absence of the nap, is lessened. It then acquires a tendency to sail, and 12 TENNIS is harder to control. With a beginner this may not be noticeable, but to one who has played a long time it is quite evident, and makes the game less enjoyable. I have found that I must have three new balls each set, but I can remember when, as a beginner, I was delighted with any ball as long as it would bounce. Tennis shoes last forever: at least, I have found it to be so, since the crape rubber soles have come into favor for tennis. Besides wearing extremely well, the crape sole furnishes excellent protection to the foot, and helps to prevent blisters and bruises. The cost of restringing a racquet varies. It is never more than seven dollars, and good strings should be had for four or five. The expenses for tennis are not prohibitive. This is one of the reasons why tennis has become universally popular. It is open to a far greater number of people than is any other sport. At this point I cannot help but mention the public courts and their great value to the community that possesses them. In the playgrounds, in the parks, no better use can be made of space than by building tennis-courts. The value of the healthful exercise and recreation that will be derived from them cannot be overestimated. Children and young people will find, on the courts, a place where their extra time may be spent. They will be building strong bodies, healthy THE VALUE OF TENNIS I3 appetites, and learning the meaning of sportsmanship. For example, in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, there are a number of public courts-at least twenty. These courts are filled from morning until night, every day in the year that tennis is possible. There are always people of all ages waiting for their turns. "Sport for every one" would be a wonderful slogan for every town and city to have. What value has a stadium, built for the contest of a few stars, compared with the value of facilities that enable each individual to take an active part in a sport? In the universities that I know in this country, it has struck me that great stress is laid upon the athletic achievements of a few students, and not enough attention given to the sport of the individual. Students who take no active part in sports themselves, sit on the grand stands and cheer themselves hoarse for their friends on the field. There, for many of them, athletic activities cease. It seems that athletics in college on a big scale, with tremendous crowds, enormous gate-receipts, are destroying the chance of the individual in sport. Unless he excels, he is not greatly encouraged. Every one should, if he can, have a sport of his own in which to take part. Doubtless there are few people who do not enjoy play, of one sort or an 14 TENNIS other, but more often than not they find themselves on the side-lines, watching others. The actual pleasure of play and the benefits of exercise are not theirs. Tennis is a sport in which the beginner and the champion find equal interest. The greatest point of all in its favor is that it is not a game for the star alone, but for every one who can hold a racquet. The "nut," the "rabbit" can share equally in its pleasure! CHAPTER II THE BEGINNING AND THE GOAL To the player who is learning tennis the start is certainly an exciting time. First comes the thrill of getting the ball over the net, then serves begin to go into their squares, then rallies of slow, popping balls punctuate the wavering game. I can imagine that every one goes through the same stages. My first drive was, to me, a momentous occasion. It happened on one of the outer courts of the Berkeley Tennis Club in California. To one who has not yet struggled through the beginning stages this will not seem such an important occurrence. To me, then, it was a thrilling thing. It came from no conscious effort to make a drive, because at that time I had not yet begun to think about the various kinds of strokes. I played with only one idea in my mindto get the ball over the net. But when I discovered, by chance, the drive, I felt that I had found a fine new way of making the ball go much faster and with little effort. After that I tried to make the same shot again and again. It was then that the meaning of strokes began to dawn. I made my first discoveries by myself. Then my father, seeing that I was taking such a keen interest is i6 TENNIS in the game, helped me with my strokes, and made suggestions. If it had not been for my father's advice, I should have been in the beginner's class for a very much longer time. It is very likely that I would have missed some of the most important points of tennis. I think that every one who has played or followed tennis will agree that there are certain big and important principles which must be learned before a person can become a player. These are essential. And every one who takes up the game wants to feel that he has a firm starting-place. The foundation should be secure, so that the natural ability of the player will be given the best opportunity of expressing itself, as his game progresses. It is true that a player with a genuine liking for tennis can discover, by himself, the main points, after he has studied the game and has had experience. But some suggestions at the beginning make the learning stages much more brief, and help to keep the beginner from going off on the wrong track. This is why I am going to give some advice that I think may be helpful to beginners in tennis. To be frank, I don't believe that a player can tell any one exactly how to play. I am not going to give a detailed and elaborate explanation of how to make strokes, because I think that a general definition is sufficient. Tennis doesn't lend itself to dogmatic rules. THE BEGINNING AND THE GOAL I 7 The delightful thing about tennis is that, after the main essentials are understood, each person has the opportunity to develop his strokes, his style, and court technique in the way best suited to his own talent for play. He has a wonderful chance to adapt what he has learned to his liking. Strokes take on the personality of their owner, it seems to me, and become his alone. I can pick out my friends all the way across the club courts, where it is too far to distinguish features, by the swing of their racquets, and by the action of their strokes. In tennis, the individuality of the player should not be hampered, for the field for style of play is marvellously varied and broad. I am going to try to point out the most striking things that have impressed me in the learning of my game, the mistakes and valuable discoveries-and also the most interesting things that I have noticed in the games of American and foreign players, with the hope that they may come in handy for the beginner during his more difficult days. There are some preliminary questions that one often hears, as: What is the best age to begin tennis? How does one go about learning the best strokes? I would answer the first question by saying that any age is a good age to begin the game. Tennis can TENNIS give pleasure to any one who takes it up, no matter what his or her age. However, those who begin to play when they are young have the better chance of becoming proficient. Mile. Suzanne Lenglen first became accustomed to the racquet and ball when she was eight or nine. During her nineteen or twenty years of almost constant play, she became one of the most wonderful players that the tennis world has ever had. Among the famous men players, we find that Mr. Tilden and Mr. Johnston became interested in tennis when they were small boys. This is true of most other players about whom one hears. I think that the ages of twelve and thirteen are the most ideal for the taking up of the game. One is old enough to grasp the idea of the game quickly, and to concentrate a little on the play-a thing that would be difficult, I imagine, for a younger child. Also, tennis is a very vigorous game, and more strength is perhaps required than has the average boy or girl younger than twelve years. I can remember that I first began to play when I was about thirteen and was so enthusiastic that I was out on the court every day, playing with any one whom I could coax into a game. Heavy racquets were popular then, and immense handles. At first I used my father's racquet, which weighed fifteen ounces. I used to hold it at the very THE BEGINNING AND THE GOAL I9 upper part of the handle in order to get my fingers about it. A little later I was given a racquet which fitted my hand nicely, and which weighed about thirteen and a half ounces, and play became much easier. For a woman or a girl player a thirteen and a quarter or a thirteen and one-half ounce racquet is ideal. Few men players use heavier racquets than these. The heavy bat and clumsy handles are of the past. Balance is another feature that is important in the choice of a racquet. Balance is a matter of preference. Some players find that a racquet slightly heavy in the head suits their game; others, one evenly balanced. I have found that my strokes go more smoothly when I use a racquet which is slightly light in the head. I feel that I can manage it more easily, and that it is better for my game at the net. However, it all depends upon what one has become accustomed to in one's play. How does a beginner go about learning the correct strokes? This is perhaps the most important question of all. Not every one is lucky enough to have a sportloving father to help him along. This leads us to the question of the value of professional teachers in tennis. There are many, some very good, some indifferent. Almost every tennis club has one. If a beginner has the good fortune to be able to take a lesson or several lessons each week with a teacher who knows 20 TENNIS the game, it should help him in getting off to a good start. But beware of the professional who doesn't know tennis, for he can ruin the most promising game. One sometimes sees a teacher who does not play a particularly good game, but who does know how to put over the idea of the strokes to his pupil. Mlle. Lenglen's father, although he was not a professional, was highly successful in perfecting his daughter's play. He never was, I believe, even a better-class player himself. He was, however, a marvellous critic, and understood all of the finer points. His coaching, along with his daughter's natural ability, brought out a game which is as close to perfection as any one, venture to say, can hope to develop. Without any sort of instruction, the beginner is left to discover a great many things for himself, and often with difficulty. This takes time. The danger lies in the fact that a young player may get off on the wrong foot, waste time on a poor stroke, and ever afterward be burdened by it. Bad habits in tennis are very hard to break. THE GOAL-THE IDEAL GAME No one player has an absolutely perfect game, and no champion can be said to have absolute command of every stroke. But I have noticed one thing which RENt LACOSTE. Finish of a forehand volley. TENNIS holds good with the best players-they have allround games. To me it appears that the all-round game is the ideal one. There have been exceptions-players who have been champions, and who have ranked with the highest, but these are far outnumbered by those who play the all-round game. The leading players of the world-among them Tilden, Richards, Johnston, Borotra, Cochet, and Lacoste, and the women players, MIle. Lenglen, Miss Ryan, and Mrs. Godfreeare "all-rounders." The all-round game means this: that net and backcourt play are both well developed, that the player is versatile in his strokes, that he can take balls on his forehand and backhand with equal ease-in other words, that he is at home wherever he may be on the court. If this is so, the mechanics of his play can never refuse to measure up to the tennis that he thinks. The play of William Tilden shows the advantages of the all-round game. Watching him on the court, one sees forehand, backhand, service, all equally developed. His forecourt game is dependable; so is his backcourt game. In watching him in action, we see a fine balance of all the parts of his play. He will stand out in tennis history as one of the greatest exponents of the all-round game. THE BEGINNING AND THE GOAL 23 Another point in favor of the all-round game is the opportunity for development which it presents. If the foundation is well laid, there seem to be few limits to the progress that a player can make. To me it appears that an all-round player can always advance his play one notch farther, and on and on, as long as he keeps up his tennis. There are hundreds of points il favor of the allround game-the ideal one. Besides being, evidently, the most effective form of play, it gives the most pleasure. The happy feeling of confidence can come only to the one who knows that he can play as well at the net as in the backcourt, is equally sure of his forehand and of his backhand. It will color every match and every game as long as he plays tennis. CHAPTER III THE BEGINNER AND PRACTICE No one can became a good tennis-player without practice. Of this I am sure. It takes many games, and many months of play to learn the game. I have been playing tennis for nine years. For the last six years I have played, on an average, four times a week, and I am still far from knowing all there is to know about tennis. But this should not discourage the beginner, for is it not so in everything-the more one learns, the more one realizes that there is still more to learn? You ask some one if he likes tennis. His answer is: "I play sometimes, but I can't get the ball over the net." The "sometimes" explains why he "can't." If he played four or five times a week, within a year he would be playing a good beginner's game. I think that any person who is strong, well built, and who can run is able to learn to play tennis and to play it well if he practises frequently. With an hour on the court four or five times a week, the beginner should make rapid strides in his game. An hour flies when you are playing. You can hardly realize that the game is over; but in that time you get plenty of play. Then, too, after an hour you 24 THE BEGINNER AND PRACTICE 25 are not tired, and are keen to go on. This is just the time to stop. I rarely play more than two sets in an afternoon, because I have found that if I play more I become less interested in the game. Tennis demands a keen and interested player. By not playing too long at a time, I can enjoy the game every day in the week, if I choose to play that often. Anything overdone ceases to be a pleasure; tennis, above all, cannot improve if it is not a pleasure. As the beginner goes along, he will find that there are some strokes which are more difficult for him than others. This varies with each player. It may be the backhand. Curiously enough, I have found, with almost all of the women players that I have met in tournament matches, that the backhand is weaker than the forehand. Or else more difficulty may be experienced with the service. I found this to be true with my game in its earlier stages. My serve was my main difficulty. If you are really interested, it is great fun to practise the hard shot, say, for twenty minutes either before or after you play your game. If your opponent is good-natured, he will put the ball where you want it. The best way, however, is to find some other player who is eager to improve his strokes. Then you can work together and no one can feel that he is getting the worst of the bargain. 26 TENNIS In doing this, and in criticising each other's form in stroke production, you can find out what is wrong. What you discover by yourself through actual experience will always stick. Whole bookfuls of theory can leave one bewildered, and without a single idea on the court, while some point that one has unearthed for oneself becomes very useful. If your service is weak, as it was with me, it is easy to practise, because another person on the court is not necessary. Gather up some balls and serve for twenty minutes, first in one court, then in the other. Aim for certain corners. Work for a free and easy swing. I heard that William Tilden, when he was learning tennis, concentrated on a single stroke for weeks at a time. It may be true. Certainly the style and form of Mr. Tilden's stroke production is not equalled by any player of the present day. A famous novelist told me that only by writing can one learn to write. This advice holds good in tennis. Only by playing can one learn to play. The beginner who is going to become a proficient player is the one who is fascinated by the game, and who can hardly keep himself away from the court. As long as the game is a pleasure to the one who plays it, so long will he continue to improve. Stroke practice is almost as much fun as a real game. It helps to develop correct stroke production 1 K fl"Wtr (V rs L0A "Vi' A BACKHAND SHOT BY MISS ELIZABETH RVAN. THE BEGINNER AND PRACTICE 27 and style, and, at the same time, makes one more accurate. It is fun to see how many times you can hit a certain line with your forehand drive. If you are rallying with some one equally enthusiastic, it can be very interesting. The value of stroke practice is this: you can execute a certain stroke twenty or more times consecutively, where, in an actual game, you would have, perhaps, ten opportunities in the entire set to do the same shot. In this way you really get the feel of a certain stroke. Then, when you meet it in a game, it is much easier to do. An especially difficult shot for almost all players is the backhand drive down the left side-line. This is a particularly good shot, and should be mastered. It is one that can be tried out in stroke practice. In rallying, always aim for a certain place on the court, and have a definite plan in mind. The junior members at the Berkeley Tennis Club, where I play, can be seen frequently doing stroke practice. It is entertaining to hear the remarks as they give suggestions to one another. The interest of the junior members in tennis at this club deserves a word more. It is an illustration of what can be done in a club for the younger players by some older member who is an enthusiastic follower of the game. Mr. William C. Fuller encourages the juniors in their play, helps them with their strokes, and holds little tournaments for them. I, too, 28 TENNIS when I was a junior at the club, came to appreciate Mr. Fuller's kindly interest and enthusiasm. He has a younger group now, absorbed in the game. Several of his present juniors show promise of excellent tennis. I cannot claim that I have the key to "tennis made easy," but I do know that stroke practice is a form of concentrated tennis that will make the learning of the game much more rapid. SHALL EVERY YOUNG PLAYER TRY TO BE A CHAMPION? Every beginner who starts out has the idea at the back of his head that he will some day be a champion. It is an alluring idea, and a natural ambition for a young player who finds himself intensely interested in the game. But "I am going to be champion" is not nearly as good an ambition as this: "I am going to learn all there is about tennis." This is the thing to strive for. If one loves the game, and is willing to spend the time necessary for learning its ins and outs he will become a proficient player. The fullest enjoyment of tennis comes with a thorough understanding and knowledge of how it is played. The championship part of tennis comes along by itself. It is best to have, as a goal, complete under THE BEGINNER AND PRACTICE 29 standing. This is the very heart of the game, and the reason why every champion has been champion! A young player who takes up tennis too seriously is making a mistake. A deliberate campaign in search of a championship nearly always ends on the rocks, with a tense, stiff game, and a bad-tempered player. I remember a conversation with Mr. Tilden in which he said that, above all things, one must enjoy daily play, and that one must learn the parts of the game as a means to its fullest enjoyment-that, as soon as a person tied himself down to the mere mechanical side of tennis, his game was lost. William Tilden played along for years, improved gradually, and reached the heights of the game. On the other hand, I can think of one or two other players who practised with the set determination of becoming champion, whose mechanical tennis was almost perfect, and yet who missed their goal by inches because they had missed the real spirit of the game. Being a champion is incidental to good play. If you can make your game into an all-round one, and love every bit of it, then championship honors have every chance of coming your way. To the question, "Shall every young player try to become a champion?" I would answer: "Know the game, and the honors that it deserves will come." CHAPTER IV THE STROKES THE drive is one of the most important strokes of the game. One might say that it is the foundation in tennis. The player has a great friend in a sure and dependable drive. Take, for example, that of Rene Lacoste, the great French player. He has worked on this stroke until it is as perfect as is humanly possible. He has built his whole game around it. The drive falls into two main divisions-the forehand and the backhand. The forehand drive is taken on the right side of the body; the backhand on the left. Each player has a slightly different way of making these strokes. Still, there are certain fundamentals in the execution of the drive which hold good, no matter who the player or what his style of play. In the learning of a stroke, there are four points to consider: i. The grip. 2. The standing position. 3. The swing of the racquet. 4. The body balance. Their importance cannot be overemphasized. The whole of tennis has root right here. In telling of the strokes, I shall touch upon each one of these points. The grip has to do with the way the player holds the racquet. With most strokes, it is held down at the 30 17;;:.t I N -l REN i 1.ACOSTE. Finisli of a forehand drive. 32 TENNIS end of the handle so that the leather touches the palm of the hand. The grip varies with the player, and the comfortable grip is the one that will probably be successful. It is well, however, to hold the racquet at the end of the handle. This is a good rule to follow. There may be occasions, however, at other times in the game, when a shorter grip must be used -Say, for example, for certain volleys at the net. The standing position is another point. Poor standing position is responsible for much of the awkward tennis that one sees. Good standing position makes correct stroking easier. I have discovered, in my own play, that my feet are usually to blame when my ball goes wild or finds the net. Even when you know where your feet ought to be, it is easy to neglect them. The swing of the racquet is the third fundamental of successful stroking. A full, free, easy swing from the shoulder is necessary for almost all strokes. A player can never hope to have speed unless he has a free swing. A cramped, crooked arm can never produce a really fast shot. A "wind-up," to use a baseball term, is absolutely essential to speed. Perhaps one of the most beautiful wind-ups in tennis is Mr. William Johnston's on his forehand drive. Body balance is the fourth consideration. It is, perhaps given less thought than any of the other WILLIAM JOHNSTON. Forehand drive. 34 TENNIS three points I have mentioned in connection with stroke-production. But it stands to reason that a player cannot execute a stroke successfully unless he is well poised on his feet. If he is back on his heels, or if he is falling forward and off balance, the resulting stroke is bound to be uncertain and unsatisfactory. Poise and balance are two things that can come only with practice. I find that it is helpful to throw the weight on the balls of the feet, and to lean slightly forward. This helps to maintain balance, and is an aid, as well, to quick starting. These four points that I have mentioned constitute, in my mind, the key to tennis. I shall now try to describe the most important strokes, and their relation to the four fundamentals. As I said before, I am not going to attempt to give a detailed description of the strokes, for I feel that a general review of the main principles is far more helpful. The tennis book that is too technical can only confuse the player who tries to follow it, while if he knows the main points of stroke-production, and then adapts them to his own particular style, he will be far more sure of success. THE FOREHAND DRIVE I. The Grip Grasp the handle of the racquet easily and naturally, holding it near the end so that the leather THE STROKES 35 rests comfortably in the lower part of the palm of the hand. Almost all good players hold the racquet at the base of the handle. 2. The Standing Position The body is in more or less of a sideways position, with the left foot advanced toward the net. The reason for this is that the ball can be more easily directed into either corner of the opponent's court. With the body in the sideways position, it is easier, too, to make a full, free swing, which is so important in the production of speed. In making the stroke, the feet are neither close together nor too far apart, but are placed apart at about the distance of a step. The player should avoid standing facing the net directly, that is, with the feet on an imaginary line that runs parallel with the net. When in this position, it is hard to follow through, much more difficult to direct the ball accurately, and impossible to get a great deal of speed on the shot. This has been one of the main difficulties in my own game-my standing position on my forehand drive-and I have, even after all my practice to remind myself sometimes of this important point. It is very easy to fall into little lazy ways of playing. 36 TENNIS 3. The Swing of the Racquet AND 4. Body Balance These two points should be described together because they are so important to each other, and because they are interrelated. First, put your weight evenly on the balls of both feet. You are standing sideways to the net, with your left side nearest it, and with the head of your racquet resting lightly on your left hand. As the ball comes, bring the racquet back in a wide, free, full circular swing, at the same time letting your weight shift to your right foot. Then, as your racquet comes forward to meet the ball, the weight shifts to the advanced left foot. In this way, at the time of impact of racquet and ball, the weight is coming forward in the same direction as the racquet, and the left leg acts as a pivot upon which the whole body turns. As the racquet is brought forward, in the forehand drive, the face of the racquet is turned slightly over in the forward direction so that the slanting surface will impart the spin necessary to bring the ball down into the opposite court. After the ball is hit, the racquet is allowed to finish its swing naturally and easily. This is called the follow-through. Let the racquet swing as far as it wants to. THE STROKES 37 At the end of the stroke, the weight is on the left foot, and the right foot is free. Stroking is always more successful if the follow WILLIAM TILDEN. A forehand drive. through is good. Let the racquet go where it wants, and do not jerk or pull it short. One has only to watch William Tilden or William Johnston for a game or two, to know the value of a free followthrough. 38 TENNIS During the entire time-keep your eye glued on the ball, and try to hit it at the top of its bound, no later. As time goes on, you may learn to hit it on the rise, which will enable you to play faster tennis. THE BACKHAND DRIVE i. The Grip The handle of the racquet is held near the end, as in the forehand drive, so that the leather touches the lower part of the palm of the hand. The thumb, however, is extended up the side of the handle. In changing from the forehand stroke to the backhand, there is a shift of the racquet so that the thumb can be adjusted along one of the sides of the handle, and so that the ball is struck on the opposite side of the face of the racquet from that which is used for the forehand stroke. The value of placing the thumb along the handle lies in the fact that it acts as a brace. Very swift balls can be met more easily, and can be returned accurately. There are several grips for the backhand stroke, but I have described this one because I always use it, and therefore understand it, and also because I think that it is perhaps the most reliable and dependable grip for the beginner to take up. Ml1e. Suzanne Lenglen uses it, as does Mr. William Johnston. This THE STROKES 39 grip for the backhand is perhaps the easiest of all for the beginner to learn. 