The Art of Lawn Tennis | Page 5

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 13 1/2
and 14 1/2 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