Lawn Tennis and How to Play It

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 204, 17 November 1927, Page 8

Lawn Tennis and How to Play It

By RENE LACOSTE (Exclusive to THE SUN) VI. THE SWING By the term ‘'swing” in lawn tennis, we mean the sequence of muscular contractions which bring the racket from a waiting position, through the action of striking the ball, and into a waiting position once more. It is important to remember that swing is not merely a movement of the arm, it is an action of the entire body; the shoulder comes forward, the body turns and comes forward, and the weight of the body passes from the back foot to the front. A stroke made with the arm only would be soft; for a hard stroke, with results in speed and pace, every muscle in the body must be called into play, in perfect harmony. A perfect swing—you can see now from what it gets its name—is essential to good style in lawn tennis. It is in fact the difference in swing, much more than any differences in grip or footwork, that is seen by the spectators and makes the play of one expert so different in appearance from that of another. The slow swing of Suzanne Lenglen in her forehand drive, for example, is entirely different from that of Johnston’s long, fast drive. The swing is different for each kind of stroke, and even for the same stroke it can be slow or fast, short or long, cramped or full, contracted or loose. In each swing there are three distinct actions; first the back swing, then the striking of the ball, and last the follow-through. We will deal with these in turn. THE BACK SWING While waiting for the stroke, you will stand with the racket held in front of you in both hands at the height of the waist. The weight of it rests on the left hand which holds it lightly near the screw, while the right hand is around the handle, ready to grip it. As the ball approaches you, make up your mind how you are going to strike it; forehand or backhand, and with what kind of stroke. You must make up your mind quickly and once you have made a decision you must not change it. Directly the decision is made you must start the stroke, and you should have made up your mind in time to complete the stroke without undue haste. The first thing is to grip the racket with the right hand. Then, lifting it from its resting place on the other hand you carry it back, at the same time—and indeed in the same action—turning your body, drawing back the shoulder, bending the elbow and locking your wrist. During this back swing, you are gathering the strength of all your muscles in order to put every ounce into the forward swing which is to follow it.

How far .back the racket is to go is a matter upon which experts differ. When Cochet and Hunter play a forehand, the back swing is hardly perceptible. On the other hand, the wonderful power of Patterson’s swing comes largely from his long, harmonious back swing. In Johnston’s forehands and in my own backhands, the back swing is so complete that it is almost equal to the swing used in golt. Generally speaking, a long back swing gives greater power but lessens the control of the ball. In serving you can use long back swing without any pause at the end of it. In the back of the court you should use a medium back swing with a short pause. At the net, the ball comes so quickly tha' there is practically no back swing annaturally no pause is possible. Most players do not prepare their strokes or start their back swing early enough. They seenafraid to start it until they arc certain where the ball will come and consequently their strokes lose accuracy and power through betnr hurried. I would advise beginnerr not only to start the back swine early but to pause for a second at the end of it, where they can, because although they will lose some speed and may disclose the direction of their stroke, they will get better control of the ball and greater accuracy. STRIKING THE BALL

In the back swing you have concentrated all your energy, and this must now be carried forward into the stroke itself. Your body turns forward again, your shoulder comes forward, yqur elbow and wrist slacken, and your arm brings forward the racket to meet the ball. And just before the moment of impact, you let your weight pass from the back foot into the front foot.

So much lor striking the ball. But you have got not merely to strike it, but to send it over the net and into your opponent's court. This will depend on the relation between the trajectory of your racket with that of the ball. You must learn, first of all, to play full, straight strokes, without too much use of your wrist, because these form the basis of every sound game. When you have mastered th& playing of straight strokes—but, as I say, not until then - --you can begin to practise spin. In playing a straight stroke, your racket has come horizontally to meet the ball, with its strings vertical. But if the racket comes in an upward direction, or downward or sidewise, so as to strike the ball on its upper side, its lower side, or on its right or left, the ball will he made to tw-ist on its flight through the air and when it bounces its course will be deflected in what we call spin. And the stroke which has imparted the spin will be called a top stroke, an undercut, a slice or a twist stroke. Most experts employ spin of some kind. Howard Kinsey wins most of his matches through* it, and Johnston owes his control of his terrific drives to the little spin which he imparts to the ball with a peculiar slackening of the wrist at the end of his stroke. THE FOLLOW-THROUGH » You must not think that your stroke is finished directly your racket has struck the ball. If you have thought that, if you have intended to stop the stroke at the point of impact, you will either unconsciously or subconsciously have slowed down the action before reaching that point. You must therefore regard the point of impact as be-

ing not the end but the middle of vour stroke, carrying on the forward movement of shoulder, body and weight to an imaginary point beyond that at which you have struck the ball. This forward movement we call the followthrough. It is only after the long fol-low-through that the racket, still held tightly in the right hand, is brought back to the waiting position from which it started. Do not forget that above all your swing must be well timed. Slow motion pictures show that some players require twice as long as others to complete a stroke, and you must judge the

timing ■of your stroke-correctly, starting it at the right moment according to the time you require for it and the speed of the oncoming ball. Just as good footwork is the expert's first secret, so good Riming is his second.