2. The Standing Position In making the backhand drive, you stand with the right side of your body toward the net-just the reverse of the forehand standing position. Do not stand facing the net, but look at it over your right shoulder. 3. The Swing of the Racquet AND 4. Body Position The weight of the body is distributed evenly on the balls of the feet. As the ball approaches, you bring the racquet back in a wide circular swing, at the same time shifting your weight onto the left foot. Then, as the racquet comes forward to meet the ball, the weight of the body shifts again to the right foot. At the time of impact of racquet and ball, the weight is coming forward in the same direction as the racquet, and the right leg acts as a pivot upon which the body turns. As the racquet is brought forward and as it hits the ball, the face of the racquet is turned forward and over so that it gives spin to the ball. The ability to put spin on the ball will come with 40 TENNIS practice. The more experienced the player the easier it is for him to make the ball obey. After the ball is hit, the racquet follows through MANUEL ALONZO. Finish of a backhand drive. and finishes naturally and easily to the end of its swing. At the finish of the stroke, the weight of the body is on the right foot, and the left foot is free, and THE STROKES 41 ready to start the player off in pursuit of the return shot. The shifting of the weight and balance from one foot to the other in the execution of this stroke, as well as in other strokes in tennis, is very important. It makes possible a united movement in one general direction. There is no contrary force which is likely to upset the smoothness and continuity of the stroke. With the continuity of motion in mind, and its relation to the body, weight, and balance, the beginner is bound to learn more quickly, and to get more speed and better results all round. THE SERVICE The serve is a difficult subj ect to write upon, especially with the beginner in mind. There are, literally, hundreds of ways of serving. Every individual has a serve that differs in some way or other from that of his playing fellows. The service is, perhaps more than any other stroke, individualistic. Since the serve is such an important part of the game, this variety and individualism adds an enormous amount of color to tennis as a whole. It is a brave person, indeed, who dares to claim that he knows the way that all the different kinds of services are done. I believe that their mechanics are difficult to explain for any one except their owners. 42 TENNIS Because of this, I am going to describe only one serve -my own, because that is the only one that I really know. It is not a spectacular one, and it may not be especially thrilling to watch-but it has been faithful to me, and I have found it dependable. One of the reasons I like it is that it requires little effort, which makes it valuable in a long match. It is of a type that is capable of several different speeds, and can be made to carry more or less spin as the occasion demands. In this way it can be varied. I think that the beginner should choose one serve which is suited to his style of play, and then learn it thoroughly. He has then a stroke upon which he can depend. Since the service holds such an important place in the game, this is to be desired. There are few players who are able to employ successfully several different kinds of services. William Tilden is outstanding in that he has a number. Most players, however, rely mainly upon change of pace and speed, and upon placement, to give variety to their serving. I. Grip I hold my racquet near the end of the handle, my index finger separated slightly from the others. The racquet is in my hand so that when the ball is hit it will not be with the flat face of the racquet, but with a sideways surface. When the ball is struck in this THE STROKES 43 way it takes on spin. Spin is important in serving, and should be cultivated by the beginner from the first. In looking back on my own play, I realize that lack of spin on my serve was one of my greatest faults. If you have spin, you can hit your serve very hard and yet have it come into the service court, while if the ball is struck with equal strength, with the flat face of the racquet, it will go miles outside of court. 2. Standing Position The centre of the base-line is the best court position for serving. Few players go farther away from it than a few feet on either side. The advantages of this are obvious. The central position on the court is the commanding one. The left foot is advanced and is placed nearly parallel with the base-line; the right foot is a step behind it. The left shoulder is toward the net. It is well to avoid standing with the body facing the net, because it is practically impossible to get speed and direction on the serve. If you are standing sideways, the serving can be unhampered, free and easy. 3. Swing of Racquet AND 4. Body Balance As you commence the serve, the weight of the body is on the left foot, the one nearest the line. The 44 TENNIS racquet is held out, with its head pointing toward the net. Then the swing is begun, which is circular in its motion. The racquet is brought back, and as it describes the lower part of the swing, the weight of the body is in the act of shifting to the right foot. At the very back part of the swing, the weight is entirely upon the right foot. Then, as the racquet comes forward to meet the ball, the weight shifts from the right foot to the left, and at the finish of the stroke, the weight is entirely on the left foot. The rotation of the weight is very interesting in the serve, and can be learned without a ball wherever there is room to swing a racquet. The left leg acts as a pivot upon which the whole body turns. The sideways position makes it possible to get a shoulder swing into the serve, which adds greatly to the speed of the ball. I have given here the bare fundamentals of my own serve, fundamentals that are present, probably, in all services. The few general theories may help the beginner. The character of the serve, however, is the player's own affair. Every service has its own character. Some are more pleasing than others, it is true, but all services are individualistic. The serve may be called the speaking stroke of tennis. Thinking back, many followers of the game will I I t 1t 4 1 Il oil took ap-r UA N f " - , -f —, Y — THE AUTHOR FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THE SERVICE. I THE STROKES 45 recall the thrilling, thundering, cannon-ball serve of Maurice McLoughlin. It spoke of the player behind, who was known in the tennis world as the "Comet." The regular, perfectly timed service of William Johnston pulses with speed throughout the game, now harder, now softer, as circumstance and strategy demand. Effective, reliable, more trustworthy than spectacular, it is capable, when necessary, of rising to an emergency. A serve of a hundred moods is that of William Tilden. At one time it bears down upon the opponent like an express-train, the next time it skittles sideways over the grass like the proverbial imp of Satan. While many players use the service as a weapon of attack, there are others who regard it merely as a means to an end. Mrs. Molla Mallory has used her serve throughout her career as a starter for the ensuing rally. It is a comparatively easy shot, well enough placed so that her opponent cannot get a too auspicious start. This is not at all to be condemned, but rather to be praised, because of the success that it has had in spite of its lack of speed. At the present time the young English star, Betty Nuthall, uses an underhand serve. Some critics have said that it is a bad way of serving. I am rather inclined to believe that it is far better than the onlooker realizes. It is certainly unique, and individual, and it 46 TENNIS is to her the most natural and logical way of serving. There is one thing that I must add: try always to get your first serve over the net, and in the court. Make your first serve "good." THE LOB The lob in tennis is a stroke that can frequently be employed successfully. Sometimes no other strokes will meet the situation. I can recall an incident from my match against Seinorita Lili de Alvarez, at Wimbledon, in 1927. It was in the second set, at a very crucial moment in the match. We had had a long rally from the base-line, the shots being angled from side to side. We were both breathless from running back and forth. Seniorita de Alvarez advanced to the net and volleyed one of her drives. Her volley fell short in the forecourt, yet she had the commanding position at the net, for I was drawn up into the "noman's-land" of the service-line. She could have reached almost any low shots that I would have put over, with the certainty of making the point if she did. I managed to put up a lob which barely skimmed over the top of her racquet. It fell quickly in her backcourt and, after the long rally, she was for the moment too tired to attempt to run back for it. The lob, coming at a crucial time, as it did, was of greatest value in the winning of the match. I choose this illus THE STROKES 47 tration from among my own experiences, because it stands out to me as one of the most welcome shots that I can remember. Many other players, without doubt, at one time or another, during the course of their tennis, have felt that the lob was a highly valuable and worth-while stroke. Especially so is the one most dangerous to make, the low lob, which skims the opponent's racquet by an inch or two. A lob of this sort has a short distance to fall, and there is not time enough for the player to run back for it before it bounces a second time. This may well be called an offensive lob. A defensive lob, on the other hand, is a high one that a player makes when he is hard pressed, or out of court, or else in need of catching his breath. If the rally has been very fast, and long, and you find you are getting a little the worst of it, a high-soaring lob is sometimes a great aid. You are given time to breathe deeply, and to get back to a good position on the court. Then you can start the rally a second time. The lob is a very delicate stroke, as can easily be seen. Height and depth must both be considered. I know some players who have deadly accurate lobs. Time and again their ball will bounce within inches of the base-line. Sometimes people who play a great deal of doubles are excellent "lobbers." 48 TENNIS Doubles is much more popular in England than here in America, and the lob is employed perhaps with greater success by the English players than by the Americans. I can remember having met a team of English ladies on the Riviera who lobbed their returns throughout the entire match. A barrage of lobs, consistently good and well placed, is frequently disconcerting, and sometimes serves to throw the adversary off his game entirely. In the execution of the lob, the racquet is held much as it is for the forehand drive. But, instead of following through and over with the racquet, the ball is lifted up. There is an upward follow-through of the racquet. Good lobbing requires a great deal of practice, and it takes some time to get the feeling. When once learned, however, it is found to be an extremely effective and worth-while stroke. The ability to lob successfully gives a player added confidence in match play when he meets a net-rushing adversary. There is no better answer to a net attack than the lob, and certainly nothing more tiring for an opponent than to have to rush back after it, or try, time after time, to make overhead returns. THE CHOP I am not going to describe the mechanics of the chop. The main reason is that I cannot claim that I THE STROKES 49 know tow to produce one in orthodox fashion. I have a chop-like spinning shot that I use upon occasions, but do not feel that it is a true chop. Few players who use the drive consistently have particularly good chop strokes. To me the chop is not an especially attractive stroke. I am not sure whether I think that the stroke is an unattractive one because I failed to learn it, or whether because I have failed to learn it it seems to me unattractive. I don't know which is to blame, but I am sure of this: few chop strokes that I have seen have appealed to me. The rhythm and beauty of the drive is lacking in the chop. No matter how great the player, the chop has not the grace of production that marks the other strokes of tennis. The chop is always a chop. It has to be, because, in order to put the spin on the ball, the racquet must be brought down and stopped abruptly. The follow-through that seems to finish off a stroke as in the drive is not present. The line of movement and rhythm is suddenly broken. For this reason the true chopping game is never so pleasing to the eye of the onlooker. But I do think that the player who is learning the game should learn to chop-not with the object of making it an outstanding part of his game, but for the sake of the variety which a knowledge of the chop affords. There are times, during the course of a rally, when 50 TENNIS a chop is a great asset. A short chop, a drop shot, when the opponent is far in the backcourt, is very frequently an outright point-winner. Especially is this true in women's tennis, for women rarely cover court as quickly as men players. Mlle. Suzanne Lenglen rarely, if ever, employed the chop stroke. I cannot recall a single chop in all of the games that I have seen her play. She found, evidently, that it was not necessary to her play, or she would doubtless have cultivated it. The chop, while it may be successfully introduced into the game for the sake of variation, has never been as consistently successful as the drive. There are only one or two present-day players who have made the chop play a winning game. All the rest of the higher ranking players use the drive as their foundation stroke. CHAPTER V THE NET GAME NET play is an essential part of all-round tennis. The volley holds such an important place that the beginner should try to incorporate it into his play as he goes along so that it will develop at an equal pace with the rest of his game. So frequently one sees, on the court, players with a sound and reliable backcourt game, but with no forecourt knowledge whatsoever. I can think of a number at this moment, and, surprisingly enough, some high ranking players and former champions are among them. Ability to play at the net means that the player derives much more pleasure and fun from his tennis. It means also that his tennis will be more decisive and successful. Net play is the most exciting part of tennis, I think. It makes for faster and more decisive play, and more thrilling situations. It helps to drag the defensive player out of his shell, and gives him new confidence and keener spirit. Advantages of the net game are many. The volley cuts short the long rallies of the base-line. It makes 5I 52 TENNIS tennis more varied, interesting, and exciting. It brings pleasure to the player. When you win a point at the net by a decisive volley, it is much more fun than if you had won it on your opponent's error. Long rallies, in which each player waits for the other to drive out or put the ball in the net, are tiresome. Watchful waiting in tennis is a bore. The French player Henri Cochet has a beautiful volleying game. His strokes are executed in fine form, and are very fast and decisive. He is marvellously quick on his feet. He combines all the qualities necessary for the successful net game. Jean Borotra, another one of the famous French Davis Cup team, is one of the most spectacular volleyers of the day. His quickness of foot, eye, and of muscular co-ordination enable him to reach seemingly impossible balls. He jumps, leaps, springs into the air, and puts the ball away with precision and speed. He was well named "The Bounding Basque." Daring and vivacity combined make him one of the most interesting and amusing players to watch. It is great fun to play against him. I have met him several times across the net in mixed doubles. I found on these occasions that it was almost impossible to put the ball out of his reach when he was at the net. He anticipated the direction of the ball before it left the racquet, and with one bound was directly in its path -I, JEAN BOROTRA. Overhead smash. 54 TENNIS by the time that it crossed the net-cord. He volleys from a close-in position at the net, and in this way can angle the ball off to the sides in the most difficult and impossible directions. In ladies' tennis, the volley is coming more and more into evidence. There was a time when few women players came to the net. It was believed too strenuous. But now the volley is a necessary part of a woman's game. Mrs. Kathleen McKane Godfree and Miss Elizabeth Ryan are both extremely good at the net. Almost every one of the young girl players that one sees are able to volley. Mile. Suzanne Lenglen's net game was perfect in every detail. I shall speak of her from time to time in telling about strokes and forms. That she turned professional does not detract one bit from the fact that she is a wonderful and unique tennis-player. Contrary to general belief among those who do not play tennis, or who are just beginning the game, volleying is not so difficult to learn. With the fundamental rules firmly fixed in mind, there is no real reason why every player should not take the position at the net with confidence. It takes practice, however. No one who always stays in the backcourt should wonder why his volleying is bad. I shall name the more important points concerning the forehand volley, the backhand volley, and THE NET GAME Ss the overhead smash, and the fundamentals of their production which I think may be helpful for the beginner. THE FOREHAND VOLLEY i. The Grip The grip of the forehand volley does not difler much from that of the forehand drive, except that the head of the racquet is not allowed to fall lower than the wrist. The index finger may be separated slightly from the others. The wrist should be held firm. A good thing to remember in volleying, while you are at the net and are waiting for the ball, is to rest the head of the racquet lightly in your left hand, and to hold the handle loosely in your right. When the ball comes, you tighten your grip upon the handle. In resting the racquet this way in both hands, it is very easy to adjust your grip to a long or a shorter hold on the handle, as the situation demands. 2. Standing Position This is very important. You stand sideways to the net for the forehand volley, just as you do for the forehand drive so that your left side is toward the net. Your feet are placed about a step apart. It is much easier to direct the ball if the sideways position is taken. TENNIS 3. Swing of Racquet AND 4. Body Balance In volleying balls waist-high and higher, the stroke is done with a downward sweep of the racquet, the arm being slightly bent when the racquet strikes the ball. Then, as the stroke finishes, the arm straightens out. At the end of the stroke, the weight of the body is on the left foot. In this way, more speed can be gained, because the weight is going forward in the same direction as the ball. Remember to keep your wrist firm, or else a careless shot will result, and try to keep the head of the racquet from falling much lower than the wrist. If the ball comes lower, bend your knees and get down to it. I have described the general outline of the volley when the ball comes at a height between the waist and shoulder. You will find, if you are standing close to the net, that most volleying is done in the region of this height, and that any balls coming higher are usually taken on the overhead. If one can volley the ball while close at the net, there is more chance for making a direct kill, which is desirable in volleying, whenever possible. Being close in makes volleying safer and more sure. There is also less danger of being passed. Sharp-angled 0' P TENNIS shots are easier to do when one is quite near the net. Borotra, for example, illustrates this point, perfectly. The close-in net position is the advantageous one. Volleys which come below the waist present a slightly different problem. What has been said in general about the higher volley pertains to them also, but something else must be added. In order to be as accurate as possible in volleying, it is helpful to have the eye, as nearly as is possible, on the same level as the ball. For this reason, on a low volley, you bend your knees and assume a crouching position. It is surprising what a difference bent knees make on the low volley. In this way the head of the racquet does not fall too low, and the eye is, as nearly as is possible, on a level with the ball. If the racquet head points downward, the returned ball usually goes upward. It is impossible, naturally, to put speed on a ball travelling upward, and as a result the volleyer at the net finds himself at the mercy of his opponent. For this reason, bend down to meet the ball. Vincent Richards, who, before he turned professional, was one of the best volleyers among amateur players, executes the volley perfectly. He crouches down so that sometimes one knee very nearly touches the ground. His volleys are accurate and fast, and he is able to volley from practically any position on the court. THE NET GAME9 59 There is another thing that should be added for the sake of the beginner. The easiest place, in tennis, to become excited is at the net. A new player sees the ball coming through the air toward him. He feels that he must hurry. He grows tense, flubs the shot. There is really more time than there seems to be, as he will discover when he has had more experience. Be more nonchalant than you feel, as leisurely as possible. The stroke will be much more apt to be successful. THE BACKHAND VOLLEY The principle of the forehand volley holds good for the backhand stroke, except that the grip is different. The racquet is shifted in the hand, and the thumb is extended up the handle, as a brace. Also, the feet are shifted, the right foot being advanced toward the net instead of the left. For a low backhand volley the knees should be bent and a crouching position assumed, in the same way as for a low volley on the forehand. THE OVERHEAD SMASH The overhead smash is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular shots in tennis. The high-soaring ball dropping to earth, the poised player waiting for it to come within his reach, the flash of the racquet, then the speeding ball as it finds the court, all make the shot a thrilling one, both for the player and for those who are on the side-lines. 60 TENNIS It looks easy when you watch some finished player. Take Henri Cochet, for example: His overhead smash is one of the most cleverly and most smoothly executed in the world of tennis. He rarely misses. During the course of a match he can pull down balls from the air with marvellous precision, time after time. He is short of stature. This makes it rather surprising, as one would think, naturally, that the taller the player the more efficient his overhead work would be. Playing against him in mixed doubles, I was more than ever impressed with his deadliness overhead. He springs up and back as the ball approaches, and hits it with tremendous speed. Quickness of foot and of eye, along with co-ordination between eye and brain, must be the reason for his success. The overhead smash should kill the ball. That is, the ball should be put away, the point won outright. In order to do this there are two things that must be considered-speed and direction. The ball must be hard hit, and it must be placed so that the adversary has no chance of getting to it. Very few women players have good overhead smashes. Why, I do not know, for many have the strength to do it. Mlle. Lenglen's overhead was executed in beautiful form and had fine direction, but was not a consistently fast shot. ~? I I 5 Ii I: MLLE. SUZANNE LENGLEN IN AN OVERHEAD SMASH. I THE NET GAME 6i Timing and swing seem to be two of the most important points in the execution of an overhead. Obviously, if the ball and racquet do not come together at precisely the right time, an effective shot cannot result. That the overhead smash is a difficult shot to do cannot be denied. It requires much practice to become a consistently good smasher. A smoothly executed shot, done by an experienced player, misleads the onlooker-it looks so easy. The actual fundamentals of the overhead smash are not at all hard to understand. The difficult things for the player are the rhythm and timing. These are so necessary for the successful production of the stroke and can come only with practice and experience. Even with all my practice I am not able to hit an overhead smash with as much speed as I should like. Surely there is no stroke as satisfactory as an overhead of such speed and precision that it is ungetable. Gerald Patterson, the Australian player who has been seen a number of times in this country in Davis Cup play, has an unforgetable smash-a powerful, crashing shot that usually wins the point outright. To any one learning to smash, I would advise that he execute the stroke in the same manner as the service. Use the same circular swing, and take a more or less sideways position to the net, with the left shoul 62 TENNIS der toward it. Sometimes it is necessary to jump for a high ball. This is where Henri Cochet excelsjumping up and bringing the lob down out of the air. The secret of speed in a smash lies in the full, free swing of the racquet. A player who taps the ball cannot hope for speed. In going back to smash a deep lob it is easier to keep your balance if you go back with a series of little skips, at the same time resting the head of the racquet lightly in your left hand. Then, when the moment of making the swing comes, you are nicely balanced, and the racquet is in the right place to start the swing. The outstanding and best overhead smash in ladies' tennis is that of Mrs. George W. Wightman, who was formerly Hazel Hotchkiss, of California. Her overhead has everything that a stroke of the sort should have-speed and direction, excellent timing and rhythm. It is a deceptive stroke, too. In playing against her, I have started in one direction, thinking that I was anticipating correctly, and have found that she was aiming the shot for another part of the court. In mixed doubles I have seen her ace the best men players of the country. It would seem that the smash depends for success upon the fundamental rules and upon practice. It is only with practice that the timing can become perfect. CHAPTER VI THE JOURNEY TO THE NET THE knowledge of the strokes that are used in net play does not mean always that a player is successful in the forecourt position. There are players who have good volleying form, who are yet not able to say that they have an entirely satisfactory net game. Looking back over my own tennis, I can see that I was quite slow in realizing the importance to the net game of the journey to the net. The journey to the net is a very important part of net play. Some players, as you watch them on the court, arrive at the net easily, and without much effort. These are the players who have the feeling for the net approach, and who understand how it should be done. Vincent Richards, who unfortunately will no more be seen in amateur matches, had a natural inclination for the net position. So have Jean Borotra and Henri Cochet. These three are outstanding figures at the net. Mrs. Kathleen McKane Godfree, among the women players, stands out as a good net player. Mlle. Lenglen, although she relied mainly upon her 63 64 TENNIS backcourt play, when she chose could take the net most satisfactorily. The journey to the net has both time and place. VINCENT RICHARDS. A backhand volley. The opportune moment must be seized by the player. It is here that good judgment means much. There are many situations that arise during the course of the THE JOURNEY TO THE NET 65 game which present a good opening for the net sally, and they must be recognized. The better the judgment and generalship of the player, the easier it will be for him to get to the net successfully. The