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THE COMPLETE 
 LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 A. WALLIS MYERS 
 
 WITH NINETY ILLUSTRATIONS, INCLUDING MANY 
 SPECIAL ACTION-PHOTOGRAPHS 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 GEORGE W. JACOBS & CO. 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
 

 First Published in i<po8 
 
To V 
 
PREFACE 
 
 WHEN this volume was contemplated, three 
 objects were kept in view. The first 
 was to demonstrate the evolution and 
 organisation of a game which, in the short space of 
 thirty years, has claimed more votaries and founded 
 more clubs the world over than any other outdoor 
 pastime in existence. The second was to treat 
 methods of play, their developments and their results, 
 their physiological and their psychological aspects, in 
 such manner that both the beginner and the more 
 experienced might derive some benefit. The third 
 was to entertain, with the traditions and the ana of 
 lawn tennis and with memories of some of its best- 
 known exponents, that large army which wields the 
 racket in many lands. 
 
 In the more or less didactic chapters, those deal- 
 ing with strokes in the making, I have received 
 invaluable assistance from the Rev. A. E. Crawley, 
 Headmaster of Derby School, who has made a pro- 
 found study of their technique and whose practical 
 experience as a player began in the days of Willie 
 Renshaw. The exposition of the principles under- 
 lying the American service, its varieties and its com- 
 plexities, is only one of the contributions in this 
 section for which my acknowledgments to Mr. Crawley 
 are due. These I very gratefully tender. 
 
viii THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 I am indebted to Canon Hartley, Mr. E. G. 
 Meers, Mr. H. S. Scrivener, Mr. W. H. Collins, Mr. 
 Roper Barrett, Mr. Archdale Palmer and others, for 
 various historical data and for personal recollections 
 of events and contemporaries of which they have had 
 intimate knowledge; to Mr. G. L. Orme for the 
 several plans he prepared, and for his information 
 relating to covered courts ; to Mr. Reginald Beale, of 
 Messrs. James Carter & Co., for practical advice on 
 the making and maintenance of grass courts ; to the 
 officials of Foreign and Colonial organisations for 
 facts relating to the game in their countries ; to Mr. 
 Scrivener and Mr. Charles Voigt for their remarks on 
 handicapping ; and to the Badminton volume and 
 Mr. Wilfred Baddeley's all too brief manual. 
 
 Finally, I have to acknowledge the kindness, 
 exercised I am afraid at some personal inconvenience, 
 of Mr. Norman Brookes and M. Max Decugis, two 
 of the leading players whose strokes Mr. George 
 Beldam's inimitable camera, working at an exposure 
 of T^Trth fraction of a second, has so graphically 
 delineated. A large number of the seventy action- 
 photographs here reproduced were specially taken 
 for this volume, and I do not doubt they will enhance 
 what success it may achieve. 
 
 A. W. M. 
 
 ASHTEAD 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Enter Lawn Tennis ...... i 
 
 A mysterious birth and a struggling infancy — Major Wingfield's con- 
 ception of a court — The All England Club as foster-parent — A 
 game of patience, or pitch and toss — Laws made at Wimbledon 
 —The All England Club as autocrat— The story of the L.T.A.'s 
 advent — Concerning the first championship and its winner — A stroke 
 that evoked an uproar — "Passing by the ladies" — Some recollec- 
 tions of Canon Hartley — The evolution of the racket — A stitch that 
 took some time to find 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 Annals of Wimbledon ...... 
 
 The glorious reign of Renshaw — The brothers make their debut and 
 are beaten — ^William Renshaw wins a love set against Lawford in 
 eleven minutes — Spectacles that "formed the high- water mark of 
 lawn tennis " — Inauguration of the doubles and the ladies' champion- 
 ships — A young girl who created a record and a sensation — The 
 relative merits of the Renshaws — Pirn v. Wilfred Baddeley — Profits 
 diminish — Mr. E. G. Meers gives his impressions of the early 
 nineties and incidentally relates some stories — Championships lost 
 by one stroke — The ten years' reign of the Dohertys — Frank Riseley 
 plays like one inspired — Norman Brookes comes and conquers — 
 Miss May Sutton fulfils a prophecy — Looking forward 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Lawn Tennis in other Lands . . . . .38 
 
 The universal game — America's national pastime — President Roosevelt 
 as a player — The "Tennis Cabinet" at Washington — Schools as 
 recruiting agencies — Popularity in the Colonies — Conditions and 
 progress in Australia — New Zealand's 7000 club members — Nursing 
 budding talent — Continental expansion — 800 players in Hamburg — 
 
X THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Some famous German tournaments — Austria a land of rich promise 
 —A. F. Wilding relates some experiences — Spain and Portugal — 
 The keenness of the late King Carlos — Sweden's proud boast — A 
 recollection of Stockholm and of King Gustav — Switzerland's appeal 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The Hold of the Racket . . . . -54 
 
 The use and abuse of a standard grip — Norman Brookes' distinctive 
 hold — Principles of forehand grip explained — How the Dohertys 
 hold their rackets — Principles of the backhand grip — The vexed 
 question of the raised thumb — What American authorities say — The 
 grips of Miss Sutton and Mrs. Lambert Chambers : How they 
 differ — Influence of the forefinger in special strokes — Max Decugis 
 and the results of his finger manipulation — Danger of a fixed 
 backhand grip — Proper time to tighten the muscles — Large handles 
 and fancy handles 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 Driving : Forehand and Backhand . . . .64 
 
 Learning the strokes — First essentials — Evolution of the forehand 
 drive — The forehand drive considered in detail — The parts played 
 by the wrist and the elbow — How the racket should be swung back 
 — Hitting the ball — The follow-through — Fundamental principles 
 of the stroke — The essential factor in timing — How to acquire 
 certainty and mechanical accuracy — Application of weight and its 
 effects — The value of the big stride — Why a chop cannot be a drive 
 — Top or over-spin — The so-called lifting-drive, and how it may 
 be acquired — Half-court shots — The backhand drive — Some advice 
 to beginners — Final instructions 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 The Volley and Its Varieties .... 86 
 
 An orderly evolution — Volleys at the height of the waist or shoulder — 
 Variety of direction essential — How Brookes "pigeon-holes" the 
 ball — Principles and practice of the plain straight volley — The 
 oblique or tangential impact — Extremes of elevation — The low volley 
 — Placing the ball at will overhead — The hard smash — The backhand 
 smash — Further points as to method — Cross-court volleys — Stop 
 and drop volleys — The importance of deep volleying — General 
 principles of defence against the volleyer — The half-volley 
 
CONTENTS xi 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Standard Service . . . . . .98 
 
 The value of variety — Position of the feet — Need of a light and easy 
 pose — Throwing up the ball — Some important points emphasized — 
 The swing back — The contact of the racket with the ball — After the 
 impact — Where the racket should finish — Body-weight and its 
 distribution — Imparting "devil" to the stroke — Good length 
 essential — The relation of the first service to the second — Placing 
 the service in the corners — Variation by natural spin 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 Complex Services . . . . . . .104 
 
 The ordinary twist service — How the reverse twist may be acquired — 
 American services — Their actions and movements explained — 
 Principles of the American swerve and break — Some truths expounded 
 — The rotation of the ball and what it means — Why the American 
 swerve sometimes fails to break in the proper way — A practical method 
 of acquiring the ordinary and the reverse American services — 
 General tactics for the server — Running-in on the service 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 Match Play in General. . . . . .118 
 
 Preliminaries — Winning the toss — Points which ought to be con- 
 sidered — Where the striker-out should stand — The return of the 
 service — Place rather than pace — Dealing with the man who runs in 
 — The use and abuse of the lob — The favourite area of the hard 
 driver — Short and soft shots — Inadequate care over easy returns — 
 The nee^ for a permanent base — Forbidden ground for the volleyer 
 — Handicap singles — Advice to the giver and receiver of odds — Pluck 
 indispensable — Turning the tables at the eleventh hour — "Win 
 when you can " — Recoveries that end in defeat — Will-power on court 
 — " Don't abuse the ball-boy ! " 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 Doubles and Mixed Doubles . . . . .132 
 
 Spectacular virtues of a good double — Why the general standard of 
 play is not higher — The physical and mental affinity of twins — 
 Systematized formation essential — The primary instinct of both 
 players — Where the server's partner should stand — The server's 
 
xii THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 PAGE 
 
 advance — A sinister shot — Clearing the feet — Employing the half- 
 volley — The return of the service — The lob as a weapon of defence 
 and attack — The return of the lob — Studying the trigonometry of the 
 court — An alternative to the hard smash — Evolution of mixed 
 doubles not complete — The advance of the lady volleyer — A field for 
 strategy and "bluff" — Some hints to the man at the net — An 
 important service game to win 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 Diet and Training . . . . . .146 
 
 Good condition more important than consummate skill — Why the 
 veteran frequently beats the man under thirty — The lungs as the 
 body's engine — The blood's vital element found in the most simple 
 diet — Necessary diet — Influence of climate on condition — Fencing a 
 good adjunct — Ordinary fitness and sporting fitness : ought there to 
 be a difference ? — Bad effects of the heavy lunch — Drinking between 
 matches — The universal popularity of tea — What should a player 
 drink during a match — The example of champions — Sleep a 
 sovereign necessity — Ventilation — Regular play 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 Points in Tournament Control . . . .160 
 
 Why open meetings make their appeal — Selecting a suitable date — 
 Committees and their duties — What is expected of a referee — Some 
 of his trials and tribulations — Desirability of an order of play — The 
 one-man-in-control method — How it works at Homburg — The 
 duties of the competitor — The equipment of an open tournament — 
 How the courts should be marked out and fitted up — The question 
 of balls — Are there too many prize meetings? — Players and their 
 prizes — The practice of "seeding the draw"; Should it be 
 sanctioned or vetoed ? — The chances of competitors relatively con- 
 sidered — Umpires and linesmen 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 Handicapping . . . . . . .188 
 
 The old bisque system and its defects — Limitations of the "quarter" 
 system — The "sixths" method — Difficulties under which official 
 handicappers labour — Mr. H. S. Scrivener explains his modus 
 operandi and offers some suggestions — Personal experience of 
 players' form desirable — A comparison between English and 
 
CONTENTS xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 foreign handicapping — The methods of a leading Continental 
 handicapper — Is the present system unsound in principle? — The 
 advisability of club handicapping — Some voluntary systems not 
 recognized at tournaments 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 The Construction of Courts . . . . .204 
 
 The good grass court the exception — Essential requirements — What 
 makes the best background? — Relative^ cost of turfing and seed- 
 sowing — How to carry out effective draining — Turfing a new lawn 
 — How to sow seed — Some mowing and rolling tips — Renovating 
 a court during the off season — The importance of a turf nursery — 
 Asphalt surfaces compared — A good floor for a covered court — 
 Background for a covered court — Accommodating spectators — Some 
 points from Stockholm — What it costs to construct a covered 
 court 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 Home Tournaments I have Visited . . . .219 
 
 Effects of travelling — Respect to local feelings — Minor trials and 
 tribulations — Round the Metropolitan meetings — The danger of too 
 many tournaments — Memories of the Northern — A conception of 
 rus in urbe — The "well idea" at Edgbaston — The boon of a clear 
 Sunday — Some devices at Newcastle — The pseudonym considered 
 — Recollections of Moffat and the Scottish championships — 
 Fitzwilliam week — The pertinacity of the Yorkshireman — The 
 Welsh championships — A full-dress rehearsal of Wimbledon — A 
 holiday tour on the East Coast — Seaside meetings on the South 
 Coast — Some impressions of Eastbourne 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 The Story of the Davis Cup, 1900-1903 . . . 239 
 
 The symbol of international supremacy — Why the first British team 
 failed — Roper Barrett gives his impressions and offers some 
 criticisms — Englishmen taken on the flank — Ward and Davis create 
 a sensation at Wimbledon — The Dohertys and Dr. Pirn go to 
 America — Comments on Dr. Pirn's selection for the internationals 
 — The States team triumphs at Bay Ridge — 10,000 spectators watch 
 a single combat — Dohertys demonstrate their invincible skill in the 
 doubles — The screw service and its effects — " R. F." reaches the 
 challenge round at Newport — England challenges again and the 
 
xiv THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Dohertys "sweep the board" — Another unexpected situation for 
 Mr. Collins — How the issue hung in the balance at Longwood— 
 The cup finally lifted — An American appreciation of " H. L." 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 The Story of the Davis Cup, 1904-1907 . . .262 
 
 Four years' residence of the trophy in England — The coming of the 
 Continental expert — Belgium beaten but not disgraced at Wimbledon 
 — Norman Brookes mentioned as a "dark horse" — America 
 mobilizes an invading team — Beals Wright defeats Brookes at 
 Queen's — The Australian uses an abnormally loose racket — America 
 fiercely attacks the holders at Wimbledon, but is repulsed by Smith 
 and the Dohertys — American training methods — Holcombe Ward's 
 electrical display against H. L. Doherty — A wholesome dread of 
 S. H. Smith-— A fatal blunder at the net— The United States 
 advance again — Grievous accident to Beals Wright — American 
 ladies braced in spirit at Newport — The Wildings are faced with 
 a problem — England again wins the challenge round — Dohertys 
 have a narrow escape in the doubles — A lean year at hand — H. L. 
 Doherty's retirement and its consequences — "Touch-and-go" 
 character of the 1907 matches — Karl Behr's brilliant but erratic 
 attack — Brookes more vulnerable in doubles — The Australian's 
 magnificent record in the singles — The cup goes to the Colonies 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 Round the Riviera Courts ..... 286 
 
 Differences in conditions — And in the scale of living expenses — The 
 game par excellence on the Continent — The attractions of the Beau 
 Site courts — Royalty at Cannes — Some social attributes and harm- 
 less gaieties — Concerning the Nice Club — Tournament administra- 
 tion at home and abroad — Genial personalities at Nice — Memorable 
 matches in the South of France — The Casino element at Monte 
 Carlo — Playing before celebrities — Tom Burke — Mentone a self- 
 owned club — One effect of railway travelling on the Riviera 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 
 Laws of the game ..... 
 How to mark out a court .... 
 
 . 307 
 . 314 
 
 Inception of the Davis Cup .... 
 Original conditions of the Davis Cup 
 Regulations for the International Championship 
 
 . 316 
 . 319 
 . 320 
 
 Index ...... 
 
 . 325 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Champions from Over the Seas .... Frontispiece 
 Fro7n a Photograph by Messrs, J. Russell df Sons, Wimbledon 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. (Enter Lawn Tennis) 
 
 Diagram of Major Wingfield's Original Court . Onp.i 
 
 The Evolution of the Racket . . . Facing p. id 
 
 II. (Annals of Wimbledon) 
 
 Wimbledon in 1883 : William Renshaw v. Ernest 
 Renshaw in the Challenge Round of the 
 Championship . . . . . „ 20 
 
 From a PJiotograph by Messrs. J. Russell 6^ Sons, 
 Wimbledon 
 
 Wimbledon in 1905 : Norman E. Brookes v. H. L. 
 Doherty in the Challenge Round of the 
 Championship . . . . • » 34 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 The First Successful Invasion : Miss Sutton v. 
 
 Miss Douglass, Wimbledon, 1905 . - ?> 3^ 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs, Bowden Bros, 
 
 III. (Lawn Tennis in Other Lands) 
 
 The Lady Champion's Home Court at Pasadena, 
 California — Miss Sutton and her Sisters in a 
 Double ....... 40 
 
 Horace Rice (Champion of New South Wales, 
 
 1907), serving on the Sydney Ground . . „ 41 
 
 Homburg's International Tournament, 1907 : 
 Germany (O. Froitzheim and Baron K. von 
 Lersner) winning the Doubles Championship 
 of Europe . . . . . „ 46 / 
 
xvi THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 The Courts and Clubhouse at Marienbad 
 
 Facing p. 48 
 
 Two of Europe's Leading Patrons : Prince and 
 
 Princess Batthyany Strattmann . . „ 49 
 
 The late King Carlos of Portugal in a Mixed 
 
 Double at Cascaes, 1901 . . . „ 50 
 
 The late King Carlos Distributing Prizes at 
 
 Cascaes, 1903 . . . . . „ 51 
 
 King Gustav of Sweden and other Competitors at 
 
 the Saro Tournament, 1907 . . . „ 52 
 
 From a Photograph by Mr. Harry Lindbohm, Goteborg 
 
 The Courts at Les Avants, Switzerland . . „ 53 
 
 IV. (Hold of the Racket) 
 
 R. F. Doherty (England) : Forehand grip 
 R. F. Doherty (England) : Backhand grip 
 Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Forehand grip 
 Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Backhand grip 
 M. Ddcugis (France) : Forehand grip 
 M. Decugis (France) : Backhand grip 
 
 From Photographs by Mr. G. W. Beldam 
 
 Miss Sutton (America) : Forehand grip 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 56 
 56 
 56 
 56 
 56 
 56 
 
 60 
 
 V. (Driving) 
 
 PLATE 
 
 I. ^Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Beginning of 
 
 Forehand Drive ..... 
 
 II. W. A. Larned (America) : Finish of Forehand 
 
 Drive ...... 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 III. Mrs. Lambert Chambers (England) : Beginning 
 of Forehand Drive .... 
 
 Frovi a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 IV. S. H. Smith (England): Finish of Forehand 
 Drive ...... 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 V. *H. L. Doherty (England) : Finish of Forehand 
 Drive ...... 
 
 VI. *A. W. Gore (England) : Middle of Forehand 
 Drive ...... 
 
 66 
 66 
 
 69 
 
 70 
 
 70 
 71 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 xvi; 
 
 VII. *G. W. Hillyard (England) : Finish of Forehand 
 
 Drive ...... Fac\ 
 
 VIII. *M. Decugis (France) : Finish of Backhand 
 Drive ...... 
 
 IX. *R. F. Doherty (England) : Beginning of Back- 
 hand Drive ..... 
 
 X. "^M. Decugis (France) : Finish of Forehand Drive 
 
 XL *A. F. Wilding (New Zealand) : Middle of 
 
 Lifting Drive ..... 
 
 xil«. "^P. de Borman (Belgium) : Beginning of Lifting 
 Drive ...... 
 
 Xll(5. *P. de Borman (Belgium) : Finish of Lifting 
 Drive ...... 
 
 XIII. "^G. A. Caridia (England) : Middle of Backhand 
 
 Drive .... 
 
 XIV. *M. J. G. Ritchie (England) : Middle of Backhand 
 
 Drive ...... 
 
 XV. Miss Sutton (America) : Beginning of Forehand 
 Drive ...... 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 XVI. *R. F. Doherty (England) : Finish of Backhand 
 Drive ...... 
 
 XVII. *H. L. Doherty (England) : Beginning of Low 
 Backhand Drive .... 
 
 XVIII. *M. Decugis (France) : Beginning of Backhand 
 Drive ...... 
 
 XIX. *M. Decugis (France) : Finish of Forehand Drive 
 XX. *Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Finish of Back- 
 hand Drive ..... 
 
 ngp. 71 
 74 
 
 74 
 77 
 
 79 
 
 80 
 
 80 
 
 81 
 
 81 
 
 82 
 
 H 
 
 84 
 85 
 
 85 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 VI. (Volleying) 
 
 PLATE 
 
 I. *Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Beginning of 
 
 Backhand Volley .... 
 
 II. Beals Wright (America) : Beginning of Forehand 
 
 Smash ...... 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 III. ^Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Low Forehand 
 
 Volley 
 
 IV. *H. L. Doherty (England) : Low Backhand 
 
 " Draw " Volley 
 
 V. ^Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Running in to 
 
 Kill 
 
 b 
 
 87 
 
 87 
 
 88 
 88 
 90 / 
 
xviii THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 PLATE 
 
 VI. *H. L. Doherty (England) : Running Smash . Facing p. 90 " 
 
 VII. *M. Decugis (France) : Beginning of Backhand 
 
 Smash ....... 91 
 
 VIII. *M. Decugis (France) : Low Forehand Drop- 
 Volley ....... 92 
 
 IX. *Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Low Backhand 
 
 Hook- Volley . . . . . „ 92 ' 
 
 X. ^Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Low Backhand 
 
 Stop-Volley . . . , . „ 94 
 
 XI. *W. V. Eaves (England) : Low Backhand " Drag " 
 
 Volley ....... 94 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 VI L (Standard Service) 
 
 PLATE 
 
 I. *R. F. Doherty (England) : Beginning of Service 
 
 II. "^Mrs. Lambert Chambers (England) : Beginning 
 
 of Service .... 
 
 III. "^F. L. Riseley (England) : Beginning of Service 
 
 IV. *R. F. Doherty (England) : Middle of Service 
 V. *M. Decugis (France) : Middle of Service 
 
 VI. "^M. Decugis (France) : Finish of Service . 
 VII. *R. F. Doherty (England) : Finish of Service 
 VIII. H. L. Doherty (England) : Finish of Service 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros, 
 
 5) 
 
 98 
 
 •>•) 
 
 99 
 
 3> 
 
 100 
 
 J) 
 
 100 
 
 » 
 
 lOI 
 
 }) 
 
 lOI 
 
 3) 
 
 102 
 
 VIII. (Complex Services) 
 
 la and b. "^Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Reverse 
 Twist Service ..... 
 
 li<3t, b^ and c. Miss Sutton (American) : Reverse Twist 
 Service ...... 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 lll«, b^ and c. "^P. de Borman (Belgium) : Reverse 
 
 Twist Service ..... 
 
 iva, ^, c^ d, e, f. ^Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : 
 
 American Service .... 
 
 V. Holcombe Ward (America) : American Service . 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 vi<a:, b, and c. "^Norman E. Brookes (Australia) : Re- 
 verse American Service . . . . 
 VII. H. A. Parker (New Zealand) : Reverse American 
 Service ...... 
 
 „ 104 
 „ 106 
 
 108 
 
 no 
 115 
 
 116 
 
 117 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xix 
 
 CHAF. 
 
 X. (Doubles). 
 
 The Doubles Championship at Wimbledon, 1906 : 
 The Dohertys v. S. H. Smith and F. L. 
 Riseley ..... .Facing p. 134 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs, Bowden Bros. 
 
 Mixed Doubles at Wimbledon : Miss Sutton as a 
 
 Volleyer . . . . . . „ 134 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 XII. (Tournament Control) 
 
 The Referee marking up Results at Les Avants, 
 
 Switzerland . . . . . „ 167 
 
 Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, fitted out with 
 
 Twenty Courts . . . . . „ 172 
 
 Plan of the All England Ground, Wimbledon, 
 
 arranged for the Championships . . On p. 176 
 
 The Scoring Board at the Championships, Wim- 
 bledon ...... Facing p. 180 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 XIV. (Construction of Courts) 
 
 Plan of the New Court at Queen's Club . . On p. 2i\ 
 
 Cross Section of the New Court at Queen's Club . ,,216 
 
 XV. (Home Tournaments) 
 
 London Championship at Queen's Club, 1905 : 
 
 Beals Wright z/. N. E. Brookes . . Facing p. 224 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs, Bowden Bros. 
 
 Finals of th6 Northern Championships at Man- 
 chester, 1907 ...... 232 
 
 From a Photograph by Half-tones Ltd. 
 
 XVI. (Davis Cup) 
 
 The Dohertys in America, 1902 (Group taken at 
 
 Nahant, near Boston, soon after arrival) . „ 248 
 
 Ten Thousand Spectators watching the Dohertys 
 play Davis and Ward in the International 
 Doubles at the Crescent Athletic Club, New 
 York, August 8, 1902 . . . . „ 254 
 
 From a Photograph by Mr. Burr Mchitosh 
 
XX THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 CHAP. < 
 
 XVII. (Davis Cup) 
 
 Davis Cup Challenge Round, Wimbledon, 1904 : 
 
 British and Belgium Teams . . . Facing p^ph^ 
 
 The American Davis Cup Team, 1905 . . „ 270 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. J. Russell (&* Sons, 
 Wimbledon 
 
 A Memorable International Double at Wim- 
 bledon, 1907: A. W. Gore and H. Roper 
 Barrett (England) v. N. E. Brookes and A. F. 
 Wilding (Australia) . . . . „ 284 
 
 From a Photograph by Messrs. Bowden Bros. 
 
 XVIII. (Round the Riviera) 
 
 The Beau Site Courts at Cannes . . . „ 290 
 
 The Lounge at the Nice Club-house . . „ 296 
 
 Final of the Mixed Doubles Championship at 
 
 Monte Carlo, 1907 . . . . „ 304 
 
 The Illustrations marked with an asterisk are from action-photographs 
 by Mr. G. W. Beldam. 
 
THE COMPLETE LAWN 
 TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ENTER LAWN TENNIS! 
 
 A mysterious birth and a struggling infancy —Major Wingfield's con- 
 ception of a court — The All England Club as foster-parent — A game of 
 patience, or pitch and toss — Laws made at Wimbledon — The All 
 England Club as autocrat — The story of the L.T.A.'s advent — Con- 
 cerning the first championship and its winner — A stroke that evoked 
 an uproar — "Passing by the Ladies" — Some recollections of Canon 
 Hartley — The evolution of the racket — A stitch that took some time to 
 find 
 
 THE career of lawn tennis is somewhat akin to 
 that of a nameless foundling who, buffeted 
 and burked in early life, achieves by dint 
 of inherent virtues and a good constitution, fortune 
 and world-wide celebrity. What its lineage was, who 
 were its progenitors, how it survived the manifold 
 struggles of its youth, are mysteries which no man 
 has convincingly solved. That the game had a less 
 strenuous existence in another age and in another 
 form there Is some evidence to suppose. Somerset- 
 shire men, in a square green court, we are told,^ before 
 Queen Elizabeth's wliidows, ''did hang up lines, 
 squaring out the form of a tennis court, and making 
 
 ^ Badminton volume. 
 
THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 a cross line in the middle " ; and in this square with 
 handball, bord and cord played *'to the great liking 
 of Her Highness." As far back as the end of the 
 eighteenth century ** field tennis" is mentioned as a 
 dangerous rival even to cricket, and when the late 
 Queen came to the throne a pastime described as 
 
 "long tennis" was in 
 
 M^ 
 
 ttt 
 
 o 
 
 21feet 
 
 30f€£t 
 
 DiqQv^m of Major Wmjffeld^ 
 Orjgmal Court- 
 
 existence. Nor is it 
 less certain that a game, 
 called la longue paume, 
 the object of which was 
 to strike a cork ball 
 over a bank of mud, 
 had some vogue in 
 France several cen- 
 turies ago, or that in 
 Russia, of more recent 
 date, a game similar in 
 principle to modern 
 lawn tennis was prac- 
 tised. 
 
 By many people, as 
 Mr. C. G. Heathcote 
 observes, lawn tennis 
 was assumed to have 
 sprung ''like Minerva 
 
 from the head of Jove, fully grown and equipped 
 with the newest pattern of racket and the last 
 championship ball in or about the year 1874." 
 This is probably only a convenient modern legend, 
 but there is some excuse for its circulation in that at 
 a Christmas party in 1873 one, Major Wingfield, 
 introduced into a country house at Nantclwyd, a game 
 
ENTER LAWN TENNIS 3 
 
 called Sphairistike, which, though probably a lineal 
 descendant of a former pastime, was sufficiently novel 
 to excite interest and attract votaries. The Major s 
 conception of a playing area, first marked out with 
 tape and pegged with hair-pins, does not bear much 
 resemblance to the present court. It was shaped like 
 an hour-glass ; that is to say, the width of the court 
 at its base was more than the width at the net, which 
 was no less than 5 feet high at the posts and only 
 4 inches lower in the centre. On one side the 
 court had a line at an undefined distance from the 
 net, which was bisected by a centre line running 
 parallel to the side lines. On the other side of the 
 net, however, there were no dividing lines, but only 
 a little diamond-shaped compartment in which the 
 server stood to project the light india-rubber ball 
 over the net. Racket scoring was adopted. The 
 first disciples of this gentle pastime appear to have 
 much appreciated the fun, some indeed even con- 
 templating its pursuit on ice ! ^ But Sphairistike, 
 with its ungainly name (shortened by the scornful 
 to ** Sticky ") and its hour-glass court did not long 
 survive in its original form. It retired in favour of 
 a more practical pastime founded on its principles. 
 Once wrought into acceptable shape this pastime 
 was to make itself known in almost every civilised 
 land and ultimately to become the only really cos- 
 mopolitan game in existence. 
 
 The history of lawn tennis may be said to have 
 
 been written on the courts of the All England Club 
 
 at Wimbledon. To this famous battle-ground, 
 
 •hallowed by thirty-one championship meetings, have 
 
 ^ Badminton volume. 
 
4 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 come the skilled warriors of all nations. Round its 
 centre court, the classic arena in which every 
 champion from William Renshaw to Norman 
 Brookes has won the blue riband of the lawn, 
 thousands have watched and cheered the prowess 
 of international heroes. An enduring monument 
 to the progress and evolution of lawn tennis, the 
 club has survived all changes in the laws as well as 
 in the methods of the game. It has stood the test 
 of adversity ; in prosperity it has been prudent. Its 
 fabric has proved invulnerable alike to the open 
 assault of the builder and to the more insidious 
 sapping of the detractor. Its exchequer has with- 
 stood all the vicissitudes of fortune through which 
 the championships have passed and is now replenished 
 by the profits of recent gala years. Attracting Society 
 to its tournaments, it has entertained Royalty and 
 received the personal patronage of the Prince of 
 Wales, its first president and the donor of one of 
 its chief trophies. The Mecca of all lovers and 
 students of lawn tennis, Wimbledon has been both 
 the centre of its universe and its most potent 
 educational force. 
 
 I have said that the history of lawn tennis has 
 been inscribed on the courts of Wimbledon. If the 
 members of this club did not actually create the 
 game they at least nourished and protected it in 
 early infancy, guided its footsteps in youth and 
 brought it to a maturity which has developed and 
 actualised its possibilities in strokes and in tactics as 
 well as in general organisation. And though twenty 
 years ago the legislative government of lawn tennis 
 passed into the hands of a National Association — 
 
ENTER LAWN TENNIS 5 
 
 not without some heartburning on the part of its 
 former guardians: — I do not think anyone will deny 
 that, practically speaking, the All England Club was 
 its foster-parent. 
 
 Yet lawn tennis was not the first child of the 
 All England Club. It had another, upon which the 
 younger, to advance its own ends, may be said to 
 have committed fratricide. The name of this first 
 child was Croquet, and as the All England Croquet 
 Club the leading institution connected with lawn 
 tennis first drew breath. That was in the winter 
 of 1869, when the promoters^ secured the present 
 site off the Worple Road, Wimbledon, on a lease of 
 seven years and at a rental of ^120 per annum, 
 plus a proportion of club subscriptions and gate 
 money. It may be mentioned, in view of the world- 
 wide celebrity this ground was subsequently to 
 achieve, that several other districts were proposed 
 and considered, including the Crystal Palace, the 
 Toxophillte Society's ground, a site adjoining the 
 old Prince's Racquet Club and the ** fields between 
 Holland House, Kensington, and Addison Road."^ 
 The first croquet meeting held on the ground in 1871 
 does not seem to have caused a sensation, two 
 commissionaires and one policeman being deemed 
 adequate to control the crowd and the players. A 
 year later efforts were made to purchase the ground, 
 
 ^ The All England Croquet Club was actually conceived in the 
 summer of 1868, the following being prominently associated with its 
 formation :— Capt. R. F. Dalton, J. Hindo Hale, Rev. A. Law, Mr. 
 S. H. C. Maddock, Mr. J. H. Walsh, Mr. W. J. V^hitmore, Mr. E. 
 B. Michell, Rev. D. I. Heath, Rev. H. W. Miller Henry and Mr. 
 Daniel Jones. 
 
 * Minutes of the club. 
 
