TENNIS REVIEW

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 101, 19 December 1931, Page 2

TENNIS REVIEW

MI5S HEL-EN WILLS - > 5 4 V O "S-„' " * STILL UNRIVALLED AS QUEEN OF TENNIS COURTS ENTITLED TQ FIRST PLACE The women's tennis season is over so far as competition goes, for with the close of the TJiiited States championships the big fixtures are over.. Even though Mrs. Helen Wills Moody |i_ did not play in France or England this year 'her brilliant victories bn this side, where once more she went . — through "the seasoii without the loss of a set, entitle he.r to first place in the world's ranking, writes "W. T. f Tilden in the Kew York "Times." _ R It is a pity thait Fraulein Cilly I Aussem, the marvellous little Ger- H man star who won the Wimbledon, | French, and German championships, 1 1 did not play here, for she alone could | giv.e Mrs. Moody a battle, though I jj doubt if even she could seriously ex- | tend' the great American star. I * *Cef tairtly FrdMein'" Ahssem comes I

next to Mrs. Moody, with a ciear | margin over all others. Her record ftlfnost ° entitles her to first position, since she won three major titles. Only Mrs. Moody's known superiority i* her field can 'take precedence over Fraulein Aussem's -phenomenal rdcord. Following her come a group abouf even on record. Fraulein Hilda Krahwinkle, of Germany, finalist at Wimbledon; Miss'B'etty Nuthall, and MrS. Eileen Bennett Whittingstall, of Eng- ^ land, and Miss Helen Jacobs, of the United States, are Hed. It seenis tp me ' there is Very little "to choose. Miss Nuthall was finalist at Paris, Miss Krahwinkle at Wimbledon, Mr^. Whittingstall at Forest Hllls. % Missing Names Miss Jacobs has twice beaten Misa Nuthall' and also loSt" to* her. * Mts. Whittingstall has beaten MiSs Nuthall. Mme. Simmone Mathieu, of France, might well he included in the same group, alth'ough she may be just a shade below Mrs. L. A. Harper, of the United States. Miss Dorothy Round and Miss Phyllis Mudford, of England, are also well up the. list. ' 1 Three of our most promising young

stars who for several years past I seemed destined to great things this 1 year dropped slightly from their previous positions. They are. Miss Mar- j jorie Morrill, Miss MaryGreef, and Miss Sarah Palfrey; none of whom auite reached the select ten in thte j world this year. I have omitted tb I name Seiiorita * Lili" d'Alvarez 'and Miss Phoebe Watson, 'since neithe'r has piayed enough tennis to really give an adequate line on her present 1 form. Senorita d'Alvarez might be included in the group (just below j Fraulein Aussem, but the English j star is completely out of the picturh J this year. Another missing star whose name is world famous but who this- year has not piayed enough to warrant rankiiig is Miss Eizabeth J Ryan. I Enough of speculation on the women's ranking." I was at Culver to I watch the national junior and b°ys' j title play, and was rather surprised at the lack of outstanding players. I saw a lot of youngsters playing ttice tennis, but very little that was really j exceptional. The only outstandingly sensational youngster is Frank Parker, who won the Western, Illin- J ois State, and national boys' titles without losing a set. This Parker boy has the best rounded tennis game any 15-year-old ever piayed. Among the juniors it seemed to me that both Billy Doeg and Kendall Cram showed more real tennis than the" Uew champion, Jack ; Lynch, or the runner-Up, Jay Cohen. j In the junior class the play was good, sound tennis of the. modern school, but no such remarkable stroke production as characterised Vincent Richards, Araold Jones, or George Lott as junior champions. I was definitely under the impression that Frank Parker could have won the junior if he 'had piayed in it, just as easi.ly as the boys.

Aggressive Hitter i The lad Gene Mako, the only boy to give Parker a battle, is one of the I most aggressive hitters I have e.Ver 1 seen, but h'e is wild as & hawk and needs to learn that tennis is something bOside sheOr speed. Wa need to find some youngsters ! with greater individuality and more initiative if we are to hold our place. There is too m'&ch professional coaching of these boys to the serious injury of 'their own thinking power on the court. I had the feeling that the matche& were the hattle of wits of the coaches, sitting on the sxde-lines using the boys as puppets while they pulled the strings, • rather than a competition among the "boys themselves. Only Doeg and Cram among the leadihg juniors seem unaffected by their coach and play their own game as they see it.