beginner asks: "What is the right time for the net approach?" The answer, generally speaking, might be this: The time for the net approach is at that point in the rally when you will have time to get well up to the net, and when your opponent's return shot will be such that you can deal with it in a decisive manner. If your opponent is hard-pressed, or in a cramped position, or is out of court, his return will probably be less effective than if he were well set for the shot. It is at such times that you have the best chance of winning your volley. Players who want to come into the net try to work their opponents out of position so that there will be an opening for their volley. The type of game that the opponent plays, the situations that arise in the course of the rallies must all be considered. It can be seen that it is impossible to formulate any set rules for the net approach. The very thing that makes tennis such a fascinating game -its great variety-makes definite rules impracticable. It may be said, however, that there is one rule 66 TENNIS that holds good almost always: Never come in on a short shot. There is more to be said about the net approach, but I think that it falls in with "Tactics and Strategy," the subject of the next chapter. CHAPTER VII TACTICS AND STRATEGY THE longer one plays the more one thinks! It should be this way. With experience one acquires (or should acquire) wisdom! There are some players, long past their youth, who are able to keep up excellent tennis. There are others whose games disappear into the air when they have no longer sheer strength to put into it. Tennis is, in its mechanics and actual production of stroke, very interesting, but even doubly interesting is it when its tactics and strategy are considered. A famous figure in the world of tennis is Norman Brookes. At Wimbledon in I907, and again in I914, he was champion. He was a member of the Australian Davis Cup team, and in international play had two wins over Maurice McLoughlin, one of the most brilliant stars in tennis history. I never had the pleasure of seeing Norman Brookes at the height of his game, because that was years before I knew about tennis. But in I924, seventeen years after his first win at the old Wimbledon, I saw him at the new Wimbledon. He defeated Francis Hunter in the third round of the championship play. Although Brookes was nearly fifty, and not 67 68 TENNIS particularly strong, he played tennis that outgeneralled his young opponent, and won in the fifth set, after a tremendously exciting match. I remember it distinctly, and especially the brown-skinned Brookes, looking from under the shadows of his cap, which was pulled low over his eyes. He moved quietly over the court, his brain saving his feet, anticipating the whirlwind shots of his opponent. What he lacked in strength was made up for by fine strategy. I am reminded of the fact that, contrary to the ideas of every other player, Brookes used a very loosely strung racquet. For some reason he preferred it, and could not be shaken in the belief that it was suited to his game. His opponent's racquet, tightly strung, would ring out whenever a ball was struck. Brookes's racquet made practically no sound-at most, perhaps a "swish, swish"! The player, as has been proved, with a thinking game, and who knows the tactics and strategy, can play tennis for a long time after his contemporaries of the "slam-bang" school have vanished from the court! Tennis fairly bristles with tactics and strategy, as you have perhaps discovered if you have fallen in with the groups of ardent tacticians that are found on the club veranda, or on the side-lines! On the court during play there is always some TACTICS AND STRATEGY 69 thing to think about. Stroke production, in time, becomes second nature, and when this occurs the player finds that he is giving more thought to tactics and the plan of play. In the chapter preceding I spoke of the "Journey to the Net." There are several things concerning net play which fit in under the title of "Tactics and Strategy." It is practically impossible, as I said before, to make any definite rules about the net approach. However, there are several points that I think very helpful and that make the safe arrival at the net more simple. One good thing to remember is this, for it applies to all net play: In trying to take the net position, make the most of your opponent's weaknesses. Let him, if possible, pave the way for your volleying. He may find it difficult to return a fast ball. If this is so, use a fast ball to come in on. Or he may have trouble in returning successfully a high-bounding ball on his backhand. It all depends upon what sort of tennis he plays. No two people play the same kind of tennis. When you have been against some one several times you get to know his game. Meeting a player for the first time is sometimes difficult. It is here that your power of perception has its test! Some people who have had much experience, and who have played a long time, can sum up their opponents' method of 70 TENNIS play in a game or two. I remember that once when I was just beginning to take part in tournaments, I came against a woman who was left-handed. I felt that something was wrong, but did not discover until after the match was over that she was left-handed! Two old standbys of the net player are these: The deep-placed ball and the ball to the opponent's backhand. A deep-placed ball (one on, or very near the baseline) is always good in tennis. When in doubt play a deep ball! A deep-placed ball means that the player at the net has more time in which to get into position, and more time for meeting the returned ball. The winning of the point may depend upon the fraction of a second thus gained. In watching good players in action, you never see a short ball used as a "coming-in" shot. It obviously places the one who is trying to come to the net in a difficult and dangerous position. He has little time to get into place and to get ready for the return. He may be easily passed. The other standby is the ball to the opponent's backhand. With most players the backhand is weaker than the forehand. Sometimes one finds a deadly backhand, but not frequently. Usually it lacks in decisiveness. For this reason, a deep ball to the backhand is a good "coming-in" shot. 4 JEAN BOROTRA. An overhead. 72 TENNIS Most players who take the net are in the habit of exchanging a couple of balls from the base-line, until they see an opening for their sally to the net. It follows that the player who does this can expect to have more success than the one who does not. Conspicuous among those who rush the net abruptly and at unexpected times, and who yet manage to carry it off, is Jean Borotra. He takes the net on practically any shot, with daring and nonchalant ease. His quickness is, at times, almost unbelievable. Because of his spectacular network and agility in covering court, he is perhaps one of the most amusing figures in tennis for those in the grand stand. Another aid to net play is the knowledge of the centre theory. THE CENTRE THEORY The centre theory may be, at times, employed in approaching the net. It may not work out equally well against all players, but may sometimes be found very helpful. The centre theory, as used in net play, may be briefly explained in this way: If the ball is played down the centre of the opposite court and deep, near the base-line, less of the player's court is left open for his opponent's return. The one at the net is in a more secure position because he is harder to pass. TACTICS AND STRATEGY 73 If he had placed his coming-in shot far to the corner of his opponent's court a wider part of his own court would have been open for his adversary's return. In many cases the centre shot is a very valuable one D x THE CENTRE THEORY. for the net approach. A good position is half the battle of the net-player, and the centre theory frequently allows him to take the commanding one. In the little diagrams that I have drawn I have tried to illustrate the idea of the centre theory. 74 TENNIS The centre theory's principle is shown in the first diagram. The player is shown at the net, with his reach on both sides indicated. The ball is shown at the centre of the opponent's court at the base-line. The shaded portions of the court are the areas where the return shot will probably go. The net-man, here, has an equal chance on either side of his court. In diagram II, a ball nearer the side-lines is shown. The court area open for the opponent's return is greater in this case, as is indicated by shaded portion. In comparing the two, it can be seen that the use of the centre idea gives the net-player a more advantageous position in the forecourt, with a better chance of making a good return volley, and that less of his court is exposed to his opponent. However, the centre theory is not infallible. It may be utterly useless against some players. It may, at other times, be equally useless under certain circumstances. Obviously, if your adversary is on the run, and you can put a ball far to the corner and make him work very hard to retrieve it, why use the centre theory? Rather, the centre theory is most convenient at times when one wonders: "What shall I do in order to get into the net? My opponent eats up the balls to the corners. I will try one deep down the centre. It may trouble him." The centre theory is a favorite topic among the TACTICS AND STRATEGY 75 theorizers of the veranda. It does the beginner no harm to listen in on their conversations, and to try out upon the court that which he has heard logically explained by those who do most of their playing in chairs. He may succeed in putting it into action. The return of service presents many interesting strategic possibilities. It is extremely important, as all players know, to get an auspicious start in a rally. The server tries to make an effective service that will open up his opponent's court for his next ball. The opponent, in turn, is equally desirous of making his return of the service such a one that it will give him a good start in the rally. There is a battle of wits, as well as of strokes, from the first. There are serves and serves. Some serves are swift; others have disconcerting bounds. High and low bouncing serves, slow-twisting serves, all help to give variety. As no two services are absolutely alike, a person must become accustomed to many kinds. He must try to adapt himself, without becoming upset, to all sorts. Luckily, there are few players who have serves as swift as Tilden's! Where should one stand to return a serve? It depends, first of all, upon the serve. If it is a slow one, stand up close and take it on the rise. In taking it quickly in this way your opponent will have less time in which to get ready for your shot. If the 76 TENNIS serve is fast, it will be necessary to stand back a little farther. The best place to stand on the court is the place where you find that the serve you are playing against can be returned effectively, accurately, and with as little loss of time as possible. If you are planning to follow your return of service into the net, it is well to stand in and take the ball on the rise. Against a slow service this is quite possible to do. On a fast one it takes a wonderfully quick eye and is most hazardous. In almost any case one loses much valuable time in waiting for the service to reach the end of its bound before hitting it. If you stand too far back this is what will happen. In the meantime your opponent is ready for your return shot, or else has rushed into the net. I am reminded here of the great difference in the return of service on the asphalt courts and on the grass surface. The balls bounce so fast and high on asphalt that it is necessary to stand far back in the court in order to return them, or else very close in to the service line. When I begin play on the grass courts in the Eastern tournaments (we have no grass courts in California) I find, at first, that I must remind myself constantly about my standing position on the return of service. Sometimes, without thinking, I take up an absurd position, far behind the baseline. One must learn to adjust one's standing position TACTICS AND STRATEGY 7 77 to the court, to the opponent's service, and to the scheme of play that one has in mind. One asks oneself: "What kind of a shot shall I make on the return of service, and where shall I put it in my opponent's court?" Again, it depends upon circumstance. If the opponent has a fine and accurate forehand., then you do not usually lead off and put the ball where he likes it best. You may begin with a deep ball to his backhand. You may send the second return of service to his backhand and perhaps the third. He thinks that you have decided to play his backhand. On the fourth return of service you suddenly put a fast, deep one to his forehand, and you may profit. It brings another point to my mind, which is this: When playing some one with outstanding strength in one department, do not avoid it entirely. For example: if some one has a wonderful forehand, and runs around every shot, taking it on his forehand, don't end up by aiming for a little space two feet square on the left side of his court. When he has gotten over far enough let a ball fly down his forehand court. In avoiding his strength conscientiously for a few strokes, you may be able to make it the vulnerable spot. To go back to the return of service-the safest return in most cases, for a serve, is deep and to the 78 TENNIS centre of your opponent's base-line. This brings up our friend, the centre theory. Your opponent will have less chance to angle a ball from the centre of his court than from one of the far sides. Or you may plan to go up to the net on the second shot of a rally. In this case you could play a sharply angled ball to your opponent's forehand, followed by a second one deep to his backhand. This would, if all went well, make an opening for your next approach. However, a general rule to follow in the return of service is this: Play your ball deep. By doing this consistently you will avoid being forced at once into a difficult position on the court. Your chances for a successful rally will be greatly increased. CHAPTER VIII VARIETY IN TENNIS OF greatest value to tactics and strategy is variety. Change of pace, variation in speed, the use of different kinds of strokes and variety of placement, all find their place in the thinking tennis-player's game. Change of pace and variation in speed are valuable weapons in an experienced player's hands, both because of mechanical and psychological reasons. Often one sees in a tournament a match where both contestants keep up the same speed of play throughout the game. The score goes up and down, and finally, as it were, the winner wins. The play has been monotonous because it has lacked variety. Some players seem to lack the feeling of variety, and when two such players meet the resulting match is usually uninteresting. On the other hand, if there are drives, short and long, serves, hard and soft, some deep balls, some short balls, some backcourt play, some net play, a match cannot help but be interesting, from the standpoint of both the player and the onlooker. Variety in tennis enables the player to break away from the sameness in the game that sometimes threat79 80 TENNIS ens the pleasure of play. As experience is gained, it becomes more and more easy to introduce variety. William Tilden's name in tennis is practically a synonym for variety. His knowledge of the change of pace and of variation in speed surpasses perhaps that of any other present-day player. Upon watching him in a match, one cannot help but grasp the idea. First, there is a swift, deep ball to a far corner, then a second shot follows over at a slower pace, dropping rapidly in the forecourt of the opposite side. This is, in turn, followed by a deeper ball. The value of change of speed has a mechanical aspect, in this sense. For example: the ball has been exchanged several times at a good pace, then one of the players sends over a ball of much slower speed. His opponent, accustomed to the faster balls, may misjudge it slightly, or may find himself a little off balance. He may, in other words, not be quite prepared for this shot. His return may not, as a result, be quite so sure or as well placed as it would otherwise have been. In a game, especially where players are evenly matched, even such a difference, slight as it may seem, may give the advantage in the rally to the player who thought first of the change of speed. Change of speed has, as well, a certain psychological value-if the term "psychology" can be applied DIDDIE VLASTO'S BACKHAND. VARIETY IN TENNIS 8i to tennis! I think that it plays a part. Understanding use of change of pace may help in the winning of a game. For example: one player throws into the rally a shot, at an opportune moment, that is much slower than those of the general average, almost a "pop" shot. His adversary makes an error or a poor return, because of the sudden change of speed. The mistake is quite excusable, but at the moment it appears to him that he has erred on an absurdly simple shot. He may become a wee bit annoyed, or his confidence may be shaken, especially if the mistake has come at an important time. The tennis-player entirely without nerves is a rare person. On the succeeding shots he may not quite come up to his usual mark. His adversary grows more sure, and feels confident because he has put over a good bit of strategy-and so the game goes on! Sometimes a match will swing upon such an incident. It is said that Norman Brookes, in his day, was a past master in the handling of speed and variation. He was said to have been able to make a thinking opponent think harder upon the court, and an unthinking one lose his head completely. Another aid to variety is spin. Spin comes with practice, and is a part of tennis that must be learned gradually. I am aware that my balls carry spin, but I cannot remember the day when I first discovered it. 82 TENNIS Spin comes gradually with experience. The beginner has enough difficulty in getting the ball over the net, without thinking of spin at all. But as the player goes along, he can make the ball do many things at his bidding. Spin, besides adding variety to a game, helps to bring the ball down into the court. The ball may be struck with tremendous force from the back of the court, and be kept within bounds by spin. All true drives have a certain amount of "top." "Top" is the spin that brings the ball into court. The ideal drive carries a moderate amount of "top." A ball with a great deal of top spin does not go as fast as a lower drive hit with equal force. However, there are times when a high-topped drive is useful. I can remember a match in which a high topped drive saved the day. It was in the Olympic Games, in 1924. I was playing against Mlle. Diddie Vlasto in the finals. Her forehand drive was, at that time, perhaps the fastest in ladies' tennis. It was tremendously fast, and for me practically ungetable, because it had no bounce, but skidded along the ground. On that day she was making few errors. Also, she took all the balls that she could on her forehand, knowing that it was a winning stroke. I finally discovered, after losing point after point on her forehand, that my only hope lay in a high-topped drive to the far side of her backhand VARIETY IN TENNIS 83 court. There was very little space to try for, as she was taking almost all her strokes on her forehand, but with a slow-travelling, high-looping drive it was not hard to aim for as near the line as possible. She did not favor a high bouncing ball on her backhand, and I patiently began to put the ball there, shot after shot. Now and then, when she was far off court, there would be an opening on her forehand court. I did not like to play the slow, looping drive, as it is not the most interesting sort of a stroke in tennis, but it was to choose either that or annihilation by her scorching forehand. It is sometimes necessary for a player to change his method of play, so that it will be better suited to cope with the particular game that his opponent plays. Especially is it so when the adversary has a certain stroke which is particularly dangerous. CHAPTER IX SPEED ONE of the most impressive changes in modern women's tennis is that of speed. The game has become faster in many ways. The balls carry more pace, the players move over the court more rapidly (doubtless because they are no longer hampered by trailing skirts and tight waists). The service has become, generally, more severe. I doubt that I would love tennis as much as I do if it were not for speed. Nothing is more fun when playing than to hit a ball hard, and to see it go flying over the net. It is true that there is more risk when the ball is hit hard. There is a greater chance for it to go into the net or out. This is the reason why the very fast player is not as accurate and as steady as the one whose balls travel more slowly. But speed, even with its greater risk, has a certain fascination and charm that cannot be equalled by anything else in the game. If I had the choice, I would much rather be the fastest player in the world than the most accurate, if to be the most accurate demanded slower play. The most important thing, at the moment, in tennis, is to combine speed with accuracy. The player 84 SPEED that can best do this will be the winner. Both speed and accuracy should be the ultimate aim of every one who is bent on learning tennis. Speed depends upon correct execution of the stroke -the right standing position, a free swing of the racquet, perfect timing. The feet are responsible for a great many unsuccessful balls. "Look to your feet" when something goes wrong. Three times out of five feet are to blame. The feet are, as it were, the first step in the execution of a stroke. If they are right, the rest can follow, but if they are wrong, everything else will be wrong. Feet are the foundation of correct stroking and of speed. Free swing of the racquet is a necessity for the production of speed. Graceful motion, an almost loosejointed feeling in the arm, bring about a free swing. Jerky, pecky action, jabbing strokes, can never hope for more than a little sting. The grand rush of real speed comes with a full, free, and graceful swing of the racquet. Why do some people play without apparent effort? Timing is an elusive quality in tennis, and can be captured only after much experience and practice. With perfect timing, speed can be attained without a great deal of exertion. You see some of the best play 86 TENNIS ers who are able to hit fast balls with almost no effort. These are the people who make fast tennis look easy. The secret lies in the fact that their timing has reached a state of perfection. William Johnston's forehand drive, when he is in his best form, carries a tremendous amount of speed. Yet in its execution he seems to expend practically no effort. We are all familiar (because we see it so often) with the player who looks as if he is playing very hard tennis, and yet, when all is said and done, whose shots have little force. It is not the effort which is put into a shot that makes it a fast one, but rather the perfection of timing. For this reason it is not necessarily the man with the broadest shoulders who is the champion in tennis. Speed does not always depend upon brawn. Lucky is the player who is fortunate enough to be able to make speed a part of his game. Some are never able to acquire it, others can work it into their games, a few-a very few-seem to have been born to play fast tennis. When players once attain speed they sometimes depend upon it too much. That is, they are inclined to disregard the tactics and strategy and to depend, rather, upon the overwhelming strength of their balls. There have been several examples of this in tennis history. A whirlwind player comes up and overwhelms every one with the sheer force of his play. Then one day he meets some one SPEED 87 who has learned to return cannon-ball shots. He who has relied entirely upon his speed then has nothing to fall back on. He cannot meet his adversary's strategy with strategy, and so he falls suddenly from the realm of stars. Speed of play determines how many sets one can get into an afternoon. There are players who can finish seven or eight sets and not feel weary. For others three sets are sufficient. It depends upon the type of game that one plays whether one has had enough tennis after eight sets or two sets. I would rather play two sets at top speed than all afternoon in a leisurely fashion. Speed of play, of course, depends upon the individual. I believe, however, that when one has gotten into the swing of brisk tennis, no other sort of play will fill its place. A sunny day, white balls, tight racquet, fresh white tennis clothes, a good-natured opponent, and a brisk game-this spells heaven for the one who loves tennis. Tilden's cannon-ball service, Johnston's forehand drive, Cochet's overhead smash, Richards's volley all stand out as fast strokes in the tennis world. Among women players Seinorita de Alvarez has, I believe, the fastest forehand drive. Henri Cochet's entire game is a very swift one. It 88 TENNIS moves briskly. For this reason it is an interesting one to watch. The tempo of his play is accelerated by the fact that he covers court with almost unbelievable quickness. He places a speeding ball to the corner of his opponent's court, and in the twinkling of an eye has gained the net and smashed the return. Another kind of speed, less spectacular in some ways, yet equally effective, is that of Rene Lacoste. The onlooker is led to believe that Lacoste's game is not nearly so fast as it is, because of the quiet and restrained manner in which he plays. He does his strokes with such ease and apparent lack of effort that it is hard to realize that they are fast. But they are, indeed, and carry, consistently, a formidable amount of pace. Sefiorita Lili de Alvarez has the fastest game among women players that I have met. She has beautiful ground strokes, and takes the ball on the risethat is, soon after it has hit the court. Most players wait until the ball has reached the top of its bound before they hit it. In striking a rising ball, Sefiorita de Alvarez makes her game faster, because she eliminates a fraction of a second's time in the making of her stroke. Besides this, her ball carries little top, which means that it reaches the opponent's court more quickly because of its flatter trajectory. Add to this the fact that her shots are very speedy ones anyway, REN9 LACOSTE. Backhand volley. 