6 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 the value being estimated at ^2500; but, beyond an 
 offer by a clergyman to advance ^2000 on mortgage, 
 nothing tangible resulted. But in 1873 the lease 
 of the premises was revised. There had been a 
 deficit, the rental was reduced to ^100 and the sub- 
 scriptions raised. We may accordingly assume the 
 club was then disposed to seek new sources of 
 revenue. Lawn tennis in Its primitive form was 
 casting a spell over society — every owner of a private 
 lawn, uprooting his croquet hoops, was sampling its 
 attractions — and the committee succumbed to its 
 charms. In 1875 ^ resolution of the club decreed 
 that ** a ground should be set apart for lawn tennis and 
 badminton during the season " and a sub-committee 
 of three ^ was appointed to plant the tender sapling, 
 the sum of £2^ being sanctioned for initial outlay. 
 The sub-committee was likewise requested to draw 
 up the necessary regulations. Here their troubles 
 began. At that time the game was floundering in 
 the turmoiled waters which Major Wingfield's 
 invention had set in motion. The rules were not 
 more satisfactory than the shape of the court. The 
 length of the net was 6 feet shorter than the length 
 of the base line, the service line 26 feet from 
 the net. The height of the net was 4 feet at the 
 centre and 5 feet at the posts. Racquet scoring 
 was still in use ; there were no such things as sets ; 
 ** deuce" and ''advantage" with one innings only 
 did not arrive until "fourteen all." A code of laws, 
 just issued by the Tennis Committee of the M.C.C. 
 but apparently flouted in other parts of the country, 
 ordained, inter alia, that '' balls bound with white 
 
 ^ Messrs. J. D. Heath, C. F. Dalton and Henry Jones. 
 
ENTER LAWN TENNIS 7 
 
 cloth may be used in fine weather," and in regard to 
 handicaps ''that a cord may be stretched between 
 the posts at a height of 7 feet, or any other 
 height agreed upon, and the giver of odds shall play 
 every ball over the cord or lose a stroke." A game 
 of patience or pitch and toss, suggests Mr. W. M. 
 Brownlee, would aptly describe it. 
 
 But a more enlightened age was dawning. Early 
 in 1877, ^t a special general meeting, the title of the 
 club was altered to the All England Croquet and 
 Lawn Tennis Club and a few weeks later came the 
 announcement of the first championship meeting. 
 Mr. J. H. Walsh had induced the proprietors of the 
 Field to offer for competition a silver challenge 
 cup valued at twenty-five guineas. There was no 
 lack of enthusiasm among intending competitors. 
 But there was lacking a constructive code of rules 
 which should evolve order out of chaos and conformity 
 out of confusion. Three experts, members of the 
 club, were accordingly delegated to put their heads 
 together. They were Mr. C. G. Heathcote, a 
 brother of the famous amateur tennis champion ; 
 Mr. Julian Marshall, a well known tennis player -^ and 
 authority ; and the late Mr. Henry Jones, compiler 
 of many codes and well-known under the pseudonym 
 of "Cavendish." These gentlemen, the real pioneers 
 of the present game, drew up a provisional set 
 of rules, subsequently confirmed and adopted by 
 the M.C.C.^ They provided for the court to be 
 rectangular, its length to be 78 feet and its 
 breadth 27 feet; for the service line to be 
 
 ^ Then secretary of the club. 
 
 ^ Seven thousand copies of the revised rules had a rapid sale. 
 
8 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 26 feet from the net ; for the net to be lowered 
 to 3 feet 3 inches at the centre and 5 feet at 
 the posts ; for the posts to be placed a yard 
 outside the side lines, and for tennis scoring to be 
 adopted. This code differed so widely from any 
 existing code as to constitute practically a new 
 game. And we may note in passing that subsequent 
 alterations which experience deemed necessary 
 invariably originated with the All England Club. 
 During the first few years these revisions were 
 submitted to the M.C.C. ; ultimately that august 
 body, recognising that the code and its emendations 
 belonged in truth to the A.E.C. alone, waived all 
 claims to be consulted.^ Thereafter the club marched 
 boldly forward. It issued periodically fresh editions 
 of the laws — with such alterations as were necessary, 
 the last fundamental change being the lowering of 
 the net at the posts to 3 feet 6 inches in 1883 — down 
 to the year 1889, when it voluntarily transferred its 
 rights in this respect and in that of the regulations 
 of prize meetings to the newly-founded Lawn 
 Tennis Association. 
 
 A word may be introduced here about the 
 formation of the governing body to which is now 
 directly affiliated forty associations, fifty-five tourna- 
 ment committees and two hundred and seventy- 
 six clubs. Six years before its official inception the 
 movement in favour of a National Association had 
 begun and more than one conference was held ; 
 but the All England Club, jealous of its traditions 
 and of its legislative powers, was not then disposed 
 to smile on the efforts of the promoters. It was not 
 
 ^ Mr. Daniel Jones. 
 
ENTER LAWN TENNIS 9 
 
 until Mr. H. S. Scrivener and Mr. G. W. Hillyard 
 — strangely enough the present referee and secretary 
 of the championships at Wimbledon — issued a 
 circular letter convening a representative gathering 
 of lawn tennis supporters from all parts of the 
 country that the L.T.A. was formally inaugurated. 
 Recalling this event Mr. Scrivener writes: — *' In 
 those days the All England Club was like the 
 M.C.C. and rather a contemptuous autocrat. In 
 the opinion of many it was Wimbledon first and 
 the rest nowhere. This is why the more distant 
 centres in the North and Midlands were on the 
 reform side. Moreover, the agitation was fostered 
 by the fact that the club had a secretary ^ who was 
 rather a dictatorial sort of person. The A.E.L.T.C. 
 ruled lawn tennis and he ruled the club. The 
 thing that set me going was a reply to some 
 perfectly reasonable application in connexion with 
 the 'Varsity match which, I fancy, clashed with the 
 Wimbledon meeting, or something of that kind. 
 The secretary wrote back a curt non possumus of 
 about four lines, signed with a hieroglyph which 
 was barely decipherable as **J. M. sec," as if all 
 the world was expected to know what this meant. 
 Hillyard's connexion with the movement was mainly 
 due to the fact that in those days there was much 
 press criticism of women playing in public (times 
 have changed !). Mrs. Hillyard was of course in- 
 cluded, and there were a good many who wished 
 to see the Ladies' Championship moved away to 
 
 ^ The late Mr. Julian Marshall who, affirms Mr. Wilberforce, had 
 for long managed the affairs of the All England Club with much 
 success. 
 
10 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 some place where there would be less publicity. 
 He was also, like myself, generally in sympathy with 
 the movement. Our circular brought a number 
 of favourable replies and we accordingly decided 
 to convene a meeting to discuss the question whether 
 an association should be formed or not. We sent 
 out a lot of invitations, but by some unfortunate 
 accident, for while Hillyard blamed a housemaid 
 and the housemaid doubtless blamed the cat, a 
 good many clubs whom we meant to invite, in- 
 cluding the A.E.L.T.C, did not get invitations. 
 I was only an undergraduate of twenty-two then 
 and did not realise the value of checking lists, not 
 only of what / did but of others' work as well. 
 However, there was no secret about it ; we gave 
 notice of the meeting in Pastime^ and invited 
 everybody interested to attend. Henry Jones made 
 great capital of our omission and generally tried to 
 snuff us out, but fully two-thirds of those present 
 (I should say) were determined to have an associa- 
 tion and also to form it there and then, and in the 
 end they got their way." It has only to be added 
 that once the Lawn Tennis Association became fait 
 accompli the All England Club frankly gave it 
 support and allegiance, and, as we have seen, 
 abdicated its functions as the legislative authority. 
 The relations between the two bodies have on the 
 whole remained cordial and co - operative, though 
 occasionally (and especially in the last few years) 
 the more radical members of the council, un- 
 impressed by the traditions of the premier club, 
 have demanded and in some instances secured, 
 
 ^ The weekly lawn tennis journal. 
 
ENTER LAWN TENNIS ii 
 
 constitutional changes. But dissensions great or 
 small in the council chamber have had little or no 
 effect in stemming the onward progress of the 
 game. 
 
 As to the first championship meeting held in 
 1877, we know that spectators were present 
 because the minutes record that the chairs hired 
 for the occasion were *' taken in exchange for the 
 large roller and fine old mowing-machine plus four 
 guineas." But we also know that for three days 
 nobody came near the ground, on two days because 
 of the Eton and Harrow match over which the 
 meeting was adjourned and on one because of rain. 
 There were twenty-two competitors of whom many 
 were real tennis players, and the best — Mr. Spencer 
 Gore who w^on the title comfortably — an old 
 Harrovian and racquet player. Mr. Heathcote 
 says that Mr. Gore's volley, which was his own 
 invention, was no mere pat over the net. The 
 first to realise the necessity of forcing his opponent 
 to the back line, he would approach the net and 
 by a dexterous turn of the wrist return the ball at 
 considerable speed. Mr. Gore himself, referring to 
 the meeting, points out^ that the real tennis player 
 had every advantage: "the net was high at the 
 sides, which encouraged the player to play from 
 corner to corner as at tennis, rather than straight 
 down the side lines ; and the service line was so 
 far from the net as to give the heavily cut tennis 
 service a great advantage." Very different was the 
 first meeting in 1877 to that thirty years later. 
 But one court was used — it was obscurely placed 
 
 ^ Badminton volume. 
 
12 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 near the railway. The umpiring was apparently 
 somewhat casual, two gentlemen perched on wooden 
 tables being engaged for one match, sometimes con- 
 ferring with each other across the length of the 
 net before a final decision was given. The majority 
 of the players, we are told, delivered a round-hand 
 service which, though it had some pace, was not 
 very formidable. Nevertheless, its efficacy even 
 under the conditions then prevailing was such that 
 of the six hundred and one games contested in the 
 tournament, three hundred and seventy - six were 
 won by the server. 
 
 Before the second championship meeting was 
 held the All England legislators had been at work 
 again and with a view to curtailing the advantage 
 held by the server the net was lowered 3 inches 
 both at the posts and in the centre.^ The service 
 line was also reduced 4 feet. These changes may 
 be said to have introduced the ''pat-ball era" and 
 temporarily killed the volley. ''The rests were 
 interminable and were not very interesting," says 
 an eye-witness. " It was quite possible to take a 
 country-walk after a rest began and get back in 
 time to see the end of it." The winner of the 
 second championship, Mr. P. F. Hadow, defeated 
 Mr. Gore by simply tossing the ball over his head. 
 The latter appears to have practically "sat on the 
 net." Indeed so close was he on one occasion that, 
 
 ^ In 1880 the height of the net at the posts was reduced to 4 feet, 
 the service line was brought in to 21 feet from the net, the server was 
 allowed the option of having both feet on the service line instead of 
 being compelled to place one foot beyond it, the prescribed variations 
 in the size of the ball were amended and other variations of the laws 
 adopted. 
 
ENTER LAWN TENNIS 13 
 
 stretching his racket over the net, he volleyed a 
 ball that had not crossed it. The stroke evoked 
 an uproar, but was eventually given in his favour 
 on the ground that a player had a right to hold 
 his racket anywhere he could reach/ At one stage 
 in the third set both men were so exhausted that 
 it was all but decided to adjourn for a day's rest! 
 
 Any fears then entertained that the fires of lawn 
 tennis burning at Wimbledon would die down for 
 lack of fuel proved imaginary. From twenty-two 
 competitors in 1877 the entry rose to thirty-four in 
 1878, and in 1879 there were forty-five aspirants for 
 the championship. Among these were H. F. Lawford, 
 who had won the third prize the previous year, and 
 the twin brothers Renshaw, then Cheltenham boys 
 eighteen years of age — names that in the next decade 
 were destined to leave an indelible imprint on the 
 annals of the game. The twins, for some reason 
 or other, did not appear in person on this occasion. 
 The programme, it may be noted was augmented 
 by an additional event — a club handicap sweep- 
 stake ; but the offer of a member to present a ladies' 
 cup value /^S was not accepted, the decision eliciting 
 a protest from the would-be donor, who wrote : '* I 
 cannot but think the committee ungallant In passing 
 by the ladies. They would, I think, come in time ! " 
 In point of fact the ladies gave signal proof of their 
 advancing prowess the same year in Dublin, where 
 for the first time a championship reserved for their 
 sex was instituted. 
 
 A propos of the championships of 1879, 1880, 
 1 88 1, I have been furnished with the following 
 
 ^ Mr. Brownlee. 
 
14 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 interesting recollections by Canon J. T. Hartley, 
 winner on the two first occasions : — ** I was living 
 in Yorkshire when lawn tennis was first invented 
 and at once recognised the great value of the game 
 as being akin to the fine games of tennis and 
 racquets, and yet being accessible to all who had 
 a good lawn. I had been fond of both these games 
 and won some distinction at Harrow and Oxford. 
 Of course this made me keen about lawn tennis 
 when it was started. I had no Idea, however, that 
 I was any real good until I met one of the Tabors 
 who had played at Wimbledon, and defeated him 
 fairly easily. He persuaded me to try my luck 
 there the next year (1879) which I did. I had one 
 very hard match with a man named Erskine, a fine 
 player, but just won. Not having expected to live 
 through to the end I had made no provision for my 
 Sunday duty In Yorkshire. So I had to come 
 home on Saturday, breakfast very early on Monday 
 morning, drive ten miles to a station, get to London 
 at two, and to Wimbledon just In time to play — 
 rather tired by my journey and want of a meal. 
 I nearly lost that game, the semi-final against Parr, 
 but fortunately it came on to rain. We stopped, I 
 got some tea, felt much refreshed and finished off 
 all right. The next day I played ' St. Leger,' the 
 now notorious Goold of Monte Carlo fame. He 
 was then a cheery, wild Irishman, Irish champion, 
 and a very pretty player. I think he volleyed more 
 than any of us that year ; but there was some weak- 
 ness I suppose in his play, as being fit and well 
 after a night's rest I won three sets straight off. 
 
 ** The play then was much more moulded upon 
 
ENTER LAWN TENNIS 15 
 
 real tennis than it is now. There was much careful 
 play off the ground and placing of the ball. The 
 hitting was not so hard as in later times. Neither 
 Gore nor Hadow, two former champions, played 
 In 1879. 
 
 *'In 1880 I defended the cup against Lawford 
 who had won the All-Comers!^ We had a hard 
 game. I won three sets to one. We both played 
 almost entirely off the ground. This was not, as it 
 has been said, because we could not volley. Perhaps 
 in after years in private games nobody volleyed much 
 more than I did. It was because we thought it the 
 safest game, having in our minds as I said before 
 real tennis, chaces on the floor and so on. 
 
 '* The year afterwards I was unfortunate. Coming 
 up to Cheam to stay with the Tabors and to get a 
 little practice, I started an attack of English cholera, 
 which went on until after the championship, reduced 
 me a stone in weight and made me very weak as 
 well as stopping almost all practice. So my game 
 with W. Renshaw was a farce. I ought not to 
 have played it at all. I could never have beaten 
 W. Renshaw, but fit and well I could, of course, 
 have played him a much better game. After that 
 I took to volleying and certainly played a stronger 
 game than when I won the championship ; ^ but I 
 was the wrong side of thirty, got no real good 
 practice up at Bedale and so never really attempted 
 any public play afterwards." 
 
 ^ In a preceding match between Mr. Lawford and Mr. E. Lubbock 
 at Prince's a rest of no less than eighty-one strokes was witnessed. 
 
 ^ Canon Hartley, with Mr. J. T. Richardson, won the championship 
 doubles in 1882. 
 
1 6 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 The racket in use at this period was designed 
 after the fashion of the real tennis racket and was 
 curved in the head, grotesquely curved according to 
 modern ideas. Indeed, one of the earliest rackets 
 of all which Mr. Tate has in his possession and 
 which may be seen in the accompanying illustra- 
 tion, has a playing surface only about half the size 
 of the present area and a handle covered with white 
 leather, proportionately thinner. When the limita- 
 tions of the real tennis stroke with its horizontal 
 movement were realised and the game was developed 
 in other directions, mainly in the employment of the 
 vertical stroke, the face of the racket simultaneously 
 broadened and became more uniform. Mr. Lawford, 
 whose forte was a fierce forehand drive from the 
 back of the court, naturally coveted a substantial, 
 broad-faced weapon, and it was at his suggestion, 
 I believe, that the first "straight" racket was 
 made by Mr. Tate.^ The Renshaws, however, 
 remained almost exclu^^ively loyal to a slight curve ; 
 and until they retired their faith was reflected in 
 others. I One may note that there is not, and never 
 has been, any rule limiting the size or weight of the 
 racket. To-day if any daring spirit went into court 
 at an open meeting armed with an original racket 
 or with an implement twice the orthodox dimensions 
 none could say him nay.l 
 
 As to the ball, the first used was soft and un- 
 covered. It was Mr. J. M. Heathcotein the seventies 
 who discovered that balls covered with white flannel 
 were better able to control and had a more uniform 
 bound. For some time the seams were stitched 
 
 1 The head has since been slightly narrowed. 
 
H 
 
 M 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 o 
 
 :^ 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 
 > 
 
 00 '^ 
 
 H 
 
ENTER LAWN TENNIS 17 
 
 outside, and it was again Mr. Lawford at whose 
 suggestion the inside seam was adopted. Playing 
 on the now defunct asphalt court at Wimbledon 
 in winter, the ex-champion found that the old ball 
 did not always bounce true on the hard surface. 
 The late Mr. F. H. Ayres made several experiments 
 with thread, catgut and what not to satisfy Mr. Law- 
 ford's requirements. Boxes of sample balls would 
 be sent down to Mr. Lawford's house. Until Mr. 
 Ayres finally triumphed, the punctilious champion 
 was wont to send each consignment back with 
 some such laconic message as **burn them." Char- 
 acteristic of Mr. Lawford ! 
 
CHAPTER II 
 ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 
 
 The glorious reign of Renshaw — The brothers make their debut and 
 are beaten — William Renshaw wins a love set against Lawford in eleven 
 minutes — Spectacles that "formed the high water mark of lawn tennis" 
 — Inauguration of the doubles and the ladies' championships — A young 
 girl who created a record and a sensation — The relative merits of the 
 Renshaws — Pim v. Wilfred Baddeley — Profits diminish — Mr. E. G. 
 Meers gives his impressions of the early nineties and incidentally 
 relates some stories — Championships lost by one stroke — The ten years' 
 reign of the Dohertys — Frank Riseley plays like one inspired — Norman 
 Brookes comes and conquers — Miss May Sutton fulfils a prophecy — 
 Looking forward 
 
 THE influence which William Renshaw ex- 
 ercised over lawn tennis in general and 
 Wimbledon in particular cannot be over- 
 estimated. He came into the arena at a time when 
 the game seemed to have reached the limits of its 
 expansion ; save for a perfect and mechanical precision 
 in strokes off the ground there was apparently no 
 further scope for advance and enterprise. Renshaw 
 was the agent by which, as Mr. Heathcote observes, 
 lawn tennis asserted an individuality it had not pre- 
 viously possessed, shook itself free from the trammels 
 of racquets and tennis and entered seriously on the 
 development of individual principles and tactics. 
 For six years he remained absolutely invincible ; 
 for seven his name was inscribed on the champion- 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 19 
 
 ship roll. His unparagoned skill, his bustling 
 methods, his rapidity of movement and his dashing 
 personality drew and fascinated crowds for a decade. 
 No champion in any sport ever had such an enthusi- 
 astic following, no player of this or any other day was so 
 sought after by tournament committees, and no man 
 is more closely identified with the rise of the racket. 
 
 Before me lies a dilapidated programme (a single 
 card, priced at sixpence) of the 1880 championship 
 meeting at which William and Ernest Renshaw 
 made their bow at Wimbledon. William won his 
 first two rounds in three straight sets and was then 
 drawn to play O. E. Woodhouse, reputed to be the 
 first man who ever volleyed.^ I like the impression 
 which the late Herbert Chipp has given : 
 
 '*The Irish champion — Renshaw had just won 
 the title for the first time — secured the opening set ; 
 but that was the length of his tether. Woodhouse, 
 who was a remarkably fine player — he joined the 
 majority early, alas ! — won the next three sets and 
 the match ! At no time after the first set did 
 Renshaw appear at his ease. He had a fall or two 
 on the slippery ground, took off his shoes, played in 
 his stocking soles, put the shoes on again, then tried 
 another pair (I believe he had no 'steel points' with 
 him) — all to no purpose. It was clearly not his day 
 and in no disparagement of Woodhouse's display, 
 which was an excellent one, I muttered to myself, 
 * But what came ye out for to see ? ' Quite well do 
 I remember Ernest Renshaw standing on the bank 
 above the court (he had just disposed of his man) 
 looking moodily on at his brother's vain attempts 
 
 ^ Mr. Wilberforce. 
 
20 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 to stem the tide of defeat. Had he a presentiment 
 he would share his brother's fate on the morrow at 
 the hands of the same player ? " ^ 
 
 During the seven years Renshaw dominated 
 Wimbledon — and every other tournament at which 
 he appeared besides — his strenuous fights with H. F. 
 Lawford stand out as an ever-memorable feature. 
 Ernest Renshaw had been his brother's challenger 
 in 1882 and 1883, but for the next three years the 
 twin had to face the onslaught of the great base- 
 liner — fierce encounters that sent the denizens of 
 Mayfair, the clubs and the City in special trains to 
 Wimbledon ^ and caused a stupendous boom in lawn 
 tennis. It is said that half a sovereign was once 
 paid for standing room on a couple of bricks ! '' Well 
 I remember the first meeting between these giants," 
 says Mr. Chipp, ''and how the holder electrified 
 everybody by the rapidity of his scoring. He won 
 a love set in eleven minutes, and in that set there 
 was practically only one man in the court." Renshaw 
 took the second also, but not nearly so comfortably, 
 and it was evident that the vigour of his attack was 
 declining. The third set was entered upon amid 
 breathless silence. '* Lawford had by no means 
 abandoned hope — he never did. Twice he said to 
 me as he passed (I was taking the farther side line), 
 * If I can only win this set the match is mine ! ' How- 
 ever, Renshaw, although tiring rapidly and forced 
 now to play on the defensive, was able to reach 
 seven-all. Pulling himself together for a supreme 
 
 ^ Woodhouse beat E. Renshaw by three sets to one. 
 2 Three thousand five hundred spectators witnessed the Renshaw- 
 Lawford match in 1885. 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 21 
 
 effort he scored the next two games with the loss 
 of only two strokes and thus rendered secure his 
 position as premier player." 
 
 The demeanour and deportment of the two 
 warriors were very different. H. S. Scrivener 
 mentions that Renshaw gave an index to his 
 highly strung temperament in the quickness of his 
 movement and speech and in the rapidity with 
 which he played. *' He never waited between the 
 sets if he could help it, changing ends at a brisk 
 walk and doing his best (without any suspicion of 
 bustling) to keep his opponent and the ball going 
 at the same time. Lawford being a big, powerful 
 man, was naturally slower in his movements. But 
 in spite of slight manifestations of impatience on 
 Renshaw's part and mild protests on the part of 
 Lawford at the rate at which the second service 
 succeeded the first, these battles were fought out 
 with the utmost good temper on both sides. Nothing 
 finer in lawn tennis has ever been seen than the 
 dogged stubbornness of Lawford. Even when 
 leading he fought for every ace ; for he knew that 
 with Renshaw he was never safe ; and his knowledge 
 was absolutely sound. Often as he got within 
 measurable distance of winning during those six 
 years, it was always Renshaw who in the end 
 came out on top — a man who like all really great 
 players, had something in reserve for a crisis." 
 Chipp inclined to the belief that as a spectacle 
 these encounters formed the high- water mark of 
 lawn tennis — a pronouncement certainly indisputable 
 in regard to the epoch which they adorned. I can 
 well believe that it required a considerable amount 
 
22 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 of nerve to stand up against Lawford, more terrify- 
 ing to second-class players than the champion himself. 
 A contemporary describes him as a '' grim, determined 
 player, with a sardonic smile, who neither asked for 
 nor gave quarter, whose arm never seemed to tire 
 and whose attack was crushing to a degree." In 
 his early matches Lawford wore a striped football 
 jersey, a porkpie cap to match, and knickerbockers. 
 Subsequently he changed the first two for less 
 conspicuous articles, but nothing would ever make 
 him substitute trousers for knickers. 
 
 As an index to the importance and popularity 
 which the championship had assumed in the early 
 eighties, it may be mentioned that the advertising 
 charges rose in one year from ;^6 to ^90, while 
 the committee as the result of the increased gate 
 money were able to erect a permanent grand-stand, 
 recommend the purchase of the ground for ^3000, 
 increase the admission fee from one shilling to half 
 a crown and order medals to be struck for past, 
 present and future champions. Efforts were made 
 to push croquet to the wall, and in 1882 its early 
 demise was hinted at in the annual report. The 
 receipts at the three last croquet championship 
 meetings had yielded no more than seven shillings 
 in each year. "It is evident," afiErmed this docu- 
 ment, *' the public no longer take any interest in 
 croquet matches." But a proposal to change the 
 name of the club to the All England Lawn Tennis 
 Club brought up the croquet members in arms ; they 
 defeated the motion by two votes. The committee 
 thereupon resigned — a coup (Titat that had the 
 desired effect, for the proposal was subsequently 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 23 
 
 carried. A little later, ^ at a meeting of club 
 secretaries held at Westminster, a committee was 
 appointed to confer with the All England Club with 
 a view to the latter joining a Lawn Tennis Associa- 
 tion. Strangely enough the next noteworthy item 
 in the minutes was the decision to cover the open 
 stand with an iron roof. Could it be possible that 
 this resolve was a sequel to the first event ! 
 
 Another event of importance in 1884 was the 
 presentation by Oxford University of the doubles 
 championship cup, first instituted at Oxford five 
 years earlier, when the contest ran to the inordinate 
 length of seven sets.^ The ladies' championship, for 
 which the demand had steadily been growing in 
 volume, was also inaugurated this year, the title 
 being won by Miss Maud Watson, a lady who at 
 that time had not tasted defeat. Both innovations, 
 and especially the doubles, added much to the 
 popularity of Wimbledon — a popularity to which 
 the magnetic presence of the Renshaws doubtless 
 contributed. '' There was something in their style 
 of play," says Mr. Scrivener, "easy, graceful, yet 
 strenuous enough when occasion demanded ; some- 
 thing in their handsome bronzed faces and well-knit 
 figures, something in their neat ''turn out," some- 
 thing in short in their whole personality which 
 appealed irresistibly to the onlookers and caused 
 them to run helter-skelter across the courts in 
 pursuit of their favourites." 
 
 Of the relative merits of the Renshaws this much 
 
 ^ January 1883. 
 
 ^ L. R. Erskine and H. F. Lawford were the first winners of the 
 doubles championship played at Oxford. 
 
24 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 may be said, that Ernest would undoubtedly have 
 won the championship as often as William if his 
 brother had not stood in the way, and that when 
 absolutely at his best probably not even William 
 would have beaten him. *' Ernest had a perfect 
 command of every stroke ; he had absolutely no 
 weak spot and was extraordinarily active," G. W. 
 Hillyard affirms; *'and though William was more 
 brilliant I believe Ernest was an even better player." 
 E. G. Meers, another contemporary, agrees with 
 this view. ** In his two best years Ernest was 
 stronger and more finished than ever his brother 
 was. I know which I would sooner have played.-^ 
 Against William in public and private I won twelve 
 matches and lost twoj against Ernest I lost six 
 matches and won only two." An eye-witness of 
 Ernest's apotheosis in 1888 declares his game to 
 have been the most scientific display of lawn tennis 
 ever seen. As a handicap player Ernest certainly 
 excelled his brilliant brother. He once gave the 
 lady champion^ thirty and defeated her after a 
 Vantage game in the third set. 
 
 One figure that created something of a sensation 
 in the Wimbledon arena about twenty years ago 
 deserves more than passing mention. It was that 
 of a young girl, in the middle of her teens, who after 
 the manner of Miss May Sutton in recent years 
 (though their styles of play were quite dissimilar) 
 proved invincible to all comers. This was Miss 
 ''Lottie" Dod, who in all won the ladies' title on 
 
 ^ Mr. Meers admits, what was doubtless true, that W. Renshaw 
 may not have been at his best in later years. 
 2 Miss Dod. 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 3$ 
 
 five occasions, a record that only Mrs. Hillyard 
 has surpassed. Miss Dod was, indeed, a prodigy. 
 When only twelve she was known as the ''little 
 wonder" and at fourteen she could have defeated 
 many men. She possessed in an eminent degree 
 the faculty of anticipating her opponent's reply. 
 Her forehand stroke had the power and direction 
 of a man's ; her backhand, though less virile, was 
 decidedly good ; she had not a weak point in her 
 armour. She always volleyed with great judgment 
 and had a capital smash — a weapon (in those days 
 especially) deadly in its effect and in a ladies' double 
 an ace-winner every time. Entering the tournament 
 arena as a child, Miss Dod left it, still pre-eminent, 
 at an age when many ladies have not begun their 
 public career. Her second love was golf, at which 
 game she has reached the same heights of perfection. 
 In reviewing the championship meetings of thirty 
 years three factors would appear to have contributed 
 to their popular success, or the lack of them have 
 evoked depression :- — (i) The magnetic personality of 
 the principal performers (2) the prospect of a close 
 match between two protagonists and (3) a strong 
 international flavour. Sometimes, notably in 1905, 
 you had all these agencies at work together ; some- 
 times you had two ; sometimes only one, and occasion- 
 ally there came a lean year, when the prospect of 
 the champion being dethroned was remote, when 
 there was no "star turn" to attract the crowd. 
 Almost immediately the Renshaws forsook the scenes 
 of their former glory, the stands began to show 
 ominous gaps and the public interest in the annual 
 carnival visibly slackened. It was not because the 
 
36 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 standard of play had declined or because the events 
 did not yield exciting matches that were hotly fought 
 out to the bitter end. The meetings between Pirn 
 and Wilfred Baddeley in the early nineties provided 
 in the opinion of many sound judges the finest exposi- 
 tion of lawn tennis ever seen in the classic centre 
 court — matches in which the effortless brilliancy and 
 marvellous versatility of the Irishmen were pitted 
 against the superb generalship, supreme accuracy 
 and cat-like activity of the Englishman. These 
 Anglo-Irish engagements were followed with keen 
 appreciation by lawn tennis votaries, upon whom 
 they have left a deep impression. But the champion- 
 ships of that era did not excite the same measure of 
 public enthusiasm as the Renshaw series. Indeed, 
 so marked had been the decline in the profits at 
 Wimbledon that a special committee of the club 
 was appointed in 1895 to consider what steps should 
 be taken '' with a view to rendering future meetings 
 more popular with players and the public." One 
 result was the introduction of the All England Plate 
 — a ''consolation race" for early victims in the 
 premier event. The profits, however, continued to 
 dwindle until at the 1898 meeting, the second year 
 of R. F. Doherty's reign, they fell as low as ;^7o. 
 Next year, however, came a revival. Mr. Archdale 
 Palmer, than whom no more enterprising or energetic 
 official has ever controlled affairs at Wimbledon, 
 assumed the secretaryship and with the Dohertys 
 nearing the zenith of their power the public again 
 rallied to the support of the club. 
 
 Before touching briefly on the outstanding features 
 of the last decade let me interpolate a few impressions 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 27 
 
 of the early nineties kindly furnished for this volume 
 by Mr. E. G. Meers, a deep student as well as a 
 skilled professor of the game. Mr. Meers considers 
 that In those days the play was more Inspiring and 
 tactical ability more evidenced. "Allowing for the 
 tendency which old people have of extolling the 
 doings of their younger days, I am. quite satisfied In 
 my own mind," writes Mr. Meers, " that, with the 
 exception of volleying and service, the play was 
 far more accurate and better thought out than now. 
 The volleying of the present day appears to me to 
 be a little more severe than formerly, but at the 
 same time more risky. The service known as the 
 American twist service is, In the hands of such 
 players as Mr. Brookes and a few others, more 
 deadly and difficult to deal with than the service 
 of most of the best players of the eighties and 
 nineties. But it appears to be forgotten that there 
 were occasionally players who got quite as much 
 twist on their services as the average of the twist 
 services of the present day ; although they certainly 
 did not vary their services to anything like the same 
 extent. Mr. Humphrey Berkeley In the eighties, 
 and the late Mr. Herbert Chipp, also Dr. Stone and 
 one or two more, got a most disconcerting twist on 
 their services. There was a man named Brown at 
 Harrow, against whom E. L. Williams and myself 
 played in the late eighties, whose service was as 
 bad to take as Brookes'. On soft turf It was almost 
 unreturnable, for It jumped aside a lot, and there was 
 much spin on It. In fact Williams told me that on 
 one occasion he found himself Invited to play a set 
 with Mr. Brown at a garden party and, mainly on 
 
2 8 THE (COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 account of the latter's service, got beaten — and 
 Williams' ability as a player at that time is a matter 
 of history. 
 
