Lawn Tennis and How to Play It

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 180, 20 October 1927, Page 8

Lawn Tennis and How to Play It

By

RENE LACOSTE

(Exclusive to THE SUN) n. LEARNING THE GAME A poet, they say, is born, and not made. A poet—yes. But it is different with a lawn tennis player. You may be born with certain attributes that will help; with ability (like Borotra), with cleverness Hike Suzanne Lenglen); but these will not make you a good tennis player without hard work and constant practice. Borotra’s agility had by training to be joined with knowledge of correct strokes and a true sense of tactics; and Suzanne Lenglen has worked harder perhaps than any other player. et although there is much to learn, do not start too early. A young child Will not take the game seriously enough; he will not be sufficiently

strong to hold the racquet correctly, nor fast enough to cover the court: and consequently he will acquire bad habits. I myself began at fifteen, which was fairly late, yet even then, because my wrist was weak, I got the habit of holding my racquet by the middle of the handle, and it was not until 1922 that Suzanne Lenglen succeeded in curing me of it! THE AGE TO BEGIN Generally speaking, twelve or thirteen seems to me the best age to begin; it is the age when a boy is old enough to take the game seriously, but still young enough for his muscles to be trainable. If you want to succeed in lawn tennis, you must concentrate and not pay too much attention to other sports. Learning to be a champion is going to take all your leisure, and the more you devote yourself to it the quicker you will learn. Yet remember that it is training rather than playing that is needed. If you play too many competitive games you will get tired and. through mental strain, “stale.” But you will not get tired or “stale” with physical training or through that excellent method of practice, playing against a wall, which is wonderful for teaching you the strokes and perfecting your footwork and your swing You must begin at the beginning. The difficult shots will come later. You must begin slowly, carefully, learning each grip, each swing, each stroke, and learning them correctly. It is as easy to learn wrong'as to learn right, and once you have begun by learning a thing wrong, it is almost impossible to change. Look even at great players like Patterson and Richards! Patterson’s backhand stroke, and Richards’s forehand are technically faulty. They know that, but they cannot get out of the bad habits. Occasionally you will see even Tilden or Suzanne Lenglen, when pressed, play a bad stroke in bad style, and some people will tell you that the stroke gains because the bad style made it unexpected. That is not so. The good shot is good, not because of the bad style, but in spite

IMPORTANCE OF THE STYLE Style, indeed, is the chief thing, after the rudiments, that you have to acquire; it is the quality which distinguishes the expert from the “rablear,n from a professional, from the example of a champion, from books, and from experience. lam strongly of opinion that an instructor of some sort is essential to a beginner. The lessons will often be too general too little adapted to your particular facilities. But there are certain principles which must be learnt, and you will learn them most easily from a teacher. But do not stay under the teacher r.oo long. As soon as you have learnt the rudiments, finish with him, and let your game develop on the lines that you yourself find best. You have to discover the grip, the swing, which best suits you. Nothing can teach you that except experiment. For several years I played every day against a wall, experimenting with every grip and swing that I had seen used by experts. On the court I tried the tactics that I had seen in firstclass matches. By this means I found the strokes, the tactics,' the mental viewpoint best suited to my -own physical capabilities and to my own temperament. Most of my strokes I learnt by trying to reproduce the more effective strokes of champions I played with. I began with a forehand drive in imitation of Daronval's, a backhand drive in imitation of Tegner’s, and a service that imitated Tilden’s. Partly consciously, partly unconsciously, I altered these strokes and adapted them to my own natural facilities.

Remember, you must never stop learning. Even Tilden and Johnston are still learning in every game they play.