9O TENNIS and you can imagine that she plays a fast game. She has done much of her tennis with men players, as can be seen in her manner of play. She returns fast balls with more ease than any of the other women players, and can give speed for speed. Especially is her forehand cross-court drive a spectacular shot. At times it is practically ungetable. Senlorita de Alvarez is perhaps the most interesting of women players to watch in action, both because of her speed and her grace. She does not hold back her fast shots for fear that they will go out, but rather tries for the hardest places on her opponent's court. The daring and life of her play make her a fascinating figure on the court for the one who watches, and a tremendously thrilling opponent for the one who plays against her. CHAPTER X EASY MOTION "How easy it looks!" I have heard this very remark time and again on the side-lines and in the grand stand, at a tennis match. And the onlooker, when he says this, is watching some of the highestranking players in the country. When you think about it, you find that the word "easy" is the very reason for the success of the firstrate player —easy" in the sense of "easy motion." "Easy motion" is a gift. You can pick out, in the world of sport, people who are endowed with it, and people who seem to have more than their share of it. For them any sport comes easily. The ability to do one sport well frequently means that they can do another equally well. Mary Browne, for example, had the feeling for sport, the gift of easy motion. She ranked first in tennis for several years, and in golf, later, was one of the high-ranking players. In college sport is this frequently shown-a student does several sports with equal ease and success. And, every time, the all-round athlete is sure to have the gift of "easy motion." What is it? It seems to me to be a perfect co91 92 TENNIS ordination of mind and muscle which produces rhythmic and graceful action. The same thing makes a dancer a success, a college-yell leader good. Easy motion has its place in many things. To tennis it is indispensable. The player who has easy motion finds the game much simpler than the one who is lacking in this particular quality. Easy motion can be developed and encouraged, and can grow along with the game. Sometimes one sees it in a young player when he first takes up the game. There used to be a junior at my club, who showed, from the first, easy motion, and the understanding of rhythmic play. His name is Sidney Wood. Since that time his game has progressed, and he is rated among the best junior players in the country. It is not usual, however, to find rhythm and ease in the play of every beginner. One does not expect it. The player who feels that he has not captured the secret of easy motion, should practise, for it is only with practice that it can come. The confidence bred of familiarity with the strokes, courts, and foot work, as well as lightness of foot, and the feeling for distance will aid in giving the player ease and rhythm in his action. Best of all woman players, in regard to rhythm, was Mile. Suzanne Lenglen. Her grace of movement made it a pleasure to watch her on the court. Her balance and poise were at all times perfect. Without EASY MOTION 93 doubt this was so because of her years of play and practice, and also because she possessed inherently, to a remarkable degree, the feeling for easy motion. The rhythmic quality of her strokes was a lovely thing to watch. In a stroke, in tennis, when it is beautifully and correctly done, you find that there is a certain dynamic line of rhythm. I discovered it in making my little action sketches of the different tennis-players. One sees it on the court when one watches players in action and calls it "grace," or, perhaps, "smooth action." The thing in stroke production that really pleases, it seems to me, is the dynamic line of rhythm that sweeps through the figure and the racquet in the process of making the stroke. It marks the great player. It is, in the last analysis, that which makes possible "easy motion." Those with "easy motion" outstanding among men players whom I have seen are Rene Lacoste, William Tilden, William Johnston, and among women players Mlle. Lenglen, Sefiorita Lili de Alvarez, and Mrs. Kathleen McKane Godfree. CHAPTER XI TIMING THE beginner (and not always, sad to say, the beginner! ) frequently hits the ball with the wood of his racquet. Sometimes he swings and misses the ball completely. This is because he has misjudged the ball and the speed at which it is travelling toward him. He swings his racquet either too soon or too late. This is an easy mistake to make. Timing, so that racquet and ball come together at the right time, is largely a matter of judgment and this can come only with practice. The eye, too, plays a tremendously important part in the timing of the stroke. Before the stroke is made at all, the eye determines the speed of the approaching ball, distinguishes the spin, and enables the player to gauge his stroke production accurately. The player, knowing the speed of the coming ball, and feeling the exact amount of time which he is allowed for the swing of his racquet, is able, then, to make his stroke with a good deal of certainty. It is truly remarkable, when you think of it, that the player, while keeping his eye on the approaching ball, can swing his racquet in a graceful sweep, and 94 TIMING 95 have it come to the ball at exactly the right time and place, especially when no two balls in tennis are identical as to speed and spin. Timing seems to reach farther than the swing of the stroke itself. The two or three steps that the player takes before he makes his stroke are vitally important to the subsequent shot. He not only times his ball and stroke, but he times his steps so that he will be on the right foot at the right time. Sometimes, when the rally is exciting and fast, and the balls are sailing over the net like bullets, it is interesting to watch only the feet of the player. Tilden's, for example, are a revelation in footwork! They keep time to the tempo of play. Timing has much to do with the speed of the ball. It is not always sheer strength that makes the ball go fast. Among well-known tennis-players there are some who are slight of build and not unusually strong, and yet who can send the ball over the net at a terrific pace. For example, there is William Johnston, of California-his forehand drive., because of the perfect timing in its execution, is among the fastest strokes in the tennis world. Speed in tennis can be attained only through perfect timing. Timing is a thing that can be easily affected. If the player's eye is off, he has trouble in timing his 96 TENNIS strokes correctly. If the eye has been under any sort of strain, it shows in his playing. Sometimes riding in an open car before playing, with the wind blowing in one's eyes, will have an effect on one's game. Court surface, too, can upset a player's timing. Until you have played tennis, and have become accustomed to a certain type of court, you may think this an exaggeration, but there are hardly any two courts that are precisely alike. There are the hard asphalt and cement courts in California; there are clay courts in varying degrees of hardness, and there are grass courts of varying degrees of softness. Coming from one type of court to the other is bewildering. For the first few days it is very hard to time the ball correctly and to get your strokes going smoothly. When I have been playing for some time on the asphalt, I find it at first most difficult to play on the grass surface, and it is usually a week before I can hit my shots with any degree of certainty. Some players become accustomed to change of surface more readily, although I believe that every one finds a sudden change of surface a little disconcerting. On asphalt, for example, the ball rises very quickly from the court, and the swing is, necessarily, fast. On grass the rougher surface of the court holds the ball for a fraction of a second longer as it bounces. The swing of the racquet must be a wee bit slower. TIMING 97 But when one has been playing for some time on the hard court, the speed of the swing becomes more or less of a habit, and the result is that, when changing over to the grass surface, one continues the same speed in swing, with the result that the racquet meets the ball a little too soon. This may seem a rather detailed account of why a change of court has an effect upon a player's game. It is, however, of importance, especially to one who takes part in international tennis. Mile. Lenglen was able to adapt herself very quickly to a change of court surface. I remember that when she came to Wimbledon from France she arrived only a few days before the championship games started. Each season, up to the time of the English meeting, she played on the hard clay courts of France. Then she came over to England, and played equally well on grass. I watched her practise one day at Wimbledon, before the tournament was on. Instead of playing a real practice game, as most other players did, she tried out only her strokes, and rallied back and forth unceasingly. In this way she became quickly at home on the grass and accustomed herself to the bound of the ball. By concentrated practice of this sort she soon overcame the differences in timing that exist between grass and clay court play. The more I think of her tennis, the more 98 TENNIS I am struck with the scientific manner in which she went at the game! With beginners timing is usually an undiscovered quality. In recalling my own tennis, I can remember that I was inclined to hit the ball too soon. Seeing the ball approaching, I became overeager, and hurried my stroke. This is probably the natural thing for one to do who is learning the game. As you go along you find that there is more time for the execution of a stroke than you had at first believed. I have watched Tilden and Johnston and other high-ranking players, and have thought that they rarely seemed hurried in the actual making of their strokes. CHAPTER XII THE EYE AND THE BALL "KEEP your eye on the ball!" How frequently this is heard on the court when instruction in tennis is being given. It is so easy to think that you are watching the ball, when you really are not. Frequently you are aware of the ball, but have not actually got your eye on it. One of the secrets of tennis is to watch the ball until the last possible moment. Does the player watch the ball until it hits the racquet? I should say that he does not-that no player does. But the good player watches it until the last possible moment. He is aware, at the same time, of the position of his opponent on the court. It is sometimes the opponent's fault that your eye is not on the ball. Your gaze wanders over to see where he is. This is especially true when he rushes in to the net. Your attention may be diverted by his sudden approach. It is certain, however, that a roving eye will never help any one to play good tennis. While it is important to keep the eye always on the ball when playing, no matter whether you are in 99 I00 TENNIS the backcourt or the forecourt, especially helpful is this rule to the player at the net. The volley demands accuracy and precise handling. You may flub a backcourt shot and get away with it, but never a volley. At the net it is "Finish the ball or be finished." This is why, at the net, one must keep his eye glued on the ball. One of the reasons why good volleyers crouch down for some of their volleys is so that their eye may be more nearly on a level with the approaching ball. When Vincent Richards was playing in the amateur matches, I used to love to watch him volleysuch decisive shots, so clean-cut and swiftly done. The remarkable part was that he could execute a volley from practically any place on the court and from any position. He was ("was," in the sense of the amateur days, to which he is unfortunately lost) that which is found but rarely in tennis-a born volleyer. I was impressed many times, as I watched him play, by the fact that he kept his eye on the ball-no casual glance, but intent concentrated attention. It was evident to any one on the side-lines. It was, undoubtedly, one of the reasons for his success at the net. As you play along, it is easy to fall, unconsciously, into bad little habits of play. You are unaware of them at first; then you ask yourself: "What am I do THE EYE AND THE BALL IOI ing? Something is wrong-but what is it?" Nine times out of ten it is because you are not watching the ball closely enough. i0~1 VINCENT RICHARDS. A half volley. Try holding the thought as you play: "Eye on the ball, eye on the ball." It becomes a refrain that will keep your eye from roving. Rhythm and timing in stroke production are closely related to "Eye on the ball." If you don't keep your eye glued upon the ball, perfect rhythm is absolutely unattainable. 102 TENNIS A great deal of the mediocre tennis that one sees is due to the fact that the players do not watch the ball. Unconsciously the eye is taken away too soon, the timing of the shot is spoiled, and it is impossible to bring off an accurate stroke. CHAPTER XIII CONCENTRATION ONE of the qualities marking the winner in tennis is concentration. Sometimes the onlooker sees one player with far more graceful and attractive strokes go down before an opponent who has practically no form or style, but who has, in its place, the ability of concentration. It sometimes seems unfortunate that that which is the most pleasing in a player's game cannot be the reason for his winning. Concentration in tennis is a form of patience. It means the willingness on the part of the player to give his whole and undivided attention to each and every ball that comes into his court, and to every stroke that he makes in putting the ball back across the net. Every ball in a match is of equal value. This is sometimes hard to realize. The first point in one game is just as important as the last. The player is far more likely to make a careless shot on the first ball of the game than on the last. The first shot means, if he loses it, that he will be love-fifteen; the last point of a game, if lost, means that he loses the game. Yet, if as much attention is given the opening shot as is given the last, it will mean that the loss of 103 Io4 TENNIS the game is less likely. It is the same with a set-the first games are just as important as the last. In the same way the first service is important. The beginner should make every effort to get his first service going dependably. Of course, not every first service can be expected to go in. But I have watched players who put their first service in only now and then. A good first service was an unusual occasion for them. It should be the other way. A first service in the net ought to be a rare occurrence. How easy it is to talk of what "should," and "ought to" be done! But as I look back upon my early tennis, and the games that I have played, I marvel upon the amount of energy and strength expended in my first services that found the net! Yet, if one's attention is turned to the first service, it is surprising what can be done with it. It can be made quite steady and dependable. Especially is this valuable in tournament play, for when playing in a match of long duration every unnecessary expenditure of energy should be eliminated, if possible. It is more difficult for some people than others to concentrate on the court, when engaged in play, because of their nature. I believe, however, that the ability of concentration can be wooed and won. I have heard, sometimes, people say of a player: "He concentrates too much on his game. He is too CONCENTRATION 1OS serious." However, I must say that I believe that the person who concentrates upon his tennis, wholly and entirely, while on the court, gets far more enjoyment out of his game than the one who does not. Any one who really loves the game can hardly be blamed for becoming completely absorbed by it while in the fun of play. And this brings me to a point that I have never before discussed-a purely personal one, but one which seems to fit in, in this particular case. I am referring to the fact that I acquired, in the course of my tennisplaying, the name "Poker Face." I was fifteen, playing in my first tournament at Forest Hills, when a newspaperman gave me the name, and it has stuck ever since. I was surprised when I analyzed the term, and realized its meaning. It seems that the name, "Poker Face" indicates that there is never a change in expression. I was surprised, for would not changes of feeling, and I am certain that I had them, be answered by changes of expression? Evidently not. Perhaps it is because, when I play, I become entirely absorbed in the game. It may be a form of concentration. It must be this, as I know that I am not entirely without feeling upon the court. I love the feel of hitting the ball hard, the pleasure of a rally. It is these things that make tennis the delightful game that it is. Io6 TENNIS These are the things that make concentration easy. They draw your attention and hold it. It is for this very reason that tennis has became universally popular. CHAPTER XIV EXPERIENCE AND CONFIDENCE PRACTICE-TOURNAMENT PLAY FOR THE BEGINNER Practice To learn tennis, one must be willing to practise. It is a matter of time. I have played since I was thirteen, and feel that I have not, by any means, learned all there is to know. There is always something more: greater accuracy, more speed, better control. One can never reach perfection in these. To put into tennis the practice that is necessary for the learning of the game, one must love it keenly, must enjoy every point. I have played for nine years, on an average, for the entire time, of about four times a week. On counting up the number of sets I have played, I find there are about three thousand, seven hundred forty-four. This is a low estimate. But I can truthfully say that there was never a set from which I did not gain enjoyment. It is wise for the beginner, as well as for the more advanced player, to limit his play to two sets in an afternoon. In doing this, there is no danger of over107 Io8 TENNIS doing, of becoming too tired. Tennis is a strenuous sport. Let no one say that it is not! I have seen strong men in a match lean on their racquets, exhausted, at the end of two terrific sets. If the player stays on the court too long, he loses the benefits of the exercise, and of the practice as well. The weary player cannot feel keen, and as soon as he is not enjoying his game thoroughly, he becomes careless in his stroking, and harms, rather than improves, his tennis. I rarely play more than two sets at a time, and have found that they are, for me at least, the right amount. At the end of the second set I am still keen to play a third. It is just the time to stop. This is perhaps the secret of being able to play year after year with unabated interest. Some players say that their game has "gone stale." I think that this is almost always because of too much play. Moderate yet regular practice enables the player to derive all the benefits from tennis. The pleasure of play and the healthful exercise are both his. In practice you gain experience, and from it, confidence. In knowing that you can make a certain shot with a good deal of certainty, you are able to enjoy the game to its utmost. Only with practice can you gain confidence. How can one develop confidence in one's game for EXPERIENCE AND CONFIDENCE o09 tournament competition? The answer is: by playing in tournaments. To young players who are desirous of becoming proficient in tennis, I urge tournament play. You come up against a great number of different kinds of games. Variety in opposition helps to keep one's game alive and growing. It is so easy when one plays with only two or three friends at home to become accustomed to their style of play, and to become so used to their games that one knows exactly what to expect. Then one enters a tournament and is surprised to find such a variety of games and so many different ways of playing. Variety of opponents means, of course, variety of games. It makes a player keen and alert, teaches him to take hold of a situation quickly and to meet it promptly. The experience gained in this way during the time when one's game is being formed will help one to be an all-round and confident player later on. There are many players who took part in tournaments as soon as they learned the very first things about tennis. On the Riviera, when I was there, I inquired about Mlle. Lenglen's early tournament play, and whether or not she had taken part in them when she was beginning. I was told of the small, thin, black-haired little girl who played match after match, and how she was, at first, given thirty in the IIO TENNIS handicap events, which are held for tlh" players who are not good enough to go into the regular tournaments. She began to play in tournaments when she was not yet good enough to take part in the ordinary events, but had to confine her play to the handicap matches which are run off at the same time as the games for the more proficient players. Mrs. Lambert Chambers and Miss Elizabeth Ryan defeated the little Suzanne with ease. But the time came when, later, try as they might, none of the players could win from her. On the Riviera, in southern France, there are innumerable tournaments during the winter. There is one each week from the beginning of December until the middle of April. Doubtless, Mlle. Lenglen owes much of her wonderful play to the fact that she could take part, whenever she wished, in tournament competition, for it cannot be denied that match play helps to build reliable tennis. As soon as a player gets past the earlier beginning stages, he can enter in a tournament. There are some important events where entries are limited to a certain number of players who are above a certain standard of play. These, however, are the large championships. The English meeting at Wimbledon, for example, has very definite rules about who shall par ~-".~~i~~~ -1..:.~ 'a THE BACKHAND OF MLLE. SUZANNE LENGLEN. I EXPERIENCE AND CONFIDENCE i i ticipate in the women's singles. The best women players of the different countries are entered, and those English players who have made good showings in the various smaller tournaments during the season in England. There are received always more entries than there is possibly room for, and about some of whom there is a lack of information as to the playing ability. A preliminary tryout tournament is held for these the week before the big event so that the ones who deserve to play in the championship meeting can be chosen. It is the same in the American women's singles championship held at Forest Hills, except that there is no preliminary tryout, the players here being admitted upon their past tournament records. But, with the exception of the large championship events, a player can enter without a qualm in almost any tournament. If you are put out in the first round, it matters little. I remember my first match distinctly. It was a three-set affair, but I got no further than the first round. For some reason or other, I find that I can learn more tennis in a single tournament match than I can in a week of play. I think that it is because it is natural for one to gather together all he knows, and to try to make the best use possible of what knowledge he has. The keenness of competition seems to II2 TENNIS impress upon your mind the shortcomings of your own game and the particularly strong points of your adversary's. Where it would take some time in every-day play to discover certain truths, they flash upon you and make a lasting impression in the alert atmosphere of match play. You soon find what your game needs to make it more consistent and better rounded. In match play you are able to gain a clear and concise idea of just what your game is. Then it is an easy matter to concentrate upon the weaker spots during every-day practice. In this way you can build up a well-rounded game. There are, with every player, some strokes that are weaker than others. I, in my earlier tennis, had a rather unsatisfactory service. With many players the backhand is the bugbear. In fact, the backhand is so generally, in tennis, weaker than the forehand that if you come up against a player whom you have never seen before, it is almost always a safe plan to start out by playing to his backhand. One reason for the prevailing weakness on the backhand is that many players, when they begin to play, run around their ball and take it on their forehand. It is quite easy to do when you are learning, and when the balls are coming slowly and bouncing high, but when you come up against faster balls, and EXPERIENCE AND CONFIDENCE 113 there is no time to get around them, then you regret the day that you allowed yourself to get into the habit of running around the ball. If the service is a weak part of your game, then it is a simple matter to remedy. Gather up a number of balls and go out alone and hit twenty consecutive serves into each court. Repeat the performance, and keep on with it for twenty minutes or so. Do the same thing each time before you play your regular game. Try at the same time to see why the serves come in or go out or in the net. Concentrated practice of this sort will help the beginner to improve rapidly, as well as to aid the more experienced player in clearing up his old mistakes. I think this must have been Suzanne Lenglen's method of practice, for her play showed a certain surety and regularity that must have grown out of this sort of practice. It is not always so easy to do concentrated practice on a stroke, for it is sometimes hard to find some one with whom to go out on the court. If there are two players who want to do the same thing, then they can work together beautifully and to their mutual bene-fit. Twenty minutes given to a certain stroke each time before beginning regular play will help one to improve. Not every one can have the aid of a professional I14 TENNIS teacher, but if one can (and he is a good professional), practice of this sort is ideal. Stroke practice, by the way, is good fun, and in its way gives almost as much pleasure to the player as the game itself. I have heard that William Tilden, when he was learning his game, had concentrated for weeks on one stroke, then weeks on another. It may be true, I am not sure, but if it is so, then concentrated practice has helped him to develop some of the most beautiful strokes that the tennis world has seen. Every-day games, tournament play, stroke practice, all help the player in gaining experience and confidence. Experience and confidence go hand in hand in tennis. They are small and shy at first, but gradually grow with practice. They can develop in every-day tennis at home, and also in the environment of actual tournament competition. The best players that one sees, and of whom one hears, have all been through countless tournament matches. I wonder how many sets Mile. Lenglen has played. She entered her first tournament when she was about ten years old! How many matches can Tilden count up on his score, and Johnston? CHAPTER XV DOUBLES DOUBLES is a game entirely by itself. It cannot be spoken of in the same terms as singles, because it is completely different. Its playing formation is, of course, unlike that of singles, but just as different are its tactics. The secret of good play lies in the team-work of the partners. In fact, team-work is the most important thing of all. In singles you have no one to think about but your opponent. You are the lord of your own court; but in doubles you must think of your partner, and of working together with her, so that both your and her play can be carried on to the best advantage. Constant shifting of partners —one person in one tournament, some one else for another-means that smooth team-work can never be worked out. Yet this is what we see in our tournaments in the summer. Few teams stick together during the whole season. William Tilden and Francis Hunter have made a practice of playing together, and consequently have developed their team-work, and have worked out a smooth system of play. I saw them win at Wimbledon in I927, against Cochet and Brugnon, in what was one of the most exciting doubles matches I have II5 In6 TENNIS ever seen. It could not have been closer. It is safe to say that no other pair of players would have been able to defeat the Frenchmen. Women's doubles is, on the whole, an uninspiring game. The reason for this is that not enough teams have good team-work or take the net frequently enough when they do play. The match very often settles down into a backcourt duel between two members of the opposing teams, with the other two at the net, waiting and hoping for a ball to come within their reach. One rarely sees really good matchesperhaps only at Forest Hills, at Wimbledon, at a few of the tournaments where all of the best players of the tennis world are present. I must say, however, that, generally speaking, better women's doubles is seen in the smaller English tournaments than in the smaller American tournaments. Playing position on the court is the greatest problem. (I shall speak only of the women's game, because I believe that it is far behind in comparison with the standard of men's doubles play.) What position shall a team take on the court? There are two places for the team-at the net, or in the backcourt, both players up or both players back, never one at the net watching, and the other staging a long cross-court rally from the base-line. DOUBLES I I7 I have often pitied the umpires on these occasions. Their poor heads wigwag back and forth incessantly. Needless to say, matches of this sort are unpopular among referees. The best place for a team is at the net. All authorities agree to this, and it has been proved by the consistent wins of the net-playing team. Suppose I am receiving the service. My partner is already standing at the net. I stand in as close as possible, so that I can take the service ball quickly and follow in at once. If the server comes in on her serve, then there is all the more reason for me to hurry in, for if I am caught midway by a ball at my feet, my partner and