 ** In respect to conditions at Wimbledon there 
 are certainly improvements to-day. The ground is 
 kept more level and better mown. The players' 
 names and the times they are due to play are posted 
 up, and some attention is given to 'background.' 
 The attitude of the spectators is more sensible. 
 Formerly net-cord strokes and other accidents came 
 in for no end of applause ; and the wrong strokes 
 were applauded much more than they are now. The 
 spectators were also in the old days a little liable 
 to assist the umpire by tendering their unasked 
 opinions. In a match in which I was once engaged 
 the umpire could not see a ball which fell near the 
 far side-line, and noticing that the linesman had 
 decamped he was doubtful what to do. ' Out ' 
 shouted a dozen spectators. *In' shouted as many 
 more. 'Mr. Umpire,' I said, 'umpiring by crowd 
 is not a success. I think we will make it a let.' 
 Umpiring and general management certainly show 
 distinct advance. 
 
 " Formerly the competitors gave more attention 
 to their condition than now, and this circumstance in 
 my opinion accounts a good deal for the ' in-and-out ' 
 form showm at the present day. The prospect of the 
 winner of the All-Comers securing the title was not 
 greater then than it is to-day. The same things 
 had their effect. When the winner of the All-Comers 
 comes to the championship fairly fresh and is not 
 exhausted and ' behind his condition ' from several 
 protracted matches, I consider that he has an 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 29 
 
 enormous advantage over the holder ; but since the 
 winner of the All-Comers is nearly always overplayed 
 and stale, the advantage is the other way. Some 
 champions take care to get regular and serious 
 practice before the challenge round, and some do 
 not. 
 
 ''The outstanding figures in my day were Pim, 
 W. Baddeley, Ernest Renshaw, Barlow, Mahony, 
 Eaves and E. W. Lewis. What impressed me most 
 about these men was the enormous amount of work 
 they put into the practice of the game, both in public 
 and private. Perhaps this remark does not apply to 
 Pim who seemed to possess more actual genius or 
 natural ability for lawn tennis than anyone I have 
 ever met. W. Baddeley was the most consistent 
 player of them all. E. Renshaw had a very remark- 
 able command of the ball ; he was inclined to hit at 
 times a little too softly, but there were two years 
 — 1888 and 1892 — in which he developed more 
 severity than at other times, and his record for 
 those years has hardly been equalled. Barlow's 
 immense physical strength, wonderful condition and 
 quickness impressed me rather than the quality 
 of his strokes. Mahony was a persistent volleyer, 
 but weak in the forehand off the ground. W. V. 
 Eaves had hardly a weak spot in his armour, and as 
 for E. W. Lewis, so much has been said of his 
 w^onderful style and power over the ball in all 
 positions that I, in common with everyone else who 
 knew him, cannot understand why he was never 
 champion at Wimbledon. 
 
 *' I recall a few episodes of this period. No first- 
 or second-class man with a reputation would deign 
 
30 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 (in the eighties and even later) to play a weaker man 
 in practice without giving him points. This was 
 sometimes carried a little too far. I remember the 
 late Colonel Osborn remarking in his dry way, 
 * Mr. A. gives Mr. B. half-fifteen, not because he 
 thinks he can give it but because he knows that he 
 cannot.' One well-known player in the early nineties 
 actually refused to play another man (who became 
 champion a few weeks later) in a public exhibition 
 match, unless he gave him fifteen. This well-known 
 player was badly beaten by the other on level terms 
 at Wimbledon. 
 
 '' There was a leading player who when things 
 were against him, would sometimes throw his racket 
 on the ground, and somewhat quietly — though with 
 suppressed rage — argue with it at length, as to its 
 reasons for thus treating him. The game was at a 
 standstill till he finished apostrophising his racket, 
 but his opponent usually had a good deal of amuse- 
 ment from the variety of epithets hurled at the 
 unoffending weapon. 
 
 ** One recollection of the inimitable Pim. He 
 played, as you know, with a very low trajectory and 
 frequently got net-cord strokes. After one match a 
 weak but enthusiastic player, who had been very 
 interested and who was a great admirer of Pim, 
 remarked on these strokes to a well-known Irish 
 player who with Barlow was standing near. * Oh/ 
 said they, ' don't you know Pim can do these strokes 
 whenever he likes ? ' And on Pim coming up just 
 then, they appealed to him for corroboration. *Of 
 course I can,' said Pim, with a smile. Taking up a 
 ball — they were standing in an unoccupied court — he 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 31 
 
 bounced it on the ground and made a drive at the 
 net, making by accident a splendid net-cord stroke. 
 Pirn prudently did not try again ; but that weak and 
 enthusiastic player will believe for the rest of his 
 natural life that Pirn could really do what was claimed 
 for him every time ! " 
 
 The occasions on which the issue of the 
 championship has been changed by the fate of a 
 single stroke are so rare as to warrant special 
 mention. There was that memorable match, the 
 final of the All-Comers in 1895, when W. V. Eaves 
 had W. Baddeley a beaten man, requiring but a 
 single ace to win a three-set victory and the blue 
 riband of the lawn.-^ '* The opening presented itself," 
 says an eye-witness, "and his bid for the high honour 
 took the form of a lob to his opponent's base-line. 
 But the lob, unhappily for Eaves, dropped six inches 
 too far and Baddeley must have felt as one delivered 
 from imminent death." The golden opportunity 
 passed and did not, alas, return. G. W. Hillyard is 
 another player who might have been champion but 
 for the cruel intervention of Fate. After a brilliant 
 victory over H. L. Doherty, the favourite for the 
 title then held by his brother, Hillyard opposed A. W. 
 Gore under a fierce sun, and at one time was leading 
 by two sets to one, five games to four and 40 love ! 
 At this critical juncture Gore drove a ball which hit 
 the top of the net, hesitated one breathless second as 
 to which side it should fall, then jumped down over 
 Hillyard s outstretched racket. Had the ball fallen 
 on the other side or had it come over in the ordinary 
 way, another name would probably have been added 
 
 ^ Dr. Pim did not defend his title this year. 
 
32 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 to the championship roll ; for it was tolerably certain 
 at the time that the winner of this match would 
 survive the challenge round, as was actually the case.-^ 
 Perhaps the name of H. S. Barlow should also be 
 included in the list of players who may be said to 
 have required but one stroke to win the title. In 
 1889 Barlow had achieved an unexpected triumph 
 over W. J. Hamilton — who carried off the palm the 
 following year — and in the final met W. Renshaw,^ 
 back in the ring again after a temporary retirement. 
 The famous twin was many times within imminent 
 danger of defeat and once, when within a stroke of 
 losing the match in the fourth set he slipped and 
 dropped his racket which fell a yard or two away. 
 Barlow had the *'plum in his mouth," but he made 
 a slow toss towards his opponent's base-line. 
 Renshaw recovered his footing, and his racket, won 
 the stroke and ultimately the match. Such an 
 incident as this will live for ever in the annals of 
 lawn tennis. 
 
 I refer elsewhere^ to the doings of the Dohertys, 
 the third lawn tennis fraternity whose prowess has 
 focused the eyes of men at Wimbledon. Since 
 the day, eleven summers ago, when the elder de- 
 posed H. S. Mahony and inaugurated a family 
 reign which was to last a decade, this name 
 has been on the tongue of every lawn tennis 
 votary. It will live so long as the game is 
 played. The Renshaws held the singles title between 
 
 ^ R. F. Doherty, the holder, was admittedly in poor health. 
 * W. Renshaw beat his brother in the challenge round with com- 
 parative ease. 
 
 « See Chapters XVI. and XVII. 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 33 
 
 them for eight years, the Dohertys for nine ; and it 
 is curious that the difference in duration of their 
 supremacy in doubles is also only a matter of one 
 year. The famous twins, however, were never once 
 beaten at Wimbledon,^ whereas their successors were 
 twice dethroned ; ^ yet he would be a bold man who 
 would deny the right of the Dohertys to be called the 
 finest combination that ever trod the green sward of 
 the centre court. Well do I remember as if it were 
 yesterday the first occasion on which the sequence 
 of the brothers' triumphs was broken — and by a pair 
 employing an unorthodox plan of campaign. I can 
 see Frank Riseley dancing like a cat on hot bricks 
 within a foot or two of the net, waiting to pounce 
 upon and kill any ball he could possibly reach ; 
 S. H. Smith at the back of the court, firing his 
 hurricane drives across or down the side lines and 
 lobbing to perfection when occasion demanded ; the 
 champions for once held at bay, anxiety traceable on 
 their faces but outwardly as calm and collected as 
 if they were romping to victory, by no means 
 demoralised but temporarily overcome by the fierce- 
 ness and audacity of their opponents' attack. The 
 brothers took substantial and conclusive revenge the 
 next year and twice after that thrust their victory 
 home ; but history was to repeat itself sooner than 
 many anticipated. From a financial point of view if 
 from no other 1906 was the most successful year 
 Wimbledon ever experienced. There was a balance 
 
 ^ In 1889, in the challenge round, the Renshaws only beat G. W. 
 Hillyard and E. W. Lewis (who had defeated the twins in Dublin just 
 previously) by the odd set in five. 
 
 ^ By S. H. Smith and F. L. Riseley in 1902 and 1906. 
 
 3 
 
34 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 of over ^2000. Nearly 30,000 people must have 
 passed through the gates during the meeting. The 
 magnificent victory of Smith and Riseley over the 
 brothers came as a fitting climax to a great festival. 
 Neither R. F. Doherty nor Smith was in his best 
 form, but the display of Riseley was a revelation. 
 Smashing so consistently powerful, a service so 
 severe and volleying so audacious or effective have, 
 I think, never been seen in combination at 
 Wimbledon before. The Cliftonian played like one 
 inspired. 
 
 I cannot close this chapter without referring to 
 two figures whose presence has done so much to 
 maintain enthusiasm and fill the stands at Wimbledon 
 — the respective holders of the men's and ladies' 
 championships. The advent of Norman Brookes in 
 1905 was at once a revelation of colonial prowess 
 and the beginning of a new epoch in the history of 
 the game. The manner in which the stern-faced, 
 indomitable Victorian, defying English methods, 
 swept triumphant through the British lines that 
 year, being only prevented from capturing the 
 citadel by the skill and fortitude of H. L. Doherty, 
 evoked a sensation and set the seal of fame on the 
 Australian invader. No match on this side of the 
 Atlantic ever drew such a crowd and excited such 
 intense interest as the meeting of Brookes and 
 Doherty, and if most of us felt at the finish that the 
 better man had won, we do not forget that the rallies 
 were fierce and long and that the result might have 
 been more in doubt if the holder, like the challenger, 
 had been called upon to face the ordeal and suffer 
 the physical trials of the eliminating contest. Two 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 35 
 
 years later Brookes came again and this time, though 
 the field was narrowed and the powers of English 
 defence weakened by the absence of H. L. Doherty 
 and S. H. Smith, to say nothing of F. L. Riseley, 
 the stronghold was carried and for the first time in 
 its history the championship passed from the keep- 
 ing of the British Isles. Nor was this all. The 
 doubles championship fell to the rackets of the 
 dauntless Australian and his New Zealand partner. 
 England for once saw her three national titles^ borne 
 off on the broad shoulders of a colonial, her players 
 not gaining so much as a single set in defence of 
 these treasures. 
 
 That the ladies* title should also have gone 
 abroad is another blow to home prestige, though I 
 for one can look with equanimity on these " foreign " 
 victories, regarding them as welcome signs of the 
 progress of lawn tennis in other lands and testifying 
 to the universality of a great game. No man or 
 woman who has ever swung a racket could remain 
 impassive to the success attending Miss May Sutton's 
 mission to this country. For an ingenuous girl still 
 in her teens, to journey unattended three times from 
 California to Wimbledon and on two occasions to 
 carry all before her (including the hearts of many 
 onlookers), defeating in succession ladies trained by 
 long experience in all the arts of a difficult pastime, 
 is a feat which compels our admiration. Its achieve- 
 ment also mitigates any national mortification we 
 may feel. No ladies' battles on the courts have 
 made such a wide appeal or created so deep an 
 
 ^ With Mrs. Hillyard, Brookes won the All England Mixed Doubles 
 Championship at Manchester. 
 
36 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 impression as the three challenge rounds between 
 Miss Sutton and Mrs. Lambert Chambers. Spec- 
 tators came almost as early and waited as patiently 
 for the drama to begin as if the All England ground 
 had been the Lyceum and the occasion an Irving 
 premiere. And as one recalls that sea of animated 
 faces, the breathless silence with which each moment- 
 ous rally was followed and the rapturous applause 
 between the rests, one can also remember the 
 prophecy of the All England committee-man, who 
 twenty years earlier had declared, " The ladies will 
 come in time ! " 
 
 What has destiny in store for future patrons of 
 Wimbledon? It is certain th4t testimony to the 
 cosmopolitanism of lawn tennis, recently demon- 
 strated by the successful invasion of pilgrims from 
 Melbourne and Pasadena, will be furnished at each 
 succeeding championship. In short, the days when 
 the players of this country can regard the blue riband 
 of the lawn as their rightful heritage are over. Con- 
 ditions of play may be improved but they are scarcely 
 likely to be materially changed. It is also difficult 
 to see how the highest standard of play can be 
 advanced, though the general standard, especially 
 where ladies are concerned, will doubtless continue 
 its upward tendency. There are many ever-present 
 factors, such as temperature, light and wind, whose 
 variations will and must militate against further 
 accuracy and the actualisatlon of an absolute ideal. 
 If the steadiness of Baddeley and H. L. Doherty, 
 the brilliancy of Pim and Lewis, the placing 
 of Chipp and Chaytor, the service of Brookes 
 and Ward, Ernest Renshaw's lobbing and absolute 
 
ANNALS OF WIMBLEDON 37 
 
 command of the ball could be combined in one 
 player, Wimbledon and the world at large would 
 acknowledge a master against whom every cham- 
 pion of the last thirty years would have fought in 
 vain. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 LAWN TENNIS IN OTHER LANDS 
 
 The universal game — America's national pastime — President 
 Roosevelt as a player — The " Tennis Cabinet " at Washington — Schools 
 as recruiting agencies — Popularity in the Colonies — Conditions and 
 progress in Australia — New Zealand's seven thousand club members — 
 Nursing budding talent — Continental expansion — Eight hundred players 
 in Hamburg — Some famous German tournaments — Austria a land of 
 rich promise — A. F. Wilding relates some experiences — Spain and 
 Portugal — The keenness of the late King Carlos — Sweden's proud boast 
 — A recollection of Stockholm and of King Gustav — Switzerland's appeal 
 
 LAWN TENNIS has long ceased to be only 
 an Englishman's game. Indeed, regarded 
 as a national pastime, its hold on the popular 
 mind is stronger in America and in some of the 
 Continental countries than in the land of its birth or 
 in the Colonies of Great Britain. In athletic England 
 lawn tennis entered a competitive field already 
 occupied and the fact that it has claimed the allegiance 
 of so many supporters and assumed the place and 
 power it has is adequate testimony to its inherent 
 virtues. On the Continent the soil may be said to 
 have been already prepared for the seed — a rich and 
 fertile soil as events have proved ; and the growth 
 of the game has supplied opportunely the demand 
 for athletic culture. Its influence on the recreative 
 
 side of national life in Europe has been deep and 
 
 38 
 
LAWN TENNIS IN OTHER LANDS 39 
 
 catholic. Young men who formerly amused them- 
 selves in the cafe and found their only outlet for 
 physical energy in conscription now flock to the 
 courts. Older men, finding a medium at hand for 
 healthy and novel exercise, which relieved the 
 monotony of the chase, welcomed the pastime with 
 scarcely less enthusiasm ; and when Royalty gave 
 it blessing and active patronage and Society realised 
 that it had found a new and pleasant diversion, the 
 triumph of lawn tennis was assured. Nor can the 
 limits of its future expansion be defined. Every 
 month proclaims new clubs and the inception of new 
 tournaments and at each international meeting the 
 lists become more cosmopolitan. Indeed, surprising 
 as the fact may appear to some people, lawn tennis 
 can claim more adherents the world over than any 
 game in existence. Equally is it true that its clubs 
 out-number those of any other pastime. 
 
 Some conception of the fervour with which lawn 
 tennis is pursued in the United States may be gathered 
 elsewhere in this volume.^ Barely more than thirty 
 years ago the pastime in America was unknown ; 
 to-day it is virtually the summer national pastime. 
 It has a firm and permanent hold at all the leading 
 colleges, is played in the public parks and in private 
 gardens and is an indispensable feature of every 
 country club. At Washington, the seat of Govern- 
 ment, it enjoys unusual prestige, not only the public 
 officials but the President and several members of 
 the Cabinet being numbered among its ardent 
 adherents. Mr. Roosevelt personally supervised 
 the construction of a hard-packed clay court in a 
 ^ See Chapter XVI. 
 
40 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 corner of the White House grounds, not forgetting 
 to add a dark green fence which should serve the 
 double purpose of a playing background and a screen. 
 Here the President, clad in rough-and-ready flannels, 
 neither new nor fashionable, may be found at play 
 nearly every afternoon in good weather, and with 
 him as partners or against him as opponents have 
 appeared from time to time many noted politicians 
 and diplomats. Indeed, the coterie of White House 
 tennis enthusiasts which Mr. Roosevelt has gathered 
 round him is popularly known in Washington as the 
 ''Tennis Cabinet" and is said to exercise almost as 
 potent an influence over administrative affairs in the 
 capital as the real Cabinet ! The Bishop of London, as 
 newspapers on both sides did not fail to inform the out- 
 side world, was a recent guest on the President's court. 
 But though the President of the United States 
 may, as a man past middle life, engage in lawn tennis 
 for its tonic qualities, the career of the expert in 
 America is comparatively short. For one thing he 
 is shipped into business soon after leaving college 
 and only rarely pursues the game seriously after the 
 office call has been answered. On the other hand 
 he begins to wield a racket at a much earlier age than 
 his British cousin ; players have won the blue riband 
 in the States while still at college. The Inter- 
 scholastic Association, founded seventeen years ago, 
 promotes tournaments every year which are held 
 under the| auspices of seven of the leading uni- 
 versities, the winners at each meeting at Newport 
 during the week of the National championship to 
 decide the School championship. These competitions 
 not only stimulate friendly rivalry between the schools, 
 
Q 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 > 
 
 Q 
 > 
 
 CO 
 
 W 
 H 
 
 o 
 
LAWN TENNIS IN OTHER LANDS 41 
 
 but are invaluable recruiting agencies for the senior 
 tournaments. The inter-scholastic champion may, 
 and often does, prove to be the national champion of 
 the immediate future^- The universities also run a 
 competition of their own which encourages both cor- 
 porate and individual zeal. As recent international 
 matches have demonstrated, the standard of play in 
 America is quite as high as the standard in this 
 country, and for spectacular, if not sustained, brilliancy 
 the best exponents across the Atlantic are as a body 
 probably superior to any players in the world. 
 American ladies, however, have not yet reached the 
 same standard as the ladies in England, though their 
 devotion to the game is indisputable and one of their 
 number has so far upset previous calculations as to 
 win the blue riband at Wimbledon on two occasions. 
 American girls do not get the same opportunity to 
 develop their skill as English girls. A first-class 
 mixed double is comparatively rare as are ladies' 
 events generally at the principal tournaments, and 
 the long distance between the various tennis centres 
 precludes many team matches. The next few years 
 may tell a different story. 
 
 There is no need to emphasize the popularity of 
 lawn tennis in Britain beyond the Seas. It has 
 gained the adhesion of thousands of colonials of 
 both sexes. There is not a city of any size in 
 Australia which does not boast its clubs and even 
 in the distant back-blocks a court of hardened earth 
 is improvised by the exiled workers. Each State 
 possesses an association which controls the game 
 within its boundaries and these, with New Zealand, 
 form the Lawn Tennis Association of Australasia, 
 
42 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 a governing body that directs international and inter- 
 state matches, as well as the Australasian champion- 
 ships, and also organises teams for service abroad. 
 As the game can be played in the open all the year 
 round it is possible for the itinerant champion to be 
 continuously in court from March to December, his 
 fighting line passing through Adelaide, Tasmania, 
 Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne. Inter- 
 state matches, especially those between Victoria 
 and New South Wales which have historic traditions, 
 are a feature of Australian tennis, and a place in a 
 State team is a justly coveted honour.^ Grass courts 
 of excellent quality are used for these matches, as 
 for the State championships. At Sydney, Melbourne 
 and Adelaide the courts are prepared on the local 
 cricket Oval, while the associations at Brisbane and 
 Perth use their own grounds. But in Melbourne, 
 except on these occasions, asphalt courts are uni- 
 versally employed and are available all the year 
 round — an advantage which makes the covered 
 court unnecessary. Australians prove themselves apt 
 pupils and remarkably zealous in the pursuit of new 
 strokes. The exposition of the American service 
 by Mr. Norman Brookes stirred the pulses of every 
 player in Victoria and yielded at once a host of 
 disciples all bent on acquiring the new weapon of 
 attack. But Australia, like England, lacks the school 
 nursery to stimulate budding talent. The colonial 
 universities are more modern in their ideas and 
 Inter-' Varsity matches now form a conspicuous feature 
 of the athletic year. Professionalism, here as else- 
 where, is foreign to the game. 
 
 ^ N. E. Brookes first played for Victoria in 1896. 
 
LAWN TENNIS IN OTHER LANDS 43 
 
 Some idea of the growth of lawn tennis in New 
 Zealand may be gathered from the fact that the 
 New Zealand Association has now affiliated to it 
 9 district associations, 2 sub-associations, 123 clubs 
 and 7110 playing members. At the championship 
 meeting held at Christchurch in 1906 there were no 
 fewer than 429 entries for all events. As in Australia 
 most of the clubs have hard courts which are utilised 
 throughout the year. The Thorndon Club in 
 Wellington, however, has very good grass courts, 
 and better still are the grass courts at Napier in 
 Hawkes Bay, the venue of the championships in 
 1903. About thirty open tournaments were held 
 in New Zealand last season. All the associations 
 hold their own championships at which handicap 
 events are included. Public school championships, 
 be it noted to the credit of this Dominion, are held 
 at Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, 
 and in addition several of the leading clubs include 
 boys' events in their tournament programmes. The 
 young player of promise is not neglected in New 
 Zealand. Clubs, of course, have their own meetings 
 — at one no less than twenty-five trophies are com- 
 peted for annually. The keen spirit animating the 
 players is instanced by the fact that the courts are 
 often occupied as early as five in the morning and 
 only cleared at nightfall. Right through the winter 
 one club that I could mention has an average daily 
 attendance of fifty players and only five courts for 
 service. A committee-man **runs a book" and 
 regulates the flux of members into court so that 
 everyone has an equal innings. The players are 
 classified according to merit and the men are required 
 
44 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 to take their share of mixed doubles. It is an excellent 
 idea. 
 
 In South Africa the hard court has universal 
 rule and the atmospheric conditions favour fast 
 play. The standard has risen considerably in recent 
 years and exhibits every promise of further rise. 
 Port Elizabeth may be regarded as the civic pioneer 
 of the game in Cape Colony ; under the auspices of 
 its club and on its courts the championships of South 
 Africa were contested up to 1899, when lawn tennis 
 had spread throughout the Colony with remarkable 
 animation. Until the early nineties volleying was 
 practically unknown and the appearance of Mr. L. A. 
 Richardson, a stranger from the Orange Free State, 
 armed with the new weapon of attack, created a 
 sensation at Port Elizabeth where he easily won 
 the title. As a result the standard of play in all 
 the chief cities underwent a marked improvement ; 
 as in England a decade earlier the "pat-ball" era 
 came to a welcome end. Prior to the Boer War, 
 which temporarily checked the expansion of lawn 
 tennis, the clubs in the Western Province had formed 
 an association and had organised inter-club matches 
 with marked success. When peace was declared other 
 colonies and provinces followed this example, notably 
 the Transvaal which had its headquarters in Johannes- 
 burg ; and subsequently the South African Union as 
 the supreme governing body was established with 
 representatives on its council from eight affiliated 
 associations. Under the zealous presidency of Mr. 
 H. J. Lamb, the Union has stimulated the game in 
 such measure that on the Rand alone there are now 
 300 courts. Each association has its annual open 
 
LAWN TENNIS IN OTHER LANDS 45 
 
 tournament and the Union arranges the South African 
 championships, held rotatively in the larger cities. 
 
 Canada, however, has considerable leeway to 
 make up. Though the proximity of the Dominion 
 to the United States would lead one to expect the 
 same catholic interest, development has been handi- 
 capped by the national claims of lacrosse and the 
 lack of good courts. But the formation of a new 
 club at Montreal with twelve grass courts, owned 
 by the members, is a sign of further awakening and 
 other indications are not absent to show that Canada 
 is increasing her lawn tennis votaries every year. 
 The same may be said of India, where the native is 
 numbered among the elect. 
 
 Nearer home the spread of the game has been 
 phenomenal. I can speak to some extent from 
 personal experience because I have visited most of 
 the principal tennis centres in Germany, France, 
 Holland, Sweden and Spain. Clubs, equipped with 
 the most up-to-date appointments, efficiently managed, 
 with excellent courts and a large membership, are 
 to be found in all directions. No sooner does the 
 membership of one club exceed reasonable limits and 
 the accommodation of the courts prove inadequate 
 than a new one is started in the neighbourhood. In 
 Germany this growth has been perhaps most marked. 
 Roughly speaking, it is estimated there are now 1400 
 courts in the Fatherland, of which nearly half belong 
 to clubs affiliated to the German Lawn Tennis 
 Association. It is almost inconceivable that in 
 Hamburg alone there should now be something like 
 800 players of both sexes. For the propagation of 
 the pastime in this city chief credit must be given 
 
46 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 to Mr. C. A. Von der Meden, the father of German 
 lawn tennis, and the founder of the first club — Eisbahn 
 und Lawn-Tennis Verein auf der Uhlenhorst — in 
 1888. No more zealous and enterprising captain 
 has ever been at the helm of a ship. The two 
 largest clubs in Hamburg command sixty hard courts 
 between them and there are many other smaller 
 clubs. The government of the game in the district 
 is vested in the Hamburg Lawn Tennis Guild, which 
 holds a tournament every spring and autumn, the 
 latter being the international gathering. It was at 
 this meeting last August that Germany won national 
 independence in the world of lawn tennis ; her leading 
 player, Otto Froitzheim, won the national title and 
 broke the chain of foreign successes that had extended 
 for ten years. This achievement, rendered more 
 memorable by another triumph at Homburg a fort- 
 night later,^ has not only brought Froitzheim at 
 one bound into the front rank but has inspired 
 hope in the Fatherland that Germany may soon 
 put a team into the field that can compete on 
 level terms with that of any other nation. Cer- 
 tainly the country has a supply of young players 
 that any land might envy ; at present, perhaps, 
 lacking generalship and experience, but equipped 
 with good style, variety of stroke and abundant 
 zeal. 
 
 Almost as many open tournaments are now held 
 in Germany as in England. Of these Hamburg, 
 Homburg, Wiesbaden, Baden-Baden and Berlin are 
 the chief and yield the highest-class play. The 
 
 1 Froitzheim beat A. F. Wilding by three sets to love in the final of 
 the Homburg Cup. 
 
LAWN TENNIS IN OTHER LANDS 47 
 
 meeting at Homburg has attractive features un- 
 excelled at any I have visited ; and quite apart from 
 the tennis, which is most capably organised and 
 attracts a fashionable assembly, I commend to the 
 tennis tourist a sojourn at this delectable resort. He 
 will find the early-morning promenade to the springs 
 (which he will observe rather than taste) valuable train- 
 ing ; the incomparable music in the Kurhaus gardens 
 at night will soothe his nerves wrought by strenuous 
 match-play ; and the dinner-parties at the sumptuous 
 hotels will do him no harm if he is abstemious. The 
 bijou golf course close at hand in the Park may 
 appeal to him while the courts are drying, as they 
 sometimes must after a particularly heavy rain — a 
 shower or two never causes delay. I advise him not 
 to be lured into testing the virtues of the Gordon- 
 Bennet motor race-course just before an important 
 match. My friend, Mr. O'Hara Murray, once drove 
 me at a breathless speed over part of this famous 
 route. I think we must have covered the journey 
 from Saalburg to Homburg at something like seventy 
 miles per hour. It was a fine test for the racing 
 capacities of the motor, but a bad preliminary for 
 an exacting five-set double. Baden-Baden is five 
 hours' railway journey from Homburg, and though 
 the climate in August is somewhat enervating the 
 courts are ideally situated — -indeed the whole place 
 is set among arboreal charms, picturesque hills and 
 sparkling streams. Wiesbaden has its tournament 
 in May and its ''gallery" is remarkable alike for its 
 size and its enthusiasm — as many as two thousand 
 spectators have surrounded the courts at one time. 
 The Turnier Club in Berlin, crowded with members 
 
48 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 has recently demonstrated its progress by moving to 
 a more capacious ground. 
 
 Austria is a land of rich promise so far as lawn 
 tennis is concerned. The Austrians are ready pupils 
 and many begin to play almost in pinafores. Some 
 idea of the standard may be gathered from the fact 
 that the six best Austrians would easily defeat an 
 average Oxford or Cambridge team. Vienna and 
 Prague are the two principal centres. In the capital 
 of Bohemia, the valley-city of spires and bridges, two 
 open tournaments are held annually, that promoted 
 by the Czech Club, held on a charming island in the 
 Moldau, having a strong international flavoun The 
 entries last year were so numerous — one hundred and 
 fifty in the handicap singles — that three classes were 
 necessary. Vienna is splendidly equipped with clubs. 
 The two most important — known as the Athletic and 
 Bicycling Clubs, though lawn tennis is the chief 
 concern of each — are situated in the Prater, the Hyde 
 Park of Vienna, and the big annual tournament where 
 hospitality will be showered upon the visitor is held 
 alternately at each. Vienna is not yet ahead of 
 Prague in the quality of its players, though it claims 
 the two brightest stars in the country, one of whom, 
 C. Von Wesseley, is in the front rank of Continental 
 exponents and given more prudence and experience 
 is destined to rise to eminence. Marienbad, Austria's 
 most fashionable watering-place, the scene of King 
 Edward's annual cure, holds a delightful tournament 
 in August. The courts are situated in a magnificent 
 forest of firs near to the Waldguella and owe their 
 inception to the generous enterprise of Count Broel- 
 Plater, who, first constructing one court for his 
 
PRINCE AND PRINCESS BATTHYANY STRATTMANN 
 
LAWN TENNIS IN OTHER LANDS 49 
 
 private use, was led by the interest his venture excited 
 and the increasing flow of players, to make two 
 others and eventually to add five more and erect a 
 luxurious club-house. Over five hundred matches 
 were contested at the Marienbad tournament last 
 year. The succeeding meetings at Franzensbad and 
 Carlsbad are also well patronised. 
 
 Lawn tennis flourishes in the smaller Austrian 
 towns in a remarkable degree. Mr. A. F. Wilding 
 relates that when making a motor-cycle tour through 
 Bohemia he encountered signs of its existence in 
 many places. '' While lunching at a hotel in Pilsen 
 a local doctor recognised me and armed with the 
 head waiter as interpreter pressed me to stay and 
 play him a match on his club courts which he assured 
 me were very good. At a small country town named 
 Pisek, when stopping in the road to fill my petrol 
 tank, a tall lanky youth, who had an old racket under 
 his arm, informed the assembled crowd that I was 
 *' Herr Vilding the Australien ! " When passing along 
 the shores of the Balaton, a big lake in the heart 
 of Hungary, I was amazed by the number of courts 
 I saw. Almost every villa with any pretensions to 
 size possessed one. 
 
