TENNIS

Shannon News, 3 February 1928, Page 3

TENNIS

THE GAME AND HOW TO PLAY IT.

(BY BENE LACOSTE). THE FOREHAND STROKE. Just as in every war new weapons and formations are used, and yet the infantry remain the backbone of every army, so at every lawn tennis • hanipionship now strokes and tactics: are seen, and yet the forehand stroke remains the basis of the game. A modern tennis champion develops original and ornamental strokes of his own, but always retains a strong forehand stroke as the basis of his play. It is the easiest stroke, and also the most effective. In every match it is used more often than any other stroke, and most experts find it their strongest stroke and their favourite. Cochet and Johnston begin their attacks with it, Alonso and Tilden use it in bringing a triumphant end to rallies, and Anderson and Hunter slkav in it their greatest strength. There are hundreds of different, ways of playing the stroke. In learning, however, you must start with the normal method of playing it. Learn first a straight or slightly topped stroke, partly because it is the most effective and partly because it can not easily be developed later into a heavily topped stroke. Eemember that if you start with something that is too difficult for you, you will play soft and so get into bad habits, which will be difficult to break. Start simply by learning to send the ball in play without violating essentials of the game; get that first and you will soon find yourself on the way towards controlled speed and orthodox style. Footwork: Whatever kind of forehand stroke you are playing, footwork is the one thing which'does not vary, and at the same time is essential to producing a good shot. Footwork must be correct. You must get in proper time into a good position from which to strike the ball.

Borotra, Alonso and Suzanne Lenglen are naturally fast on the court; on the other hand Patersou and Miss Wills, for example, are rather slow. Those who are slow usually lack the nervous tension which Avould make them more alert, more ready to start. Speed on the court comes from standing always with bent knees and feet rather close together, and from moving always with short, quick steps. When you strike the ball, you must never face the net, but always face the right side of the court. If your left foot, in a forehand drive, is not well in front of your right at the moment of plaviug the stroke, you will never be able to hit freely; you will cramp your shot and push the ball inslead of striking it. Your last step forward before striking the ball must always be made with the left foot; your last step backward must, always be made with the right foot. When Tilden strikes a ball on the run he gets into a good position with a little shuffling step, which firings the left foot forward, and if that does not bring him close enough to the ball, he repeats it. The. three best rules of footwork in .the forehand drive, are: —

(1). Never play when standing still, but always when on the move. (2). In your run, bring your left foot to the ground just before striking the ball. (3). At the end of the stroke, do not swing round too much towards the net. Eemember, too, that your last step must be a short one, for if you strike with your feet too far apart, you will lose your equilibrium. Grip.

For the forehand drive, .Johnston. \ Tilden, Coehct, Anderson and Alonso | all hold their racquets differently. J There are. indeed, innumerable grip; which can all produce good forehand strokes. Johnston's method is typical ot tinWestern American grip; Tilden uses the Eastern American grip; Coehct ami I myself use something half-way between the two, and yet our grips., though very similar, are not exactly the same. The three principal grips •ire the English, the Western and the Eastern American. The English grip is simply that which I have already described when writing of the service. Most experts who use it keep the elbow low all through the stroke. In the Western grip, the hand is turned round the handle for a quarter of a circle in the direction taken by the hand of a clock. The Eastern American grip comes halfway between the English and the Western grips. Most players, who use either the Western or the Eastern American grip keep the racquet handle in a Hue with the forearm . Each of these grips has both its ad-, vantages and its disadvantages. The English grip, as used by Kozcluh and de Gomar, is the best for defensive plav, but it is not good for aggressive strokes. It is better for low balls and for undercutting than for straight or topped" drives. The Western grip, as used by Harada, Johnston and Washer, is good for attacking, but weak for defence. It develops top spin, but is not good for low-bouncing balls or for undercutting. The Eastern grip is probably the best, because it can be used successfully both for attack and for defence, for top spin and undercutting, for high balls as well- as for low balls. It develops a straight, slightly topped drive, and that is the most useful drive to

learn first. Most of the experts use it, ■i- some variation of it. Some experts, in the forehand drive, keep the forefinger along the handle, but, personally, 1 think it weakens the oTip, without* giving greater accuracy. On the contrary, whatever grip is used, I advocate keeping the elbow low, and as far as the speed of the stroke and the weight of the racquet,permit, keeping the" handle perpendicular to the forearm. By so doing, when the wrist, working automatically like a spring, comes forward at the moment of impact, you will get increased speed, and yon will also get better control through the resulting top spin. The importance of the wrist must not be overlooked. Slow motion pictures show what happens. In the back swing, it bends forward, in the forward swing it bends back, at the moment of impact it is straight, and, finally, in the followthrough, it is once more bent forward. But vou must, not bend the wrist m these* ways of set purpose; it must be a natural,'automatic movement, resulting from the swing. It must always plav the part of a spring and must never be slack. The business of the wrist is to control the angle of the plane of the racquet' to the ground and i the ball.