I are at once put in a difficult position by my weak return. I must, first of all, think of my partner, and never desert her. We must be at the net together or on the back-line together. If our opponents are base-liners, we can establish ourselves at the net without a great deal of difficulty. If they are experienced net-players, we must plan our attack accordingly. If we find them both in the forecourt, and hard to pass, we may try a deep lob. They will probably both go back to the base-line, as one will not want to be left at the net alone. Then we can advance to the net and volley the return. A deep lob is an effective stroke, and one that can almost always be relied upon. 118 TENNIS Another shot that is good is the one to the opponents' feet-a short, fast-falling ball, that skims the net. A stroke of this sort is hard to do well and accurately, but is effective when correctly executed. Many times during play this shot will be much more effective than a deep drive. In fact, a deep drive, unless there is an opening down the centre or the side-lines, is quite easy for those at the net to volley. The shot down the centre is another good ball, especially against a pair of players whose team-work is not smooth. A sudden fast shot between them sometimes leaves them both looking at the ball, waiting for the other to return it. I have seen this happen more than once to the best teams. It is well, when in doubt, to say to your partner, "Yours," or "Mine," or "Out," if you think the ball is going over the line. Sometimes it is easier for you, looking on, to tell if the ball is going out. An understanding of this sort will make doubles easier. When at the net, it is best to stand in close, because then the return volleys can be sharply angled, and there is, besides, less chance of being passed. The inevitable lob will come if the team is close in to the net. Partners usually work out some system. It is best that both go back if the lob is very deep, but if it can be smashed, this should always be done in preference. "Cover your own lobs" is a good rule. If there is a chance to smash or volley directly at DOUBLES II9 the feet of an opponent near the net, take advantage of this opportunity, for it is almost always a certain point-winner. There is yet one very important thing to discuss. The server should follow her service into the net, if the opposing team is a volleying one. Her partner is already there. If she remains in the backcourt after serving, and her opponent comes to volley, her partner at the net is at once in a bad position. If the adversaries do not come in, then the server can come up on the second ball of the rally, if she desires, but it is best, I think, under all circumstances, to get into the net as soon as possible. The server will find it easier to come in, if she serves, when in her right court, down the centre-line of the opponents' court. The advantage is obvious. The opponent will have less chance to angle her return sharply. The scheme of centre service, when serving from the right-hand court, is followed by almost all good doubles players. It can be varied now and then by an unexpected serve far to the other corner. When serving from the left side of your own court, you may find a ball far to the receiver's backhand more effective than one down the centre-line to her forehand. This you will have to work out. It happens frequently that players' backhands are not as severe as their forehand strokes. The best doubles team that I can remember hav I20 TENNIS ing met upon the court was the one made up of Mrs. Godfree and Miss Evelyn Colyer. They have not entered tournaments together for several seasons, but it was at the time when Miss Colyer was at the very top of her playing form that Mrs. Wightman and I met them. This team was very difficult to play against because both were accurate and deadly volleyers. Besides this, they covered court very rapidly. They would be up at the net almost before you could realize what had happened. Mrs. George W. Wightman and I played them at Wimbledon, in the Wightman Cup Doubles, and also in the final round of the championship. Mrs. Wightman's generalship saved the day. In the championship meeting I thought that the match was lost against these two, who seemed to be able to volley everything, but Mrs. Wightman kept steadily on. She lobbed craftily, when they came to the net, and then went in to volley. Her overhead smash was in perfect form. Her smash, by the way, is the only really great one in women's tennis that I have seen. Mrs. Wightman, because of her volleying, her smash, and her knowledge of the game is outstanding. There are few really first-class players in women's doubles. Mrs. Wightman is one, Miss Elizabeth Ryan is another. CHAPTER XVI THE IDEAL TEMPERAMENT FOR TENNIS AFTER having seen the best of the present-day tennis-players in action, I find that there are certain things which stand out. There is the game, of course, and then there is another thing equally importanttemperament. It is really the temperament of the individual which decides whether or not he is to be a good player. After the actual stroking, the footwork, the running ability, and the more mechanical aspects of tennis have been subtracted, there remains the interesting side of tennis-temperament. Some promising games have never gone beyond a certain point because of the unfortunate disposition on the part of the player. Some less attractive looking games on the court have triumphed because of a temperament more suited to tennis. The player with a calm yet determined nature who is able to control his temper, as well as his shots, is the one that is ideally suited for the game. You sometimes see people who get quite grumpy over their games, strange as it may seem. There are others who "fool" on the court. Their tennis is mostly conversational. "What do you think of that shot?" wI I22 TENNIS "Watch this one," and so on. Their attention wanders. They have a certain amount of fun from their games, but they will never know what good tennis is. There is another kind of player who is a real tennis-lover, and yet, who cannot control his feelings during match play. It probably is the result of nervousness brought on by tournament competition. He makes a poor shot and becomes angry with himself; the irritation, instead of dying down, increases with each new error. To the person who does not happen to know the player, it appears as if he is annoyed with everything-his opponent, the match, and tennis itself-but it is not really so. I know one player who becomes annoyed with herself upon the court in this way, if she does not play as well as she should in a match. Her opponent and those about her misinterpret her feelings, and she has more than once created an unfavorable impression. The conceited player is another who finds his way upon the courts now and then. Happily, sooner or later, conceit is killed by defeat. As soon as a player believes that he is terribly good, and that he does not really have to extend himself against the other players, he is doomed. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MATCH PLAY All tennis does not take place on the court. Many a match has been won, or lost, in the player's mind. THE IDEAL TEMPERAMENT I23 The psychological reactions that are present in a tennis-match are many and varied, and it is very frequently upon them that the outcome depends. It is when players are evenly matched and when every little thing has a chance of swaying the balance that the mental side plays the most important part. Defeats, victories, strange scores, and hundreds of tennis mysteries which have puzzled critics and served as subjects for tennis gossip and discussion can, almost all of them, be laid at the door of "mental play." A player's mental reactions can be his friends or his enemies. What did Tilden think in his match with Cochet? Was it a ghost of some past match that left its shadow on the court, or was it because so very much had been said of his "comeback" that, with victory in his grasp, he tried too hard? Doubtless, every player has met with mental hurdles during the course of his tennis career. I know that I have. It is natural, of course, and every one has had experiences with this intangible, yet important, side of the game. I know several women players who have beautiful strokes, and sound tactics, and who, if they could shake off the mental handicaps that cramp them in match play, would be able to reach almost any level. On the other hand, in women's tennis there are several figures who are remarkable for their mobile I 4 TENNIS temperaments in match play. Mrs. Mallory, many times champion, has shown, as I said before, perhaps more than any other player in the game, a consistently fine mental attitude while on the court. Among the younger players I would choose the English girl player Miss Betty Nuthall as having an unusually good temperament in competitive play. In fact, when you consider that she is sixteen, it is remarkable. I believe that tennis would not be half so interesting if it were not for its psychology. The more tennis you see and the more you play, the more you are struck with the importance of this phase of the game. The more a player plays, the better his strokes become. His tactics and strategy improve. He moves smoothly over the court. But temperament is different. It is there, permanent and unchanging. It is the player. What does a tennis-player think about when he is engaged in a match? This question has been put to me repeatedly, and it is difficult to answer. I know very well what he should think about; he should think of his game and nothing else-but a player is just as apt to let his mind wander as any one else. There is nothing about sport that makes any player master of his mental processes. BETTY NUTHALL. Forehand drive. i26 TENNIS All sports present interesting psychological situations. Tennis offers the participant a wide range for the play of his thoughts and his emotions. During the course of a match hundreds of situations arise, each different from those before. No two rallies are exactly alike; there is great variety in stroke, in court position, in speed, combination of shots, and strategic manceuvres. No two opponents are identical in play or in temperament. Even tennis audiences differ, just as do audiences at the theatre, some being enthusiastic and eager and others unresponsive. Then there is the thrill that comes at the start of the match, and the subsequent feelings of excitement, satisfaction, disappointment, and with some players even anger and annoyance, as the play progresses. To one who is keenly interested in tennis a match seems, at the moment, the most important thing on earth. A person who has never had the experience of a competitive contest may think I am exaggerating, but the sportsman knows I am not. Then to the winner of the encounter is the reaction that comes with victory; to the loser there is the feeling that comes with defeat. It is interesting to observe that players' reactions to winning and losing vary greatly. During the course of my tennis I have seen some players gloat THE IDEAL TEMPERAMENT 127 over victory, others weep over defeat, and a few present a stoical calm that would almost indicate they were indifferent to the outcome. Naturally, every player wants to win and plays to win. No one would dream of entering a tournament if he were indifferent to the outcome of his game. Still, we cannot but admire the player who, in spite of his feelings of despair or triumph, takes his defeat or his victory in a gracious and sportsmanlike manner. Concentration is perhaps the most important of all the qualities necessary in match play. No player lacking in the ability to concentrate will ever be a consistent winner. Mrs. Molla Mallory, who was eight times champion, a record that has never been equalled, has remarkable power of concentration. First of all, she loves the game and enjoys every minute on the court. In the second place, she knows the game. She starts out with energy and determination, carries it on through the match, and at the finish sends over the last ball with the same spirit she had when she commenced. Another woman player whose ability for concentration is highly developed is Mile. Suzanne Lenglen. Popular belief is that she is a temperamental player on the court, of shaky and unsteady nerves, which is not based on fact. True, she is a highly I28 TENNIS strung individual, nervous and alert, but upon the court in her amateur days her power of concentration was remarkable. Oneness of purpose dominated her play. In a match that she wanted very much to win, her nerves and her concentration were as steady as a rock. I can remember my match with her at Cannes several years ago. No one who has played against her could say that her nerves wavered when she chose to concentrate. Rene Lacoste is almost uncanny on the court, so complete is his detachment from everything except the game he is playing. It is as if nothing short of a cataclysm could draw his attention from the ball. You see, now and then, players who carry on conversations with the linesmen between shots, who wave at friends on the side-lines, or watch for the chance to argue with the umpire over some line decision. This is misdirected energy. It means that attention is divided and is not wholly focussed on the game. The player is not making the showing that his highly developed tennis ability warrants. It may be that some players are so constituted nervously that the excitement and pressure of competition in tennis makes complete concentration impossible, or it may be they have never realized how such diversions detract from their skill. THE IDEAL TEMPERAMENT I29 Concentration can be wooed and won. It can become a habit. But this ability to concentrate undoubtedly comes more easily to some than to others. Complete concentration at all times is probably not attained by any tennis-player. At various times and under certain circumstances the best attention will waver. I have seen a let ball change the outcome of a match. A let ball is a common enough occurrence and relatively unimportant in ordinary play, but if it comes at a very crucial point in a match it may break up a victorious assault and decide the issue of the encounter. I can recall a match at Forest Hills several years ago-it was three summers ago, as I remember. I was playing against Mrs. Kathleen McKane Godfree. It was a long and close match and we were practically even all the way along. The sets were one all and we were even in the third set-with eight games in all. Mrs. Godfree was leading, however, in the odd game and held the commanding position. One of my shots hit the net cord and dribbled over into her court out of her reach. It was a crucial moment, for it seemed to change the entire situation. I know that luck and a let ball won that particular match for me. Sometimes a bad decision or a supposed bad de I30 TENNIS cision by a linesman will disconcert a player for several points, perhaps even for a whole match. This is most unfortunate when it occurs. A player should try never to allow anything of this sort to affect him. The linesmen are placed in the most advantageous position directly at the end of the line, so that they can get the best view of the line and the ball. Four times out of five the linesman gets a better view of the ball near him than the player himself. Of course I am speaking now of the linesman who knows how to line. The angle at which a ball and line are seen makes a great difference in the decision. Spectators often express disfavor of fair decisions. I have looked directly down on a ball that seemed to strike the line at my feet and have had the linesman say he was certain it was out. From the side of a court spectators very frequently think a ball upon the alley-line when it is really out. The angle from which the line and ball are seen makes a tremendous difference in the call, and the player who is inclined to fret inwardly about decisions should realize this. Most players who have taken part in important matches are entirely oblivious to the spectators and to the applause. They know the onlookers are there and are dimly aware of applause, but it seems as much a part of the match as the call of the umpire's MRS. GODFREE DOES A LOW BACKHAND VOLLEY. THE IDEAL TEMPERAMENT I31 voice or as the net or the linesmen. The first appearance on the grand-stand court is a terrifying experience, but after many matches the player becomes accustomed to it. I have heard of the mental hazards in golf. There are such hazards in tennis too. It is paradoxical, but sometimes a tremendous lead will prove a handicap to the players. This has been shown many times in tournaments. I have seen matches lost that seemed all but won. The player may become nervous because victory is so near at hand. He may try so hard that his shots, which until then have been going beautifully, become cramped. Overeagerness may be responsible for a decided change in play. In very tense matches where there is a championship title at stake and where the air is charged with excitement, the unexpected can easily occur. The most dependable player, with a reputation for concentration, sometimes makes inexplicable departures from his normal way of playing, seemingly inexcusable errors of judgment. For dramatic quality and sudden upset, few matches that I have seen can equal that between Tilden and Cochet in the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1927. Tilden came out on the court looking ready and 132 TENNIS fit for the encounter. Both he and Cochet seemed in fine spirits. They tossed for side and service and took their places on the velvet turf. From the start the match was Tilden's. He dominated the play. His tremendous service, his flying drives went beautifully. His strategy was never more perfect. The score mounted in his favor. He led at two sets to none and five games to one in the third and deciding set. One game, four points stood between him and the championship. Then-something happened. The longed-for victory was too near, or else some sort of nervousness overcame him. It was as if some other player had taken Tilden's place. For a few moments balls found the net, missed lines by inches. His face became pale and drawn. His opponent, Cochet, always alert, sensed his opportunity. He played up to the situation, getting his own strokes going, which up to now had been held in check by Tilden's mighty play. He soon was well on the way to victory. The fact that he had been so close to victory and that it had slipped from his grasp prevented Tilden from regaining his hold upon the game. Cochet drew up the score, evened it, and won the match. To the tennis world this match will always be a mystery. Its outcome swung, doubtless, upon some thought, some THE IDEAL TEMPERAMENT 133 mental change, too subtle and intricate to explain. It is interesting, however, as a matter of history. When Cochet walked from the court a winner I could scarcely believe my eyes. Thousands of onlookers had seen one of the most surprising matches in tennis history. And one can only guess what the players really thought about while it was going on! I suppose there have been many other matches in which hard-to-label influences on the minds of the contestants have made them winners, and as often losers, against the "dope," to use a sporting term. I know of players who have gone into important tournaments in apparently perfect physical condition, at the top of their form, buoyant with the confidence that brings victory. And yet they have failed. No one except the player himself-and often he doesn't know-understands what denied him the victory of which he was sure. Perhaps it was an unexpected power and skill on the part of an opponent, or a physical tenseness born of the importance of the contest, or something entirely outside his interest in tennis. Temperament includes so many things it is impossible to analyze many of its phases. The psychology of match play is ever an interesting subject. CHAPTER XVII WHAT PLACE HAS TRAINING IN MATCH PLAY? TENNIS, unlike some other of the sports, does not require training in the true sense of the word. In fact, real training, when applied to tennis, does, I believe, more harm than good to the game. However, for the player who wants to take part in tournaments, there are a few suggestions that will help him to keep in his best playing form. Competitive tennis is very strenuous. There was a time when the sport was termed by the unknowing "A ladies' game." But no more! To take part in match play, the competitor must be in fit physical condition, and unless the player is strong and well, the game may be harmful. If one plans to take part in tournaments from time to time, and is keen about the game, it is best to have continuous and regular practice in moderation. By never overdoing, and yet in keeping eye and muscle in playing order, one is at any time ready for match play. Several of our very well-known players who have reached the top of their game do not play for months at a time. Then they enter a tournament and wonder 134 TRAINING IN MATCH PLAY I3S why they have not strength enough to last through a three-set match. Tennis requires hard muscles and good wind, and they can come only with continued exercise. I have met a few players, during the course of my tennis, who really train, who follow certain rules, and who eat, live, and think tennis. But I think that this is unnecessary. During actual tournament play, I think it wise, however, in view of the fact that tennis is so strenuous, that one have a few rules to follow. For example: I have found that, most of all, when one is playing in matches, sufficient sleep is necessary. I always have eight and a half or nine hours' sleep the night before a match. It is almost impossible, otherwise, to go out upon the court and to have the energy necessary for strenuous play. Simple and nourishing food, and meals at regular hours, are next in importance to the one who is playing in tournaments. I have found that, when having an early afternoon match, it is wise to have lunch an hour and a half or two hours before going on the court. A light, sensible lunch is best. Beware of a rich dessert before going out to play! There is one more thing: it is far better when coming thirsty and warm from the court, after the game, to have a cup of hot tea, rather than an iced drink. 136 TENNIS Tea with a couple of lumps of sugar revive one much more quickly than something cold. Training, in the true sense of the word, however, does not fit in with tennis. Tennis is, fundamentally, a spontaneous sport. That is, it depends upon the enthusiasm, the exuberance, the keenness of the player, far more than the casual onlooker from the side-lines can know. If one's spirit is cramped or dampened by strict adherence to rules that he has set up for himself, the game at once assumes a seriousness which is not natural to it. Real training will do tennis far more harm than good. In fact, there is a certain player of my acquaintance who takes tennis and training in a serious way. She thinks about it so much that small things assume importance in her eyes, begin to worry her, and actually affect her game. During the time that she has been playing she has just missed being one of the best players in the tennis world. I have written about training and tennis because I have so frequently been asked: "Do you train for your matches?" "What do you eat?" and similar questions. The best preparation for match play is regular practice, in moderation, beforehand, so that muscles will be tuned to the game. Then there will be no sudden and unaccustomed strain upon them. During tournament competition, plenty of sleep and sensible food, but real "training"-never. CHAPTER XVIII TENNIS DRESS WITHIN the last few years there have been radical changes in women's dress for tennis. Not four years ago an incident occurred at the West Side Club at Forest Hills that is amusing now. One of the members, a very attractive young woman, appeared one day on the courts without any sleeves whatsoever on her tennis dress. Some of the more conservative members of the club happened to be sitting on the veranda. Later, as a result, a special meeting was called by the club committee, and one member was chosen to tell Miss, tactfully but firmly, that completely bare arms could not be allowed. In the last large tournament in which I participated at Forest Hills, there was hardly a sleeve to be found among all of the players! The logical and sensible dress for tennis is the one that gives the greatest amount of freedom at all times. Tennis is so active that the player, running, jumping, turning, and twisting, must have as little as possible to hamper her action. Skirts, as well as sleeves, should be short. The ideal length is at the centre of the knee-cap. A skirt of this length can, in 137 I38 TENNIS no way, hamper the player in running. Skirts shorter than this, although I have seen them on the court, give no greater freedom, and are usually unattractivelooking. To present a good appearance the proportions of one's costume must be pleasing. A too short skirt gives a slightly storkish look to the player. A few women appeared at one time upon the court in knickers, but luckily the style was not adopted. The short pleated skirt is the only one for tennis. It has a classic simplicity, and in action is most comfortable for the player and pleasing to the onlooker. From an artistic standpoint, the pleated skirt possesses grace and beauty in action. I think that is one of the reasons why women players are often more pleasing to watch upon the court than men. The rhythm of play and the motion of the stroke is carried out by the graceful swing of the skirt. One sees two types of dresses on the court-the one-piece dress and the two-piece outfit. Mlle. Suzanne Lenglen caused a change in tennis fashion. Since she appeared, skirts have risen from the ankle to the knee, and the tennis dress has become simple and practical. She wears the one-piece dress, sleeveless, with a round neck and a pleated skirt. So does Seiorita Lili de Alvarez, the Spanish player. Both are very smartly, yet sensibly, dressed for tennis. Their dresses are made of heavy white silk, that is, because ;j ':. —::::: -^^ *...,_::i %:l:: ---:::::i:::i —i_-ii-:-: -:igil:^^^^^^:-1 *1'-,- fl^^ a s^^ SEORT LILI-:-i: DE::- ALVRE SERVING. TENNIS DRESS I39 of its softness, very graceful in action. But far more practical, and I think more suited to tennis, is a white linen or cotton material, especially where the summers are warm. For some people, the one-piece dress is becoming, but I would say that, for the great majority, the twopiece costume is most suitable. Among the American players the two-piece outfit is more popular, and is worn by Mrs. Molla Mallory, Miss Elizabeth Ryan, and Miss Eleanor Goss. I find that I also like it best. Mlle. Lenglen, Seniorita Lili de Alvarez, and all of the English players, among them Mrs. Kathleen McKane Godfree, Miss Betty Nuthall, and Miss Joan Fry, favor the one-piece dress. But no matter what the type of outfit worn in tennis, it is always of one color-white. Several years ago an American player took part in some English tournaments, wearing black stockings and a matching tie. It was remarked upon by many of the spectators, and even found its way into the stories about the matches which went to print, so unusual was it in the country where tennis grew up. To play in any other color is a great mistake in the eyes of one who knows tennis. I know that I am greatly disturbed when I see a colored dress or blouse on the court. In tennis it is not done. White stockings and white shoes are essential ac I40 TENNIS cessories to the correct playing outfit. Many players wear a thin wool stocking, as it proctects the feet. Others wear a little wool sock that comes to the top of their low shoes. It is well, in tennis, to protect the feet, as they are so important to the game. I have found that silk stockings are lighter than wool. On very hard courts, or in hot weather, I wear the little protecting wool socks. Unless care is taken, with the constant running and turning that one does in tennis, it is very easy to get blisters. A single blister can take all the joy out of the game. Color can be introduced in the sweater or jumper that one wears to and from the court and while playing, if the day is cold. Solid-colored