 Prince Batthyany Strattmann, by birth a 
 Hungarian and by education an Englishman, has 
 done much to foster the game abroad and is a 
 conspicuous figure with the Princess at many of the 
 principal tournaments. Years ago he was a champion 
 of real tennis and won several prizes in Vienna and 
 Paris. He is now well known as a yachtsman and 
 among other successes captured the Queen's Prize 
 with King Edward on board his yacht. The Prince 
 
so THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 has one of the best hard courts in the world at his 
 castle at Kormend and has built another for the use 
 of the townspeople in the adjoining park. Another 
 pioneer and generous patron of the game in Austria 
 is Prince Raoul de Rohan, president of the Marienbad 
 Club, who has a first-class court at his castle. Among 
 others who call for mention in this connexion are 
 Count Nostitz, members of whose family are very 
 keen players ; Baron Ringhoffer, upon whose broad 
 shoulders the management of the Prague tournament 
 falls and Mr. Ebermann of Prague, who has the 
 welfare of Austrian lawn tennis close at heart. 
 
 I refer elsewhere to the popularity of lawn tennis 
 in the south of France^ and at many other French 
 resorts, notably at Boulogne, Le Touquet, Dieppe, 
 Etretat and Dinard, besides Paris, which boasts the 
 well-known Auteuil Club and the fashionable courts 
 on the He de Puteaux, successful open tournaments 
 are held. In Spain, where King Alfonso is now 
 a zealous votary, there has been a steady propagation, 
 and in Barcelona the pastime divides the spectacular 
 interest of the residents with pelotta and the 
 sanguinary excitements of the bull-ring. In Madrid 
 and San Sebastian there are also several courts. 
 
 Portugal has lost its leading patron by the tragic 
 death of the versatile Dom Carlos. His predecessor 
 on the throne. King Luiz, was also a player and there 
 is one zealous votary in Lisbon, Signor William Pinto 
 Basto, who has had the distinction of successively 
 engaging three generations of the Portuguese royal 
 family in a friendly match. For many years the late 
 King had pursued the game at the Sporting Club, 
 
 1 See Chap. XVIII. 
 
 \ 
 
THE LATE KING CARLOS OF PORTUGAL IN A MIXED DOUBLE 
 AT CASCAES, 1901 
 
LAWN TENNIS IN OTHER LANDS 51 
 
 Cascaes, and at the Royal Tapeda Club, besides on 
 the various palace courts. His Majesty had competed 
 at many tournaments and appeared in the annual 
 North V. South contest, as well as in the champion- 
 ships. His most effective strokes were made at the 
 net, one being a dangerous backhand volley across 
 the court. Of the royal courts the one at the Pena, 
 Cintra, is unquestionably the most noteworthy. It 
 has the best gravel surface in Portugal, is irreproach- 
 ably situated so far as light is concerned, and the dark 
 green backgrounds are perfectly arranged. 
 
 Another monarch who has done much to further 
 the interests of the game abroad is the newly- 
 enthroned King Gustav of Sweden, than whom a 
 more passionate votary probably never lived. His 
 active pursuit of lawn tennis as Crown Prince and 
 his warm support of every club in the kingdom has 
 prompted Swedes of all classes to handle the racket. 
 Play is by no means confined to the short summer 
 months, or to the outdoor arena. Indeed, it is in 
 covered courts of which Sweden boasts more than 
 any other country in the world that the higher 
 qualities of the pastime have developed. Stockholm 
 has now nine indoor courts, the best-known being 
 the two belonging to the Crown Prince's Club in 
 Idrottsparken. Constructed under the auspices of 
 King Gustav, who used them regularly, they are the 
 venue of the Swedish championships in May and 
 have attracted many foreign rackets. Of my visit 
 to Stockholm I have very pleasant and grateful 
 recollections, tempered only by thoughts of the 
 consistently bad weather that prevented the many 
 features of this beautiful capital being adequately 
 
52 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 appreciated. Everybody, from the Crown Prince 
 (as he then was) showered hospitality on the foreign 
 visitor, and if this plenitude of good things was some- 
 times embarrassing and inimical to form on court, 
 it is certain that no players in a strange land have 
 been more regally entertained. Well do I remember 
 the lawn tennis dinner which the Prince, now King 
 Gustav, gave in his own apartments at the palace 
 and the dismay which crept over me when the host 
 of the evening gave in turn to each of his guests the 
 Swedish toast '' Skall'' Fortunately there were no 
 speeches but only a ceremonial response. Another 
 graceful act on the part of the Prince was the personal 
 gift of a little blue-and-gold badge, inscribed with 
 a crown and a pair of rackets, which makes its owner 
 an honorary member of the Crown Prince's Club. 
 Gothenburg, Saro, Jonkoping, and Upsala University 
 are among many other centres of the game in Sweden, 
 and open-air courts are to be found in Copenhagen and 
 elsewhere in Denmark. But the factor of greatest 
 promise in Scandinavian lawn tennis is the facilities 
 offered to schoolboys to pursue the game. Nearly 
 every school gymnasium in the larger Swedish towns 
 now has its indoor court, and stimulated by the 
 sympathy and encouragement of the newly-formed 
 Swedish Association, in which the King takes a close 
 personal interest, the boy-player makes rapid progress 
 to the front. 
 
 The Swiss meetings I have not yet had the good 
 fortune to visit, but from all accounts the attractions 
 they offer in respect to climate, picturesque environ- 
 ment and surface conditions, make them an enviable 
 field for the tennis tourist. The Swiss Association 
 
f '^ 
 
LAWN TENNIS IN OTHER LANDS 53 
 
 now has fifteen open tournaments on its fixture card, 
 the best known being those at St. Moritz, Ragatz, 
 Chateau d'Oex, Les Avants, Lucerne and Montreux. 
 English, French, Dutch and German players are not 
 slow to recognise the merits of these meetings and 
 each season finds the lists inflated. Indeed, it is the 
 same story wherever one goes abroad — the game 
 never calls in vain. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 THE HOLD OF THE RACKET 
 
 The use and abuse of a standard grip — Norman Brookes' distinctive 
 hold — Principles of forehand grip explained — How the Dohertys hold 
 their rackets — Principles of the backhand grip — The vexed question of 
 the raised thumb — What American authorities say — The grips of Miss 
 Sutton and Mrs. Lambert Chambers : How they differ — Influence of 
 the forefinger in special strokes — Max Decugis and the results of his 
 finger manipulation — Danger of a fixed backhand grip — Proper time 
 to tighten the muscles — Large handles and fancy handles 
 
 WHEN a game has arrived at maturity, as 
 lawn tennis has, the fact should imply 
 among other things that a standard has 
 been attained which represents the best method of 
 holding the racket, just as it represents the best 
 method of making the strokes. It might reasonably 
 be urged that the result of an evolution passing from 
 the Renshaws to Pim and Wilfred Baddeley and 
 culminating in the Dohertys should provide a standard 
 that might safely be recommended to the aspirant 
 after championship honours. A standard, of course, 
 is not to be regarded as being unalterable ; progress 
 would in that case be burked. But a standard is 
 inevitable, and some explanation and description of 
 it is desirable, first, in order to test new methods 
 when they are exhibited, and, secondly, for the 
 benefit of young players who must have something 
 
 54 
 
THE HOLD OF THE RACKET 55 
 
 definite at which to aim. If such a standard is 
 misunderstood, it is possible that criticism of it may- 
 miss the point, and while addressing itself to what in 
 all good faith it regards as the principles of the 
 standard, may be really dealing with the defects of 
 those who have attempted to acquire them on wrong 
 methods and without understanding. As an instance 
 of this one may refer to the criticism of the use of 
 excessively large handles and of the unorthodox 
 backhand grip — faults which do not attach to the 
 standard itself, but are due to the lack of adequate 
 explanation of it. 
 
 In the accompanying illustrations of the grips of 
 great players certain differences in the hold will be 
 at once detected — differences which naturally evoke 
 doubt in the mind of the learner anxious to acquire 
 the most serviceable as well as the most fashion- 
 able grip. For the purpose of education I prefer 
 to take H. L. Doherty's grip as the standard, 
 not because it is certain to prove suitable to every 
 beginner, but because with slight modification it is 
 the grip of the principal English exponents. These 
 exponents may have been vanquished at times by 
 colonial or foreign rivals whose grip is not in 
 accordance with English canons, but it is rather, I 
 think, in spite of these grips and not because of 
 them that victories have been achieved. The case 
 of Norman Brookes, the present champion, is a fair 
 example. The famous Australian admits that he 
 has a distinctive and peculiar hold of the racket — a 
 self-taught grip in fact ; and while it may be conceded 
 that this hold is perfectly satisfactory for his dis- 
 tinctive strokes — indeed, that they would be virtually 
 
56 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 impossible to execute without such a grip — the 
 rational instructor of lawn tennis would scarcely 
 regard Brookes as a practical model. In the matter 
 of cause and effect the Australians methods are 
 unique. I think for practical purposes we may 
 regard them as such. 
 
 Physically speaking, there is only one grip. Its 
 position may change in the backhand stroke, but 
 the grip itself is the same for forehand and backhand, 
 ground-strokes, volleys and service. A preliminary 
 notion of the forehand grip may be obtained by 
 thinking of the way one grasps a hammer, a sabre 
 or an axe, and of the movement such an implement 
 executes when jerked up and down while the handle 
 is loosely gripped between the forefinger and the 
 thumb. When the thumb and forefinger are half- 
 open and parallel to one another, they form three 
 sides of a long or flat rectangle. This rectangle 
 just fits the handle of the racket, as if the latter were 
 made for it, which as a matter of fact it is. If we 
 regard the handle as a rectangle, then one short 
 side fits the space between the base of the thumb 
 and the base of the forefinger ; the long sides rest 
 along the second phalange of the thumb and the 
 third phalanges of the fingers, respectively. It is 
 as if you were holding a sabre with the grip appro- 
 priate to a cut, and were then to hit the object with 
 the flat instead of with the edge. In the next place, 
 the hand, with the thumb and all the fingers, except 
 the little finger, must be sloped slightly upwards ; the 
 forefinger should be a little farther up the handle 
 than the thumb, in order to act as a strut or prop. 
 Both thumb and fingers rest obliquely across the 
 
R. F. DOHERTY (ENGLAND): 
 FOREHAND GRIP 
 
 R. F. DOHERTY (ENGLAND): 
 BACKHAND GRIP 
 
 N. E. BROOKES (AUSTRALIA): 
 FOREHAND GRIP 
 
 N. E. BROOKES (AUSTRALIA): 
 BACKHAND GRIP 
 
 M. DECUGIS (FRANCE): 
 FOREHAND GRIP 
 
 M. DECUGIS (FRANCE): 
 BACKHAND GRIP 
 
THE HOLD OF THE RACKET 57 
 
 flat or long sides of the rectangle, while the first 
 phalanges of the fingers grip the long side on which 
 the thumb is placed. A rough method of fitting is 
 to place the hand on the handle In such a position 
 that the line which runs from between the thumb 
 and forefinger to the centre of the wrist (the line of 
 life) lies along the junction of the ash and mahogany. 
 The heel of the hand; but not the little finger, (which 
 will be almost an Inch higher), rests on the leather. 
 Lastly, the whole grip may retain this position, which 
 may be called the first position, or may be moved, 
 (as it often is In play), about half an Inch round 
 towards the back of the handle ; this may be called 
 the second position. These two varieties are, roughly 
 speaking, the respective grips of R. F. and H. L. 
 Doherty. The second is the more usual grip. 
 
 The backhand grip is the same as the forehand, 
 but reversed. That is to say, the thumb is on the 
 back of the handle, in the position corresponding to 
 that of the forefinger in the forehand grip. Its 
 business therefore is to act as a strut or prop, and it 
 is best to place it so that its extreme point Is very 
 slightly higher up the handle than the forefinger. 
 The ball of the thumb will be almost entirely on 
 this long side. Meanwhile the first phalanges of 
 the fingers grip the short side of the handle. By 
 the method of fitting by lines, the line of life lies 
 along the junction of the ash and mahogany opposite 
 to that Indicated for the forehand grip. It is not 
 essential to have the thumb up the handle, but it is 
 to be recommended, primarily because the backhand 
 stroke Is rarely so hard or firm as the forehand, and 
 therefore needs support and guidance. The position 
 
58 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 corresponds to the second position of the forehand 
 grip. That corresponding to xh^ first position is not 
 recommended — though sometimes one uses it in 
 quick volleying — for the reason that the wrist is not 
 sufficiently at the back of the handle. 
 
 Wilfred Baddeley, a former champion whose 
 views naturally claim respect, was not a believer in 
 the shifted grip for the backhand stroke. "There 
 is no doubt," he observes,^ ''that the second method 
 comes more naturally to the beginner than the first 
 one, but when the first method of gripping (the 
 permanent hold) has been practised for a time and 
 the player has become accustomed to it, it is every 
 bit as easy and as comfortable as the second method ; 
 and it has the advantage that the player who uses 
 this grip will never be forced to miss a stroke, as I 
 have frequently seen done, especially among inferior 
 performers, through not being able to shift the 
 grip quite quickly enough to meet the ball fairly." 
 Baddeley denies the assertion that the failure to 
 change the grip causes a loss of power in the stroke 
 and imparts a twist to the ball. He says that the 
 ball if properly struck will travel in precisely the 
 same manner as if the racket were held in the second 
 method. I am bound to say that Baddeley has the 
 weight of expert opinion against him, and it is a fair 
 comment to point out that his own backhand was 
 never quite so formidable as his forehand. Dr. 
 Dwight, the leading American authority, altered his 
 view upon the subject between the time of his first 
 and second books — an interval of seven years. He 
 first declared that good form demanded a permanent 
 
 1 Lawn Tennis i by W. Baddeley. 
 
THE HOLD OF THE RACKET 59 
 
 hold on the handle of the racket which was not 
 shifted for the backhand ; but subsequently he 
 withdrew these instructions and declared that a 
 fixed grip entailed much more cut on the ball than 
 was advantageous. ** After considerable study/' 
 says Mr. Parmly Paret/ '* I have found the best 
 players shift the grip through just one quarter of a 
 circle." This may be true of most American first-class 
 players — especially of those employing spectacular 
 strokes — but I doubt if the ''turn "is as much with 
 English exponents. The fact is it would scarcely 
 be politic to lay down a hard and fast rule in regard 
 to fixity or movement of the grip. The standard 
 in England may not be the standard in America 
 and again the standard of both may differ from the 
 standard in the Colonies. Personally I have not 
 much belief in studied emulation of a champion's 
 grip. I have seen so many good scoring shots 
 made with dissimilar holds on so many courts and 
 by so many different players, most of them in the 
 front rank, that dogmatism on this point seems 
 unwarrantable. Regard, for example, Miss Sutton's 
 grip. It differs materially from that of Mrs. Lambert 
 Chambers, her foremost opponent. The American 
 lady holds her racket at the extreme end — in fact 
 the leather knob is almost embedded in the palm of 
 the hand — while the thumb, in this case exercising 
 the function of a clamp, is broadside across the handle 
 and is pressed against the second finger. Mrs. 
 Lambert Chambers, like S. H. Smith, permits a 
 distinct margin of wood to come between the heel of 
 her hand and the leather, while her thumb is raised 
 
 ^ Lawn Tennis (American Sportsman's Library). 
 
6o THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 higher than Miss Sutton's and is not firmly ** screwed 
 down." Each would assuredly tell you that she 
 finds her own grip best for the execution of her own 
 strokes, which differ materially from the strokes of 
 her rival both in the method of striking and the 
 effect which that method has on the ball. 
 
 In fact, though the holds of champions may differ 
 — and a glance at the accompanying illustrations will 
 demonstrate that at once — we may accept each as a 
 model of grip for executing the distinctive strokes 
 which formulate their attack. The close-quarter 
 backhand push-volleys with little or no preliminary 
 swing that have proved such effective weapons in 
 the armoury of Norman Brookes are, it may be 
 avowed, best performed by holding the racket in the 
 manner depicted in the illustration — for one thing, 
 the slightly inclined face of the racket, which helps 
 to ''deaden" the ball after it bounces, can be more 
 readily maintained in its position. The modern 
 English exponent as typified by the Dohertys would 
 find this grip both awkward and impracticable. The 
 Dohertys' backhand volley is more delicate and 
 more wristy ; the body is farther away from the ball 
 when the stroke is made, and there is more pre- 
 liminary swing. I am not here discussing scoring 
 potentialities of given strokes — what happens after 
 the particular grip has done its work. I am only 
 seeking to illustrate the point that the grip cannot be 
 universal with lawn tennis the cosmopolitan game 
 it is. 
 
 I said just now that each champion had distinctive 
 characteristics in his hold and that these peculiarities 
 were concerned with the individual strokes associated 
 
THE HOLD OF THE RACKET 6i 
 
 with his game. Looking at the grip of Max Ddcugis, 
 the French champion, you will observe that for his 
 forehand drive the forefinger is, according to the 
 English standard, abnormally raised and is well up 
 the handle, so much so as to convince you that its 
 position must exercise a visible influence over the 
 stroke. Now Decugis takes the ball at its highest 
 altitude, either in a line with or just below the 
 shoulder. His racket is descending briskly at the 
 moment of impact, thereby imparting that lift to the 
 ball which is such an effective feature of the French- 
 man's attack. Decugis, a natural player if there ever 
 was one, finds that this raised forefinger tends to 
 promote greater control and ensure a more accurate 
 aim. His forehand and service grip is very similar 
 to that of the late H. S. Mahony, and it was, I think, 
 because of this raised finger that the Irishman, hitting 
 the ball not as Decugis does at the top but nearer the 
 middle of its bound, had a comparatively weak fore- 
 hand drive. 
 
 This brings me to another point which would 
 seem to confirm the desirability of a slight — in some 
 cases it is almost an unconscious — change of grip 
 for the backhand. There are players who have so 
 cultivated their backhand, using it even in positions 
 where the forehand would more effectually yield a 
 winning ace, that when necessity requires them to 
 execute a forehand stroke the result is far from 
 satisfactory. On close examination of their hold 
 they will probably find that the backhand grip, in this 
 case a fixed grip, is being used for the forehand 
 stroke ; that is to say, the thumb has not been shifted 
 with the consequent slight turn of the racket's head. 
 
62 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 The result is frequently an incomplete follow- through 
 and a lack of adequate length. Conversely, the same 
 reflection applies to the predominating forehand 
 stroke and its influence on the grip for the back- 
 hand stroke. But though I believe that this matter 
 is worth the attention of the student I am yet uncon- 
 vinced that the precise position of either the thumb 
 or the forefinger on the handle of the racket is a 
 factor which makes or mars a player. The more one 
 considers the standard English strokes as performed 
 by the Dohertys, the more is it made clear that the 
 grasping of the racket is performed with the second, 
 third and little fingers and that the thumb and 
 forefinger, like the whole of the right hand in the 
 golfer's grip, are auxiliary directing agencies. 
 
 The grip should not be very tight until the 
 moment before the ball is struck. At that moment 
 the muscles brace up unconsciously. If they are 
 consciously tightened all the time the arm and hand 
 quickly tire and when you hit the ball your grip is 
 apt to give. This saving of the muscles is particul- 
 arly easy in the service. Continuous tightening of 
 the muscles has another result — it prevents a full 
 swing back, as may well be seen in the service, and 
 thus a feeble follow-through completes an ineffective 
 stroke. The Japanese tell us that in Jiu-jitsu the 
 grip should be quite loose till the instant when the 
 movement is executed. 
 
 Lastly, I would counsel beginners never to use a 
 handle too large for the fingers to work easily. The 
 circumference at the extreme end, just above the 
 leather, should be from 5f to 5 J inches, being reduced 
 to 5 inches half a foot higher up. A proper use of 
 
THE HOLD OF THE RACKET 63 
 
 the first joints of the first three fingers is important 
 for giving those finer touches and last directions to 
 the behaviour of the ball, and these are best secured 
 by using a handle that admits a full hold. Avoid, 
 too, the ** fancy " handle. Many years ago one came 
 out which had cavities for three separate grips, graded 
 for various strokes. For a few sets it was regarded 
 with the mingled awe and curiosity which a daring 
 innovation inspires. But when its impracticability 
 and finally its impotency were established the owner 
 beat a hasty retreat, returning into court next day 
 with a more orthodox, if less ornamental, weapon. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 DRIVING : FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 
 
 Learning the strokes — First essentials — Evolution of the forehand 
 drive — The forehand drive considered in detail — The parts played by 
 the wrist and the elbow — How the racket should be swung back — 
 Hitting the ball — The follow-through — Fundamental principles of the 
 stroke — The essential factor in timing — How to acquire certainty and 
 mechanical accuracy — Application of weight and its effects — The value 
 of the big stride — Why a chop cannot be a drive — Top or over-spin 
 — The so-called lifting-drive and how it may be acquired — Half- 
 court shots — The backhand drive — Some advice to beginners — Final 
 instructions 
 
 HAVING mastered, or at any rate compre- 
 hended the principles and functions of 
 the grip, the beginner may turn to a study 
 of the strokes. One may insist upon the importance 
 of attending to the strokes and acquiring a certain 
 degree of facility in them as played in the best style 
 before games are attempted. They are the founda- 
 tion, and some approach to mastery of them, or at 
 least some certainty of execution, must be attained 
 before the player can profitably concentrate his atten- 
 tion on tactics and the winning of matches. Many 
 a player is still, after long apprenticeship, under the 
 impression that in order to improve he must play 
 against better men until he beats them. This is all 
 
 right if the strokes are each and all perfect in some 
 
 64 
 
DRIVING: FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 65 
 
 degree ; but as a rule they are neglected. Accord- 
 ingly the player actually fails to improve simply 
 because the desire to win and the attention that must 
 be given to strategy are so engrossing that the bad 
 habits with which he began become too deeply rooted 
 for correction. The beginner should also be told, as 
 he is told in other games, that when he has learnt 
 the standard style of stroke, he may give his individu- 
 ality full play, and, if inclined to do so, may modify 
 the standard — but the standard must be learnt first. 
 
 The explanations of the strokes which have been 
 given in books are usually far too condensed and 
 illustrate merely the surface-appearance of a stroke. 
 The beginner is told, for instance, to take the ball 
 at the top of the bound. It seems a simple thing to 
 do, until he tries it. But unless he is told more or 
 lights on the right track himself, he will generally fail 
 to acquire a method by which the result becomes 
 habitual and safe. The same drawback belongs 
 perhaps to the study of photographs of the strokes, 
 and in a less degree to the watching of first-class 
 players while actually executing them. This latter 
 study is absolutely necessary, but is of little practical 
 value unless one knows or can think out just what 
 the player is doing and how he does it. And this is 
 precisely what one cannot know or even see with the 
 eye, until one has grasped the rationale of the move- 
 ments. It is the same in every game, and may be 
 illustrated from conjuring. When watching a con- 
 juror you do not actually see what he does, only the 
 surface of the result, only what he wants you to see. 
 Many surface results in lawn tennis are similarly mis- 
 leading ; for example, when a player puts over-spin 
 5 
 
66 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 or top on a ball, he appears to hit It on the top. As 
 a matter of fact he hits it on the bottom. 
 
 In the evolution of the forehand drive, the master- 
 stroke of the game, three stages may be distinguished, 
 which the learner is recommended himself to follow 
 in his education. In the earliest, the main portion 
 of the work, exclusive of some inevitable movement 
 of arm and shoulder, was done by the wrist. This 
 joint was used as a pivot, on which the hand and the 
 racket moved. In the second stage, the main portion 
 of the work was done by the wrist and the forearm. 
 In the final stage, the work is done by the whole 
 lever, wrist, arm and shoulder each performs its 
 share. To these must be added the fingers. It 
 must not be supposed, however, that the shoulder, 
 the last factor to appear, does the main portion ; it 
 puts weight and steadiness into the stroke and 
 relieves the muscles of the elbow and wrist. Again, 
 it is obvious that for certain shots (which may be 
 called half and three-quarter shots), the first two 
 stages — the wrist-stroke and the arm -stroke — are 
 inevitable and invaluable. In delicate strokes the 
 fingers, guiding the wrist, are the controlling factor. 
 
 We now take in detail the various parts of the 
 standard stroke for the forehand and the backhand 
 drives, and suggest a practical method of getting the 
 whole thing mechanically perfect. 
 
 Both in the forehand and the backhand drive the 
 hand should be bent back, so that the wrist is more 
 or less rigid (see Plate I.). It may prevent misunder- 
 standing, If I state at once that this rigidity is intended 
 not to make the stroke wooden, but to secure two 
 most important results. It is intended not only to 
 

DRIVING : FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 6j 
 
 ensure firmness and consequently to lessen fatigue, 
 but also to promote elasticity, just as it is necessary 
 to compress a spring in order that it may recoil. 
 With regard to the elbow, in one form of the fore- 
 hand stroke it is bent, and moves close to and almost 
 touching the player's side. In the other form, as 
 developed by S. H. Smith and A. W. Gore, the 
 arm is more or less at full stretch. For the backhand 
 the shorter stroke, with the elbow at the side, is much 
 the better ; it is also to be preferred for the forehand, 
 being safer than, though not so strong as the longer 
 stroke. In the follow-through the arm must be fully 
 extended. In the next place, the elbow should be 
 kept down ; there is in fact, no tendency to raise it, 
 except in the lifting-drive. 
 
 It will be well to study this point a little more 
 closely. Keeping the elbow down assists the final 
 upward movement of the racket in the follow-through 
 (as may be seen from Plate II.), which shows that the 
 ball has been lifted correctly. But a more important 
 reason is to be found in the fact that the rigidity of 
 wrist and elbow — that is to say, the lowered posi- 
 tion of the latter — makes the curve of the arm and 
 racket almost convex to the ball. The advantage of 
 this is that the lever which performs the work, does 
 not give in any of its joints, and, secondly, that the 
 wrist and forearm, thus guaranteed against moving 
 back, move at or after impact forward with the pent- 
 up force as it were of a released spring, and, thirdly, 
 that the muscles of the wrist and elbow are relieved 
 by a sort of forced inaction, until they are needed, 
 and that thus the shoulder more easily comes into play. 
 
 In the backhand drive, however, the elbow should 
 
68 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 not be kept down, nor should any conscious attempt 
 be made to manipulate its position. This is necessi- 
 tated by the anatomical structure of the arm, which on 
 the backhand is indeed convex to the ball but has its 
 central joint turned in the opposite direction to that 
 in which it points in the forehand. In the follow- 
 through the arm will be extended enough. It will be 
 seen that the principle of the position of the elbow is 
 really the same in both forehand and backhand drives. 
 
 The sideways position for the forehand drive, with 
 the left foot advanced and the right a little to the right 
 of a line parallel to the stroke and passing through the 
 left foot, is universally understood. It may be pointed 
 out, however, that, the stroke being a side-stroke, it 
 is not necessary or advisable to have the left foot 
 pointed straight in the direction of the stroke. It 
 should be nearly so but not quite. This may be seen 
 in almost all the photographs here reproduced. 
 
 The absolute tyro, instead of trying to master 
 the whole stroke at once, may begin with wrist and 
 arm-work, leaving the shoulder and other factors till 
 later. He should notice to begin with, that the 
 standard drive is a horizontal stroke, the ball being 
 taken at or about the height of the waist and the 
 racket being more or less parallel to the ground. It 
 is a good plan to go on a court alone, stand a fair 
 distance from the net and throw balls up, hitting 
 them when the bound is at a convenient height. 
 After some practice of this sort, you may get some 
 one to hit balls to you. 
 
 A preliminary notion of the movement of the 
 complete stroke may be obtained by comparing the 
 drive at golf. The lawn tennis stroke is, of course, 
 
PLATE III. MRS. LAMBERT CHAMBERS (ENGLAND): BEGINNING OF 
 FOREHAND DRIVE 
 
DRIVING : FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 6g 
 
 not so near the vertical, the ball being from three to 
 four feet up in the air. The forward swing of the 
 racket describes the lower half of an ellipse ; it comes 
 down, striking the ball at about the lowest point of 
 the swing, and rises in the follow-through, much in 
 the same way (though the curve is straighter) as a 
 golf-club. Before this forward movement begins, the 
 racket has to be swung back, and here a practice 
 which has an analogy in golf is useful for the learner. 
 It may be described as '' measuring " the stroke, or 
 "addressing" the ball, just before the racket is swung 
 back behind the shoulder. You wait for the ball to 
 bounce, resting the shoulder of the racket in the left 
 hand, with its head pointing not so much across the 
 body as towards the net. Then, just before the ball 
 reaches the ground, release the racket from the left 
 hand, and point it obliquely forward to the ball. 
 This gives you the range as it were. It is useful to 
 have a fixed time at which to commence the swing- 
 back. Such a time, varying of course with the pace 
 both of the stroke received and of the ground, is 
 the moment when the ball bounces. The swing-back 
 must on no account be hurried. The racket should 
 rise slightly, above the line in which the stroke will 
 be made (see Plate III.). 
 
 The ball itself has now to be dealt with. It is 
 when the racket meets it, that the real difficulties 
 begin. The swing-forward should be firm and slow 
 rather than fast. It is a mistake to suppose that a 
 very rapid stroke produces a rapid drive ; this is 
 effected by body-weight and by timing. A steady 
 and slow swing-forward prevents that ''snapping" at 
 the ball which is one of the worst faults a beginner 
 
JO THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 can form. The ball should be hit as clean as possible, 
 without chop, undercut, top-spin or side. From first 
 to last, that is till the moment of striking, the eye 
 must be concentrated on the ball. It is helpful to 
 bend the head down towards the ball. In the 
 next place the ball has to be controlled, in order to 
 get it over the net, inside the court, and to the place 
 where you wish it to go. Many factors combine to give 
 this command ; the steadiness of wrist and elbow, the 
 timing of the stroke, the position of the striker ; but 
 it is the fingers and the wrist that chiefly, or at least 
 finally, control the ball. Practice alone leads to this 
 result ; when you can feel the ball, as a rider feels 
 his horse's mouth, you may know that the secret is 
 in your grasp. 
 
 The stroke must not be checked for the fraction 
 of a second. Properly speaking, the follow-through 
 does not influence the ball at all, it is a result, not a 
 cause. It is probable that even with the most 
 thorough follow-through the gut does not touch the 
 ball for more than a fraction of a second. A golf- 
 club it has been calculated, touches the ball in 
 the drive for yoVirth of a second. ^ What a firm 
 and complete follow-through does imply is that 
 the ball has been correctly and adequately controlled. 
 With this is connected the fact that the stroke, though 
 primarily a hit, has also the characteristics of a sweep 
 and a push, and it is this virtue which enables you to 
 steer the ball, to obtain certainty, and even to alter 
 its course at the last moment. At the end of the 
 follow-through the head of the racket will be more 
 or less across the body, more so for a cross-court and 
 
 ^ Professor Tait. 
 
^^ 
 
 e 
 
 Q 
 
 . o 
 

DRIVING: FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 71 
 
 less so for a side-line shot, and as before stated it 
 will rise (see Plates IV. and V.). The path of the 
 racket may be roughly represented by a curve, 
 
 B 
 
 A being the commencement of the swing-forward 
 and B the end of the follow-through. When a ball 
 is higher than the waist, this curve will be bent, B 
 will be lower and A higher, that is to say, the player 
 must hit downwards. In Plates VI. and VII. the 
 ball is hit thus ; the position of the racket is due to 
 this and not to the application of top-spin. The rise 
 at the end of the follow-through shows that the ball 
 has received its correct height and length. The 
 habit of using the shoulder, bringing it forward a 
 moment later than the arm, not with the arm, is very 
 important, but may be deferred till later. 
 
 Such briefly may stand for elementary explanation 
 and instruction in the forehand drive, but it is quite 
 possible for a man to play for years and never develop 
 out of these elements the cardinal principles of the 
 stroke. They are of paramount importance, and it 
 is their acquisition alone, whether it be conscious or 
 unconscious, that brings the stroke up to a first-class 
 standard. 
 
