The Art of Lawn Tennis | Page 3

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THE ART OF LAWN TENNIS by WILLIAM T. TILDEN, 2D

To R. D. K. AND M. W. J. MY "BUDDIES" W. T. T. 2D

INTRODUCTION
Tennis is at once an art and a science. The game as played by such men
as Norman E. Brookes, the late Anthony Wilding, William M. Johnston,
and R. N. Williams is art. Yet like all true art, it has its basis in
scientific methods that must be learned and learned thoroughly for a
foundation before the artistic structure of a great tennis game can be
constructed.
Every player who helps to attain a high degree of efficiency should
have a clearly defined method of development and adhere to it. He
should be certain that it is based on sound principles and, once assured

of that, follow it, even though his progress seems slow and
discouraging.
I began tennis wrong. My strokes were wrong and my viewpoint
clouded. I had no early training such as many of our American boys
have at the present time. No one told me the importance of the
fundamentals of the game, such as keeping the eye on the ball or
correct body position and footwork. I was given a racquet and allowed
to hit the ball. Naturally, like all beginners, I acquired many very
serious faults. I worried along with moderate success until I had been
graduated from school, beating some fairly good players, but losing
some matches to men below my class. The year following 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 where angels fear to tread," so I said Yes.
At that point my tennis education began.
The youngsters comprising our tennis squad all knew me well and felt
at perfect liberty to ask me as many questions as they could think up. I
was besieged with requests to explain why Jones missed a forehand
drive down the side-line, or Smith couldn't serve well, or Brown failed
to hit the ball at all. Frankly, I did not know, but I answered them
something at the moment and said to myself it was time I learned some
fundamentals of tennis. So I began to study the reasons why certain
shots are missed and others made. Why certain balls are hit so much
faster though with less effort than others, and why some players are
great while most are only good. I am still studying, but my results to
date have resulted in a definite system to be learned, and it is this which
I hope to explain to you in my book.
Tennis has a language all its own. The idioms of the game should be
learned, as all books on the game are written in tennis parlance. The
technical terms and their counterpart in slang need to be understood to
thoroughly grasp the idea in any written tennis account.
I do not believe in using a great deal of space carefully defining each
blade of grass on a court, or each rule of the game. It gets nowhere. I do
advocate teaching the terms of the game.
1. THE COURT.
The Baseline=The back line.
The Service-line=The back line of the service court, extending from

side-line to side-line at a point 21 feet from the net.
The Alleys=The space on each side of the court between the side
service-line and the outside sideline of a doubles court. They are used
only when playing doubles and are not marked on a single court.
The Net=The barrier that stretches across the court in the exact centre.
It is 3 feet high at the centre and 3 feet 6 inches