sweaters are more effective than those with an all-over pattern design. Light, gay colors are more pleasing than the darker shades. Some colors on the grass court are not as good as others; for example: a green sweater about the same color as the court or a pale-blue jumper are not nearly as effective as brilliant yellow or rose colored ones. The color note may be repeated in a matching head-band, or else the white visor may be worn. The head-band must be cleverly adjusted to look well. I have yet to see a player who can equal Mlle. Lenglen's effect with the bandeau for the head. The TENNIS DRESS I4I secret of preparing a good head-band for tennis is this: take a long piece of chiffon matching your sweater, in color exactly, cut it into a strip about two yards in length and about five inches in width, then press one end tightly to your head and wind firmly until you can tuck the remaining end snugly under the bandeau at the back of the head. Two colors may be worked in with an attractive effect-two shades of light blue, one matching the sweater and one harmonizing with it. Or, with a yellow sweater, a more startling effect may be had from a yellow head-band with a flash of tomato red. The eye-shade, on the other hand, may not be quite as pretty as the bandeau, but it is very practical. I love my eye-shade, and am sure that I could not play without it. Besides holding the hair firmly in place, it protects the eye from the glare of the sun, and in California, where I play during the greater part of the year, this is quite necessary. On the Riviera, where the light on the court is at times very glaring, I found the eye-shade a great asset. The eye-shade keeps one, too, from becoming weather-beaten and sunburned. It is always easy to pick out the people who have been a great deal in the open and in the sunlight. It is true that attractive and sensible dress for tennis increases the pleasure on all sides. It is a player's 142 TENNIS duty to think seriously about her apparel. The onlooker appreciates a trim figure on the court. The player enjoys her game more if she is suitably garbed, coolly and comfortably, so that her action is in no way impeded. As I have said, nothing will do except the conventional white. I have heard, now and then, when abroad, comments upon the court attire of some of the American men players-that they gave no thought to the cut of their tennis clothes, that their tennis shoes were not spick and span. Nowhere else, perhaps, is correct court wear for men and for women so much in evidence as at Wimbledon. The Englishman is noted for his unquestionable taste in the matter of sport dress. Among our players I think that William Tilden stands out as one of the best-dressed men on the courts. Jean Borotra wears his Basque cap with inimitable dash. In tennis dress for women there is, of course, much more opportunity for originality. The only bounds that must be observed is that the dress must be white, and that it will allow the wearer absolute freedom. The color notes come in the head-band, if the player wears one, and in the sweater or jumper. When one recalls the tennis dress of a few years ago, with long skirts and long sleeves, one wonders Ara I 1 JEAN BOROTRA. Forehand drive. I44 TENNIS how women ever managed to play at all. How could any one run with skirts down to her ankles and with her waist tightly confined in corsets? I wonder about the evolution of the tennis dress during the coming years. It seems that nothing could be more suitable or more practical than the costumes that are worn now, and yet there will undoubtedly be changes. Already some players have given up the wearing of stockings, which is really very sensible, as stockings are only added weight, and hamper the knee considerably in running. A little sock coming just to the top of the shoe is worn instead. Unquestionably, the short-skirted and sleeveless dress and the sensible way of dressing on the court is responsible, almost more than anything else, for the great improvement that has been seen in the standard of present-day tennis for women. CHAPTER XIX ETIQUETTE BOOKS have been written on court etiquette, but not about the kind of court etiquette of which I am going to write! However, hardly less exacting are the rules for conduct and behavior on the tennis-court. It is easy to pick out the player who knows what to do and what not to do. The rules for behavior are very logical and sane. Innate courtesy and sportsmanship have established these. If the player is a gentleman at heart, he does the correct thing on the court whether he knows the rules of tennis etiquette or not. So, I suppose, one should say that in tennis the gentleman makes the rules, rather than rules make the gentleman! However, no matter what the source of etiquette, it is an important side of the game. Sometimes amusing incidents occur. At Wimbledon this summer I played against a very sweet and attractive English girl. She was about my own age but had not had very much tournament experience. Naturally, when our match was called for the centre court, she was very excited. We went on the court, 145 146 TENNIS played our match, and came off. I noticed nothing amiss. The next day she said: "Father was so dreadfully annoyed with me yesterday." "Why?" I asked. "When we came on the court, I came through the door first, and you should have, because you are the visiting player." Court conduct in England is given even more attention than in this country. The game, during the many years of its growth in England, has produced a certain standard of conduct and procedure among the players, and among the spectators as well, which has been adopted the world over. I must tell later about gallery etiquette, too, for it is interesting, and very important during tournament matches. To go on about the player on the court. There are hundreds of little things which stamp the player as a perfect sportsman-things which, in themselves, may sound trivial, yet which, if they are lacking on the court, are very noticeable to one who knows tennis. Since international tennis has become so popular, court etiquette is even more important, because to visiting players every consideration must be shown. The foreign player comes into the court first; he is greeted by the umpire. His opponent spins his racquet, asking "Rough?" or "Smooth?" The "Toss" ETIQUETTE I47 made for court, the players take their positions. As they change courts on the odd game, and if they meet at the net, the player who is at home allows the visitor to pass first. Little things like this help the match to run smoothly and pleasantly. They are the expression of a natural feeling of good-will toward the opponent. Now and then, surprisingly enough, one discovers players who disregard them entirely. Everything must be done to make the visiting player's experiences pleasant ones, except, of course, letting him win the match! Speaking of letting people win. On the Riviera, in southern France, royalty frequently makes its appearance on the tennis-court. I have heard players debating whether to lose gracefully, or whether to go out for every possible point. I would answer by saying that the greatest honor that one player can pay another on the court is that of playing hard, and going out for every shot. I know that I never welcome a game or a point that is given to me in a match. An unearned point loses all its flavor. Naturally, any player would have the same feeling. The matter of "throwing a point" in a match has come up for discussion times innumerable. One player believes that a bad decision has been made against his opponent. He feels that he should give 148 TENNIS him the next point, and hits it purposely into the net, or away out of court, or doesn't hit it at all. Some onlookers say: "How sporting!" But it is not sporting. First and foremost in a tennis-match, the players must abide by the decision of the linesmen and the umpire. It makes an unpleasant feeling if, at any time, their calls are ignored or questioned. The umpire is in the chair, the men are on the lines, to judge the play to the best of their ability. Nine times out of ten they are right. The player who decides that he must "throw a point" may very easily have seen the ball incorrectly. From his position on the court he may have thought the ball outside, when it was really in. His resulting generosity serves only to upset his opponent; it breaks into the continuity of his own play, causes discussion among the audience, and worries the linesman and umpires. In one match that I recall, three points in a game were thrown away by the two players. The characters "Alphonse et Gaston" were brought to mind. Great confusion resulted. The audience ended by rocking with laughter, and it was some moments before either of the players steadied down to his regular game. Sometimes some one in the audience, lacking in knowledge of how to act at a tennis-match, has risen out of his seat and "booed" the umpire when a situa ETIQUETTE I49 tion of this sort has come up. It was really the player who deserved it for having caused the trouble. If the decisions are bad, as they cannot help but be sometimes-no one is infallible-they should be ignored by both players, unless the umpire decides that a "let" should be called. Then the point is played over again and it is fair to every one. If your opponent slips on his feet, are you to hit the ball easily, so that he will have a chance to return it? This is a difficult question to answer. Obviously, the situation determines what a player shall do. Of course it is a part of the game to stay on one's feet. If the rally gets going so fast that the opponent can't keep his footing then it means that he has less claim to the point than has his adversary. I think, in this case, that the ball should be returned in the regular way of play. Of course if the slip turns out to be a real accident, then the player would not care much what happened to his ball, because he would fear that his opponent was injured. However, a slip, or a fall, doesn't always mean that your opponent has lost the point or his playing ability! He may be even more dangerous! I have been against players who have recovered themselves and made aces off my gentle returns. One of my partners in mixed doubles took advantage of our opponents' kindness and won a point off their easy return Iso TENNIS when he was sitting on the ground. So, you see, a point is never won or lost until the ball bounces twice, no matter whether a player is sitting or standing. When the match is over, it is the custom in this country to shake hands across the net. In England this is not done. But when an American player takes part in English tournaments, the English player, if he is accustomed to international play, shakes hands with him afterward, knowing that the visitor is used to it. Being a good loser is a part of correct court behavior. There are few players who let their feelings run away with them. Now and then, however, there is one. I heard about one match where the loser refused to shake hands with her adversary, but walked off the court after the match. Fortunately, this sort of thing happens rarely. Sometimes a player allows his temper to get the best of him after a bad shot. Several players that I know have the habit of muttering to themselves after a particularly bad shot. Another player that I have seen in action several times, once became so angry over the way the game was going that he threw his racquet over the backstop and walked off the court. But you can follow many tournaments and see nothing as surprising as this! The necessity for correct behavior does not end on ETIQUETTE I5I the court. The player who habitually has a good number of "alibis" with which to explain his defeat is very tiresome. The man who is the best on that particular day wins the match. His opponent may have played better on some previous occasion, or may plan to play better in the future, but, at the time of the match, the winner played the winning game. The spirit of good sportsmanship and correct behavior that tennis demands on the court is no less important on the part of the gallery. Whenever tournaments are played and there is promise of keen competition between players, onlookers will be found on the side-lines. The tennis audience has always been supposed to be a discreet and refined one. There are correct times for applause if a shot or rally has been particularly brilliant. No one "boos" the umpire or hurls pop bottles. Tennis has thrills for the onlooker, but no noisy thrills. The person who takes it upon himself to berate the umpire, to utter comments on the turns in the game, is at once conspicuous in the grand stand. The one who understands tennis is never conspicuous. It is only the one who doesn't know who calls attention to his own ignorance. Tennis audiences that I have known both here and abroad vary but little. Tennis attracts an intelligent I52 TENNIS and well-bred group of people. Of course, when you play away from home, it is not surprising to find that the greater part of the audience wants its own players to win. In this country it is the same. We applaud generously the visitor, but we hope that our own player will be the victor. Youth has a great appeal to the onlooker in tennis. Youth has eternal attraction, the world over, of course. Its spirit is irresistible. The young English girl Betty Nuthall was perhaps one of the best liked visitors that we have ever had. Young, pretty, with fair hair and rosy cheeks, good-natured, she won the favor of the gallery immediately. Her efforts were encouraged frequently, even more than those of the home players. With the great growth, recently, of interest in tennis, the number of people who come out to see the more important matches has doubled and trebled. Thousands gather to see the Davis Cup matches and the men's and women's National Championships. With such enormous galleries it is more difficult to preserve the dignified atmosphere that has so long been associated with the tennis audience. Several seasons ago I participated in a tournament in which the committee made clever use of the backs of the programmes. There was printed a list of suggestions and hints for the audience. ______~~ —r IKMA --- BETTY NUTHALL. Overhead smash. 154 TENNIS I. Do not applaud except at the end of rallies. Sudden noise disconcerts the player. 2. Do not move about during actual play. It is hard to see the ball against a moving background. 3. Parasols interfere with the view of other spectators. 4. Do not try to attract the attention of a friend who is engaged in a match, or about to go on the court. 5. Do not make remarks about the players. Their friends or relatives may be sitting near by. 6. Do not question the decision of umpire or linesmen. They are in a better position to judge the ball than you are. These hints may well be called the six fundamentals of etiquette for the tennis audience. Each one of them recalls incidents, amusing and otherwise, which I have experienced or witnessed. I have seen an enthusiastic friend rise and call out encouragement to the player about to come on the court. The player might have been nervous and trying to brace himself for the coming match. The enthusiasm of the friend might have served only to make it more difficult for him. Once I was watching from the grand stand a ETIQUETTE I55 match in which a young and rather awkward girl was taking part. The mother was sitting near by. The girl's strokes were all wrong, but I happened to know that she had had little experience in tournament play, and that she was doing, under the circumstances, quite well. Several women a few rows back had begun to talk about the players and their strokes. "Have you ever seen such an awkward girl? So gawky! I ask you, why do such people play in matches?"-and so on. Sometimes during a thrilling match, it is next to impossible to smother an outburst of enthusiasm. Especially in international matches do interest and excitement run high, and sometimes demonstrations of one sort or another are unavoidable. The woman who emits little shrieks over every long rally, however, should be either muffled or else asked to leave the grand stand. Nothing can be more disconcerting to the player on the court, or more tiresome to those around her. During the tennis at the Olympic Games in 1924, there were a number of amusing incidents. The American tennis-players who went to Paris that year still laugh about one occurrence. During the matches, until there was much complaint, a woman vender went through the stands crying out in a high wailing voice: "Glaces! Glaces! Qui veut des oranges, des banans? Glaces! Glaces!" TENNIS There would be a tense rally on the court, the players in the thick of a thrilling moment, the spectators with their eyes glued on the ball, complete, tense silence-then the wail: "Glaces! Glaces!" Parasols are another menace to the enjoyment of the spectator. If a parasol is hoisted, the person behind gets his view cut off. I think that parasols are a necessity on hot days at tennis-matches. If you have a little patch of shade to sit in, you enjoy the game much more. You can be sure that your hat is not going to lose every bit of its color in the sun. Without a parasol, you are unhappy; with a parasol, you make others unhappy. I have discovered a solution of the problem. I have a small sunshade just large enough to keep the sun off my head and shoulders. It is about the size of the ones that used to be so popular years ago with old ladies. But mine is not adorned with lace and ruffles as those of the days gone by. It has a smart wood handle, which can be adjusted, long or short, and is checked with blue and orange in a plaid design. It is ideal for sport, cuts off nobody's view, and makes the hot afternoon at a tennis-match quite bearable. Every sport has its own particular gallery. An enthusiast goes to a football or a baseball game and applauds wildly. He goes to watch a golf-match and prays that he will not sneeze just as a stroke is being ETIQUETTE I57 made. He goes to the tennis and sits sedately, and applauds at correct intervals. While the etiquette of the grand stand at tennis may seem conservative, it is based on sane and logical reasons. Tennis is a conservative and dignified sport. The etiquette of both gallery and court conforms to the spirit of the game. CHAPTER XX MATCHES I HAVE PLAYED AND SEEN TENNIS is a fascinating game for any one who plays it. The actual mechanics, stroke production, tactics and strategy, make it so. But even doubly interesting is it if the player takes part in tournaments. The people that you meet upon the court, with their widely varied character and personality, the matches that you watch from the side-lines, the places where the matches are held, all add to the pleasure of playing the game. Certain matches that I have watched stand out in my memory either because of the players who were in them, or because of a thrilling or unexpected turn, or else because of the place. Some matches that I have seen have had a dramatic quality which I shall never forget. Some matches of my earliest experience stand out as clearly in my memory as if I had played them but yesterday. I cannot remember exact scores, or the actual order of the games won or lost, but I can recall, very distinctly, my feelings as I went upon the court and as I came off. Curiously enough, there are some players who can remember exactly the score of every one of their 158 MATCHES I HAVE PLAYED 159 close matches, and who can recall the situations as they arose during the course of the match. I heard the famous Australian player Norman Brookes once say that he could give the score of any one of his more important matches during the course of his long career on the courts. Norman Brookes won the Wimbledon Championship in I907, and again in I9I4. He was a member, for a number of years, of the Australian Davis Cup Team, and won twice against the brilliant star Maurice McLoughlin. In I924 I saw him at Wimbledon, where he defeated Francis Hunter in the third round of the tournament, in a match that was to me most impressive. It was hard to realize that nearly twenty years had elapsed since Brookes had won his first championship at Wimbledon. Although he was nearly fifty at the time, he played fine tennis, and won from Hunter in the fifth set, after a highly exciting match. At the time, every one was impressed with the knowledge of the game that he displayed. He defeated a younger and far stronger opponent with tennis that was absolutely perfect from the standpoint of strategy. How true it is that tennis is a game of youth and strength! How quickly does a wonderful and brilliant game fall off when the player gets a little past the I6o TENNIS time for the strenuous competition of match play. Supremacy in sport is a fleeting thing. However, the player who plays a thinking game, and understands A 1 FRANCIS T. HUNTER. A forehand volley. the tactics and strategy, can play well for a far longer time than one who depends only upon speed and strength. It must be difficult for a player who knows the MATCHES I HAVE PLAYED strokes perfectly, and the ins and outs of strategy, who in past years has defeated the world's greatest players, not to be able to play the game as he knows it. This is, I think, one of the sad things in sport. Not that sport in itself is such an important thing, but that a person can have the play spirit and yet is denied strength to carry it along. Maurice McLoughlin's play has become a legend in tennis history. His whirlwind play, terrific service, his volleying, his speed on the court, made him one of the most dramatic figures seen in tennis. At the time of his success, every small boy in the country with a tennis racquet was trying to imitate him, and was hitting with all his might, knocking balls wildly far out of court and over the backstop. McLoughlin was called the "Comet," and like a comet he appeared suddenly, flashed brilliantly, and was gone. There is no other player in tennis history that I would rather have seen than McLoughlin at his best. He played at the Berkeley Tennis Club in an exhibition match, the first exhibition match I had ever seen, but every one said then that his tennis was merely a shadow of what it had been. I remember the occasion distinctly, and how thrilled I was when I took up a tennis ball for his famous signature. 162 TENNIS He was one of the most popular and well-liked figures on the courts that there has ever been, and there are few others, perhaps no one, who captured popular acclaim everywhere as he did. For pure dramatic quality there has perhaps never been a match in women's tennis that equals the one between Mile. Suzanne Lenglen and Mrs. Molla Mallory that took place at Forest Hills in I92I. I was fifteen at the time, and was at Forest Hills for my first visit. The excitement of winning the finals of the National Junior Girl's Singles the day before was entirely forgotten as I waited for the match between Mrs. Mallory and the great visiting French player. My seat was directly at the end of the court, and from it I could see everything. The two players came on the court. The contrast at once struck the spectators. The players were both dressed in the conventional white, but the similarity ended there. The bronzed tan of Mrs. Mallory emphasized the pallor of the Frenchwoman. Mrs. Mallory's determination was evident to every one as she strode along. Mlle. Lenglen danced at her side. The air was electrified, the audience expectant. The stage was set for drama and a tragedy occurred. The match commenced, Mlle. Lenglen starting off steadily, but not with the dash and brilliance that had been expected. Mrs. Mallory's shots were MATCHES I HAVE PLAYED I63 carrying both speed and direction. She made few mistakes. She was alert and aggressive on every shot. The score mounted in her favor. She gained the first set and a substantial lead in the second. Her determination seemed to increase. Mlle. Lenglen, on the other hand, weakened. She coughed and appeared to be in distress. As she went on, her cough became more frequent. She went up to the umpire's stand to say that she could not continue, that she felt ill. The onlookers were astounded, surprised into complete silence. Then she left the court, weeping, leaning heavily on the arm of the French representative. Except for a mocking cough that came from a far corner of the grand stand, not a sound was heard. The entrance and exit of the players could hardly have had greater contrast. Waves of applause had greeted them at first; now there was complete silence. There were many sides to this match. That Mrs. Mallory's victory was well won cannot be denied. Some said that Mlle. Lenglen was not really ill, but that she saw that she was to be defeated, and so defaulted. This is harsh criticism. In a way, the circumstances were unfortunate. Mlle. Lenglen made the mistake of coming to this country only a short time before the tournament at Forest Hills commenced. No player can become accustomed to New York's climate in August in a few days. The playing condi 164 TENNIS tions, the courts in New York and in France are very different. She chose to play only in one tournament, which was also unwise because, in doing this, she missed the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the players and with the tournament play in America, which are unlike those abroad. Fate was against Mlle. Lenglen in this detail: In the draw of the tournament she found herself against Miss Eleanor Goss in the opening round. The match was scheduled for the first day. Miss Goss planned to play. Then she found herself too ill to go on the court. This left Mile. Lenglen without an opponent for the opening day, and with the best player in America, Mrs. Mallory, as her adversary on the second day of the tournament. This was an unfortunate situation. Had Mlle. Lenglen been able to play against several of the less important players in the preliminary rounds, working up to the final match, where she would have met Mrs. Mallory, her dramatic default would probably not have taken place. The following year the seeded draw came into being. This means that the two best players of the tournament are placed in opposite halves in the draw, and cannot possibly meet until the finals, if they come through successfully against all the rest of the participants. The great error of the National Lawn-Ten MATCHES I HAVE PLAYED i6S nis Committee in the Lenglen-Mallory tournament was in letting these two meet on the second day of play. Had they been able to foresee the trouble ahead they would have been only too willing to have introduced the seeded draw, for not only did this matter cause a great deal of embarrassment to both the French and American Tennis Associations, but also did harm, for the time being, to the general feeling for friendly relations in sport between the two countries. Sitting on the side-lines, watching this surprising and unusual match, I little thought that I would ever meet Suzanne Lenglen. It was five years later, at Cannes, that I found myself across the net from the famous Frenchwoman. It was a day ideal for tennis, still and sunny. The brilliant sunshine of the Riviera brought out the gay colors of the assembled onlookers. There were English, French, and Americans in the audience. There were as many people there as the small grand stands would hold. The space for a gallery was limited. There were only two small gates, and it was with difficulty that Mlle. Lenglen and I got onto the court when we arrived. Commander Hillyard, a well-known figure at Wimbledon, called the score. There was a full array of linesmen. On one of the lines was Cyril Tolley, i66 TENNIS the English golf-player; on another, Lord Charles Hope. It happened that these two linesmen called the two closest and most important balls in the matchone in favor of Mlle. Lenglen, the other in my favor, so that the doubtful breaks were even. I had never played Mlle. Lenglen before, and never since, but what impressed me most of all about her game, and that which I shall never forget, was her uncanny steadiness. Her balls were not particularly fast-not nearly as fast as those of some other women players whom I have met on the court-but they always came back. If she had, now and again, made an error, it would have been encouraging, but she rarely missed on a return. This, coupled with her remarkable speed of foot, made her for me a practically