 In the first place there is the question of distance 
 from the ball. One is generally told, quite rightly, 
 to keep well away from the ball, but one does not 
 always understand whether this refers both to length- 
 ways and to sideways distance, nor why it is necessary, 
 
72 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 nor, lastly, what distance is best. The advice refers 
 to sideways distance alone. The reasons for it are, 
 firstly, to get the ball at the top of the bound, — it 
 follows if the ball bounds low or if one takes it near 
 the end of the bound, one must be proportionately 
 nearer to it ; secondly, to ensure that the arm and 
 wrist shall be in the correct position at the moment of 
 striking. For strokes at or above the height of the 
 shoulder one must of course be a little nearer to the 
 ball, just as for a low bound. The best distance to 
 aim at is, for the shorter stroke, about two feet, for 
 the longer, about three feet from the shoulder, for a 
 ball of average bound. 
 
 In the next place, the beginner may be told how 
 essential it is to time the stroke and to take the ball 
 at the top of the bound. But he wants to know how 
 to effect this ; at least he ought to, for the method is 
 not perfectly obvious at first. Timing the ball Is the 
 result of many factors, the chief of which will be 
 described In the next paragraph. The secret of 
 getting the ball at top of the bound is this : your 
 distance lengthways from the point where the ball 
 hits the ground should be relatively short ; the 
 nearer up you are, in reason, the better. Therefore, 
 get near the ball. The distance depends entirely on 
 the speed of the stroke and the speed of the ground. 
 The whole position, lengthways and sideways, should 
 be such that the ball is still rising as It comes opposite 
 your body, and is at the top of Its bound as It passes 
 your body and until opposite your right foot and 
 shoulder. 
 
 The last detail brings us to the chief factor in 
 timing the ball, and absolutely the most vital secret 
 
DRIVING: FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 73 
 
 of hard hitting, use of body-weight and general 
 excellence in the forehand drive. It applies less to 
 the backhand drive, for in this the arm has little 
 power when not somewhat forward. The point is 
 this : wait for the ball. Do not take it until it is 
 opposite your right foot or shoulder, or at least the 
 centre of your body. The beginner may do this 
 waiting while pausing after the swing-back, and then 
 as the ball comes up to a point opposite his shoulder, 
 make a second and short swing-back before he comes 
 down on it. To put the matter proverbially, it is far 
 better to take the ball behind your shoulder than in 
 front of your body. Hit the ball at the last possible 
 moment. 
 
 It is astonishing how few players realise this 
 important principle, which, by the way, applies also 
 to the service and the smash. It is in the fitness of 
 things that those who do practise it in the forehand 
 drive are in the very front rank of players. The 
 opposite tendency, not waiting till the ball comes up 
 to the racket, is one which, if encouraged, (and it is 
 easy to misinterpret such advice as '' get quickly on 
 to the ball," in this way), is one which absolutely 
 checks progress and disheartens many a beginner. 
 The curious but natural thing is, that the more 
 anxious one is to do one's duty by the ball, the more 
 forward one is apt to get to it. The result is that 
 you hit the ball at a point far in advance of the 
 centre of your force and weight. Other results are 
 nervousness, checked strokes and poky shots, varied 
 by cases where you have got your weight so far 
 forward that the stroke seems all right. Exactly the 
 same tendency is seen in some nervous batsmen, who 
 
74 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 play forward to everything, and get more and more 
 forward till the inevitable catch is given and taken. 
 By way of comparison it is worth noting that this 
 principle is well seen in association football. To 
 execute a shot at goal with all your weight, it is 
 necessary to delay the kick until the ball is between 
 your feet. 
 
 The rule then is — get as near up to the ball as 
 possible and then wait for it. Don't hit till the very 
 last moment. This is the essential factor in timing 
 the ball, and is one secret of S. H. Smith's great 
 drives, which, you may observe, are not executed 
 with any excessive force or rapidity of arm-movement 
 — in fact to a tyro the speed of the ball seems rather 
 miraculous when compared with the movement which 
 produces It. As you progress in accuracy, you may 
 take the ball earlier still, well before the top of the 
 bound. The difference this makes in time is remark- 
 able ; your return hits the ground before your 
 opponent realises that your racket has hit the ball. 
 Variety in the speed with which you get on to the 
 ball should also be cultivated ; nothing is so discon- 
 certing to an opponent. This, by the way, Is one of 
 the facts which make the perfect ground-stroke player 
 more formidable than the perfect volleyer. 
 
 To get this double position right, requires eye, 
 judgment, and practice ; but it depends more than 
 dinythmg on your fee L As is the casein most ball- 
 games, the feet are as important as the hands ; it Is 
 not so much the stroke itself that Is difficult, as the 
 getting into the correct position to make it. Good 
 lawn tennis players are generally good dancers and 
 often good figure-skaters. 
 
PLATE VII I. M. DECUGIS (FRANCE): FINISH OF BACKHAND DRIVE 
 
 PLATE IX. R. F. DOHERTY (ENCLAND): BEtilNNlNG OF LOW 
 BACKHAND DRIVE 
 
DRIVING: FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 75 
 
 The next two principles are perhaps more 
 important still, for the learner is recommended gener- 
 ally to cultivate a good swing. Now this advice is, 
 for the forehand stroke, a case of putting the cart 
 before the horse. Anyone can swing a racket, but 
 it is not anyone who can hit a ball. Learn to strike 
 the ball with accuracy and to control it with firmness 
 before you think of developing your natural swing 
 into a complete and artistic performance. The 
 danger, of course, is that the learner is apt to think 
 that a fine swing is more important than it really is, 
 but the swing is the least essential part of the stroke. 
 The observant beginner may, we will suppose, watch 
 E. R. Allen or J. M. Boucher executing their incom- 
 parable forehand drives. He notices to his surprise 
 that these players hardly seem to swing back at all, 
 and infers, wrongly of course, that the deadly and 
 mechanical certainty of these drives is in spite of the 
 absence of swing. It is as a matter of fact due to 
 the absence of swing. 
 
 Now the principle thus suggested by this instance 
 is that the swing must not be carried too far back, 
 or that there must be a pause before the racket moves 
 forward to the ball. When ready to do so, swing 
 the racket back and upwards to a point slightly 
 behind the shoulder for ordinary strokes, and then 
 hold the racket steady for a moment or two until the 
 ball comes up to it. It is this slight pause and this 
 alone, that by the steadying and measuring of the 
 stroke, gives a forehand drive its certainty and 
 mechanical accuracy. It is not too much to say that 
 it is the ultimate secret of the stroke. In order to 
 learn the principle it is well even to exaggerate it, 
 
'je THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 and after swinging as far as the shoulder only, to 
 keep the racket stationary until the ball is almost on 
 it, and then press the racket on to the ball. You 
 may now dispense with the ordinary method of 
 addressing the ball, as given in the elementary 
 instructions, and use this pause for the same purpose 
 (see Plate L). When familiarised with the idea 
 and its execution, you may swing farther back, 
 behind the shoulder after the pause, and move 
 straight forward to the ball from this second swing- 
 back. Those experts who swing well back and come 
 forward in what is apparently one movement, still 
 employ this pause, though it is concealed. The 
 common sense of the principle is obvious ; it is to 
 ensure that the arm and racket are steady and 
 in the correct plane, and that the stroke is thoroughly 
 judged and measured before the racket moves 
 forward to strike. 
 
 The beginner will soon find, if he works on this 
 method, that his follow-through is greatly improved. 
 As already observed, the importance of the follow- 
 through consists in the fact that it is the result of the 
 way in which the ball has been hit and controlled. 
 In the method advocated above, the pent-up force 
 which might have been wasted in a big swing-back, 
 is thus concentrated on the stroke itself, and the 
 follow-through is firm and satisfactory. After a well 
 executed stroke one feels the ball to the very end of 
 the follow-through, and it is the last moment of this 
 which seems to do everything, as is also the case in 
 the American service. 
 
 The other cardinal principle concerns the method 
 by which weight is put into the stroke. This is 
 
DRIVING: FOREHAND AND BACKHAND yj 
 
 chiefly effected by bringing the shoulder forward at 
 the stroke and into the follow-through, and, second- 
 arily, by using the general weight of the body, or, to 
 put it in another way, the weight of the left side. 
 Now the principle is this : neither the weight of the 
 right side of the body, worked from the shoulder, nor 
 that of the left side, founded on the left leg and foot, 
 can be effectively brought into the stroke and, what 
 is more important, brought into it without causing 
 oscillation and disturbance of steadiness, unless the 
 weight of the left side of the body is already forward 
 and stationary, before the ball is struck (see Plates 
 VIII. and I X. ). The left foot should be planted firmly 
 with the knee slightly bent and the weight of the 
 body resting on it, before you swing back, or at any 
 rate before you swing forward. 
 
 The advice sometimes given that the weight 
 should be on the right foot at the beginning of the 
 stroke and then transferred to the left at the moment 
 of striking, is quite mistaken. There are some real 
 analogies between the strokes of golf and lawn tennis, 
 and every golfer knows that to rest the weight on 
 the right foot at the beginning of the stroke and then 
 transfer it, is the worst of bad habits. The rule is 
 that the centre of gravity must not be altered at all 
 during the actual stroke. 
 
 This principle, so essential for a strong and steady 
 drive, is perfectly illustrated by S. H. Smith and A. 
 W. Gore. Mr. Paret^ has observed that H. L. 
 Doherty seems to put all his weight into his drive 
 after hitting the ball. This states the case correctly 
 enough for practical purposes, for what is really 
 1 Lawn Tennis (American Sportsman's Library). 
 
78 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 implied is a firm follow-through, in which every 
 ounce of weight tells because it is properly distributed, 
 some of it being already forward. The left-side 
 weight is, as it were, waiting until the right-side 
 weight joins it at the impact of racket and ball. 
 There they meet and combine forces. 
 
 One or two final details may now be put together. 
 For hard hitting it is necessary to take a big stride, 
 and to plant the feet as far apart as possible. This 
 is well illustrated in Plates IV. V. and X. Max 
 Decugis is shewn almost on the run ; in this case of 
 course one does not plant one's self in a stationary 
 manner, but the principle is there all the same. 
 From these photographs the reader will gather some 
 further details, such as the bending of the knees, 
 which are often straightened at the supreme moment 
 of the stroke (see Plates XI. and XII.). Noticeable 
 also is the variety shewn in the bending forward of 
 the body. H. L. Doherty (Plate V.) bends forward 
 very little. Gore (Plate VI.) and Decugis (Plate X.), 
 as far as a fencer in his lunge. The farther forward, 
 other things being equal, the greater the pace of the 
 drive. 
 
 Again just as a player of the older game of tennis 
 keeps the face of the racket ''open," that is, with the 
 upper edge of the frame bent back at a slight angle, 
 and just as the face of a golf club is slightly set 
 back, so in lawn tennis, with the necessary limitations. 
 For a low bound or low volley the racket should be 
 fairly open ; for a bound about the height of the waist 
 either open or square ; for one that is higher, the 
 racket, on the contrary, should be inclined forward or 
 over, as the ball must be hit downwards. But even 
 
PLATE XL A. F. WILDING (NEW ZEALAND): MIDDLE OF 
 LIFTING DRIVE 
 
DRIVING: FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 79 
 
 in the last case some players meet the ball with a 
 slightly glancing blow, almost a slice downwards 
 (see Plates III. and XIII.). Where possible the 
 square face is to be preferred. The mechanical 
 advantages of the open face are, first, that, according 
 to the law of the angles of incidence and reflection, 
 the ball is raised so as to get over the net and attain 
 the desired length ; secondly, the open face is a 
 preliminary position for obtaining control of the ball. 
 The second point may be illustrated by the very 
 simple and complete form of control which a cricketer 
 exercises when catching the ball ; he holds his hand 
 or hands open in order that he may close them. The 
 surface of a racket has not the closing powers of the 
 hand, but the principle involved is the same. The 
 racket is held open in order that it may be closed, 
 and the result is control. 
 
 But there is more than this in the subject of 
 control of the ball. The tyro when he meets a first- 
 class player will notice that his most ordinary drives 
 *'do" a great deal. Just as a good bowler always 
 has some *' stuff" on the ball, even though it may not 
 spin, so it is with a first-class lawn tennis stroke. It 
 is a well known fact «that any projectile is most 
 effectively and more directly driven if there is spin on 
 it. The spin produced by the rifling of a gun carries 
 the bullet straighter and farther. The learner must 
 not however suppose that spin is recommended for 
 the standard stroke ; what is implied is that in it 
 there is a more or less natural spin, not complete as 
 in the lifting-drive, due to the manner of its execution. 
 The spin must be forward or sideways, or a combina- 
 tion of these, backward spin checks the ball. This 
 
8o THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 last point is the reason why a chop cannot be a drive. 
 The natural spin of the forehand drive is sideways, 
 simply because it is impossible to hit out away from 
 the body, and therefore there is a tendency, however 
 slight, to bring the racket in. When the ball feels 
 rather out of control, this spin may be emphasized by 
 consciously drawing the racket across towards the 
 body. It is worth while pointing out here that in 
 making any stroke producing rotation, whether a 
 drive, a cross-volley or a service, the plane of the 
 path of the racket across the ball is not curved, but 
 straight. When the face of the racket turns over, or 
 when it rises in the follow-through, the inexperienced 
 may fancy that the blow was curved, but it is merely 
 an optical illusion. 
 
 A drive may be hit with extra force by this 
 drawing of the racket in towards your body ; the 
 horizontal spin from right to left, not only keeps the 
 ball in court, but lifts it so as to clear the net. This 
 is well shown by A. W. Gore. In his case one can 
 see how the bent-back wrist with the consequent 
 deflection of the face of the racket helps to produce 
 this spin. 
 
 Returning to the open face, we may notice that if 
 a drive is begun by slightly glancing the racket 
 downwards as the ball is met, less force is required in 
 the hit ; it is useful to vary the clean hit with this 
 deflection especially in the case of high -bounding 
 balls. 
 
 Another way of commencing control of the ball is 
 to meet it with the upper edge of the racket slightly 
 bent forward ; then just before the moment of impact 
 the head of the racket moves in a little semi-circle 
 
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DRIVING: FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 8i 
 
 backwards and downwards, and so straight on to the 
 ball. This movement may be seen in E. R. Allen's 
 forehand drive. Some players, as for instance, 
 Ritchie and G. W. Hillyard, whose drive is hit very 
 clean with a straight-faced racket, come round the 
 ball slightly, the movement being the exact opposite 
 of that which results when the wrist is kept well back. 
 The wrist i)rings the racket forward and round the 
 ball, as if embracing it. This is easier if the elbow 
 is bent. 
 
 Putting top on the ball, by turning the racket 
 over in the second half of the impact, is for practical 
 purposes an exception to the law of the straight plane. 
 It is a case of closing the open face, and the result is 
 that the ball is put well away, running and dropping 
 more quickly. It is not so frequently necessary as in 
 the backhand drive. It- is chiefly useful in forehand 
 drives of good length across the court, and down the 
 opponent's forehand line. But even for these two 
 directions, a hard-hit clean stroke is more effective ; 
 such a drive can be hit almost with the full strength, 
 especially if the racket is brought well across the 
 body in the follow-through. Ordinary top is of little 
 practical use except in hard backhand drives across 
 the court. The old Irish drive was of this nature, a 
 forehand stroke taken low with top applied after 
 impact. It is easy to make when on the run, as W. J. 
 Hamilton used to do ; but on hard courts and off a 
 severe stroke it is of little use, especially against a 
 volleyer who knows his business. 
 
 One form of drive depends on exaggerated top or 
 over-spin. This is the so-called lifting-drive. It is 
 well executed by A. F. Wilding (Plate XI.) who 
 6 
 
82 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 probably plays it in the way best adapted to bring 
 out its advantages, namely, by not subordinating 
 straightness and force to rotation. C. Hobart and 
 Miss Sutton (Plate XV.) use the stroke, the latter 
 employing a grip which increases the spin. This 
 grip is still further exaggerated by H. A. Parker, of 
 New Zealand. P. de Borman employs excessive 
 rotation, the result being a very puzzling curl and 
 break, but the stroke so made cannot be placed with 
 any mastery and it is very fatiguing to the fingers 
 and arm (see Plates XI I^. and XII<5.). The lifting- 
 drive is effected thus : — the elbow being bent and up, 
 the racket meets the ball with an upward and forward 
 glancing blow, ** brushing" the ball a^r> it has been 
 graphically put. The upward movement of the 
 racket should be very vigorous, but not too vertical, 
 otherwise pace and direction are sacrificed. The 
 important point is that, to get the top-spin, the ball 
 must be hit on its lower side. The grip for this 
 stroke should be well behind the racket (see Plate 
 XIL). The peculiarities of this drive are that it 
 possesses a very high trajectory, descends very 
 rapidly and rises quickly. Just before the ground is 
 reached, the rate of propulsion decreases, and thus 
 the spin has more effect; hence the "dive" which is 
 characteristic of the stroke. The player can hit very 
 hard without any fear of the ball going out, while for 
 short strokes the dive of the ball is very effective. 
 It has been tried for the backhand, but it is not 
 suited to the anatomical position of the bones of the 
 arm. As compared with the standard stroke the 
 lifting drive is more tiring, and it is not so easy to 
 put body-weight into it. There is moreover less 
 
PLATE XV. MISS SUTTON (AMERICA): BECilNNING OF FORKHAXD DRIVE 
 
PLATE XVI. R. F. DOHERTY (ENGLAND): FINISH OF BACKHAND DRIVE 
 
 PLATE XVII. H. L. DOHERTY (ENGLAND): BEGINNING OF LOW 
 BACKHAND DRIVE 
 
DRIVING: FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 83 
 
 possibility of steering the ball, since the follow- through 
 leaves the ball, as it were, immediately after impact 
 (see Plate XI.). 
 
 To return to the standard stroke, one may remind 
 the learner that it is graded. For half-shots the 
 wrist is chiefly employed as in short cross or side- 
 line strokes. This wrist stroke is also valuable for 
 snapping up shooting balls or balls that can only just 
 be reached; a very open racket is useful here. A 
 cut lob of a dangerous kind, often winning the rest, 
 may be effected by this stroke off a ball that to all 
 appearance was killed. 
 
 The general principles of position and timing 
 apply to the backhand drive, but owing to the 
 anatomical differences involved they do not admit of 
 such complete application. The backhand drive is 
 more important in one sense than the forehand, in so 
 far as it is less frequently brought to perfection and 
 certainly is more difficult to acquire. The forehand 
 drive is the staple of the game, but it is false economy 
 to run round every ball and take it forehanded — 
 position is sure to be sacrificed. The learner should 
 endeavour to make his backhand drive as good, 
 relatively, as his forehand. He must be able, when 
 necessary, to kill the ball with a hard well-placed 
 backhand drive, as effectively and cleanly as on the 
 forehand. A defective grip has prevented many 
 players from acquiring a really masterly backhand 
 drive. The grip should be adjusted so that when the 
 ball is hit with a horizontal racket, the face being 
 square, the fingers, wrist and forearm can do their 
 work freely (see Plate XIV. for one form of grip, and 
 Plate VIII. for another). A tyro who has no notion 
 
84 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 whatever of the movements involved in the backhand 
 can get some notion of them by hitting objects with a 
 /Walking-stick. The movements of shoulder and body- 
 may be understood even by this sort of propaedeutic. 
 The position should be much more sideways than for 
 the forehand, especially when a full stroke is to be 
 taken, or when one is driving down the opponent's 
 forehand line (see Plates XV L and XVIL). Here 
 the right foot should be to the left of a line drawn 
 parallel to the side line through the left foot (see 
 Plate XVIL). The players back will be almost 
 turned to the net. For anatomical reasons the ball 
 cannot be taken so late or so far back as in the 
 forehand drive (see Plate XVI IL). It is helpful to 
 bend the head down, so as to look more or less in 
 the plane of the stroke, the line of sight being 
 brought down to the level of the ball (see Plate 
 XIX.). This is noticeable in the very accurate 
 backhand strokes of H. Roper Barrett. The follow- 
 through in a full stroke comes right across the body 
 and the racket finishes about the height of the 
 shoulder (see Plates VIII. XVI. and XX.). It may 
 assist beginners to point out that in both forehand 
 and backhand drives, the finish of the follow- through 
 means the point past w^hich the arm and racket 
 cannot go ; let them move as far as they can until 
 stopped by the position of the body and the laws 
 of nature. The body from the hips upward turns 
 round as the shoulder follows the arm. As before, it 
 must be remembered that the shoulder joint should 
 move forward after the arm, not with it ; the work of 
 hitting the ball must be consciously performed by the 
 arm first. The left toe may act as a sort of pivot. 
 
PLATE XIX. M. DECUGIS (FRANCE): FINISH OF FOREHAND DRIVE 
 
 PLATE XX. N. E. BROOKES (AUSTRALIA): FINISH OF BACKHAND DRIVE 
 
DRIVING: FOREHAND AND BACKHAND 85 
 
 For drives across court It Is useful to put top on ; 
 such drives are very useful for finishing a rest. 
 
 As in one form of the forehand drive, so in the 
 backhand the racket comes round the ball. Here 
 the wrist, which of course should be bent back and 
 rigid, comes into play and directs the course of the 
 ball. One should feel one's wrist in the backhand 
 stroke. It is possible to play backhand drives with a 
 draw of the racket from left to right across the body, 
 as W. V. Eaves sometimes does, but there Is not the 
 same control over the direction of the ball. But both 
 this and all forms of short strokes, especially stop- 
 strokes, should be practised, both forehand and 
 backhand. 
 
 Lastly, it cannot be too firmly impressed on the 
 learner's mind that the foundation of a good game Is 
 clean and hard hitting. Hard, well-placed drives are 
 the backbone of the attacking game, and to kill the 
 ball off the ground one must be able to bang it out of 
 reach. To do this and to play good length drives 
 without tiring, to apply the maximum of force with 
 the minimum of effort. It is necessary to hit from the 
 shoulder. If the directions previously given are 
 carried out, the trick of this can be acquired by 
 anyone to whom it does not come naturally. The 
 player will soon find the value of a big stride not only 
 for covering the court, but for executing hard drives. 
 It is only by planting the feet well apart that a hard 
 drive can be adequately carried out. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 THE VOLLEY AND ITS VARIETIES 
 
 An orderly evolution — Volleys at the height of the waist or 
 shoulder — Variety of direction essential — How Brookes "pigeon- 
 holes " the ball — Principles and practice of the plain straight volley — 
 The oblique or tangential impact — Extremes of elevation — The low 
 volley — Placing the ball at will overhead — The hard smash — The 
 backhand smash — Further points as to method — Cross-court volleys — 
 Stop- and drop-volleys — The importance of deep volleying — General 
 principles of defence against the volleyer — The half-volley 
 
 THE volley, more than any other stroke, is 
 characteristic of lawn tennis. In no other 
 game is it possible to do so much with the 
 ball at full pitch. The reason is the comparative 
 lightness and elasticity of the inflated india-rubber 
 sphere, a reason also which allows the game 
 generally a greater variety of strokes than is 
 possessed by any game in the world. In some 
 respects the volley itself is capable of more variety 
 than the other strokes of the game — in the matter, 
 that is, of the angle of direction — since it can be 
 played in almost any position and from almost all 
 parts of the body. Without going into historical 
 detail, it is sufficient to point out that the volley like 
 the drive and the service, has passed through an 
 orderly evolution ; the development in brief, has 
 been from a short stroke, effected by the wrist 
 
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THE VOLLEY AND ITS VARIETIES 87 
 
 alone, to a longer stroke, in which fingers, arm, 
 shoulder and body may also take their part. The 
 result is greater delicacy, greater precision and 
 greater weight and force. To these results is to be 
 added the application of spin. 
 
 The beginner will find little difficulty in learning 
 forehand and backhand volleys when about the 
 height of the waist or shoulder. It is best to play 
 them with the arm slightly bent ; in the follow- 
 through, of course, the arm is extended. The side- 
 ways position is not so pronounced as for the drive, 
 especially in the case of backhand volleys. The 
 knees should be slightly bent ; for low volleys one 
 should stoop as far as one can. For volleys of an 
 average height it is useful to bend the head down 
 to the stroke, so as to see along the line of flight 
 (see Plate I.). The ball should be hit earlier than 
 in the drive.' As soon as ordinary accuracy in 
 returning simple easy shots is acquired, the player 
 must cultivate variety of direction. The fingers 
 and wrist play an important part here ; a good 
 volleyer must possess or acquire strength of finger 
 and wrist. Except in hard-hit volleys the follow- 
 through is carried along the line of flight of the 
 ball ; the racket at the finish pointing to the place 
 to which the ball is travelling. The swing-back 
 should be minimised as much as possible, the 
 ordinary volley being somewhat of a push, and also 
 giving the player less time than other strokes (see 
 Plate I.). In accordance with this principle, it is 
 useful when waiting for a volley to hold the racket 
 with the head pointing to the net. This position 
 also enables the racket to move most quickly to one 
 
88 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 side or the other, according as the ball comes to the 
 forehand or the backhand. Greater power of 
 accuracy, it will be found, can be secured when 
 the racket is held rather short (see Plates IL and 
 IIL). The ball must not be merely met by the face 
 of the racket, it must be consciously hit and firmly 
 followed. In the case of Brookes the spectator can 
 almost see him pigeon-holing the ball with his follow- 
 through. 
 
 It will be convenient here to throw into relief 
 two principles, which are brought into greatest 
 contrast perhaps in high volleys. The one is the 
 use of the plain straight stroke with the face of the 
 racket at right angles to the ball, and the other is 
 oblique or tangential impact, the cut. As a rule, it 
 is advisable to have the face of the racket slighdy 
 open, that is, with the upper edge of the frame bent 
 back. For low volleys, it is necessary, the angle of 
 the racket automatically raising the plane of the ball's 
 flight, so that it clears the net. Even in volleys at 
 the height of the waist it is useful. These volleys 
 are generally hit with a straight stroke. If the ball 
 were slighdy higher than the shoulder it could be 
 hit in the same way. But it could also be hit with 
 a downward glance or slice, the result being a cross- 
 volley, at any sharp angle. This stroke is well 
 exemplified by H. L. Doherty, and is very effective 
 from the right-hand court. In the other method it 
 could be hit across at the same angle, but to do so 
 the body would have to move round, and the fingers 
 and wrist would have more to do. The latter method, 
 exemplified by Brookes, requires more careful 
 watching and guiding of the ball, while the other 
 
PLATE III. N. E. BROOKES (AUSTRALIA): LOW FOREHAND VOLLEY 
 
 PLATE IV. H. L. DOHERTY (ENGLAND): LOW BACKHAND "DRAW 
 
 VOLLEY 
 
THE VOLLEY AND ITS VARIETIES 89 
 
 may degenerate, if the player is careless, into a slash. 
 The same contrast is brought out in the so-called 
 smash, which may be hit either straight or obliquely. 
 All this applies equally well to backhand cross- 
 volleys. 
 
 There is still another method of volleying a ball 
 that is no higher than the shoulder nor lower than 
 the waist, that is to say, a ball that is at the height 
 of a fairly high bound. The method is to drive it 
 as if it were off the ground, with a straight arm. 
 Some authorities deprecate this stroke as being risky, 
 but when the ball has appropriate elevation and 
 velocity, the stroke is no more risky, and is far more 
 effective than an ordinary volley. It has the merit 
 of possessing the capacity, especially in a double, to 
 kill the ball outright. Gore, S. H. Smith and E. R. 
 Allen play this stroke with great accuracy. Applying 
 other varieties of the drive, such a ball may be lifted 
 or hit with a draw. The latter is frequent on the 
 backhand and may be used for instance when a 
 player's position is such that he cannot drive the 
 stroke home (see Plate IV.). The draw keeps the 
 ball low but above the net and the angle at which 
 it passes over the net is often sharp, a fact which 
 renders it difficult to take. The name *' scissors " 
 sometimes given to this stroke, well illustrates its 
 character. 
 
 Extremes of elevation in the volley are exemplified 
 by the lowest of low volleys, when the ball is within 
 two inches of the ground, and by a smash for which 
 the player has to leap into the air. The smash or 
 overhead volley is similar to the service and is played 
 in much the same way (see Plate II.). The beginner 
 
90 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 may note that the chief reason for failure is omitting 
 to keep the eye on the ball right up to the moment 
 of striking. He should get well under the ball, so 
 that it is rather behind than in front of his head, 
 except in the case of a slow and easy short ball near 
 the net, which can be hit down and out of reach 
 without delay. By varying the plane in which the 
 racket moves to the ball, to right or left, straight or 
 oblique, the ball can be placed at will with great 
 precision, if little or no cut is used. For straight 
 quiet smashes Brookes is a model ; he puts the ball 
 away with mechanical accuracy. No swing is used, 
 but often the fingers and wrist have much to do, if 
 the angle of return is very different from the angle 
 of approach or if the volleyer has to meet a hard 
 drive. Command of a volley like this is very useful 
 in running-up on the service (see Plate V.). H. L. 
 Doherty's is no less perfect ; he uses more swing and 
 the direction is equally well concealed in this way. 
 The hard smash is less frequently necessary in singles 
 than in doubles ; in the latter one hits a ball as hard 
 as possible, in a single one would often be better 
 advised to play a dropping stroke. As the name 
 implies, in this stroke the ball is allowed as it were to 
 slip off the face of the racket. For dealing with lobs 
 on the backhand H. L. Doherty's method should be 
 considered. The ball is never taken backhanded ; 
 the player seems to float quietly backward or back- 
 ward and sideways with the ball, which he places 
 firmly and often severely across the court. This can 
 be done while running (see Plate VL). The back- 
 handed smash, as employed to perfection by the late 
 H. S. Mahony, should be learned, it being useful for 
 
PLATE VII. M. DECUGIS (FRANCE): BEGINNING OF BACKHAN'D SMASH 
 
THE VOLLEY AND ITS VARIETIES 91 
 
 short balls well on the backhand side-line, and is 
 frequently required in doubles (see Plate VII.). 
 
 A thorough command of the overhead volley is 
 essential in both singles and doubles ; in the latter 
 especially, for here the lob is so obvious a method 
 of defence (the court being more guarded than in a 
 single). A pair who cannot smash well and with 
 variety are, other things being equal, doomed to 
 failure. Some points as to method are here note- 
 worthy. The racket may be held down by the side 
 until the ball is within reach, or it may be held in 
 the air. In the former case the ball must be well 
 judged, or there must be a pause to steady the stroke 
 before the ball is struck. The player must learn the 
 trick of running backwards, but when the lob goes 
 deep into the court he must turn and run forwards 
 until he is underneath the ball, when he turns once 
 more to face the net. In smashing lobs it is im- 
 portant to remember your whereabouts in the court, 
 otherwise you may fail to clear the net or may go 
 wrong in length or placing. 
 
 As a general principle it is, of course, better to 
 volley down than up. A rising ball is always in 
 danger when the opponent is near the net. Neverthe- 
 less, the low volley must be employed at times, and 
 in certain of its forms, for example in cross-volleying, 
 the stroke may be developed into a winning shot. 
 The low volley can be brought to such perfection 
 that a hard well-placed return may be made from a 
 ball that is within a foot of the ground. E. R. Allen 
 plays a backhand volley of this nature with decisive 
 effect ; the ball keeps low, crosses the opponent to 
 his right and pitches almost on the side-line. A ball 
 
92 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 can be volleyed with fair precision when within two 
 inches of the ground, the movement being somewhat 
 like that of the mashie shot in golf. Here we may- 
 note that many such strokes are made from the side 
 or end of the racket, not from its centre. The 
 structure of the modern racket admits of this. 
 
 For the low volley the player must bend down as 
 far as he can (see Plates IIL IV. and VIII.), and 
 the racket should be as horizontal as possible. If the 
 racket is vertical it is difficult to effect anything but 
 a defensive stroke. Sometimes, however, as in quick 
 play at the net in doubles, it is necessary to play the 
 ball almost off the feet with a vertical racket, much 
 as a batsman blocks a cricket ball. This stroke is 
 well played by R. F. Doherty. For other than 
 defensive purposes the low volley is either a cross 
 or a stop-volley. Very effective volleys at an ex- 
 tremely sharp angle can be made when the ball is 
 within a foot of the ground and close to the side-line. 
 F. W. Payn was good at these. The racket must be 
 as horizontal as possible. Steering is assisted, if the 
 head of the racket is kept up. The chief point about 
 the stroke, however, is that it is a glancing hit almost 
 underneath the ball. Here as in all cut strokes, the 
 path taken by the racket is straight, not curved, on 
 a parallel slightly lower than the flight of the ball 
 and not necessarily upwards, the open face raising 
 the ball sufficiently. On the backhand the same 
 result can be effected by a hook-volley, instead of 
 a slice. The wrist is bent sharply round (see Plate 
 IX.). It is not too much to say that the player must 
 have a repertory of cross-volleys, ranging from above 
 the shoulder to his feet, both forehand and backhand. 
 