Do not forget what you see. Ever since I began to play lawn tennis I have kept a little notebook in which I have jotted down my observations. As soon as I discovered that my backhand was more accurate with my thumb along the handle, or that I was faster on the court when awaiting service with bent knees—down it went into the notebook, which is now famous among my lawn tennis friends. FAMOUS NOTEBOOKS I have filled many of these notebooks, each with something better than the contents; of the one that preceded it. In the first notebook of all is a list of the chapters into which I divide my

notes, and that list is indeed a summary of all that the tennis aspirant has to learn and acquire. Here it is:

Concentration, physical fitness, keeping the eye on the ball—the three great essentials of all ball sports. Strokes. —(1) Footwork—the great secret of successful lawn tennis. (2) Grip. (3) Swing—matters for personal experiment and choice, but vital to success. Court position, tactics, match play

AUCKLAND LADDERS

LAST SEASON’S POSITIONS This was the end-of-season ranking of players in Auckland: MEN Singles.—E. L. Bartleet, 1; A. W. Sims, 2; V. R. Johns. 3: E. W. Griffiths, 4: L. ?• ,E n 9 o: H. L. Robson. S; x. Sturt, . W l t - EntwisUe, s A. C. Johns, 9; H. Bnnaden, 10: V. x. Hubble, 11; H. C. Rowlands, it; A. S. Lamb, 1:1 W G Watkins, 14; T. E. Clark, 15; A. K Turner, 16. _ Doubles.—Bartleet and Robson, 1; GrifBl ' m sden, 2; Johns and Johns, and Knott, 4; Lamb and Steel, Tonks and Macfarlane. 6; Coates and Chalmers, 7; Stedman and Stedman. S- *^ bble ’ 9; Pv.obinson and Wiiharnson 10; P H Potter and MeKeown, 11; Hickson and Williams, 12. Juniors.—J. E. Stedman. 1; A. C Stedm ai y 2 i. K- Hayr 3; X. W. Bowden, 4; T. J. Gould, o; M. A. Brook, 6; G. L G McDonald, S; R. Milne, 9; m' Aldred, 10; G. Floyd, 11. - WOMEN Singles.—Miss B. Knight, 1; Miss J. Ramsay : Miss M. Colebrook, 3; Miss Marion Macfarlane, 4: Miss D. Xicholls - %Il r S B. Witherow, 6; Miss M. Richard - ’ Ihss Fearnley, S; Miss E. Woods, Miss M. Xapier, 10; Mrs. G. O. Francis] t ■ Misses Knight and Colebrook. tr Ka f ms , ay and llrs - Robson, 2 Misses Macfarlane and Xicholls, 3; Misses Bryant and Bryant, 4: Misses Asser and « tU Mis°s B iSS WiVi WOOd a “d#lrs A b MISS B. Witherow and Mrs. ScottWatson, 7; Misses Napier and Whitelaw, ,rT u nlO rs ‘ Afiss X. Whitelaw, 1- Miss r Mclntosh, 2: Miss E. Wann, sI mIsS M H. Graliam, 4; Miss A. J. Hkcket?, 5; Mill I.' M Stubbs?' S J ' ° renler > 7:

DAVIS CUP CHALLENGE

AUSTRALIA’S DECISION

The Council of the Lawn Tennis A 1 S tlon ? f Aust ralia has decided the ■ Davis C UP in 1928, ana m the European zone. There is a string attached to this Jufu e!y ’i tha i a chall enge would be istiyed+°nly lf a thor °Uß:hly representative team were available. It Is underthat Patterson and Hawkes at least, will be available. Select ion Committee will consist 2L2 leSars ‘-, N - E - Brookes and G. L, Patterson, Victoria, and Frank Peach New South Wales. eacn ’

P^t.Sot* ® mana -t3ng from Messrs. Patterson and Peach were read, urging earl y decision to challenge ld m , ade - and that a Davis Cup ?hould be at once appointed to do all it could to ensure a real course of training and a strenuous P L? Pa £ atlon of “Possibles” and "probables, and the arrangement of “tryouts m the way of practice and exhibition matches.

A committee, consisting of Messrs Brookes Patterson, W. J. Daish, H. A. Pitt and R. c. Wertheim has been appomted. They will also act generv. • T, an advisory capacity in all Davis Cup matters. The team may possibly return via America, and hopes are entertained that it will play at Wimbledon.