unbeatable opponent. The points gradually piled up, and the first set was gone at 6-3. The second set, which went to 8-6, was close, and almost all of the games went to deuce, but I was not good enough to turn the tide. Mlle. Lenglen was becoming very tired, and if I could have played a little better I might have won this set. But she managed to keep up her steady play and so won the match in straight sets. Strangely enough, this does not stand out in my memory as the most exciting match that I have ever played. Why, I do not know. In speaking of the Riviera, I must say that scarcely I 1::-:f 'fl(, THE AUTHOR DEMONSTRATES A FOREHAND VOLLEY. MATCHES I HAVE PLAYED i67 a more delightful place can be found for tennis. There are many courts of a reddish clay, excellent and well kept and fast. The game was introduced years ago by English people who came to the south of France for the winter. Since then tennis has grown in popularity, and now lovers of the game from many countries are seen there every winter. Some American players of greater and of less skill go each year. Miss Betty Nuthall, the young English girl who plays so well, has learned much of her tennis in the south of France. Cannes, Nice, Beaulieu, Monte Carlo, and Mentone, of which so much has been written, have each one a tennis club. Cannes has four or five. Monte Carlo has a wonderful new one. But tennis cannot claim the entire attention of even the most enthusiastic tennis-player. There are interesting people from every country in the world to watch and wonder about. Every one, sooner or later, during the season, appears on the court or on the side-lines at the tennismatches. There are, too, the lovely gardens and the beautiful villas, the interesting towns in the hills, and the quaint farmhouses with tiled roofs, among the ancient olive-trees. There are the gay casinos and the attractive tea places. In other words, the Riviera is a tennis-playing paradise! I68 TENNIS After I had played in some of the Riviera tournaments, we went to Italy for a short stay. I found the best tennis-players in Rome. Their tennis club is an attractive place. Going through an arched doorway from the street, you come upon the courts in a garden. There is great interest in the game in Rome. As yet, however, there are no outstanding women players. In Milan there is a very interesting club. It is the largest one in Italy. There must have been at least twenty-five red-clay courts. The club is only a few years old, and there were, when I was there, a thousand members. The club-house has wide, spacious terraces which look out over the courts. I noticed that there were many women playing, and that mixed doubles seemed very popular. Mixed doubles is played abroad much more than in America, and is enjoyed as a social event. I do not know why it is not more popular here. I found the games with the Italian players enjoyable, and was impressed with their genuine interest in the sport, and their gracious and charming manner on the court. Two other matches that I have witnessed which stand out in my mind are those between Tilden and Cochet, at Wimbledon, and Tilden and Lacoste, at Forest Hills. Both were tremendously important in BETTY NUTHALL. Forehand volley. I70 TENNIS the tennis world, and both took place at famous tennis centres. Both were disappointing to American followers of the game, for it is natural for us to want our countryman to win. The two matches were all the more interesting to me, on the side-lines, because of the fact that I had seen the two Frenchmen play some years ago when they were just becoming accustomed to international tennis. Their games were nothing to compare with their present form. Tilden could have beaten them in three straight sets, with hardly the loss of a game, in those early days. In fact, at that time, Tilden was American champion, and his supremacy was unquestioned. I saw Cochet on his first visit to America, at the Seabright tournament. He played well there, for one so young, but his game was not strikingly forceful, and did not attract much attention. Once, at Wimbledon, when Mrs. George Wightman and I were sitting on the side-lines watching Lacoste, Mrs. Wightman said: "He will be a great player some day." I looked at Lacoste with increased interest. Yes, certainly there was a something about him on the court. He was quietly determined. He seemed always to be using his head. He would try strategic combinations of stroke and placement MATCHES I HAVE PLAYED I7i worthy of a far older and more experienced player. If it did not work, he was unruffled. He seemed to feel that it would come. Later we saw both Cochet and Lacoste, improved players, and, finally, the matches in which they overtook the great Tilden. Champions come and go. There is always a changing field of competitors in the tennis world. This is what makes it so interesting. We see players on the rise and on the descent. We wonder about each new player who stands out. He may be a champion; he may, for some inexplicable reason, never improve the tennis which makes him stand out, for a time, as a youthful prodigy. Match play, as I said before, is a fascinating side of tennis-the people across the net, the matches that you watch, the atmosphere of tournament competition. There are several tennis enthusiasts of my acquaintance who do nothing but follow the tennis season about the world, going wherever matches are being played-America in summer; southern France, the Riviera, in winter; Paris in the spring; and England in May and June. The ideal way, however, I think, and the way in which the greatest pleasure can be derived from match play, is to take part in tournaments, say, for I72 TENNIS several months in summer. You have enough tournaments in which to work up your best playing form, and yet you do not have too much play. In this way you enjoy keenly every moment of your matches; and your game, because of your enthusiasm, is the better for it. CHAPTER XXI AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS I REMEMBER distinctly the day of my first tournament match. It was at the Berkeley Tennis Club. The sky was overcast and gray, and now and then, as the game went on, a few big drops fell upon the court. I was fourteen, and in love with tennis. I had drawn in the first round of the tournament a young woman from San Francisco, who was, at the time, considered one of the best among the local players. As I look back upon the match, I can remember that I did not feel nervous. I hoped to do as well as I could against my formidable adversary, and was surprised when I won a set. We were a set all, then, and in the third we had some close rallies, and several of the games were hard-fought, but my balls began to waver, and I could not keep up the pace that was set by my more experienced opponent. I was happy to have won my set, and my father, who had watched the match from beginning to end, had been much interested. Several of the club members with whom I had been playing had watched the match, too. I must have been a funny little figure upon the court, trying seriously to play my best, my long pigtails flying as I ran. 173 174 TENNIS That winter I had many games with the members who played at the club, and their willingness to play with me meant much to my game. The next spring I played in a junior girl's tournament, which I won. I was invited to represent California in the National Junior Girl's Singles tournament at Forest Hills. I was then fifteen. In the finals at Forest Hills I met a girl, eighteen, who was the best of the younger players about Philadelphia, but she was not a particularly steady player, although some of her harder shots were better than mine. I kept the ball going, and won in two sets. This was my first experience in playing away from home. I had, until then, always been on asphalt courts, and the grass seemed very strange. I did not like it, because I did not know how to adapt my game to it, or to change the timing of my strokes so that they would fit in with the slower-bounding balls. By this time I had become a great enthusiast, and upon returning to California, played almost every day. I looked forward to the tennis of the coming summer, and so enthusiastic was I when I again went to play in the Eastern tennis that I played in eight tournaments in a row, finishing up with the National Women's Singles and with the National Junior Singles. Mrs. Marion Zinderstein Jessup and I won the National Women's Doubles, and in the singles I AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 175 played in the finals against Mrs. Franklin Mallory. Although I had won, upon two occasions, a set from her in our previous matches, I, at sixteen, found the atmosphere of a championship match too overwhelming, while Mrs. Mallory, on the other hand, played better because it was a final match. Afterward, the National Junior Singles were held in Philadelphia, but it happened that, this year, there were no particularly good girl players, the tournament was uneventful, and I won my second junior title. Returning home, I entered my senior year at school, and, because I was so enthusiastic about my tennis, managed to play almost every day, and to study, too, as I was looking forward to going to college the following year. My next summer in the Eastern tournaments was one that I recall with pleasure. My tennis had improved during the winter, and was strong enough so that I could have good games with the older players. Yet I did not seem quite proficient enough to win consistently against them. Then there came a distinct change in my game. It was the first time that the Wightman Cup matches were played. Mrs. George W. Wightman, who was formerly Hazel Hotchkiss, had given the cup for competition between the women players of England and America. The English women players I76 TENNIS came to Forest Hills for the first meeting, and the cup matches were held just before the National Women's Singles tournament. I hoped very much to be chosen to represent our country, but had no thought that I would be chosen for a particularly important position on the team if at all. My breath was taken away F5ihBS3 WIGHTMAN TEAM EMBLEM. when I was given second place, next to Mrs. Mallory, the champion. I was to play the same people as she was. The plan of the Wightman Cup matches is this: There are three singles matches and two doubleso On each team there is a first, second, and third singles player, and a first and second doubles team. There are seven matches played in all, and there AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS I77 are two days of play. During the series, the first player of one side meets both the first and second players of the other team, as also does the second player. This makes four matches, two for each day. The third singles player meets only the third player of the other team; first doubles plays first doubles, and second doubles the second doubles team. In this way there are seven matches in all. As I said, there seemed to be at this time a distinct change in my game. Perhaps it was because I was so happy to have been chosen for second place. I met the first English player, Kathleen McKane, on the first day, and not without some trepidation, at the outset of the match, managed to win in straight sets. On the second day I met the second player, who was not as good as Miss McKane. It was a terribly windy day, although sunny. The flags around the top of the stadium were whipping madly about in the wind. The court was a whirlpool, and every ball twisted and spun as if it had gone mad. Every match was won by the Americans, perhaps assisted by the wind-but won, nevertheless! And so ours was the first name to be engraved on the cup. The National Singles followed immediately after, and I got through to the finals, past Miss Eleanor Goss, who had defeated me earlier in the season. Again I was against Mrs. Mallory in the finals, as I I78 TENNIS had been the year before. The game rolled along rapidly; I had the luck of making only a few errors, and almost before I realized what happened the match was through and I was American champion. I could not realize it, because here was something suddenly upon me that I had longed for, but with the feeling that it was very far away, if indeed ever attainable. At the moment, so utterly surprised was I that the only feeling that I experienced was that of annoyance with the umpire, who jumped down from his chair and kissed me on both cheeks. The finals came late in August, and when I returned to California, I found myself nearly a month late for my first semester at college. Catching up in my new studies was far more strenuous than any tennis-match that I had ever played, and not nearly so much fun! But I finally did, and then combined tennis and study. In the spring when my freshman year was almost finished, I received an invitation from the American Tennis Association to play in England in the Wightman Cup matches, and in the English championship at Wimbledon, and also in the Olympic Games in Paris. I wrote my last final examination, one in zoology, with difficulty, because I could not keep from thinking about the tennis of the coming summer. I took my blue book to the reader of the course, along -is r, ~~.:liFa::::::::::::I:::: MRS. FRANKLIN I. MALLORY IN THE FINISH OF A BACKHAND DRIVE. It AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS I79 with a stamped envelope, addressed: "The All England Club, Wimbledon, England." The result of the final examination came to Wimbledon while I was playing. "92" it said, but I am still certain that I mixed up tennis terms with zoological ones! The month preceding the English championship was a very rainy one. I, who had never seen a rainy month in England before, thought that it would never stop. The grass courts, upon which I had hoped to practise, were almost under water. There was hardly a day for three weeks that the rain did not fall. I spent most of the time watching the sky, hoping for the sun. Then, a few days before the Wightman Cup matches, the weather changed, and we, the American Wightman Cup Team having arrived by this time, practised together on the Wimbledon courts. We were to fare hardly any better in England than the English Wightman Cup Team did in America the year before. We lost six of the seven matches. I was beaten decisively by Kathleen McKane, whom I had defeated the year before. The only one able to come to the rescue was Mrs. George W. Wightman, who was the captain. With her calm, equable nature, she refused to allow the strange conditions to affect her tennis, and so she and I won our doubles. It would seem, judging from the fact that the I80 TENNIS English players were utterly swamped upon their visit to America the first time, and that we, in turn, upon coming to England, were overwhelmed, that the visiting player, due to the strange playing conditions, has the worst of it. It is true that it is hard, at first, to play away from home because of the different conditions. But after one has been several times abroad, it becomes more and more easy to adjust oneself. The Wimbledon championship followed, two days later, and I was to have the thrill of playing on the famous centre court. Becoming more and more accustomed to the play on grass, I got through my earlier matches. In my half of the draw were Miss Elizabeth Ryan and Mlle. Suzanne Lenglen, but they were to play first, and then I was to meet the winner. I thought that here indeed was the stumblingblock. How could I get past either of them to the finals? I asked. The tournament went on. Mlle. Lenglen and Miss Ryan played and it was a very thrilling match. Miss Ryan was at the top of her game, and got a set, but in the third set Mlle. Lenglen emerged with the match well in hand, and there was no doubt about the outcome. However, there had been a flurry because of Miss Ryan's run of games. Perhaps Mlle. Lenglen regarded it as evidence that she was not in her usual form. I do not know. But AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 181 upon the following day word was passed out that she would not continue in the women's singles. Every one was very disappointed, as she was the most interesting player at Wimbledon. Miss Ryan was disappointed, too, because she had been put out of the running by some one who was not going to continue. So my path was cleared of two very formidable obstacles at once. I met, on a bright, sunny day, Kathleen McKane in the final round. The centre court at Wimbledon is impressive at all times, with its wide expanse of green velvet turf, its rows and rows of seats in the encircling grand stand; but to a newcomer upon a final day, it takes on a certain never-to-be-forgotten atmosphere. Here, every shot must count, and thousands of pairs of eyes follow each ball from racquet to racquet. Especially is this true in matches of international flavor, where players of different countries meet. As an English girl who has played a number of such matches said: "A tournament match is thrilling, but when you feel that you are representing your country, it is doubly so! " However, the tennis audience at Wimbledon is a sporting one. It wants, naturally, at heart, to have its own player win, but applauds generously the good shot of a visiting player. I have never been quite so close to winning a final match and then to have had it slip away. I had won 182 TENNIS the first set and led 4-I, 40-15 in the second set. One point for me would have made it game and five to one in my favor, which would have been a very substantial lead. But, somehow or other, that point never did come my way. Try as I might, I could not make the most of my lead. Miss McKane gradually drew up even at four games all, and then won the next two games for the set. She redoubled her efforts and won at 6-4 in the last set. In looking back upon the match, I can see that I put my best into the first set and had gotten a head start quite quickly. Miss McKane is noted for being able to play better when behind. When she found herself down 4-I and 40-I 5 she was spurred on. I was not quite good enough to meet the added severity of her attack, and so lost the match. Mrs. Wightman and I, in the double finals, again met the same team that we had defeated in the cup matches, and won a second victory. Mrs. Wightman, in both these double matches, played splendid tennis. Her judgment and execution were outstanding. Her calmness in the heat of the match encouraged me and disconcerted our opponents. Mrs. Wightman, Mrs. Mallory, Mrs. Marion Zinderstein Jessup, and Miss Eleanor Goss, the members of the Wightman Cup Team, then went to Paris to play in the Olympic Games. AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS I83 The tennis was played at Colombes, the court being laid out near the stadium where the track events were held. The setting was not a pretty one, but the courts were good. MISS ELEANOR GOSS. Low backhand volley. I found that I liked the red-clay surface, as my game is best suited to hard-court play, because I learned my tennis upon the hard courts. My preliminary matches went along fairly well in the singles. In the doubles Mrs. Wightman and I had a 184 TENNIS close match with Miss McKane and Mrs. Covell, who represented England, but we finally won by a narrow margin. Mrs. Mallory could not play for America in the Olympic Games because she had represented Norway in one of the earlier Olympic Meetings. It was very interesting to see tennis-players from so many different countries gathered together, and to hear different languages being spoken upon the courts and on the side-lines. The scores were called in French by the umpires. There were several unfortunate mishaps suffered by the American Men's Olympic Team. R. Norris Williams, who was playing in fine form, turned his ankle sideways on one of the tape-lines on the court, and injured it severely. In spite of being warned, he insisted upon continuing, and played out his games to the last. Another accident, not serious and amusing to the rest of us, was the loss of Watson Washburn's tennis sweater, which disappeared in the locker-rooms at Colombes. It must be described to be appreciated. It was of the slip-on variety, white, with sleeves. Instead, however, of being of the usual length of sweaters, it was unusually short. It was very much of a bob-tailed sweater, and it flopped when he played. While at Wimbledon, it had attracted the attention W..1 : i I I k. II f f i f,., Q.1 I:1. I i;. fi I. i I "I' — II , / il-, I L,, R. NORRIS WILLIAMS,3 A backhand volley. i86 TENNIS of Tom Webster, the inimitable cartoonist and humorist, who drew Mr. Washburn wearing the sweater. Below, he wrote: "Mr. Watson Washburn, unfortunately, found it necessary to leave America before his sweater was completed." Across the fields from the court was the stadium where the races were going on. I went over twice, but so many nationalities were competing, that I failed to discover which runner represented which country. Each athlete had stripes, bands, or emblems on his chest, and they all ran and ran and ran. I, who knew nothing of track sports, could not tell whether the crack of the pistols meant the beginning or the finish of the race. There seemed to be any number going on at once. So, still pondering, I made my way back to the more familiar courts. The Olympic tennis had a unique atmosphere, and I am sure I shall never forget it-the languages that I could not understand, the sun-baked courts in the middle of the field, little ball boys who sat around between matches eating lemons, a row of chairs covered with red velvet reserved for royalty, excitement, confusion, that is inevitable when so many nationalities are gathered together-these are impressions that are yet vivid in my mind. I enjoyed the Olympic tennis almost more than any other tennis event in which I have participated, because it was so different. The usual tournament is very sedate. AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 187 One can predict what will happen day by day, who the winners will be, and what the committee will say when the cups are presented. But upon the air at the Olympic tennis, suspense and excitement hung. The unexpected could have happened at any moment. It did happen for me. I found myself in the finals against Mlle. Diddie Vlasto, who had defeated Miss McKane in an earlier round, and in the match that followed I won the Olympic Singles title. Mrs. Wightman and I won the Women's Doubles. Vincent Richards triumphed in the Men's Singles. Partnered with Mrs. Jessup in the Mixed, and with Hunter in the Men's Doubles, he won both events. America was completely the victor in the Olympic tennis of 1924. Returning to the United States, I defended my National Singles title at Forest Hills, playing Miss Mary Browne in the semifinals and Mrs. Mallory in the finals. I had a three-set match with Mary Browne. She had been out of tournament play for a time, but had decided to come on from California, and again try for the National title. She has held it on several occasions in previous years. Mrs. Wightman and I again played doubles together and won. Never has there been, I am sure, a more ideal doubles partner than Mrs. Wightman. Every match that we played together I can look back upon with pleasure. Although my tennis season had been a long one, I88 TENNIS I wanted to take part in the National Mixed Doubles which were to take place at Boston the following week. Being fortunate enough to have Vincent Richards as partner, I played there, too. Mrs. Mallory and William Tilden loomed up in the finals. Although Mrs. Mallory is essentially a singles player, Tilden's wonderful shots made up for anything that she might lack in doubles. On that particular day he was not missing a shot. I could not return his tremendous serves, because they were so fast and had such strong spin. The chances for victory looked very slim. They had won the first set, and were leading 4-I or 4-2 in the second set. It was my turn to serve, and I went with heavy heart to the base-line, for my serves had had no success at all against Tilden's drives. At this moment, one or two of Mrs. Mallory's shots on the return of service were a wee bit less accurate. My partner put one of Tilden's returns away, and we won the game. The winning of this game seemed to call forth Richards's very best play. From that time on, his volleys were spectacular, some of them miraculous gets. The score was evened and we finally won the set. "Vinnie's" volleys were invincible in the third set, which, due to his superplay, was won at 6-o. This match stands out in my memory as one of the most exciting that I have ever played. It impressed upon my mind at the time that a AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS I89 match is not lost until the very last point is over. There is always the chance that the tide will turn. VINCENT RICHARDS. Finish of a half volley. It seems that each year, with me, had exactly the same pattern; that is, study in the winter and tennis in the summer. The National Mixed Doubles being over, I again returned to California and to the uni I90o TENNIS versity. I was again late, a month this time, but by working doubly hard, caught up. I found, this year, it rather difficult to play as frequently as I wished, because of the long hours of some of my courses. I had chosen art as my major subject, and the art classes were from nine to twelve, and from one to four in the afternoon. However, any one truly in love with tennis will find time to play it, and so did I. The following summer, in 1925, the English Women's Wightman Cup Team again came to America. The idea of Wightman Cup play had become firmly established, and had taken its place in the world of tennis. The value of the Wightman Cup to women's tennis cannot be overestimated. The introduction of the cup meant that there would be international competition for the American women players, which up to that time had taken place scarcely at all. Already the effect of international play was being seen in women's tennis in America, and rewarded by a general allround improvement in the standard of play. Miss McKane again came over, along with four other English women players. She had been, yearly, a member of the team. This year, the second day of Wightman Cup play, found the matches three to three. We had three wins, so had they. All depended upon the outcome of the AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS I 9 first doubles. Mary Browne and I were playing together. The sun by this time had sunk behind the towering stadium, the court was thrown in darkness. We tried hard to meet the smooth team-work of our opponents, Miss McKane and Evelyn Colyer, but to no avail. I made more than my share of mistakes that day. I think that this was one of the hardest matches to lose of my experience-not so much because of the match itself, but because of the fact that the winning or the losing of the cup depended upon it. Returning to college in the fall, I found that I had won a prize in my studies, which I shall cherish always more (I fear I must admit) than any of my tennis prizes-a Phi Beta Kappa key-and when they pinned it over my fast-beating heart, I experienced one of the happiest moments of my life. By the time the Christmas term at college was over, I had persuaded my mother to let me go to the French Riviera for the tennis, and so we set out for southern France on the first day of January in 1926. I had heard players tell of the tournaments there, and how much they had enjoyed them. It seemed to me like a grand adventure. The entries for the tournaments were said to be excellent. Then, too, there was the chance that one would meet the great Suzanne. Fifteen days after we had left California we I92 192 TENNIS arrived on the Riviera, and two days after that I entered in my first tournament. We had had a very rough crossing, and the court was swaying a little during my first few games, but, as I knew from experience, the only way to become accustomed to play was by playing. The sunshine is very brilliant in southern France, and the light, to a newcomer, is dazzling. It is much like that of California on bright, sunny days. The courts of southern France are ideal for tennis, being made of a pinkish clay. Some of the courts are darker red, others are yellowish, but all are hard and well kept. The balls at first confused me, until I realized that a player must resign himself to his fate. There