PLATE VIII. M. DECUGIS (FRANCE): LOW FOREHAND DROP-VOLLEY 
 
 PLATE IX. N. E. BROOKES (AUSTRALL\) : LOW BACKHAND 
 HOOK-VOLLEY 
 
THE VOLI^EY AND ITS VARIETIES 93 
 
 Passing now to stop- and drop-volleys, we require 
 still greater delicacy of touch than in the cross- 
 volley. These are no less valuable than the latter 
 for killing the ball, and are especially effective in a 
 single. The stop-volley can be made from the 
 hardest drive, and the ball drops practically dead. 
 The player must be as near the net as possible and 
 in one variety of the stroke he allows the racket to 
 givQ as it meets the ball. By turning the wrist, as in 
 the hook-volley, the ball can be made to move almost 
 parallel to the net. Pim was proficient at this. In 
 another variety the racket is held vertically, and 
 moves downwards with a sort of dig, as seen in the 
 photograph of Brookes (Plate X.) ; in yet another the 
 vertical racket moves slowly upwards, with a kind of 
 drag, allowing the ball to fall quietly off it (see Plate 
 XL). The latter varieties can be played when the 
 ball is fairly low ; in the others the ball should be 
 higher than the net. A stroke which is half a cross- 
 volley and half stop, may be made by a sort of 
 oblique stab. The ball comes across at a sharp 
 angle and pitches very short. The lob-volley is 
 almost sufficiently explained by its name. It is 
 useful in a double, when all four men are at the net. 
 It should be fast enough and high enough, or it will 
 be easily killed. Dr. Eaves is one of its few 
 masters. 
 
 Though it need not be supposed that the volley 
 is only important as an attacking or deciding stroke 
 — in doubles more often than not, and in singles 
 sometimes, it is defensive — yet owing to the greater 
 quickness of return and the less time allowed to the 
 opponent, the volley should by preference be em- 
 
94 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 ployed to weaken the defence, to get the opponent 
 out of position, or to finish the rest. For killing 
 the ball, hard hitting as well as good placing are as 
 essential as in the drive. The way in which R. F. 
 Doherty, for instance, finishes a rest in a double by a 
 hard backhand volley driven right between the 
 opponents, well shows the decisive character of a 
 good volley. The beginner may note here that the 
 backhand volley is very easy to place well and to hit 
 hard if the arm is bent and the stroke well carried 
 through. 
 
 When placed down the court, the volley should 
 be deep enough to prevent the opponent getting 
 back to it ; the chance for this rarely occurs in a 
 single. Generally speaking, the best direction for a 
 kill is across the court, both when the opponent is up 
 and when he is back. The sharper the angle is, the 
 better. The beginner is advised when running-up 
 after a good drive to pause at the service line until 
 he knows where the return is coming, and then to 
 dart in to the net and execute the volley. For quick 
 volleying in a double it is advisable for some players 
 to hold the racket with the backhand grip ; a quick 
 forehand volley can be well played thus, whereas a 
 backhand volley cannot be satisfactorily achieved 
 with the forehand hold. 
 
 The necessity of placing the ball down the centre 
 of the court in order that the volleyer may have the 
 best chance of reaching the return has often been 
 referred to. A consideration of the diagonals of the 
 single court, where they cross the net, proves the 
 general usefulness of this method. The player will 
 also observe that when following up, for instance, a 
 
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THE VOLLEY AND ITS VARIETIES 95 
 
 reverse American service from the right-hand court 
 it is best to keep rather to the left of the centre of 
 the net. In fact, he will find that it is useful to 
 cultivate the power of swerving in his stride as a 
 football player does. When a man is on the run it 
 is useful to put the ball to the place he has just left, 
 especially if the return be made at a sharper angle. 
 This applies to the drive equally. For instance, 
 when the court is quite open for a cross-volley and 
 the opponent anticipating this is already moving in 
 the required direction, a volley down the side-line 
 or a stop-volley, may effectually finish the rest. I 
 have referred to the centre of the court and keep to 
 the last a no less emphatic injunction to the player 
 not to trust too much to this position. A good 
 driver can pass a man from the centre of the base- 
 line with reasonable success, and can always put him 
 out of position. A player should therefore remember 
 that hard driving into the corners of the court, 
 especially diagonally, is no less useful a preliminary 
 to running-up to the net. 
 
 With regard to the general principles of defence 
 against the volleyer, it must be noted that if his 
 volley is at all decisive, the only hope is, if you reach 
 it, to lob. On the other hand if the cross-volley is 
 just a shade too slow or too little across, the 
 return may pass him outright. Thus bad back-play 
 generally beats bad volleying. The persistent 
 volleyer works for an opening by the service and by 
 well-placed volleys into the back of the court, until 
 he has an opportunity for a cross-court kill. The 
 opponent must calculate his own chances of driving 
 down the lines so as to pass him or at least get him 
 
96 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 out of position, in which latter case he ought to pass 
 him on the other side next shot. It is important to 
 remember that it is almost impossible to pass a 
 man who is at the net by hitting across the court ; 
 you must try for the lines. If however he is not 
 quite up, or only at the service-line, then is the time 
 for a pass across the court. 
 
 The half-volley is extremely valuable as a last 
 resort, when out of position, or as a time-saver. It 
 is no less valuable, however, when brought to per- 
 fection, as an attacking stroke, precisely because of 
 the difference in time. The half-volley is, of course, 
 played as a rule with the racket more or less vertical. 
 The stroke is made chiefly with the wrist and 
 forearm ; the follow-through should be carefully 
 attended to, here the head of the racket should be 
 kept as low as possible. At the finish it should not 
 Idc more than two or three feet from the ground. 
 This is the secret of keeping a hard half-volley in 
 court. G. A. Caridia is the best exponent of this 
 stroke, employing it as a means of attack with great 
 success. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to explain that a half- volley 
 consists in a stroke by which the ball is played 
 within a few inches after its impact with the ground. 
 What does require a word is the development which 
 it has received beyond this primary form. This 
 development is similar to what has been done with 
 the half- volley in batting. Jessop hits the ball when 
 it is really a good way from the ground, and keeps 
 his eye on it as much as if it were a long hop. So 
 in lawn tennis ; the ball can be taken and driven hard 
 when it is from one to three feet behind its point of 
 
THE VOLLEY AND ITS VARIETIES 97 
 
 impact with the ground. The gain in time is 
 enormous, as it is from any rising ball. The rest 
 may be finished before the opponent has even begun 
 to move. The rising ball as ordinarily implied is 
 taken much later than this half-volley ; the two 
 strokes merge into one another. Thus, a player like 
 Caridia can drive the ball at any point between its 
 point of contact with the ground and the top of its 
 bound, not to mention the later and much easier half 
 of its progress towards the second bound. A very 
 useful stroke may be termed the stop-half-volley. A 
 volleyer near the net receives a return at his feet, 
 too short to volley. He can return this with a 
 delicate half-volley slightly cut or stopped, so that 
 the ball will fall dead just over the net. Holcombe 
 Ward, the American, executes this stroke to perfec- 
 tion. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE STANDARD SERVICE 
 
 The value of variety — Position of the feet — Need of a light and 
 easy pose — Throwing up the ball — Some important points emphasized 
 — The swing- back — The contact of the racket with the ball — After the 
 impact — Where the racket should finish — Body-weight and its distribu- 
 tion — Imparting "devil" to the stroke — Good length essential — The 
 relation of the first service to the second — Placing the service in the 
 corners — Variation by natural spin 
 
 THE service is a formal attack, and though 
 its terminus a quo and terminus ad quern 
 are limited, its positive advantages are 
 great. The same is the case in many ball games ; 
 even in fives, where the service may have to be 
 made according to the taste of the striker-out, the 
 server has an advantage from his position. There 
 is a close analogy between the service and bowling 
 in cricket or pitching in baseball, and -some general 
 principles are common to all three, such as the 
 advantages of change of pace, change of direction 
 and change of spin. Variety is invaluable in the 
 service, and the learner is recommended, as soon as 
 he has mastered the plain standard service, to practise 
 varying it until he has the same command of the 
 ball as that possessed by a first-class bowler. 
 
 The same procedure as was recommended in the 
 
 98 
 
PLATE 1. R. F. DOHERTY (ENGLAND): 
 BEGINNING OF SERVICE 
 
 PLATE II. MRS. LAMBERT CHAMBERS 
 (ENGLAND): BEGINNING OF SERVICE 
 
PLATE III. F. L. RISELEY (ENGLAND): BEGINNING OF SERVICE 
 
THE STANDARD SERVICE 99 
 
 case of the drive may be followed by the beginner, 
 that is, he may commence with a half-arm action. 
 For the standard service the grip is the same as for 
 the forehand drive. It should be loose until the 
 moment of striking the ball. As always, it is to be 
 remembered what an important part can be played 
 by the ends of the fingers. The thumb can also 
 be used to control the direction of the ball. Take 
 two balls in the left hand — with a little practice 
 three will be found easy to carry and useful in case 
 of a let — and stand about a yard or a yard id a 
 half to the right or left of the centre of the base- 
 line. Serving into both courts should be practised 
 equally. There is a good deal of difference between 
 the two in the angle at which the stroke is delivered; 
 Until some proficiency is attained, it will be best, 
 as in learning other strokes, to hold the racket short. 
 The left toe should be about six inches behind the 
 base-line, and, from the right court, should point 
 either straight along the line which the ball is to 
 follow, or a little to the right of it. The right foot 
 should be slightly to the right of and about two feet 
 behind the left. From the left court if the same 
 position is taken relatively to the flight of the ball 
 the right foot will be to the left of a line drawn 
 through the left foot parallel to the side-lines. The 
 pose should be light and easy, and it is useful to 
 swing to and fro, changing the weight from one 
 foot to the other by way of exercise in balance. 
 The place where you intend to put the ball should 
 be marked with the eye, but as soon as the ball is 
 thrown up the ball alone must be watched. Faults 
 are due to nothing so much as to the omission to 
 
lOO THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 keep the eye on the ball. The space Into which 
 you aim to direct the ball should at first be a large 
 area, practically the whole of the backward half 
 of the court. Practice will soon diminish this, just 
 as in revolver-shooting one proceeds from large to 
 small bulls. An expert server can place the ball 
 at will within a space less than a foot in diameter. 
 -,-^^To commence, put the left hand and the face 
 / of the racket together, in front of you, previous to 
 3^ftrowing them up. This is equivalent to addressing 
 ^"^the ball. Then throw the ball up slightly above 
 and to the right of the head, rather behind than in 
 front, and at the same time raise the racket so that 
 its face is a few inches behind the ball when the 
 latter is descending. Then hit the ball before it 
 has fallen too far for the arm to move comfortably. 
 The above is a method useful for those who have 
 had no experience at all. At first the stroke will 
 be a feeble sort of pat, but you must gradually 
 lengthen the throw-up of the ball, and the other 
 movements will in time become longer also. It is 
 useful to practise throwing up the ball before the 
 racket is raised, and vice versa. The throw-up of 
 the ball is as important a matter as anything in 
 the service, and it is not the least difficult. The 
 service depends very much on the accuracy and 
 straightness of the throw-up. It is obvious that 
 if the ball describes a curve it will be less easy to 
 hit. The eye should be kept on the ball until the 
 racket is actually touching it. The mental photo- 
 graph of the opponent's court and of the place 
 where you intend to serve is quite enough for the 
 most accurate service. 
 
\ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 %. 
 
THE STANDARD SERVICE loi 
 
 The gradual lengthening of all the movements 
 will lead to the standard service, now to be described. 
 The right arm and racket, the position being taken 
 up, are held loosely down by the right knee. Then 
 the ball is thrown up to about two or four feet above 
 the head, to the right and behind. Meanwhile the 
 trunk is bent back and the right shoulder pressed 
 down, so as to get body-weight and to hit the ball 
 from a point as far back as possible (see Plate I.). 
 The racket is swung up and over the right shoulder ; 
 the wrist is quite loose so that the head of the racket 
 drops behind the back like an Indian club. It should 
 be allowed to drop as far as it will go (see Plate II.). 
 It is then brought up and forward with the action 
 of throwing ; the stroke being timed so that when 
 the ball is struck, the arm is fully extended and the 
 elbow no longer bent (see Plates III. and IV.). After 
 the impact the movement must not be checked ; the 
 follow-through must be firm and carried to the end. 
 The racket finishes past the left knee, having 
 described almost a semicircle since it met the ball 
 (see Plates V. and VI.). It may also finish straight 
 in front or past the right knee (see Plates VII. and 
 VIII.). In the latter case the service is tending in 
 the direction of the American. In the former it 
 will be hit cleaner but with less force than in the 
 first of the three positions. The knees of course 
 should be bent. The right shoulder must work 
 freely coming forward round and down during the 
 follow-through. As to body-weight and its distribu- 
 tion, this may be already forward on the left leg, 
 or may be transferred from the right to the left. 
 It must be remembered, however, in the latter case, 
 
102 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 that this transference is impossible unless some 
 weight is already on the left. A good grip should 
 be taken by the toes and ball of the foot ; it Is 
 almost essential to rise on the toes. One or both 
 will be used as a sort of pivot for the body as it 
 swings round and forward (see Plate VI IL). 
 
 The server must not fix himself too much, or 
 he will not be able to start quickly for the return. 
 In the next place it is necessary for the control 
 of the ball, to prevent sailing and to give some 
 *' devil" to the stroke, so as to make it *'whip" off 
 the ground, that the racket should meet the ball 
 with its face not quite square. In ordinary cases 
 the ball is hit slightly on its right side. If, when 
 this is done, the racket is also well over the ball, 
 the result is a kicking service. 
 
 Some further details follow. A good length is, 
 as in bowling, one of the first things the server 
 must acquire. But for variety, a short service is 
 often useful. The second service should not be 
 a mere safety stroke ; some little determination and 
 practice will easily make it as certain and as good 
 as the first. One should notice, if the first Is a 
 fault, what the mistake was, and correct it in the 
 second, thinking of nothing else. A good way to 
 regard the relation of the first service to the second, 
 is the very opposite of the view taken by the inex- 
 perienced. Thus the first service may be regarded 
 by the learner as a trial ball, or sighting-shot, and 
 the second service as the real thing. It is quite 
 useless for the beginner to serve the first service 
 as hard as he can, and then to pat the second. A 
 fast second service is useful when not expected ; a 
 
PLATE Vnr. H. L. DOHERTY (ENGLAND): FINISH OF SERVICE 
 
THE STANDARD SERVICE 103 
 
 slow service gives the server more time to get into 
 position or up to the net. This is the great advan- 
 tage of a heavy spin, as in the American service. 
 A straight service varied by spins is a useful form 
 of variety. The corners of the court are, as a rule, 
 the best points to aim at. Serving down the centre 
 assists a volleyer, but it is somewhat dangerous with 
 the backhand court. A twisting or swerving service 
 is most effective if delivered not from the corner of 
 the court, but from a point nearer the centre. With 
 these services one should not overdo the placing 
 into the corner, the angle of the break is often more 
 effective and less likely to lead to a pass, if the 
 service is placed in the centre of the service line. 
 
 The standard service can be varied by exagger- 
 ating its natural spin. Cutting the ball sometimes 
 rests the arm ; it also helps the server if he wishes 
 to deliver a slower service. In this case also the 
 chance of a fault is reduced. 
 
 This point leads up to a consideration of what 
 may be termed complex services. They require and 
 deserve a separate chapter. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 COMPLEX SERVICES 
 
 The ordinary twist service — How the reverse twist may be acquired 
 — American services — Their actions and movements explained — 
 Principles of the American swerve and break — Some truths expounded 
 — The rotation of the ball and what it means — Why the American 
 swerve sometimes fails to break in the proper way — A practical method 
 of acquiring the ordinary and the reverse American services — General 
 tactics for the server — Running-in on the service 
 
 FIRST let us take the Ordinary twist service. 
 By hitting the ball on its right-hand side 
 with a glancing blow, the racket being more 
 or less perpendicular, the result is horizontal spin. 
 This causes the ball to curl in the air out to the 
 server's right and then in to his left hand. After 
 touching the ground, the ball continues the same 
 curve. The so-called break hardly exists, it is simply 
 a continuance of the original curve, the only difference 
 being that it is generally more pronounced than the 
 curl in the air. If the ball is thrown up more to the 
 right, more spin can be obtained. This service curls 
 out of court when served into the right-hand half of 
 the service area. 
 
 The Chop service is more of a half-arm stroke. 
 The racket makes a downward glancing blow, from 
 right to left, producing oblique under-spin. The ball 
 hangs and is inclined to keep low. 
 
< ^ 
 
 P^ en 
 H 
 en H 
 
COMPLEX SERVICES 105 
 
 Underhand twists are sometimes employed as a 
 change. The ball is hit with a glancing blow from 
 right to left, the racket being almost horizontal and 
 moving across the body at right angles to the ball. 
 The ball curls out to the left and in to the right. 
 The backhand service is the converse of this, being 
 hit from left to right. Neither of these services is of 
 much practical use. 
 
 In the Reverse twist (see Plates I. II. and III.) 
 the racket glances across the ball from right to left. 
 It is at a much lower level than the ordinary service, 
 the arm must be bent. As the racket hits the ball 
 it is more or less perpendicular. The ball spins on 
 its axis to the left, and curves out to the left and in 
 to the right, continuing this curve after hitting the 
 ground. This service is useful from the backhand 
 court, as it keeps low and bends out of court. It 
 seems impossible, however, to play it very fast and 
 the action is more fatiguing than in services made 
 in the *' ordinary " direction. 
 
 By bending the wrist back and therefore hitting 
 downwards, the ordinary straight service may be 
 made to keep low or on certain grounds to shoot. 
 Under-spin causes this. The ball is not thrown high 
 and should be in front of the server instead of to his 
 right. When the ordinary service with a slight cut 
 is made with the racket pointing to the left, so that 
 the ball is hit on its left-hand side and the racket 
 finishes to the right of the server, the result is in the 
 direction of the American service. F. L. Riseley's 
 service is of this nature. 
 
 Now we come to what are known as the American 
 services. The action and movement of the arm and 
 
io6 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 racket, and the direction of propulsion are from the 
 server s right to left or from left to right, the former 
 being the ''ordinary," and the latter the reverse, 
 American. When first introduced into England a 
 few years ago by D wight Davis and Holcombe 
 Ward, this service was a revelation. It is not any 
 exaggeration to say that its introduction marked an 
 epoch. To illustrate and explain the feelings 
 experienced by those ignorant of its properties or 
 meeting it for the first time, let us take the reverse 
 variety of the ordinary, not American, service. A 
 player would be fanliliar with its curve out to the 
 server's left and in to his right, and with its so-called 
 break, which continues that curve to the servers 
 right. Supposing him to meet a reverse American, 
 he sees it curl in the air in the familiar way, and is 
 sure that its break will correspond, and will be to 
 the server's right. But to his surprise, it breaks in 
 the opposite direction, namely, to the server's left. 
 Having prepared to hit the ball, perhaps back-handed, 
 he is left helpless, as it passes across to his forehand. 
 Conversely, the ordinary American curls out to the 
 right of the server and in to his left, and breaks back, 
 as it were, to his right. Thus it is usual and most 
 natural, to serve the reverse variety from the right- 
 hand and the ordinary from the left-hand court, the 
 service in each case taking the striker outside the 
 court. But here also variety is useful. 
 
 There seems to be no reason to question the term 
 ** American." Those who first made the service 
 widely known, even if it had been worked out 
 independently elsewhere, deserve the privilege of 
 sponsorship. But here, as in the case of other 
 
COMPLEX SERVICES 107 
 
 services, the term ** ordinary " as applied to one 
 direction of the curHng service, is hardly appropriate, 
 and though this form of the service is more widely 
 used in England, America and the Colonies, the 
 "reverse" form is no less popular on the Continent. 
 ''Right" and ''left" might be suggested, inasmuch 
 as in the " ordinary " service the ball curls out to the 
 server's right and breaks to his right, while in the 
 " reverse " the two movements are to the left. 
 
 In both forms of the American service the motion 
 of the ball is the same, and is produced in the same 
 way, but in the one the trajectory is bent over to the 
 right and in the other to the left. As a great deal 
 has been written on the "swerve," the break and the 
 general peculiarities of this service, and there still 
 seems to be some confusion as to what Is actually 
 done by the ball, what the swerve Is and what the 
 break Is, It will be well to combine with our account 
 of the method of executing the service some definitive 
 explanation of its principles. 
 
 The beginner may be recommended when 
 returning this service to wait until the ball is nearing 
 Its second bounce. By that time it will not only 
 have lost most of its spin, but It will actually come 
 back to him. The break, that Is to say, is not 
 straight nor does It curve in an opposite direction to 
 the swerve ; it Is a repetition on a smaller scale of the 
 curve of the ball in the air. It resembles figure C, 
 not A or B. 
 
 To employ an analogy from figure-skating, the 
 whole course of the ball from the racket to the second 
 bounce Is that of "three" or ordinary "turn," not 
 that of a "rocker," straight or curved; the cusp 
 
io8 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 being the point of contact with the ground. The 
 diagram shows how the ball comes back ; that is, 
 though the first half of the break is contrary to the 
 second half of the swerve, and therefore unexpected 
 by the novice, yet the second half returns to the 
 
 B 
 
 Swerve 
 
 Break- 
 
 ^ .— ^>- 
 
 Correct 
 
 Swerve 
 
 normal direction. The whole movement, again, is 
 really one curve, broken by a cusp ; theoretically, 
 that is to say, there is no difference except of degree 
 between this break and that of the ordinary cut 
 service. The latter is of this shape : — 
 
 Breaks 
 
 If this is emphasized, an American break is the result. 
 The next point in the explanation may be 
 regarded as the first essential for practising the 
 service. Let us take the ordinary form — the point 
 to be grasped is that the method of striking the ball 
 and therefore its subsequent behaviour, is identical 
 
COMPLEX SERVICES 109 
 
 with that of the llfting-drlve.^ As before noticed, 
 this is effected by hitting the ball with an upward 
 blow, the course of the racket being almost perpen- 
 dicular to the ground. A strong forward or over- 
 spin is thus imparted to the ball. In order to get 
 this top-spin, the ball must be hit at the bottom ; this 
 rule applies also to the service. This is not in order 
 that the ball may travel from one side of the racket 
 to the other, for it is quite certain that not more than 
 an inch of the gut touches the ball either in this 
 stroke or the service. The player must hit the ball 
 with the centre of the racket. He certainly is liable 
 to feel as if the ball stayed longer on the gut in these 
 strokes; but what really happens is that by hitting 
 the ball on its lower side he gets a better leverage 
 for making it rotate. Consequently a very fair length 
 of the ball's equator passes over that inch of gut. 
 This lifting drive has a very high trajectory, an accen- 
 tuated dive and rebound, the two latter movements 
 being due to the fact that the rate of propulsion is de- 
 creasing, so that the spin can have more effect. The 
 same is the case with the American services. From a 
 bird's eye view the course of the ball in the lifting-drive 
 is quite straight, but from a side view it is like this : — 
 
 If you take the plane of this drive and materialise it, 
 and then bend it over to right or left at an angle of 
 about forty-five degrees, it will be found identical in 
 appearance and effect with the American service. 
 The fact is that the American service is a lifting 
 
 ^ See page 82. 
 
no THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 drive, played obliquely. The credit of expounding 
 this truth belongs to Mr. P. A. Vaile. As he well 
 puts it/ '' the service really is the forehand lifting- 
 drive, played as an overhead volley, but with flight 
 and axis of rotation at an angle of, say, forty-five 
 degrees, instead of the line of flight being at right 
 angles to the ground and the axis of rotation 
 horizontal." In order to bend the stroke thus, the 
 ball in this service must be hit with a blow which is 
 at the same angle. Thus for the ordinary American 
 the racket moves upwards from SW to NE from SE 
 to NW for the reverse. There must be no attempt 
 to hit the ball on the top ; it must be hit underneath. 
 If the curve in the air described by the American 
 service is a ''swerve," then the curve or high 
 trajectory of the lifting-drive is not a "swerve." But 
 why not? It bends in the air, whereas the other is 
 due to the tilting of the trajectory. The term 
 " swerve," though it has not much precision, does not 
 seem to be used of either movements. However 
 that may be, it is interesting to compare another sort 
 of swerve. The swerve of a cricket ball is certainly 
 produced, in most cases (for instance, by George 
 Hirst) without rotation. Mr. L. T. Driffield makes 
 a cricket ball swerve in the same way. He is inclined 
 to believe, as Hirst believes, that it is due entirely 
 to the seam and the pressure of the air thereon. The 
 seam in front of the ball (being more or less in the 
 direction of its flight), acts as a forward rudder would 
 on a boat and the pressure of the air consequently 
 deflects the ball from a straight path. The ''swerve" 
 of a base ball on the other hand is of the tennis type, 
 
 ^ Modern Lawn Tennis. 
 
COMPLEX SERVICES iii 
 
 the ball, like the tennis ball, having no seam. The 
 swerve is an appearance only ; the path of the ball 
 is straight but is seen at an angle. A gclf ball when 
 driven correctly resists the action of gravitation, owing 
 to the fact that it has under-spin, and its curve is convex 
 to the earth, the rotation making it rise. The curve 
 made by the lifting-drive and the American service and 
 by all twisting strokes in lawn tennis, is produced in the 
 same manner as the curve of a golf ball. In those we 
 are here concerned with, the curve is the other way 
 towards the earth, but at an angle of forty-five degrees. 
 The apparent *' swerve " has already been ex- 
 plained ; we have now to consider the cause of the 
 exaggerated curve up or down, which is due to the rota- 
 tion of the ball on its axis. The explanation is already 
 familiar. Take a ball flying through the air with for- 
 ward or over or top-spin. For our purpose it has two 
 motions (i) its translation, or movement of the whole 
 ball from point to point in the air ; (2) its rotation. 
 One side of the ball is necessarily moving faster than the 
 other ; the side which is moving forward, in the same 
 direction as the motion of the whole ball, is moving 
 faster than the other side which is moving backwards, 
 because the whole ball is moving forwards. Thus :- — 
 
 >- >. 
 
 A Path of Ball 
 
 B Forward Rotation 
 
 D Pole- 
 
112 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 The side B is moving faster than the side C. The 
 same fact is well known in the case of the top of a 
 carriage wheel in motion. Because the friction and 
 pressure of the air is necessarily greater on the side 
 which is moving faster, the ball, following the line 
 of least resistance, yields to this pressure and 
 therefore curves in the air. This explains the 
 high trajectory, the quick rise and fall of the 
 lifting drive and the American service. Bend the 
 former to an angle of forty-five degrees, and the 
 ball seems to swerve from one side to the other — - 
 the American '* swerve." 
 
 In the next place we have to consider the break. 
 The bound has a similar trajectory to that described 
 in the air. It is the bound of the lifting-drive but 
 tilted over at an angle of forty-five degrees. Of 
 course it is in the same plane as the curve in the air. 
 The tilting produces, or rather is the break. 
 
 A final point perhaps requires to be cleared up. 
 It has been argued by one writer that the break is in 
 the opposite direction to what it ought to be. This 
 of course is not the case, its direction is perfectly 
 natural. This writer, judging from his diagram, 
 which is like a ** rocker," has not observed that the 
 curve of the break is out and in, and of the same 
 shape as the *' swerve" in the air. In order to 
 account for this imagined irregularity he suggests 
 that it is due to the axis of the ball having altered 
 its inclination by the time it reaches the ground. On 
 the analogy of the precession of the earth, which he 
 quotes in illustration, the result could not take place 
 in so short a time. Moreover that movement is only 
 a sort of wobbling of the axis. But if the axis were 
 
COMPLEX SERVICES 
 
 113 
 
 turned, as he thinks, the result would be the opposite 
 of what he supposes. 
 
 In fact, everything depends for a successful break 
 on the axis being put in the proper position and keep- 
 ing it. This point is really of importance in the theory 
 of the American service. It is a well known fact that 
 in a rotating sphere the part which moves fastest is 
 the equator. The motion decreases in speed on each 
 parallel of latitude until the pole is reached, where 
 theoretically there is no rotation at all. It is obvious 
 then that the spin of a ball, the lifting-drive or 
 American service, for instance, is most vigorous 
 when the equator hits the grOT;nd. The top side 
 then lurches forward, the ander side receiving a 
 check, at the utmost velocity. 
 
 The diagrams show the inclination of the axis 
 produced by the plane in which the racket hits the 
 ball (i) in the ordinary, (2) in the reverse service : — 
 
 ® 
 
 AB 
 CD 
 
 Eauator 
 Poles of Axis 
 
 They represent the ball as seen directly from behind 
 and on the same level as the eye, both when struck 
 and when hitting the ground. The lines stand for 
 the equator and the path of the racket, and the arrows 
 give the direction of the motion of the racket and con- 
 8 
 
114 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENxMS PLAYER 
 
 sequently of the spin. The reason why an American 
 service sometimes fails to break in the proper way is 
 that the ball has been struck at a wrong angle and 
 therefore hits the ground on a parallel which is not 
 near enough to the equator. The same explanation 
 shows how the ordinary twisting service, as opposed 
 to the American, breaks in the same direction as the 
 previous curve. The horizontal spin makes the axis 
 nearly perpendicular and the ball therefore hits the 
 ground on or near its pole, where there is no n: i: .. 
 It skids there and continues its oriHiia] curve. Th( 
 cusp has no tangential curves 
 
 Equator 
 Poles of Axis 
 
 As before remarked, there is no difference In prin- 
 ciple between the ordinary break and the American ; 
 the latter is merely a better application of the same 
 spin, at a better angle, so that the rotation is applied 
 where it will do most good. 
 
 The curious change of shape of the ball during an 
 American service has been often noticed. The shape 
 assumed is not, however, as generally supposed, that 
 of an egg. It is the shape of the earth or of an orange 
 and is due to the fact that the poles of a rotating sphere 
 tend to become flattened. 
 
 Returning to the practical side of the American 
 
 i 
 
PLATE V, HOLCOMBE WARD (AMERICA): AMERICAN SERVICE 
 
COMPLEX SERVICES 115 
 
 service and taking the ** ordinary " first, it is suggested 
 that as a commencement the player should attempt it 
 in a small way. When the trick of hitting the ball an 
 upward glancing blow from the left-hand under side to 
 the right-hand upper side — the secret of the stroke — 
 has been acquired, then the various movements may 
 be lengthened. It is essential to throw the ball up 
 well to the left of the head, and to the left of the head 
 when bent to the left, and the server must bend his 
 body to the left and backwards. His weight should 
 be on the left leg. It is useful to have the head of 
 the racket already hanging behind the head before 
 the ball is thrown up, as is done by Ward. It is 
 also useful both in this and the reverse to hold the 
 racket a little short. Finger-work is of importance ; 
 if the racket is held rather loosely the player will 
 feel the hand with his fingers at the end of the 
 follow-through, an indication among others that the 
 ball has been dealt with correctly. As in all services 
 there must be an intelligent use of the feet ; the ball 
 of the foot must be made to assist the movement of 
 the body by acting as a clutch or a pivot (see Plate 
 v.). The latter remarks of course apply to the reverse 
 service equally. In this the ball is hit from S.E. to 
 N.W. (see Plate VII.). The body should be almost 
 facing the net and the weight is most profitably dis- 
 tributed when most of it is on the right foot. The 
 right foot, it will be seen, grips the ground. The 
 weight swings over to the left during the follow- through. 
 It is necessary to bend the body to the right and 
 slightly backwards, and to throw the ball up to the 
 right of the head. It is useful to bend the hand well 
 back. This helps you to get under the ball. The 
 
Ii6 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 stroke is more wristy than that of the ordinary 
 American, as it starts from a point away from the 
 body where it is difficult to get swing and force. 
 The wrist should be very loose, and the throwing 
 action emphasized by a jerk of the wrist. To get 
 swing, it is usual to make a down and up movement 
 or flick as a preliminary. Hold the racket out at 
 about the height of the wrist, with arm bent, then 
 when the ball has been thrown up, drop the racket 
 slightly and move it backwards and upwards ; a pause 
 to steady the stroke follows, and then the racket is as 
 it were, flung at the ball. The racket finishes right 
 across the body. As in the ordinary American and 
 other services, a little practice will make it easy to 
 time the first stride towards the net with the beginning 
 of the follow-through. The Plates (IV. and VI.) re- 
 presenting Brookes executing these services illustrate 
 "*1|this point to perfection. 
 
