I TRUST this initial effort of mine in the world
of letters will find a place among both novices
and experts in the tennis world. I am striving to
interest the student of the game by a somewhat prolonged
discussion of match play, which I trust will
shed a new light on the game.
May I turn to the novice at my opening and
speak of certain matters which are second nature
to the skilled player?
The best tennis equipment is not too good for the
beginner who seeks really to succeed. It is a saving
in the end, as good quality material so far outlasts
poor.
Always dress in tennis clothes when engaging
in tennis. White is the established colour. Soft
shirt, white flannel trousers, heavy white socks, and
rubber-soled shoes form the accepted dress for
tennis. Do not appear on the courts in dark clothes,
as they are apt to be heavy and hinder your speed
of movement, and also they are a violation of the
unwritten ethics of the game.
The question of choosing a racquet is a much more
serious matter. I do not advocate forcing a certain
racquet upon any player. All the standard makes
are excellent. It is in weight, balance, and size of
handle that the real value of a racquet frame depends,
while good stringing is, essential to obtain
the best results.
The average player should use a racquet that
weighs between 13½ and 14½ ounces inclusive. I
think that the best results may be obtained by a
balance that is almost even or slightly heavy on
the head. Decide your handle from the individual
choice. Pick the one that fits comfortably in the
hand. Do not use too small a handle or too light
a racquet, as it is apt to turn in the hand. I
recommend a handle of 5 1/4 to 5 3/8 inches at the
grip. Do not use a racquet you do not like merely
because your best friend advises it. It may suit him
perfectly, but would not do for you at all. Do not
start children playing tennis with an under-sized
racquet. It weakens the wrist and does not aid
the child in learning strokes. Start a child, boy
or girl, with a full-sized racquet of at least 13
ounces.
After you have acquired your racquet, make a
firm resolve to use good tennis balls, as a regular
bounce is a great aid to advancement, while a
"dead" ball is no practice at all.
If you really desire to succeed at the game and
advance rapidly, I strongly urge you to see all the
good tennis you can. Study the play of the leading
players and strive to copy their strokes. Read all
the tennis instruction books you can find. They
are a great assistance. I shall be accused of "press-agitating" my own book by this statement, but such
was my belief long before I ever thought of writing
a book of my own.
More tennis can be learned off the court, in the
study of theory, and in watching the best players
in action, than can ever be learned in actual play.
I do not mean miss opportunities to play. Far from
it. Play whenever possible, but strive when playing
to put in practice the theories you have read or the
strokes you have watched.
Never be discouraged at slow progress. The
trick over some stroke you have worked over for
weeks unsuccessfully will suddenly come to you
when least expected. Tennis players are the product
of hard work. Very few are born geniuses at
the game.
Tennis is a game that pays you dividends all your
life. A tennis racquet is a letter of introduction in
any town. The brotherhood of the game is universal,
for none but a good sportsman can succeed
in the game for any lengthy period. Tennis provides
relaxation, excitement, exercise, and pure
enjoyment to the man who is tied hard and fast
to his business until late afternoon. Age is not a
drawback. Vincent Richards held the National
Doubles Championship of America at fifteen, while
William A. Larned won the singles at past forty.
Men of sixty are seen daily on the clubs' courts
of England and America enjoying their game as
keenly as any boy. It is to this game, in great
measure, that they owe the physical fitness which
enables them to play at their advanced age.
The tennis players of the world wrote a magnificent
page in the history of the World War. No
branch of sport sent more men to the colours from
every country in the world than tennis, and these
men returned with glory or paid the supreme sacrifice
on the field of honour.
I transgressed from my opening to show you that
tennis is a game worth playing and playing well. It
deserves your best, and only by learning it correctly
can you give that best.
If in my book I help you on your way to fame,
I feel amply repaid for all the time spent in analysing
the strokes and tactics I set before you in
these pages.
I am going to commence my explanation by talking
to the players whose games are not yet formed.
At least once every season I go back to first principles
to pull myself out of some rut into which
carelessness dropped me.
From a long and, many times, sad experience
over a period of some ten years of tournament
tennis, I believe the following order of development
produces the quickest and most lasting results:
- 1. Concentration on the game.
- 2. Keep the eye on the ball.
- 3. Foot-work and weight-control.
- 4. Strokes.
- 5. Court position.
- 6. Court generalship or match play.
- 7. Tennis psychology.
Tennis is a game of intimate personal relation.
You constantly find yourself meeting some definite
idea of your opponent. The personal equation is
the basis of tennis success. A great player not
only knows himself, in both strength and weakness,
but he must study is opponent at all times. In
order to be able to do this a player must not be
hampered by a glaring weakness in the fundamentals
of his own game, or he will be so occupied trying
to hide it that he will have no time to worry his
opponent. The fundamental weakness of Gerald
Patterson's backhand stroke is so apparent that any
player within his class dwarfs Patterson's style by
continually pounding at it. The Patterson overhead
and service are first class, yet both are rendered impotent,
once a man has solved the method of returning
low to the backhand, for Patterson seldom succeeds
in taking the offensive again in that point.
I am trying to make clear the importance of such
first principles as I will now explain.