were three kinds of balls in use that winter on the Riviera, each made by a different company, each slightly different. Of course each company wanted its particular balls used. As a result, no two tournaments in succession had the same ball. There is a marked difference in balls, as one who plays soon discovers. I tried to adapt myself as soon as possible to all balls that were presented. Not all my time, however, in southern France was given to tennis, as the Riviera is an extremely interesting and fascinating place, and I had never been _:_:: _z, - i I I:::::7 I I::: li Ii:i-_ -_- I: -:_:::-ii;-: li~ '. -i:: 11:-i Irl: —:-~ii! -_ i:: i l i l —:;:::-:-:; l '-Ii:: I -i: -: I I Ii':li j / x:::i.i~:-:::: ~:i:::::::i-: i::: _ ---:i-::: I),I: i, 1 Ct, P ^ X A^^.J)^ ^ ^: i: —;,' -.1;/:*'^ *^1- 1''- "^111 ':,/:::,:;['x:,,/ TA THE AUTHOR DOES A FOREHAND DRIVE.! AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS I93 there before. We went on long drives to see the country, and to become acquainted with it closer at hand, took frequent walks. I visited the shops at Cannes, the perfume factories at Grasse, the gay casinos. Being younger than twenty-one, I was not allowed to enter the gambling-rooms at Cannes or Monte Carlo, but I wanted, if not to play, to watch those who were playing. My opportunity came later on when I was taking part in a tournament at Monte Carlo. His Majesty, King Gustav of Sweden, was playing in the handicap mixed doubles of the same tournament. I was presented to him there, and a few days later received an invitation to a dinner-party given by him at the Hotel de Paris. After the dinner, he and his guests went into the Sporting Club, the one that I had wanted, most of all, to see. The guardians of the door bowed low as the royal party passed. None of them could question me, then, about my age! To give an idea of how popular tennis is on the Riviera, I must tell of the tournaments. They begin in December and there is one a week until the end of April. There is always a match to see, every afternoon. I played in eight tournaments that winter. Three in Cannes, two in Nice, one in Beaulieu, Monte Carlo, and Mentone. Because the towns are close to one an I94 TENNIS other, it is possible, when playing in some of the tournaments, to make one's headquarters in one particular place, and to go daily to one's matches. Mentone, however, is the town farthest from Cannes, and the drive is a little far before a match. The Riviera is an ideal place for tennis, with beautiful surroundings and an interesting background. I shall always remember the winter there because of the beauty of the place, and because I played my first, last, and only singles match against the famous French player, Mlle. Suzanne Lenglen. Mlle. Lenglen won the championship at Wimbledon in 1919. Since that time she has never been defeated in a singles match. The question of whether or not her default to Mrs. Mallory can be regarded as a defeat has never been really settled. However, it is safe to say that no other tennis-player, man or woman, has ever had such a long record of consecutive wins. Probably no one will have again. This was one of the reasons why a match with her was an alluring thing. Wouldn't it be fun if one could win against her? So had each one thought who played her. I, as well. But, to the last of her amateur career, she was too good a player for the rest of the tennis world. I have told about my match with her in the chapter, "Matches I Have Played and Seen." My meeting with Suzanne took place at Cannes, in AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS i95 the fourth tournament that I played in that winter, but my defeat, rather than dampening my interest in tennis, increased it, and I immediately entered the next week in the tournament at Beaulieu. Suzanne had gone off to Lake Como for a rest, so that I had no hope of meeting her again on the court, until the French championship games in Paris in May. Toward the end of March, mother and I decided to go to Italy for a short time. The case which held my tennis-racquets got pushed behind a door in some way or another, in the hotel at Cannes, and we went off without them. Several hours later, on the train, I discovered that they were not along. To me this was tragic, as I hoped to have some games in Italy! We wired back, stopped off at Milan, and the racquets were brought on by a French player who happened to be on his way to Switzerland. We went on to Rome, and after doing the usual rounds of sightseeing, I was invited by the Roma Tennis Club to play on its courts. I found the surface to be a grayish clay and very fast. I liked the Italian players, they were so enthusiastic and full of energy upon the courts. We had several matches and I played a set with each one of the club's best players. Italian women have not, as yet, taken up tennis with much interest, so that I played only with men players while in Italy. I96 TENNIS On the last day that we were in Rome an exhibition match was held at the tennis club. That evening the club gave a large dinner and dancing party, and afterward, at about one o'clock, I went to see the Colosseum by moonlight. So ended my visit to Rome. I played tennis in Florence and Milan on the way to Paris. The president of the tennis club at Florence presented me with a charming silver vase filled with red roses when the matches were through. The greatest interest in tennis in Italy centres at Milan. The largest club is here. Since I was there several fine indoor courts have been built by the club. Signor Mussolini had said that he was coming to the tennis matches, but later found that there was no time before he went to Tripoli. It was then that he was so nearly assassinated. The French championships were to come in May. It was the middle of April when we arrived in Paris. I played frequently on the clay courts of the Racing Club in the Bois de Boulogne. This club has one of the most charming settings that I know. All about are the green trees of the Bois. The club-house itself is small and rustic, and fits into the background of the woods. It is only a few minutes from the heart of Paris, and, therefore, most convenient. Rene Lacoste does much of his playing here. I had games with the members of the club, and enjoyed playing with them, AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS I97 other than in match play, for it is easier to become acquainted with your opponent in every-day games. I had practice games also with the well-known professional d'Arsonval, who, I think, is one of the best in tennis, and I felt that from playing with him my game showed improvement. The American women players who were to represent our country in the French championships, and later in the Wightman Cup play in England, arrived -Miss Mary Browne, Miss Elizabeth Ryan, and Mrs. Marion Zinderstein Jessup. We played together for practice during the week preceding the French tournament, which was to be held on the Racing Club courts. Instead of becoming enthusiastic over the prospect of the coming matches, as I had always before, my enthusiasm began to wane, in spite of my efforts to keep it up. The first singles match against quite a mediumly good player I found to be very wearisome. I barely managed to straggle through my match against my opponent of the next day, and on the following day. I was annoyed with myself. I wanted to be enthusiastic. Why couldn't I? On the day when I was to have played Kea Bouman, of Holland, I went, not to the Racing Club, but to the American Hospital, at Neuilly, with an acute attack of appendicitis. So vanished any possibility of a second meeting with Suzanne. She sent to the hospital I98 TENNIS a large bunch of pink and yellow peonies, very beautiful ones, that reminded me, as I lay looking at them, of the pastel shades of her sweaters in the sun. I recuperated so rapidly that a week after the operation I was sure that I could play at Wimbledon in June, and sent in my entry. But after a few shaky bits of exercise along the paths of the Bois, I decided that I would have to watch Wimbledon from the side-lines. But we went to England, and I had a seat in the front row overlooking the centre court. It was this year that the All England Club celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, and on the opening day an impressive ceremony was held on the green turf of the centre court. Standing upon a strip of red carpet were their majesties, the King and Queen of England, and behind them the president and the officials of the club, who had done much to make tennis the popular game in England that it is. The Queen graciously gave a medal to each of Wimbledon's past champions, and it all made, in the bright sunlight, a most pleasing picture to watch. There are two ways of seeing Wimbledon-as a spectator and as a player. In I924 I had had the player's experience at Wimbledon; in i926 I saw the place through the eyes of a spectator, and was impressed with the different angle from which one saw the event. AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 199 I went each afternoon, for the two weeks of the tournament, and can well understand why many tennis enthusiasts buy their tickets for the entire two weeks. It became quite fascinating, the watching of the games, the following of the different players throughout their matches. The crowd at Wimbledon is a very knowing one, when it comes to tennis, and appreciates the fine points of the game. You go out in the early afternoon-(the best matches never start before two o'clock)-and watch tennis until tea-time; then you go out to one of the tea pavilions and have tea and cakes, and perhaps strawberries and cream. The match must be a good one, and close, to be able to compete with tea for the spectator's favor at this hour of the day. After tea, back again for the remaining matches. It is not only a part of the audience who follow this routine. There are thousands of people. In order to avoid having to wait in line for tea, many among the onlookers bring little baskets with sandwiches, cakes, and hot tea in thermos bottles, and open them in the grand stand while watching the games. The tickets for Wimbledon are usually all sold months in advance, and it is practically impossible to obtain seats at the last minute, unless one happens to know one of the competitors or one of the officers of the club. Many people come, buying tickets for the 200 TENNIS day that enable them to watch the matches on the outside courts, but which do not enable them to see the centre-court games. It is arranged by the committee that all of the best players in the tournament have one or two of their preliminary matches on the outer courts so that those who have not been fortunate enough to obtain seats for the centre court, can look on. Also, there are a limited number of reserved seats along side of the centre court which are sold daily, and behind these there is a narrow space for standing-room. On the last days of the tournament, and also when there are exciting matches, queues wait to purchase these daily tickets, from as early as five or six in the morning, outside the gates. The most important matches are always played on the centre court. Court number one, which adjoins it, has a little grand stand of its own, and here the next and most interesting matches are held. The outside courts, of which there are fifteen or twenty, are filled during the earlier rounds, and there is a constantly moving crowd of onlookers who move from one court to another, watching the games. Then, as play goes on, all attention is drawn to the centre court, where the last survivors of the tournament compete. Indeed, during a final match, the outside grounds of the All England Club have a completely deserted look. If it were not for the parked motors AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 20I cars, looking like shiny black beetles in the fields, you would not suspect that any one was about. But within the enclosure of the centre court there are row upon row of spectators absorbed in the game that is being unrolled before them. At times, during an intense rally, there is a silence when only the sound of ball upon racquet is heard; then, at the finish of the rally, applause breaks forth, deafeningly. I think that the sound of so many hands clapping is like rain falling. It is at Wimbledon. Listen when you go there. The arrival of the King and Queen is always an event of interest, and a crowd gathers about the door when their motor stops. There is a special entrance for them, and for those who have the privilege of sitting in the royal box. The box is directly at the end of the court, and has in the first row comfortable chairs. Here sit, at various times, the King and Queen, and at various times the Duke and Duchess of York, the King of Spain, Lord Balfour, and others. When the King and Queen enter the box, it is customary for the audience to rise from its seats, and to wait until the royal spectators have taken their chairs. I have seen the players on the court turn, and stand facing the royal box until the King and Queen were seated, but as they always enter unexpectedly, frequently the players are so engrossed in the game 202 TENNIS that they are not aware of anything else that is happening. In I926, the King and Queen came frequently to the tennis, and the Duke of York participated in the men's doubles. The Queen enjoyed seeing Mlle. Lenglen play and came one day to the tennis on an afternoon when there was an unusually good array of events scheduled. The time came for Mlle. Lenglen's appearance on the court, and the spectators were looking forward to her entrance. But no one came out on the court. It lay empty for fifteen minutes or more. The onlookers began to stir restlessly in their seats, for this had never happened at Wimbledon before. But no Suzanne. Then a men's match was put on. It is no easy matter to patch up the centre-court schedule, if some player fails to appear, because it is practically impossible to locate in the grand stand, upon short notice, the participants of the following match. Finally, overcome with curiosity, I left my seat and wandered back into the women's locker-room, trying to pretend that I was not at all interested in finding out what had happened! I heard a number of explanations: that MIle. Lenglen had been at lunch until late and that the committee had failed to let her f -... k, I I..i A V I _ G A''II~ 1,t 3 1_ SENORITA LILI DE ALVAREZ EXECUTING A HALF-VOLLEY. AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 203 know the hour of her match, that she had become ill, that she had arrived and then decided not to play, because of a falling out with some one. I never did discover why she did not play, and why she kept the Queen and the audience waiting. I think that the real reason was known alone to the committee of the All England Club. It was never made public. However, even with Suzanne gone, there were many interesting matches. Especially so was that between Mrs. Kathleen McKane Godfree and Sefiorita Lili de Alvarez. It was the Spanish girl's first experience at Wimbledon. I had played against her twice upon the Riviera and had found her game unusually fast. She adapted herself to the grass surface, and played excellent tennis against Mrs. Godfree in the finals. They had a three-set match, which Mrs. Godfree won because she was a trifle more steady, and because she is a little more suited to match play. She has an ideal temperament for tournament competition, in that she is always calm, and in that she can play up from a bad score. Seinorita de Alvarez is more spectacular to watch, more dashing, perhaps, upon the court, but is not as imperturbable, by nature, as the Englishwoman, and I think that it was because of this that Mrs. Godfree won the title. When the tournament was finished I realized that I had enjoyed being an onlooker almost as much as 204 TENNIS being a competitor-almost! There is a view obtained of the tennis at Wimbledon by the spectators that the player does not get, and vice versa. The player arrives for his match, goes out upon the court, comes in immediately to change, and by the time he gets out again, no matter how quickly he changes, some of the most interesting matches may be finished. The onlooker, on the other hand, does not see the interesting side-lights of tennis-playing, get to know the players, or know the real reasons for various things that happen in the tennis world. In knowing the individual players, their natures, and how they react under varying conditions, it is quite frequently possible to predict the outcome of matches. Sometimes it is interesting to sit in the women's locker-room, during the height of a large tournament, and watch the contestants coming and going, to hear the conversations, and to listen to the comments on various players and matches. It is here that the very heart of a tournament is centred. After the match there are some who cover their defeat with a smile, others who explain why they were not able to win. A few are equally nonchalant upon victory or defeat, but these are rare. As the door swings open and two players come in from their match, words are not necessary to tell which is the winner, which the AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 205 loser. Almost always one can see it written upon their faces more plainly than in words. While tennis is a sport, yet, at the moment, to one who loves the game, the match is tremendously important. If it were not so, players would not bother to gather together to compete in tournaments. The one who enjoys best her game plays with all her heart. After Wimbledon was over, I returned to New York, with the hope that I might play in the American tournaments. I had a few uneasy practice games at Forest Hills, the first after my operation, and found that my strokes were all rather feeble. I was sure they would improve, however, and entered two tournaments. I finally realized, unwillingly, that match play was a physical impossibility, and returned to California, where I again entered the university at Berkeley, and did not have a racquet in my hand for a number of months. Eight months elapsed before I could really enjoy my game again. My enthusiasm could not die, however, where tennis was concerned, and in the spring I began to play again. Feeling fit, upon the court, I tried out my game in a small tournament at Pasadena, in southern California. Tournament play is the test for endurance. Curiously enough, match play seems to take more strength than regular every-day play. It must be be 206 TENNIS cause the player is, perhaps even unknowingly, under a certain amount of strain. Not that it is a harmful sort of strain, but it is a natural one under the circumstances. One tries hard to make his shots come off as well as possible, to make the most of the openings in the play itself, to concentrate continuously upon the game. Although one tries to do this to a certain extent in an every-day match, the atmosphere of competitive tennis is bound to stimulate the play and to make it more intense. Hence, it is more strenuous. Having had to be on the side-lines at Wimbledon the year before, made me very eager to take part in the I927 tournament. I was not invited by the Tennis Association to represent it, but was advised by them, instead, to remain at home. But my heart was set upon playing that June at Wimbledon, and so I set out for England with my mother. She has been on the side-lines for every tournament match that I have ever played, away from home, and I am sure that I could not play if she were not there. I wanted to take part in some of the English tournaments before Wimbledon, as I had never done so before. I had a week of practice on the grass, for it takes about that long to become accustomed to the new surface. I enjoyed my preliminary tournaments tremendously. They were held outside London at AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 207 smaller clubs, and had a more informal atmosphere than the great Wimbledon. It was interesting to see the typical English tennis club and to see why tennis has become such a nationally popular game as it is in England. One of the clubs where I played had been in the same spot for years. Its turf was old and excellent. I met many of the members, and found that even the older ones had played tennis there together as children. Adjoining the courts was a wide green cricketfield. The club, with its tennis and cricket had grown to be part of the members' lives. It was, to many, the setting of happy memories. The club-house itself was very small, and a quite casual sort of place, but there was a wide veranda where tea could be served in the afternoon. The week before the championship tournament, the higher ranking players tried out the courts at Wimbledon. Most of the better players are members of the All England Club. I, because I was a visiting player, had been given a guest card, so that I could practise on the courts. Of course, no one could play on the centre court, for it was sacred to the championship games. It had been tended, watered, rolled, and cared for, until it resembled velvet. No clover dared show its head here! The outside courts were in good condition, and it was upon them that we had our practice games. 208 TENNIS I must describe the club's setting. It lies in a little depression, with low wooded hills rising on three sides. The trees are large and very green. On the fourth side, across the main road, is a small golf-course at the edge of a little lake. The golf club is not connected with the tennis club, however, but it is pleasing to the eye, and its soft green fairways increase the beauty of the surroundings. On a sunny day the All England Club is a charming place for tennis. The outside grass courts, of which there are fifteen or twenty, have tall hedges of yew growing between them, so that the players have a perfect background, dark green, against which to follow the flight of the ball. Beyond the grass courts are seven or eight darkred "En Tout Cas" courts which can be used immediately after rain. The club-house itself, the locker-rooms, the offices, the lounges, and the tea-rooms, form a part of the centre-court grand stand, which is so tall and large that there is sufficient room for the entire club-house to be built beneath it, and to form its outside walls. The first day of the championship games at the All England Club brings out an enormous crowd of spectators, and, of course, all the contestants. Monday is the opening day. My first match was on Tuesday, when I met Gweneth Sterry, a young and attractive English player of about twenty-two, with blue eyes AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 209 and rosy cheeks. Her mother was a champion at Wimbledon when she was a girl, and had taught her daughter tennis so that she might play there, too. Gweneth played with spirit the day we met. This, coupled with the fact that her serves were severe, made the match a three-set affair, which I finally managed to win. The weather seemed to be against all tennis during the two weeks of this season's Wimbledon. The preceding June the sun had shone every day upon the players. But there was nothing this June but rain and overcast skies during the whole period, with the exception of the one afternoon when Tilden played Cochet. The matches were held off by showers daily. Nothing is more tiring for a player than to be ready for his match and then to sit waiting for hours. It is far more tiring than the match itself and can rob one of all one's enthusiasm. The spectators sat dejectedly but patiently in the stands, watching the huge tarpaulin that covered the centre court to keep it dry. The patience of an English tennis crowd is remarkable. If there is a chance of the play's continuing, no one leaves for home. The enormous canvas covering that keeps the rain from the centre court is quite an unusual thing. At the first sign of a sudden shower, a corps of groundsmen appears and quickly and efficiently rolls the canvas over the court. If the rain is 210 TENNIS severe, the canvas is hoisted with ropes from pulleys at the end of the court, so that the water drains off to the sides. As soon as the shower is over, the canvas is rolled up promptly, and play is resumed on a dry court. An interesting match in the ladies' singles was that between Miss Joan Fry and Miss Betty Nuthall, both young English players. Betty had defeated the American champion, Mrs. Mallory, in the round before, and it was thought that she would triumph against Joan. There was much excitement among the onlookers. It was a most attractive match between Betty and Joan, both fair-haired, both keen and enthusiastic, both so serious during the play. After a long three-set struggle, in which Betty, for a time, was nearly the winner, Joan came up from behind and finally won. Good players and good sports, they went off the court when it was over, smiling and talking to each other. I watched the match with keen interest, because I was to play the winner. It is always interesting to watch the player whom you are going to meet in action, as well as helpful, for you can see what form she is in, and what her stronger and weaker points are. Joan and I played on the following day, but she seemed not nearly as steady as she had been the day before, and I was fortunate enough to win. BETTY NUTHALL. The finish of a backhand drive. 212 TENNIS The finals, which came on the Saturday of the second week, were almost put off because of the rain, which threatened every moment. I had looked for JOAN FRY. A forehand drive. ward to meeting Sefiorita de Alvarez again, and now it was to take place. I had played against her twice on the Riviera, but she had improved since then, as I had discovered in watching her earlier games in the tournament. Especially was she more steady than she AN OUTLINE OF MY TENNIS DAYS 2I3 had been. This, coupled with speed, is a difficult combination to meet, at any time upon the court. Lili is an interesting opponent, because of the fact that she plays swiftly, with more of a man's than a woman's speed. She is animated and full of life and her game is an unusually daring one. She frequently chooses a more difficult shot when an easier one would do. For this reason she is capable of the unexpected, and can surprise a player completely with her acutely angled swift forehand drive, and her equally sharply angled backhand. She is one who gets a great deal of pleasure from her game. If she wins, she has a gay laugh for her success. If she loses, a little shrug of her shoulders, and she quickly puts it out of her mind. Our first set went at six games to two for me, but the score does not show how close the play was. I had to try continually to keep the balls away from her favorite strokes. She has the ability of answering a fast shot with a fast shot which makes her a difficult adversary. In the second set the game score was closer, being six to four in my favor. This set was closer than the first and was practically even until a certain rally, which was the turning-point. This particular rally was a very long one. We were both at the base-line, and the ball came and went swiftly many times over the net. Then Lili advanced to the 214 TENNIS net, volleying my drive. Her volley was quite short, and in such a place that I had barely time to reach it before it bounced for a second time. From my position on the court I found a passing ball impossible to make. I tried a lob, and it barely skimmed the top of her upraised racquet, and fell quickly into the backcourt out of her reach. We were both out of breath after this effort. Luckily for me, I was a little less overcome than she, and before she got back into her stroking again the next two games were passed and the match was mine. This rally was one of the most exciting to me of any that I can remember. The dream nearest a player's heart is that of winning a title at historic Wimbledon, to have one's name inscribed on the shields that carry the names of the winners from the very first, when tennis was new. My feelings, as the last ball travelled over the net, and as I realized that the final match was mine, I cannot describe. I felt that here was a prize for all the tennis, all the games, I had ever played since I was a little girl. U ERTY 0F MICHIGAN 3 9015 02484 2810 THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN I DATE DUE %to I 5 mt DO NOT REMOVE OR MUTILATE CARD I4