 If, in either service, there is a difficulty about 
 getting the proper angle of the stroke and conse- 
 quently the proper break, it means that you are 
 hitting the ball too horizontally. In order to correct 
 this and get oblique rotation, it is useful to try and 
 make the stroke almost perpendicularly upwards. 
 This of course is impossible to do actually, but the 
 attempt will bring the racket to the proper angle. 
 
 A player who can serve with equal facility the 
 ordinary service with spin, finishing the stroke to the 
 right of the body, and the ordinary American, or the 
 reverse service with spin, and the reverse American, 
 can give his opponent some trouble by changing from 
 one to the other, the members of each pair having a 
 very similar action. In the photographs of Brookes 
 
H. A. PARKER (NEW ZEALAND): REVERSE AMERICAN SERVICE 
 
COMPLEX SERVICES 117 
 
 it will be seen how difficult it is to distinguish one 
 service from the other. ^ 
 
 With regard to general tactics on the part of the 
 server in a single, it has been pointed out already that 
 to serve from the extreme corners is not much use. 
 In particular, though a slow service with drag might 
 give the server extra time to get up to the net, yet 
 the extra distance discounts the advantage of time. 
 More serious still is the chance that a service which 
 takes the striker-out too far out of court may enable 
 him to pass the server clean, placing the ball, as it 
 wxre, round the corner. When the server runs in on 
 his service, as he certainly should do if there is anything 
 in it, variety of placing with the centre of the service- 
 line as a staple gives him most chance of intercepting 
 the return ; against a good driver it is dangerous to 
 serve into the forehand half of the backhand court. 
 
 In a double, when the server is serving from near 
 the corner his partner should get nearer the side-line ; 
 when he is serving from near the centre, the partner 
 should move proportionately closer to the centre. It 
 may be of use to some temperaments to watch one's 
 partner as he serves, turning round as the ball starts 
 on its flight. The habit has at least this in its favour, 
 that it carries out the golden rule of lawn tennis — 
 never take your eyes off the ball. 
 
 ^ In studying the Plates illustrating the various services of Mr. 
 Brookes, the reader will, of course, bear in mind that the champion is 
 a left-handed player. The suggestions offered in the text have refer- 
 ence to a ri^/ii-hsLnded player. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 MATCH PLAY IN GENERAL 
 
 Preliminaries — Winning the Toss — Points which ought to be 
 considered — Where the striker-out should stand — The return of the 
 service — Place rather than pace — Dealing with the man who runs in — 
 The use and abuse of the lob — The favourite area of the hard driver — 
 Short and soft shots — Inadequate care over easy returns — The need for 
 a permanent base — Forbidden ground for the volleyer — Handicap 
 singles — Advice to the giver and receiver of odds — Pluck indispensable 
 — Turning the tables at the eleventh hour — " Win when you can " — 
 Recoveries that end in defeat — Will-power on court — " Don't abuse the 
 ball-boy!" 
 
 HAVING discussed more or less exhaustively 
 the various strokes in the game and 
 suggested the methods of their execution, 
 one may turn to match play — the department of 
 direct antagonism, where blow is returned for blow 
 and tactics and generalship are factors of prime 
 importance. 
 
 Before the match is actually set in motion there 
 comes the preliminary function of '* tossing" for the 
 honour, by which is not only meant choice of courts, 
 as some players believe, but also the question as to 
 whether you or your opponent is to begin the service. 
 Now this is a matter of more than passing import- 
 ance. The service is the first blow to be struck ; its 
 
 possession, where players of equal calibre are con- 
 ns 
 
MATCH PLAY IN GENERAL 119 
 
 cerned, may bear a direct influence on the result, and 
 in a protracted struggle a service in hand at the 
 opening of a new set may prove the decisive factor. 
 Speaking generally, the possession of the opening 
 service in doubles is of considerable value and in 
 nine cases out of ten the winner of the toss snatches 
 at this advantage with avidity, ignoring altogether 
 the question of side. But in a single the circum- 
 stances are different and unless the winner of the 
 toss has a particularly effective service which (taking 
 the class of his opponent into account) he feels fairly 
 confident will yield him the first game, it may prove 
 more advantageous to confine the option to the court 
 in which to begin operations. The wind, the sun, a 
 possible slope of the court and the character of the 
 background have all to be taken into account. If a 
 strong wind is blowing down the court, its presence, 
 especially if you are a base-liner, will naturally influence 
 your decision ; a vain effort to return a screw service 
 against the wind may ruffle your temper to such a 
 degree that your chances of success are imperilled at 
 the start. Wind, if previously studied, will prove a 
 weapon of great utility — and neglect to gauge its 
 direction before play begins may often cause unex- 
 pected disaster. When it is blowing across the court 
 its presence can be utilised with great effect in 
 serving a ball that is intended to bound out of court 
 or again when lobbing. The position of the sun 
 should, of course, be instinctively observed, for if 
 it be shining down the court, the player who gets it 
 at his back has an incalculable advantage, especially 
 if his opponent be a volleyer with a preference for 
 high smashes. As the possession of courts is reversed 
 
120 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 after the first game, and again after the third, the 
 wise man elects to be handicapped by the sun for 
 the first game and to inflict its rays upon his opponent 
 for the next two. Thereby (if he is confining his 
 attention to choice of courts) he also ensures that his 
 first service shall be delivered from the ** sunless " 
 side. As to the slope of the court (if there be any) 
 it is clear that a ball played downhill will have more 
 pace on it after it leaves the ground. It is useful to 
 keep this fact in mind. I think I have said enough 
 to show that a favourable verdict from the spin of 
 the racket or the coin is a **gift from the gods " which 
 ought to be thoughtfully received. 
 
 The question as to where the striker-out should 
 stand to receive the service depends mainly on its 
 quality and anticipated direction — anticipated that is, 
 so far as previous experience of the server's deliveries 
 affords a clue. If one is waiting to receive a lightning 
 service, like that of F. L. Riseley, it would be hope- 
 less to stand in court at all ; the player must get 
 beyond the base-line. But for a service not absolutely 
 dynamic, especially for one that draws its efficiency 
 from placing, the striker-out can come nearer in, 
 always remembering that if his opponent is trying to 
 make him move out to the sides as is very likely, and 
 is inevitable where break services are concerned, a 
 foot or two's reserve space in front may be of great 
 value. For while it is always possible to go forward, 
 it is next to impossible to go back. The condition 
 of the court will also be a factor determining the best 
 position. On a wet court the bound of the ball is 
 naturally slower, as it is shorter, and the striker-out 
 will perhaps be able to stand as much as a yard 
 
MATCH PLAY IN GENERAL 121 
 
 nearer the net than he would on a dry court. Players 
 on the covered courts where the surface is uniformly 
 fast necessarily stand farther back. 
 
 The return of the service, speaking generally, is 
 the most important stroke in the match ; it is the 
 key to the rally. The quality of the service apart, 
 players are apt to break down more frequently over 
 the reply to the frontal attack than at any other point 
 of the game. Even first-class exponents are guilty 
 in this respect. Just as a golfer finds, apparently 
 without reason, that he is invariably topping the ball 
 at the tee, so the man in court is visited with a 
 mysterious affliction that prevents his first shot of all 
 finding the desired target. For days together the 
 weakness remains, sapping confidence and exercising 
 an effect on his whole play. Then suddenly the 
 stroke is recovered, the ball is once more under 
 control. I am inclined to think that one reason for 
 this temporary failing, so far as the majority of 
 sufferers is concerned, is the tendency, so difificult to 
 overcome, to score outright by the first return. The 
 short, dramatic rally makes an irresistible appeal to 
 many players ; the desire to win the ace with the 
 least possible delay becomes a habit. The pace is 
 always being forced, brilliancy is sacrificed to tactics. 
 Baddeley is right when he says it is easier and less 
 risky to go for a stroke off the second or third return 
 than off the first ; and the more one studies the 
 methods of first-class players the more is one convinced 
 that place rather than pace is the secret for the return 
 of the service. 
 
 Indeed the injunction "never press" may be 
 applied to lawn tennis, as to golf. The hard hitting 
 
122 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 of the expert is natural to him, and comes last in a 
 player's progress to excellence. The same is true 
 of every game ; and there is no worse fault in a 
 beginner than attempting to hit hard. As he 
 improves in the other essentials of the stroke and 
 becomes more accurate, he will find that unconsciously 
 his drives become harder. Force, one repeats, comes 
 last and it must be allowed to come at its proper 
 time. 
 
 In dealing with the man who runs in on his 
 service try not to let this hustling manner of attack 
 bother you. *' If his service is very severe," points 
 out Mr. Meers, '' he won't have time to get very 
 far in (unless the umpire allows him to foot-fault, 
 which unfortunately he often does) and under these 
 circumstances he is sure to miss a good many of 
 your returns. If not a hard service, it should not be 
 difficult to place the ball on one side or the other of 
 him. If the service should be a high-bounding ball 
 the best way is to force it, with some strength, either 
 across the court or down the side-lines." But some 
 alert volleyers seem, at any rate to the inexperienced, 
 to leave no loophole at all. Before the service has 
 apparently come over the net they have followed it and 
 are waiting, eagerly and confidently, to devour the 
 return. Unless he hits with some force the conscience 
 of the striker-out tells him that the next stroke of 
 his opponent will win the ace ; if he does hit with 
 force he puts a premium on accuracy : the ball may 
 either go beyond the side-line or sail aimlessly away 
 over the head of the advancing volleyer — a ''mile 
 out of court." 
 
 An alternative stroke is the lob, but any lob that 
 
MATCH PLAY IN GENERAL 123 
 
 does not pitch on or near the base-line and is not 
 high enough to pass out of the reach of the volleyer 
 is futile. A lob which is too short deserves to be, 
 and doubtless will be, killed outright. One form of 
 lob may be said to depend on height ; the other just 
 passes out of reach of the opponents' racket and is 
 naturally faster than the first. A lob into the back- 
 hand corner is perhaps the most useful, but it must 
 be remembered that a lob is really easier to volley 
 when on the backhand side of the court, and a short 
 one can be easily killed across. The player may 
 be recommended to vary the placing of his lobs ; 
 a fast lob into the forehand corner is as difficult to 
 deal with as any. In snapping up a ball nearly out 
 of reach some cut may be used, but as a rule the 
 application of cut to a lob (except where wind is 
 concerned) is to be deprecated. It has no positive 
 advantage and may interfere with placing. Practi- 
 cally speaking, the lob is a defensive stroke made to 
 extricate the player from an embarrassing situation, 
 and by some men it is employed with compunction. 
 But the art of sound lobbing, provided it be not 
 carried to excess and become a practice difficult to 
 restrain, is certainly worth cultivating if only for the 
 variety it offers. Most of the best American players 
 are adroit at tossing ; some of them use the lob 
 systematically when opposed to hustling volleyers and 
 from it they obtain much relief and time to regain an 
 attacking position. Nevertheless persistent lobbing 
 must be regarded as a confession of weakness. 
 
 Coming now to the actual rally or rest, its length 
 must naturally depend upon the class of attack 
 formulated by both combatants. A confirmed base- 
 
124 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 liner will naturally employ different methods to gain 
 the desired end, the winning of the ace, than the 
 habitual volleyer, while the all-round player adopts 
 a combination of both. Mr. Meers thinks that if 
 the base-liner be really good and his returns of low 
 trajectory there will be little volleying. This is 
 doubtless true except when the base-liner is required 
 to deal with services and overhead volleying such as 
 Norman Brookes commands, in which case the back- 
 court man, however adroit he may be, will not be 
 able to control his drives with the same certainty. 
 Even S. H. Smith, who has been so successful 
 against the best American volleyers, has found the 
 close-quarter attack of Brookes extremely difficult 
 to penetrate, while Gore, another severe base-liner, 
 has fared worse. The case of the present champion 
 may be extreme, but it has served to cast doubt 
 on the theory that volleying against first-class base- 
 line play should only be employed to kill a weak 
 return or should follow a return that is calculated 
 to embarrass the base-liner. For example, assume 
 the man at the back of the court makes a quick 
 return from a position near one of the corners. If 
 you drive a hard ball down the centre and then 
 discreetly advance the chances are that he either 
 lobs (in which case your position would not be 
 weakened) or presents you a return with which 
 your position at the net should allow you to 
 effectively deal. But it is worth remembering that 
 the favourite area of a hard driver is between the 
 centre and backhand line of the back half of the 
 court. This is the place from which his most deadly 
 drives proceed. To run up therefore when you 
 
MATCH PLAY IN GENERAL 125 
 
 have put the ball into this area, however well placed 
 down the centre your stroke may be, is to court 
 disaster. Similarly, if you possess a hard drive, more 
 can be done by directing it into the corners or into 
 the forehand court than by going for the centre or 
 the backhand side of the centre. Pressing a hard 
 driver on his forehand often leads to a kill across 
 court. He may also be treated to a number of short 
 and soft shots. The short ones are difficult to return 
 over the net at any speed, and the slow ones are 
 troublesome by reason of the change of pace. 
 
 When Ernest Renshaw was once asked by an 
 aspiring youth for the secret of success at lawn 
 tennis, he gave the laconic answer, " Learn to 
 get the ball over the net"; and the hint is not 
 so simple as it sounds. One might give it a 
 finishing touch and say "into the court as well." 
 Many a player endowed with a greater variety of 
 strokes than his opponent beats himself by neglecting 
 this elementary principle. Either he does so by 
 not taking adequate care with his easy shots or by 
 taking too great a risk with his difficult ones. 
 Where two base-liners are concerned it generally 
 happens that the man who makes up his mind to 
 hit hard at everything loses the match ; it is the man 
 who knows when to let out, and more essential, 
 when to restrain his ardour, that has the better of 
 the engagement. In short, patience is a virtue in 
 the lawn tennis court, as elsewhere. The man who 
 waits quietly for his adversary's pyrotechnic display 
 to fizzle out seldom has to wait in vain. 
 
 Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance 
 of fixing on a permanent base from which the attack- 
 
126 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 ing operations can be conducted and to which the 
 player returns after some manoeuvre on the part of 
 his opponent has drawn him from this position. 
 Roughly speaking, this base for the back-court 
 player is situated just behind the base-line ; for the 
 volleyer about a yard behind the net. Some players 
 fix the volleying base farther back, but its limit 
 should be midway between the service-line and the 
 net. The "forbidden ground" for the volleyer is 
 between the service-line and the base-line. The 
 reasons are concisely given by Wilfred Baddeley, 
 perhaps the best general there ever was. Primarily, 
 he points out, it is very much easier to effectively 
 volley a ball that is ascending or travelling horizont- 
 ally, as is the case when it is passing over the net, 
 than one which, having passed the service-line, is 
 descending. Secondly, the player has less space to 
 guard, relatively, when he is up at the net than when 
 he is farther back in the court. The following 
 diagram employed by Mr. Baddeley explains this 
 argument : — 
 
 A-r::: 
 
 * 
 
 tC 
 
 A is the base-liner driving his returns from the 
 back of the court. B is the volleyer in the right 
 position ; C the volleyer in the wrong position. It 
 
MATCH PLAY IN GENERAL 127 
 
 is obvious that B has to cover less ground than C 
 in order to reach the ball. Of course there are 
 occasions when volleying in the back zone can be 
 carried out with beneficial results and a good over- 
 head volleyer, such as H. L. Doherty dealing with 
 short lobs, can be deadly in this region. But as a 
 general principle the section of court between the 
 service-line and the base-line must never be regarded 
 as a residence. It is '' the place to lose from." 
 
 In a handicap single it behoves the giver of 
 points to exercise more care than usual with all 
 his shots. In theory, he will use his head more 
 than his hand. He will make every effort to win 
 a point outright from his first service, not only 
 because of its face value but because of the 
 demoralising effect a ''clean ace" always has on 
 a weak opponent. The back-marker, however 
 heavily penalised he may feel, should never regard 
 the loss of the first set as conclusive evidence that 
 he cannot win. A change of tactics, the nature of 
 which is indicated by the penetrable points in his 
 adversary's armour, may often produce unexpected 
 results and disconcert the enemy at a period when 
 he is inclined to slacken his efforts. The advice so 
 often tendered to the receiver of long odds '*to let 
 himself go " is sound in so far as it counsels him 
 not to play ''pat-ball" and shy at a stroke which 
 involves some risk. But a blind and reckless hitter 
 is just the kind of prey an "owe-30" man is out to 
 devour. It will not take him long to discover the 
 kind of decoy that will deHver the "plus 15.3" man 
 into his clutches ; by feeding him with balls that are 
 invariably bashed out of court the result of the match 
 
128 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 will only be a matter of time. The receiver of points, 
 especially if he has his back to the sun, will find the lob 
 a most effective weapon, but now, as always, he must 
 toss high or nothing will save him, not even the sun. 
 As a general rule he should employ the volley as 
 often as possible. The back-marker will in nine 
 cases out of ten get the better of a base-line rally ; 
 moreover, the chance of surprising him with a 
 short-cross volley should ever be present in the 
 weaker man's mind. The more he volleys the less 
 the giver of odds will like it : of that I am sure. Of 
 course he should choose his time when to run it. 
 To do so on a weak service or a short-length 
 hopping drive is to present his adversary with an 
 ace. 
 
 It goes without saying that the player who wins 
 the toss in a handicap match should be particularly 
 careful to ascertain where the odds fall before the 
 match begins. A man who gives three-sixths of 
 fifteen, which means a stroke to his opponent in 
 every even game, will naturally elect not to serve 
 in the first game, reserving any advantage he may 
 possess in this respect for the second game, when 
 he will have leeway to make up. So with the 
 receiver of odds, he will take care that his service falls 
 in those games (or as many of them as his odds allow) 
 in which he is least favoured by the handicapper. 
 Wind and sun, themselves extra penalties, must also 
 not escape attention in this connexion. 
 
 Need I add that one of the chief elements of 
 success in match play is courage ? A contest is 
 never so short that the issue cannot fluctuate ; the 
 tables may be turned even in what appears to be 
 
MATCH PLAY IN GENERAL 129 
 
 the last game of all. Some men (H. S. Barlow was 
 one) rarely produce their best form until the other 
 men secure a long lead and the necessity for 
 adjusting the balance is very real. This is not a 
 sound principle to adopt — win while you can and as 
 soon as you can should be the golden maxim — but 
 the fact that it is followed and often with success 
 shows what determination can achieve under certain 
 circumstances. It is always well to remember, even 
 when disaster may appear imminent, that some 
 untoward incident may occur which will destroy your 
 opponent's nerve and deliver him into your hands. 
 There is the historic match at Wimbledon when 
 Ernest Renshaw, with Lawford five games to two 
 in the fifth set, began serving slow under-hand screws 
 — a dying kick as it were. The cross wind blew 
 those breaks right out of court ; Lawford attempted 
 to take them forehanded, failed and (the players 
 changing sides every game as was the custom in 
 those days) allowed Renshaw to catch him at the 
 post and win. 
 
 And if you have made a fine recovery after being 
 hopelessly in arrears, be particularly careful not to 
 relax your efforts when you have caught your 
 adversary. Say he is five-two in the final set. 
 You make a great effort (possibly he is slacking off, 
 feeling he has the plum in his mouth) and manage 
 to win the next three games. Honours are now 
 easy and you breathe again. But just as you are 
 congratulating yourself on the prospect of a brilliant 
 victory, your opponent makes a final spurt, and 
 finding you unresponsive — you have slightly relaxed 
 the tension in surviving the crisis — wins in spite of 
 9 
 
I30 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 your rally. This often happens. Therefore I say, 
 do not ease off in the slightest when the umpire calls 
 ''five all." Win that eleventh game by hook or by 
 crook — in eight cases out of ten it will decide the 
 match. Your adversary will see you mean business 
 and his resistance will probably flicker out in the 
 twelfth game. 
 
 Finally, there is the need for a calm demeanour. 
 *• Yes," I have heard critics say of more than one 
 fine, player ; '* he would have been champion of 
 England but for his temper." Some players are 
 endowed by Providence with what is known as a 
 match-winning temperament. It is a great asset, 
 worth many an American service or hurricane drive ; 
 and I believe it can be cultivated by the exercise 
 of will-power and a preordained resolution not to 
 be upset by trifles. Umpires have a habit at crucial 
 periods of giving wrong decisions — or decisions that 
 appear to you to be wrong, which is the same 
 thing from the psychological standpoint — and it re- 
 quires a very strong mind to keep the temper under 
 control. But practice in this, as in all respects, 
 will efl'ect the desired end and very soon, almost 
 unconsciously, the player will be able to assume, 
 even if he does not actually feel, indifference to such 
 passing worries. Another disturbing factor may 
 be a temporary halt in the hostilities called through 
 the action of some spectator, through a change of 
 umpires, or possibly through your opponent wishing 
 to change his shoe. Be as cheerful as you can 
 during the delay, put your coat on if you think you 
 are liable to catch cold and on no account (unless you 
 want to lose the next game) use violent language. 
 
MATCH PLAY IN GENERAL 131 
 
 Another injunction: Don't abuse the ball-boy! He 
 may be guilty of every possible misdemeanour, even 
 the heinous offence of pricking the balls with a pin ; 
 but in nine cases out of ten it pays you better in the 
 end to overlook his faults, at any rate until the match 
 is over. Then, if you have won you will give him 
 your sweetest smile. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 DOUBLES AND MIXED DOUBLES 
 
 Spectacular virtues of a good double — Why the general standard 
 of play is not higher — The physical and mental affinity of twins — 
 Systematized formation essential — The primary instinct of both players 
 — Where the server's partner should stand — The server's advance — A 
 sinister shot — Clearing the feet — Employing the half- volley — The return 
 of the service — The lob as a weapon of defence and attack — The return 
 of the lob — Studying the trigonometry of the court — An alternative to 
 the hard smash — Evolution of mixed doubles not complete — The 
 advance of the lady volleyer — A field for strategy and " bluff" — Some 
 hints to the man at the net — An important service game to win 
 
 IN the previous chapter the remarks applied more 
 especially to the single game. The double 
 game has independent features. The cam- 
 paign requires distinctive methods. Two minds as 
 well as two hands are employed ; there is both a 
 division of labour and a combination of forces. 
 
 When lawn tennis was first introduced the double 
 was scarcely exploited at all and for some time its 
 importance was subordinated to that of the single. 
 Indeed, it is only within the last few years that its 
 possibilities, both as regards strokes and tactics, have 
 been comprehensively realised and an exposition of 
 its higher qualities presented by experts. To 
 Americans must in some measure be given the 
 credit for developing its latent qualities. By com- 
 
DOUBLES AND MIXED DOUBLES 133 
 
 bining break services with sustained close-quarter 
 attack, in which the short, sharp volley is so powerful 
 a weapon, they have raised the first-class double to 
 the highest spectacular level and invested it with a 
 fascination it never previously possessed. It is true 
 the best American pairs have not quite succeeded in 
 overcoming the best pair in this country ; but the 
 margin has been so small as to be inconclusive. My 
 impression is it would have disappeared altogether if 
 the Doherty brothers had not, as a result of their 
 two American visits, strengthened their game by 
 absorbing some of the transatlantic ideas. 
 
 Any tournament committee will readily admit the 
 superior attractiveness of a first-class double ; if 
 it is orp^anisinor an exhibition match to focus the 
 interest of the ** gallery " the character of the '* extra 
 turn " is never in doubt. A protracted duel between 
 two hard-hitting base-liners can be exciting enough, 
 but it provides few of the exhilarating features of a 
 four-handed contest. In a long single there are 
 bound to be intermediary periods when both men, 
 consciously or unconsciously, slacken their energies 
 and display indifferent form. But a high-class double 
 where four men of superlative skill are concerned 
 never becomes wearisome to watch ; it arrests and 
 holds attention from the first serve to the last. Since 
 it is built up on volleying, the pace is faster and the 
 rests shorter. Essentially must there be more 
 variety of stroke, more hard hitting as well as more 
 finesse ; and it is just this diversity of attack, this 
 spontaneity of action, that appeal to popular fancy. 
 ** To watch a combined plan of attack developing, to 
 notice the different ideas each player has of what will 
 
134 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 ^ 
 
 best conduce to the common end and their separate 
 ways of getting out of a difficulty or securing a stroke 
 just at the right moment, to see the ball whizzing to 
 and fro in the short space which divides four men all 
 close to the net — these things give the double game 
 a kind of excitement which to my mind," reflects 
 Mr. Wilberforce, ''is lacking in the single game." 
 
 The claims of stamina not being so heavy, it 
 follows that the double makes a wider appeal to 
 players generally than the single. A man may pre- 
 serve his place and power as a doubles exponent 
 even when advancing years demand that he should 
 relinquish the single, where the necessity for speed and 
 mobility is paramount. On the other hand younger 
 players, whose physical resources are not impaired, 
 will frankly declare their preference for a double — a 
 fact to which the subordination of the single at the 
 universities and again at many clubs testifies. 
 
 In view of its popularity and perennial pursuit it 
 is a matter for comment that the standard of double 
 play has not reached a higher level. Unquestion- 
 ably this is mainly due to lack of combination and 
 mutual understanding between the parties concerned. 
 The prevalent custom at most clubs in this country 
 is for the members to "pair up" irrespective of style 
 and temperament and for each couple to seek salva- 
 tion in spite of any previous association on court or 
 any practical knowledge of individual capacity. The 
 result, more often than not, is a lamentable display of 
 incompatibility and a general lowering of the standard 
 all round. Even two brilliant single players when 
 united on an unfamiliar footing are liable to suffer 
 inglorious defeat at the hands of a pair individually 
 
DOUBLES AND MIXED DOUBLES 135 
 
 much weaker, but possessing that community of 
 interests and sympathetic action which experience has 
 cultivated and by which alone good fortune can be 
 achieved. How true this is the success attending the 
 efforts of brothers when playing together demonstrates. 
 It is even more conclusively proved in the case of 
 twins, where physical and mental affinity is the prime 
 factor in their prosperity. One of the chief reasons 
 why so many poor double matches are witnessed 
 at open tournaments is the predominating presence 
 of ''scratch pairs" — hastily formed teams whose 
 merits the referee is expected to gauge when handi- 
 capping. It sometimes happens that two left-court 
 or two right-court players find themselves involuntarily 
 thrown together — a handicap that the referee, beset 
 by other manifold considerations, cannot perhaps be 
 expected to appreciate. But the result of such 
 coalition is often painfully exhibited. Of course if a 
 competitor goes partnerless to a tournament he must 
 take his chances ; he may draw a blank or he may 
 draw a prize. I shall never forget on one occasion 
 being furnished with a partner who said to me before 
 we lost our first round, ** I think I ought to tell you I 
 haven't played tennis for ten years and then it was in 
 the garden with the children." 
 
 A systematized formation is undoubtedly one of 
 the secrets of success in double play. Unless the 
 limits of the operating area for each partner are 
 defined, any plan of campaign must inevitably fail. 
 This does not necessarily mean that each player's 
 "sphere of influence" throughout the match is to 
 be of equal dimensions but it does mean that the 
 shooting shall be restricted to boundaries mutually 
 
136 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 understood. Nothing is more likely to bring about 
 early defeat than unwarranted intrusion ; it affords 
 openings which opponents will quickly seize and is 
 bound to upset the morale of the side. To get one 
 or other of the players out of position is the aim of 
 tactical enterprise in doubles ; a foolish excursion into 
 your partner's court is only helping the other side. 
 
 As volleying is the Alpha and Omega of the 
 double game, the primary instinct of both players 
 must be to assume an attacking position at the net. 
 The sooner both can rank themselves in parallel 
 formation within three or four feet of the net, which 
 is the most advantageous volleying line, the greater 
 chance have they of bringing the rest to a successful 
 issue. It follows, then, that the server's partner 
 should make use of his liberty of movement and take 
 up his position at once within the prescribed area. 
 As a rule he should stand nearer the side-line than 
 the centre-line. Not only will he thus give the 
 server a clearer view of his objective, which is 
 generally ^ his own secret up to the last minute, but 
 he will be the better able to guard his own side-line. 
 If the server serves from the corner of his court, it is 
 more essential still that the partner should have his 
 side-line well protected because the oblique direction 
 of the service will probably take the receiver well out 
 to the left of the man at the net and the former will 
 probably essay a clean pass if he sees the slightest 
 opening. Conversely, if the server, standing near 
 the centre of the base-line, serves down the centre- 
 
 "" ^ The server's partner, like the wicket-keeper, will often be the 
 better judge of the " bowling " and may suggest variations in direction 
 to the server. 
 
DOUBLES AND MIXED DOUBLES 137 
 
 / 
 line the server's partner may expect the return to bd 
 
 nearer the centre of the net and consequently, whiH 
 still guarding his side-line for eventualities, he wilf 
 be prepared to move in towards the centre. The 
 direction of the striker-out's return will often decide 
 the issue of the rest either one way or the other 
 (more often it may be said in favour of the server's 
 side) and it is vitally important that the server's 
 partner should not be outmanoeuvred at the start. If 
 he gets a ball down his side-line low enough to be 
 within reach the chances favour a winning shot ; he 
 can command a cross-volley which the partner of 
 the striker-out will find extremely difficult to handle. 
 But nothing can save his side if he gets too near the 
 centre and is passed ; whereas if he errs the other 
 way there is always the possibility of the server inter- 
 cepting the return. 
 
 The server should, of course, follow his service to 
 the net and assume the parallel formation already 
 advised. He will run up the instant the ball leaves 
 his racket, but he must be careful not to make his 
 passage a " headlong flight " because proper balance 
 at this stage is everything and excessive speed may 
 well upset his poise for the return which with good 
 confidence he may expect to come in his direction. 
 He will certainly have to deal with all returns that 
 come across the court and the majority of those that 
 come down the centre. He will do well to anticipate 
 the short cross return that drops in the ''tram-lines " 
 within a few feet of the net. It is a favourite and 
 sinister shot of several players and is a most effective 
 return. Either it scores outright, the server having 
 come up at such a pace and in such direction that he 
 
138 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 cannot divert his course to intercept it, or it tends to 
 draw the server's partner anxiously in the direction of 
 the ball, in which case, should the server succeed in 
 making a return, the opponents have a ready opening. 
 Though the server should aim at gaining a position 
 at the net from whence he can volley down, this being 
 the essential quality of every scoring volley, it often 
 happens that the return catches him at or near his 
 feet. This is a target at which the striker-out 
 purposely aims and unless the server is a particularly 
 adroit low volleyer, like H. L. Doherty, Beals 
 Wright or W. V. Eaves, he may congratulate him- 
 self if he makes a useful return. The striker-out's 
 partner and the striker-out himself will both have 
 advanced on the latter's return ; given a soft ball, 
 either will instantly smother it. 
 
 The lob-volley is such a difficult stroke to execute 
 at all times that its application here, though pertinent 
 to the situation, is rarely likely to succeed and a bad 
 lob-volley would suffer the fate of all immature lobs. 
 The best hope the server has in ''clearing his feet" 
 is a low back-hand volley to the forehand of the 
 striker-out. I am referring now to the server 
 running up from his right-hand court. The majority 
 of players are weaker in volleying on their extreme 
 forehand, than on their extreme backhand, and if 
 the server can succeed in ''stretching" the striker-out 
 to the full reach of his racket he may get a weak 
 return or, better still, he may pass him. The half- 
 volley is both a pretty and a useful stroke in a sudden 
 emergency of this kind and when performed with the 
 delicacy and deftness of a player like Holcombe 
 Ward, who invests it with a break, will sometimes 
 
DOUBLES AND MIXED DOUBLES 139 
 
 nonplus both opponents. But the perfect accomplish- 
 ment of such a guard — for it can only be regarded 
 as a guard — requires long practice and experience ; 
 except by the expert its attempt generally ends in the 
 loss of the ace. 
 
