The Art of Lawn Tennis

Y I T COP R GH , 19 2 1 , ORAN MP ANY B Y GE ORGE H . D CO REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION OPYR GHT 1 9 2 2 C I , , E ORAN COMP ANY B Y GEORG H . D PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AP R 5 922 ! 8LA6 5 9 8 08 INTRODUCT ION ENN art T IS is at once an and a science . The game a . as played by such men s Norman E Brookes , the l late Anthony Wilding, Wi liam M Johnston , and ‘ i . l R . N . Will ams is art Yet ike all true art , it has its basis in scientific methods that must be l earned and learned thoroughly for a f oundati on before the artistic structure of a great tennis game can be con structed . Every player who helps to attain a high degree of effi ciency should have a clearly defined method of development and adhere to it . He should be r i ce tain that it is based on sound princ ples and, once o f t o h s assured hat , follow it , even th ug his progres seems slow and discouraging . o I began tennis wrong . My strokes were wr ng n and my V iewpoint cloude d . I had no early traini g Such as m any of our American boys have at the pres e nt time . No one told me the importance of the u as f ndamentals of the game , such keep ing the eye on the ball or correct body position and footwork . as a I w given racquet and allowed to hit the ball . t Na urally, like all beginners , I acquired many very serious faults . I worried along with moderate suc had n cess until I bee graduated from school , beating vi ii INTRODUCTION t f airl r oo b u m m some y g d players , losing so e atches o to men below my class . The year foll wing my ’ graduation the new Captain of my Alma Mater s team asked me if I would aid him“in developing the squad for next year . Well , Fools rush in so . where angels fear to tread , I said Yes At that point my tennis education began . The youngsters comprising our tennis squad all knew m e well and felt at perfect liberty to ask me as many questions as they could think up . I was besieged with reques ts to explain why Jones missed o he - a forehand drive d wn t side line , or Smith ’ e to couldn t serve w ll , or Brown failed hit the ball ” all Frankl I o but a s e e at , y, did not kn w, I n w r d them something at the moment and said to myself it was time I learned some fundamentals of tennis . So I began to study the reason s why certain shots are missed and others made . Why certain balls are hit so much faster though with less effort than s t others , and why ome players are great while mos o s are nly good . I am still studying, but my result to date have resulted in a definit e system to be s x learned , and it i this which I hope to e plain to you in my book, i Tennis has a language all ts own . The idioms e of the gam should be learned , as all b ooks on the m ga e are written in tennis parlance . The technical terms and their counterpart in slang need to be understo od to thoroughly grasp the idea in any c written tennis ac ount . I do not believe in using a great deal of space INTRODUCTION i x u carefully defining each blade of grass on a co rt , e . or each rul e of the game . It gets nowher I do advocate teaching the terms of the game . 1 T E . H COURT - z c n T he Base line T he ba k li e. he S rv ce- linez T he ac n of the erv cour T e i b k li e s ice t, extending from side-line to side- line at a point 2 1 e ro h net fe t f m t e . - T he AlleyszT he space on, each side of the court between the side servi ce-line and the outside side of ou cour he are u o line a d bles t . T y sed nly when pl aying doubles and are not marked on a i cour s ngle t . T he N etzT he barrier that stretches across the r in h x ac c n r e h cou t t e e t e t e . It is 3 f et igh at the centre and 3 feet 6 inches high at the posts which stand 3 feet outside the side lines . T wo e ra ass s 2 . STROKES ( G ne l Cl e ) . Groun strokeszAll o hi ro th ase A. d sh ts t f m e b n s ofi he ounc of the l li e t b e bal . olle :Sho i th fl B . V ys ts h t while e ball is in ight hrou h the air r viou to i ts oun t g , p e s b d . T he Servic T he method of putting the ball in play “ T he D rive l -A ground stroke hit with a flat racquet ace and car n to f ryi g p spin . Z T he ChO p An undercut ground stroke is the gen eral e n ion of cho T he l ce an ch d fi it a p . s i d op INTRODUCTION are so clo e re ate ha xce in ro ana s ly l d t t, e pt st ke lysis, they m ay be called chop . S lle zBlockin a al shor in fl h top Vo y g b l t its ig t. z u Half Volley or Trap Shot A pick p . a i n h u l an overhea a l T he Sm s t itt ng o t e f l y d b l . Z n i h ara T he Lob Hitti ng the ball i a h g p bola. TWIST ON T H E BALL . T op Spinz T he ball spins towards the ground and th rec on o its fl h in e di ti f ig t . ho Cut or Dra he a s n u ar ro C p , , n b ll pi s pw ds f m h r u n a s the n of fl h h s is t e g o nd a d ag in t li e ig t . T i s h evi a e in the ce but all hes term lig tly d t d sli , t e s are use to es na the un er- s uc ac - n d d ig te d tr k, b k spi ni n a g b ll . Reverse T wistz A ball that carries a rotary spin c n an that urves o e way d bou nces the opposite . B reas spin which causes the ball to bounce at an an e to its ne of fli h gl li g t . : servi ce tha touches the ne i n t fl h et 4 . LET A t t i s ig t y al s i n court or an e a or irre u ar o n f l , y ill g l g l p i t ha oes no coun t t d t t . z l a rv c FAU LT An i e l se . 5 . l g i e 6 O T z An sho hit outs e le al oun ar es of th . U y t id g b d i e cour t . Goooz An sho tha s r kes in a le a anner re 7 . y t t t i g l m p r b u es of he a sc ibe d y r l t g me. INTRODUCTION xi FOOT EA U LT zAn l e a erv ce e v due to in 8 . i l g l s i d li ery ’ or ec s i o of the erv r c r t po it n s e s feet. S Z P la e e v r n ic r rv . 9 . ERVER y d li e i g se e 1 R S z P r r 0 . E or TRIKEk la er etu ni n s rvice CEIVER y g e . W . T . T . 1 2 WIM BLEDON , J uly 9 0 PREFACE TO NEW EDITION The season of 1 9 2 1 was so epoch-making in the game of tennis , combining as it did the greatest number of Davis Cup matches that have ever been held in one year , the invasion of France and Eng an land by American team , the first appearance in America of Mlle . Suzanne Lenglen and her unf or tunat e collapse , and finally the rise to prominence of Japan as a leading factor in the tennis world ’ that I have incorporated a record of the season s outstanding fea tures and some sidelights and per sonality sketches on the new stars in the new addi tion of this book .

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