 The responsibility attaching to the receiver of the 
 service has already been mentioned. His reply to 
 the service is of vital importance and beginners will 
 do well to study this aspect of the double game with 
 the ofreatest care. The nature of the striker-out's 
 return will of course be governed materially by the 
 direction of the service, and in a lesser degree by the 
 position assumed by the server s partner, of whose 
 preliminary movements he will have taken stock. 
 There are only four feasible returns to the service — 
 the drive down the centre-line, the drive down the 
 side-line, the low drive across the court and the lob. 
 The efficacy of the drive across the court, especially 
 the one which drops the ball on or near the side-line 
 and within a few feet of the net, has been noted. It 
 is a favourite return off a slow second service and 
 when neatly timed and directed may be accounted a 
 winning ace. It can be made both from the back- 
 hand and the forehand court with equal effect ; the 
 lower it passes over the net, of course, the better. 
 The drive down the centre is the most common 
 return of all ; it is the most convenient as well as the 
 safest return. Its popularity is such that the server 
 generally regulates his movements accordingly — an 
 adequate reason why it should not be employed too 
 often. Variation in the return of the service, as in 
 the service itself, should be assiduously practised. 
 The best doubles players judiciously mix their returns. 
 
140 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 It is the only way to keep the opponents in a state of 
 suspense and force them to reveal their weaknesses. 
 
 The lob, as we have seen in previous chapters, is 
 a most valuable weapon in match play and in modern 
 doubles the ability to use the high toss effectively 
 must be regarded as indispensable. The Americans, 
 Holcombe Ward in particular, have developed the art 
 of lobbing into a cult and though the Dohertys and 
 S. H. Smith on this side of the Atlantic are masters 
 in the execution of this stroke, English players, as a 
 body, are inferior " lobbers " to the players in the 
 States. Considered as a return to the service, the 
 lob must only be an alternative stroke; to use it too 
 frequently in this connexion is to impair that variety 
 of return so essential if the opponents are not to be 
 allowed to systematize their attack. Following a 
 successful side-line pass or a cross-drive that scores 
 by sheer speed alone, a lob may be effectively 
 employed, even off the second service, because both 
 the server and his partner, remembering their 
 previous misfortune, will probably be anticipating a 
 second effort in the same direction — a toss will 
 surprise them. As a rule, the receiver of the service 
 should lob over the head of the server's partner and 
 aim to drop in the corner, as near the base-line as 
 possible. The lob should of course be high enough 
 to prevent the man at the net from jumping up on 
 his toes and smashing it ; but the advice to lob inor- 
 dinately high off the service should be qualified by the 
 reflection that the longer the ball is in the air the more 
 time will both opponents have to get back to handle it. 
 Some remarks on lobbing will be found elsewhere.^ 
 
 ^ See page 123. 
 
DOUBLES AND MIXED DOUBLES 141 
 
 The need for a combined retrogression in event 
 of either opponent lobbing may be insisted upon. 
 The parallel formation again applies, for it is evident 
 that if only one man retires the advancing opponents 
 have a wide opening which they cannot fail to utilize. 
 Generally speaking, the player over whose head the 
 ball is lobbed should be responsible for the next 
 return ; especially should this be so in the case of a 
 tossed reply to the service. It is fatal for the server's 
 partner to rely on the ability of the server to get 
 behind his back ; such a conception of the server's 
 functions is contrary to sound tactics. Unless the 
 lob has particularly good length and is adroitly placed, 
 it should be possible, more often than not, for the 
 player at the net to step quickly back and smash 
 the dropping ball. When an overhead volley is out 
 of the question — and practice alone will accurately 
 gauge possibilities — the player will have to race to 
 put the ball between himself and the net. His 
 return will probably take the form of another lob and 
 he will then do well to toss as high as he possibly 
 can, for both his opponents will be strongly entrenched 
 to deal mercilessly with the short lob. Running back 
 to deal with the high bounding lob on the base-line, 
 Beals Wright sometimes executes a remarkably effec- 
 tive stroke, the cultivation of which by other players 
 is certainly to be commended. It takes the form of 
 a low cut drive made with a vertical racket and, aimed 
 low between the two opponents anticipating another 
 lob, is a brilliant scoring shot. 
 
 A word to the novice. Endeavour to compre- 
 hend the trigonometry of the court. Display a pre- 
 ference for the diagonal volley rather than the volley 
 
142 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 that runs parallel to the side-lines. The low cross- 
 volley with both opponents at the back of the court 
 is much more effective than the reckless smash that 
 runs the risk of being picked up on the rebound. 
 And remember this cross-volley can be made both 
 with the vertical and the horizontal racket. If there 
 is no visible opening for a smash, it is better to 
 smash at the nearest opponent and to aim at his 
 feet ; but in nearly every case the smash should have 
 a diagonal direction. And bear in mind Baddeley's 
 advice : " If one's partner is not absolutely sure that 
 he will be able to kill a return, but of which he is 
 certain of making such a good stroke that his oppon- 
 ents must put up an easy shot to his partner, he must 
 always make the shot which will lead to his partner 
 killing the return with certainty rather than run the 
 risk of trying to effect the kill himself." 
 
 Mixed doubles, with which I do not propose to 
 deal at any length, may be said at the present time 
 to be undergoing a process of evolution. The final 
 result of their development is to come. Ladies' play 
 has shown such remarkable advance in every depart- 
 ment of recent years that the time cannot be distant 
 when a similarity between the formation and methods 
 employed in a mixed double and those in a men's 
 double will be the rule rather than the exception. 
 Just as the underhand service for the lady has been 
 abandoned in favour of the overhead, so the smash 
 for the feminine votary will come more into vogue. 
 Each season brings more lady volleyers to the front. 
 Their value is incontestably proved in ladies' doubles, 
 wherein a revolution is also taking place ; and the con- 
 fidence and skill which ladies gain in that department 
 
DOUBLES AND MIXED DOUBLES 143 
 
 of the game will be reproduced in mixed doubles. 
 For executing those short delicate volleys with which 
 a high-class mixed double abounds several ladies 
 have demonstrated a natural aptitude — a considera- 
 tion quite apart from the vigour with which many of 
 them can now smash. Some of us may not live to 
 see the equality of the sexes in the single game ! In 
 mixed doubles it is on the eve of arrival. It follows 
 then that any suggestions offered in respect to men's 
 doubles are applicable to mixed doubles — in their 
 latest and prospectively permanent form. Ladies 
 will doubtless still continue to play from the back of 
 the court — those that never will become good volleyers 
 may be advised not to attempt the change— and men 
 will still continue to exhaust themselves in practising 
 the art of judicious poaching. But the ranks of both 
 will gradually dwindle. 
 
 Unless the man is a good volleyer he might as 
 well retire from the mixed double altogether — I am 
 assuming there is a capable volleyer on the other side 
 of the court. As an alert volleyer he will find excel- 
 lent sport for his racket. He will quickly discover that 
 the mixed double (as at the moment more generally 
 played) presents new features of attack and defence ; 
 there is a wide field for strategy and what is express- 
 ively called '' bluff." But the bait must be cautiously 
 set, for very often the lady discloses a lively sense of 
 anticipation and is in no mood to be trapped. Ladies 
 to whom any opening is good enough for a return 
 may sometimes be caught dowm the side-lines by a 
 feint towards the centre of the net, but the man has 
 to show remarkable agility to get back in time. It 
 is well, I think, for the man-volleyer to keep nearer 
 
144 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 the service-line than the net during the rest unless he 
 is advancing to kill a soft return. He will find that 
 he has continually to step back to handle short lobs, 
 as well as to dart to either side to volley returns 
 within possible range. If he make his "base" too 
 near the net his movements cannot be so profitable. 
 But he should beware of attempting too much. 
 Even if he gets to the ball and robs his partner of a 
 return from the base-line, he may only achieve a 
 volley that makes it comparatively easy for either of 
 his opponents to drop a ball short into the unguarded 
 region. While there is nothing more effective in a 
 mixed double than a sudden lunge, especially as a 
 counter to the return of the service, energy has to be 
 judiciously expended. The lady might have made 
 as good or even a better return. 
 
 The man should carefully nurse his stamina in 
 the early stage ; he may want all his reserve strength 
 in the third set. At the same time there is nothing 
 like a good hustle from the start provided it can be 
 maintained until the other side is thoroughly de- 
 moralised. There is more to be done with the lady's 
 return of the service than many men imagine, or at 
 least attempt. Put forth all you know to win your 
 lady opponent's service game — it is often the key to 
 the situation. If the man has anything approaching 
 a good service he may reasonably expect to win that 
 game and provided he is keenly alert and enterprising 
 he may also hope to win his partner's service game. 
 His male opponent's service game he will not calculate 
 to carry ; hence the importance of striving for the 
 third game in four. As a return of the lady's service 
 he will find the side-line, often insecurely covered by 
 
DOUBLES AND MIXED DOUBLES 145 
 
 the man at the net (who is inclined to guard the 
 centre) a tempting opening, but a safer return is a 
 low drive across the court. From the left-handed 
 court this shot, if low and true and aimed at the lady's 
 backhand, will more often than not yield a return 
 that can be successfully killed. Another very useful 
 return when the lady is serving is a short cross 
 shot that drops near the post. But the angle must 
 be very fine to evade the ** sharp-shooter" at the net. 
 When the man is serving this drop stroke may be 
 more confidently employed. 
 
 10 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 DIET AND TRAINING 
 
 Good condition more important than consummate skill — Why the 
 veteran frequently beats the man under thirty — The lungs as the body's 
 engine — The blood's vital element found in the most simple diet — 
 Necessary diet — Influence of climate on condition — Fencing a good 
 adjunct — Ordinary fitness and sporting fitness : ought there to be a 
 difference ? — Bad effects of the heavy lunch — Drinking between matches 
 — The universal popularity of tea — What should a player drink during 
 a match ? — The example of champions — Sleep a sovereign necessity — 
 Ventilation — Regular play 
 
 TRAINING in a rigorous athletic sense does 
 not commend itself very forcibly to the 
 lawn tennis player. Perhaps if more atten- 
 tion were devoted to the preparation of the mind 
 and the body before an important match we should 
 not witness, as we so often do, the physical and 
 nervous collapse of a man who has voluntarily set 
 himself a task requiring great endurance and con- 
 centration. Skill and tactics may go a long way 
 towards victory, but they do not go as far as condi- 
 tion. Cases innumerable might be cited where 
 players, pitted against men inferior to them in the 
 variety of stroke at command and in the grace and 
 effect with which these strokes are executed, have 
 been slowly but steadily worn down and beaten out 
 
 of court because their stamina failed at a crucial 
 
 146 
 
DIET AND TRAINING 147 
 
 moment. It must not be supposed that age is 
 always the governing factor. Many veterans, aided 
 no doubt by that habit which experience cultivates 
 of conserving their strength, of not permitting it 
 to be prematurely exhausted in a sequence of un- 
 necessary smashes and fast services, will often show 
 less signs of fatigue at the close of a strenuous 
 match than a player on the right side of thirty. 
 And it has always been acknowledged in the lawn 
 tennis world that grey hairs in court are usually 
 the sign of abnormal energy. Just as grey trousers 
 may often conceal a pair of legs that are phenomen- 
 ally alert, so may grey hairs cover a head that is 
 full of labour-saving devices — a head that frequently 
 evolves some scheme which leads to the undoing, 
 timely or untimely, of the spirited youngster. After 
 all, the longer a man can retain a racket in his 
 hand and compete at open tournaments the more 
 certain is it that he has discovered the secret of 
 consistently sound condition, and is pursuing a 
 regime dictated not so much by medical science or 
 text-book precept as by practical common sense and 
 a personal study of cause and effect. In this con- 
 nexion I venture to quote a letter addressed to me 
 by a well-known consulting practitioner whose practice 
 has brought him into contact with many athletes and 
 lovers of games. 
 
 {^Letter from Dr. Dabbs to the Author^ 
 
 "■ Dear Myers, — You ask me what are diet and 
 training to the lawn tennis player. Well : you pretty 
 well know my views about training ; that what is 
 good for the body is good for condition, and that 
 
148 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 simple, good food (and plenty of it) with bland 
 unirritating fluids constitute the primary dietetics of 
 that condition. I rather hesitate to specialize as to 
 this much-talked-of 'condition,' because it should be 
 not a specialism but the rule of life. 
 
 *' However I will tell you my views in a few 
 maxims : 
 
 ** I. To compass a great task which never must 
 be a great strain all muscles must be gradually pre- 
 pared, and the heart is a muscle. 
 
 '' 2. To make preparation and performance easy, 
 what suits the stomach, as easy of digestion, suits 
 the preparation for the task, and the stomach is a 
 tyrant. 
 
 *' 3. In mechanical engines free lubrication and 
 the avoidance of heated bearings go together as 
 precautionary measures for easy working. The lungs 
 are the body's engine and the lungs want all possible 
 attention. Their carbon or fuel comes from the 
 blood, therefore the blood must contain fuel-elements 
 and the heart as the stoker * slumbers not nor sleeps.' 
 
 *'4. You need, then, blood -food put into the 
 blood which it can distribute to the muscles and the 
 lungs as the middleman of supply and distribution ; 
 the wholesale agent is the stomach, the retailers the 
 other organs concerned in digestion. The dustman 
 or waste-remover is needed : and this is shared by 
 the excretory organs. 
 
 " 5. As the highest culture involves a sense of 
 proportion so the higher bodily efficacy involves the 
 perfection of balance — balance as to supply and waste. 
 The riddle is (and a very soluble one it is) how to 
 adjust food, select food, supply food — distribution 
 
DIET AND TRAINING 149 
 
 Is the blood's work — and then how to help the skin, 
 secure the due and proper action of the bowels and 
 assist the kidneys to perform their functions. The 
 blood distributes the materials for nutrition. We 
 have so to regulate our lives that these materials 
 are properly used. The equipoise Is 'condition.' 
 
 "6. The aesthetics of food are over when we 
 have swallowed. Believe me that very accurate and 
 discriminating chemist, the blood, despises vintages, 
 thinks very little of high living and altogether dis- 
 owns luxury as a sine qua non. The blood has 
 elementary and fundamental first principles and to 
 first principles he reduces all that Is sent him by 
 the stomach to 'sample.' His labelling is extremely 
 simple. He will find his vital elements in the most 
 ordinary diet. You may tickle your palate with all 
 sorts of expensive things and yet their value to him 
 Is only as to how far he can find in them his vital 
 elements when all the organs concerned in digestion 
 have retailed their residues. He wastes nothing of 
 value : you do that beforehand and he is out of that 
 wasteful competition. 
 
 "7. Now what shall you send to that wholesaler, 
 the stomach, to distribute to the retail shops — the 
 other organs concerned in digestion. That is the 
 puzzle. The perpetual customer is the blood. He 
 wants all from them that is of value to him : what 
 Is valueless he says ' No, thank you ' to. And the 
 retail shops only receive what they are ordained to 
 'handle.' There is no waste in Nature: waste is 
 man's patent. 
 
 "8. Before I deal briefly with foods let me 
 digress thus far to say that to compass condition 
 
ISO THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 the teeth, eyes, ears, and breathing apparatus must 
 be known to be in good order. Rotten teeth, mal- 
 adjusted vision, wax-loaded ears and nasal defects 
 which render proper breathing impossible all need 
 primary, and never perfunctory attention. So too 
 the hygiene of our houses must be good and especi- 
 ally the air-supply of our bedrooms. These vital 
 matters settled and we can then proceed to consider 
 other things. 
 
 *'9. I say nothing of the food a well-to-do or 
 wealthy amateur may take for the purpose of training, 
 for I am more concerned to make ' condition ' within 
 the food-reach of all. And so I will only note what 
 I consider necessary and within the power of any 
 man's pocket to obtain. Tea, bread, butter, ham, 
 fresh meat, potatoes, cabbage, cheese. There are 
 the necessaries. These can be varied with porridge, 
 milk, oatmeal, broth, meat, green food, bread and 
 butter and the changes rung between the two. In 
 our climate it is not every man who could train on a 
 vegetable diet, but it is done and well done by one 
 man at least as we all know ! 
 
 *' lo. I have mentioned climate and it must be 
 remembered that climate has its own claims to 
 notice. Train in Northumberland or Norfolk and 
 then suddenly and without climatic preparation try 
 and play in Nice or at Homburg and it would mean 
 a very unusual man to be at his best in such sudden 
 transition. 
 
 *'ii. For great tasks and a set ordeal of any 
 kind (lawn tennis included) the law is uniform. 
 There may be variations as to specific muscle- 
 training, and no doubt the walker and the lawn 
 
DIET AND TRAINING 151 
 
 tennis player would go on to special and divergent 
 loop-lines at a point of their training. But the law 
 of the body is inexorably the same as to the main 
 issues of demand on rules of health. For most men 
 preparing for ordeals of a severe kind alcohol is 
 unnecessary, smoking is unwise and early hours are 
 essential, early at each end of the day I mean. I 
 have a great addiction to the recommending of 
 fencing as an adjunct for all training. I know no 
 other exercise which so trains nerve, eye and muscle 
 and no similar pastime for keeping the skin supple 
 and in perfect order. I have every belief in the 
 Sandow exercises for arm - suppleness and the 
 increasing of reach and I do not think I could 
 speak too highly of the properly managed Turkish 
 bath. — Yours sincerely, 
 
 George H. R. Dabbs, M.D. 
 *' London, E.C. 
 November, 1 997 " 
 
 It will be observed that Dr. Dabbs treats this 
 question of training from Nature's standpoint. Ex- 
 perience in lawn tennis, as in other games, has shown 
 that the man or woman who observes with due care 
 Nature's simplest rules for health is better able to 
 undertake a strenuous five-set match than the player 
 who makes use of some quack specific in quest of 
 temporary fitness. Some eminent exponents, notably 
 H. L. Doherty, owe a large measure of their success 
 not only to the fact that they are fit during the pro- 
 gress of a match, but that their mode of living, 
 prompted doubtless by an even temperament, requires 
 them to undergo little if any strict training. They 
 
152 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 keep perennially fit by rarely exposing themselves to 
 undermining influences which make absolute fitness 
 so difficult to maintain and which, sooner or later, if 
 pursued, must exercise a baneful effect on a man's 
 game. On the other hand, there are a few happy- 
 go-lucky players — Pim was one and the Aliens are 
 others — who can apparently treat training even in a 
 modified form with contempt — players who seem to 
 shape just as brilliantly in court whether they have 
 been lunching on lobster and champagne or whether 
 (as in the case of Pim) they had come straight from a 
 severe mental strain. Between these two extremes — 
 the man whose temperament and habits are such that 
 he is always ''trained" and the ** brilliant exception" 
 — is the mass of ordinarily constituted players liable 
 to contract all the ills to which flesh is heir and re- 
 quiring certain definite rules of living. 
 
 As to food I have given the common - sense 
 medical view. Here is another opinion,^ that of 
 Mr. C. B. Fry, whose physical efficiency has been 
 so great a factor in his consistent success : 
 
 "With regard to food and fitness, nothing," says 
 Mr. Fry, '' is worse than faddiness or the kind of 
 absurdity that prescribes this or that as best for train- 
 ing beyond the limit of ordinary common sense. But 
 food is vital. Look what effect, correct or incorrect, 
 feeding has on a horse. You can no more keep a 
 man fit for games on pastry and highly spiced French 
 dishes than you can keep a hunter fit to go on cake 
 and grass. Quality and amount of food matter to 
 the last degree. But John Porter fed Ormonde on 
 the same kind of best oats as any Master of Hounds 
 
 * JF'rys Magazine^ November 1907. 
 
DIET AND TRAINING 153 
 
 gives to his hunt horses. No man can improve on 
 plain English fare such as boys have at any school 
 where they are well done, or as we find in the right 
 kind of farmhouse. There is no trickery in training 
 diet for horse or man. Plain, simple digestible food 
 and the right amount of meat, covers all secrets for 
 the man. The more exercise a man takes the more 
 meat he can properly do with, just as a horse in hard 
 work can do with more corn than when out of it. But 
 there is a limit. The commonest of errors in diet is 
 to suppose that because meat makes muscle, the more 
 meat the more muscle, which is obviously absurd. I 
 believe the test is simple. If you do not feel heavy 
 and sleepy after a meal, but, while satisfied, still bright 
 and quick in the head, you have about hit the right 
 amount of meat, though I believe that most men are 
 the better for eating no meat one day a week. Nearly 
 everyone eats far too much meat for ordinary as well 
 as for sporting fitness : of that I am quite convinced. 
 But except that the amount of meat may be slightly 
 increased, there is no diet that is best for ordinary life 
 and for the strictest training." 
 
 How frequently one hears the plaint from tourna- 
 ment competitors, *' I am never at my best after 
 lunch " ; and the truth of this statement is frequently 
 demonstrated by the slack and erratic form dis- 
 played by the speaker. The explanation is simple. 
 The player has swallowed an indigestible meal and 
 hurried on to court to engage in hard physical exercise. 
 Referees at a big meeting, where each competitor 
 must regard himself as part of an organized machine 
 that has to fulfil certain functions in a fixed period, 
 are frequently obliged to curtail a player's luncheon 
 
154 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 interval — sometimes it is cut as short as half an hour. 
 In this case the player does a very unwise thing if 
 he tackles the complete menu in the luncheon tent. 
 Tournament caterers contract to provide luncheons 
 at so much a head, usually half-a-crown, and their 
 conception of a competitor's requirements rarely 
 soars higher than cold meats, potatoes, salads and 
 tomatoes, a choice of two fruit tarts, with cheese, 
 butter and bread. Though it may be an inequitable 
 expedient, I have found it very serviceable when one 
 match follows close on another to select the subsidiary 
 items on the bill of fare and leave the principals alone. 
 That is, to take the salads and the tomatoes, the bread, 
 butter and cheese and the fruit from under the pie- 
 crust. 
 
 Again, it frequently happens that a man goes into 
 court at twelve o'clock for a struggle which does not 
 finish until nearly two. By that time he has naturally 
 cultivated a prodigious appetite. The temptation is to 
 appease the craving for food by an equally prodigious 
 meal. At three the referee's megaphone may summon 
 the well - stoked warrior to his next battle. The 
 chances are that he feels slack and sleepy, more 
 inclined for a basket chair than for another hard 
 physical bout. In order to minimize the effects of 
 "running over" the regulation meal hour, it is a good 
 plan to eat a dry biscuit or two before the lengthy 
 morning match. In hot weather, especially in ener- 
 vating centres abroad, snacks taken judiciously at 
 proper intervals will often sustain the hard-worked 
 competitor throughout the day and leave him in much 
 better form to enjoy the substantial evening meal. A 
 more economical plan is to bring lunch with you and 
 
DIET AND TRAINING 155 
 
 consume it in the privacy of the pavilion. Raw fruit, 
 especially apples, the juice of which has sustaining 
 qualities, will, I think, be found very beneficial. I 
 have in my mind a well-known player nearing the 
 veteran stage who, though certainly not a vegetarian, 
 rarely eats a meat lunch before a match, confining 
 his repast to some of those simple commodities I 
 have mentioned. 
 
 Plain water or at most a simple table water like 
 Perrier is the safest, and to my mind the most effica- 
 cious drink during the actual progress of a tournament. 
 Many players close the day's work with a whisky- 
 and-soda, others treat themselves to the luxury of 
 champagne : I would not presume to say there is 
 definite harm in this. But I am more and more 
 convinced that the indiscriminate drinking after every 
 match and between matches — especially the consump- 
 tion of spirits which subsequently tend to lower the 
 vitality, and of such Continental concoctions as iced 
 coffee which are ruinous to the eye — is a mistake. 
 Habit is, of course, a slave in this matter and the 
 etiquette of tournament tennis requires that the victor 
 and the vanquished shall repair to the refreshment 
 bar after the battle is over and that the former shall 
 do the honours. Nothing can be said against this 
 practice which is typical of British sportsmanship and 
 on that account, if on no other, unworthy of reproach. 
 But it sometimes tends to make a man desert his 
 better judgment. That may tell him that his form 
 in his next tie will be improved if he does not drink 
 at all. On the Continent the custom of ''standing- 
 drinks to the loser " is followed to a more limited 
 degree. At some tournaments the foreigner, though 
 
156 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 he may shake hands in a perfunctory manner, picks 
 up his coat and goes off to join his friends before you 
 have pulled down your sleeves. He neither waits 
 to honour you with his company and hospitality if 
 he has won, or to receive a toast at your hands if he 
 has lost. To an Englishman competing in a foreign 
 tournament for the first time this summary withdrawal 
 from the scene of friendly combat is strange and some- 
 times embarrassing. He mentally questions the pro- 
 priety of stalking his man and (if innocent of the 
 latter s language) pointing meaningly to the bar. This 
 digression must not be regarded as a criticism of the 
 foreigner's manners on court. In matters of courtesy 
 he will sometimes give points to the visitor and his 
 hospitality on the larger scale is too well-known to 
 need emphasis. But I think we may take it that the 
 drinking-with-your-opponent habit is of British origin 
 or at any rate of British cultivation. 
 
 Tea has ever been the favourite drink for tennis 
 players. I am not sure that lawn tennis does not owe 
 much of its popularity to tea and certainly no other 
 game in its social aspect is so intimately and so in- 
 dissolubly associated with what Dr. Johnson called 
 *' the infusion of a fascinating plant.'* It was *'tea 
 and tennis " that provided the country hostess of the 
 early eighties with a novel and alliterative excuse for 
 organizing a garden party ; tea that has called the 
 welcome halt to many a perspiring and somewhat 
 frivolous engagement on the private lawn ; over tea 
 in the open air that perfect bliss comes to the victor 
 and the remorse of the vanquished loses its initial 
 poignancy. Of the several factors that have caused 
 tea to become popular at all foreign resorts, the lawn 
 
DIET AND TRAINING I57 
 
 tennis tournament is certainly one of the main. In 
 Sweden many of the younger players make a midday 
 meal off tea and its light accompaniments, and though 
 this is a practice not to be commended for the sterner 
 work of English meetings, yet the principle of the 
 lighter lunch deserves recognition. 
 
 What should a player drink during a long match ? 
 In nine cases out of ten the answer is "nothing 
 at all." This opinion is endorsed by nearly every 
 champion who has fought and won protracted tussles. 
 **When playing," says W. Baddeley, ** dispense with 
 any kind of refreshment unless it is an absolute 
 necessity. However, if a stimulant is required, I 
 have found nothing answer better than a cup of 
 warm (not hot) tea, or a little iced water with a dash 
 of brandy in it." The Dohertys speak in the same 
 (tea) strain. " Do not drink," the5^ declare. ** If 
 you must drink take some simple drink like oatmeal- 
 water or tea." H. W. W. Wilberforce would even 
 taboo the swallowing of any liquid. '' It is far better 
 not to drink at all during a match but simply to rinse 
 out the mouth with strong brandy and water." 
 
 Some men automatically send the ball-boy for a 
 drink after the third set. First-class American 
 players have been known to consume three cups of 
 tea during the later stages of a gruelling match. 
 A. W. Gore on '' state occasions " has revived his 
 energies through the medium of champagne. I once 
 played against an elderly man who ceremoniously 
 laid a big bar of chocolate on the umpire's ladder ; 
 each time we crossed over he would saw off a piece 
 with his racket and consume it during the next game. 
 But only once have I seen either of the Dohertys 
 
158 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 take any refreshment during a match ; it was a sure 
 sign that something quite unusual was wrong. In 
 never drinking between the rests, the Dohertys have 
 demonstrated the practical value of the habit. 
 
 Adequate sleep is a sovereign necessity in training. 
 It is a trite statement, but nothing so soon upsets a 
 man called upon to use his eyes and his limbs than 
 curtailed sleep. The best time to sleep is between 
 II p.m. and 7 a.m., and before an important match I 
 even counsel the player to turn in as early as 10 p.m. 
 Some men seem capable of dancing through the 
 small hours and appearing in court about eleven in 
 the morning outwardly none the worse for the snack 
 of slumber they have obtained. But how many 
 cases are there not where dancing men have gone out 
 of the lists quickly and ingloriously on the morrow 
 of the ball ? Late hours and lawn tennis have 
 never blended well. Needless to say, the ventilation 
 of the bedroom is of the utmost importance, as is 
 the ventilation of the railway carriage. The hygienic 
 enthusiast — he was a tennis tourist — who never 
 engaged a bedroom at a hotel without insisting that 
 the bed should be moved near the window, always 
 open wide, had wisdom on his side, while habit had 
 made him immune from cold. In stopping at an 
 urban hotel, it is always advisable to select the 
 tramless side of the house, provided there are not 
 noisier trains in that half. Likewise, do not fail to 
 inquire of the manager whether dinner at night is 
 more or less a movable feast. Otherwise you may 
 return hungry and tired in the evening to discover 
 that everything is off except cold meat and cheese. 
 
 Finally, I would say there is nothing better for 
 
DIET AND TRAINING 159 
 
 getting into good condition and for keeping fit than 
 regular play. By this I do not mean participating 
 every week in tournaments or playing every day. 
 Three hard sets a day, on four days of the week, 
 to give Baddeley's precept, is a wise rule, as well 
 as a safeguard against the demon of staleness. And 
 one week's comparative rest after two tournaments 
 is also desirable. It is especially so for ladies, 
 who were never intended to go on week after week 
 wielding a racket in nerve-straining and exhausting 
 competitions. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 
 
 Why open meetings make their appeal — Selecting a suitable date — 
 Committees and their duties — What is expected of a referee — Some of 
 his trials and tribulations — Desirability of an order of play — The 
 one-man-in-control method — How it works at Homburg — The duties 
 of the competitor — The equipment of an open tournament — How the 
 courts should be marked out and fitted up — The question of balls — Are 
 there too many prize meetings ? — Players and their prizes — The practice 
 of " seeding the draw " : Should it be sanctioned or vetoed ? — The 
 chances of competitors relatively considered — Umpires and linesmen 
 
 NOTHING has advertised the popularity of 
 lawn tennis so much as the ever-increasing 
 volume of open prize meetings. Clubs 
 may come and clubs may go, championships may be 
 captured by foreign hands and the Davis Cup may 
 make a journey to the uttermost ends of the earth, 
 but as long as there are grounds upon which tourna- 
 ments may be held, enterprising men to run them, 
 and players of both sexes to fill the lists, the game 
 will continue to make its appeal to the public. 
 Indeed, if tournaments have done nothing else, they 
 have proved that lawn tennis is a spectacular pastime 
 capable of drawing crowds, of generating excitement 
 and of compelling the man in the street to recognize 
 its claims. In a first-class double between experts, 
 such as most open meetings provide, you have all 
 
 i6o 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 16 1 
 
 the elements calculated to appeal to the healthy- 
 sporting instincts of a British crowd — consummate 
 skill and physical efficiency, almost direct personal 
 contact of the players, generalship, the subtle employ- 
 ment of finesse and coup, a climax and a definite 
 finish. You have continual movement ; you have 
 dramatic effect ; you have the knowledge that both 
 sides are always striving to win — a conviction that 
 inspires confidence. 
 
 Now, as this chapter is included mainly to give 
 information I will suppose the committee of a new 
 and flourishing club have decided to hold an open 
 prize meeting or that a coterie of gentlemen anxious 
 to promote the well-being of a popular resort have 
 come to the .conclusion that a lawn tennis tournament 
 would add to the civic attractions. Before any 
 organizing steps can be taken it is necessary for the 
 club or committee to become affiliated to the Lawn 
 Tennis Association, for the simple reason that no 
 player would be allowed to compete at any open 
 meeting in the United Kingdom not sanctioned by 
 the governing body. It is also essential to have the 
 proposed date of the meeting ratified by the L.T.A. 
 In this respect initial difficulties may arise. From 
 the middle of May until the middle of September 
 every week or section of a week is appropriated 
 either by one tournament or by several — in the first 
 week in August as many as eight open meetings are 
 running simultaneously. To squeeze into this 
 crowded field it is therefore necessary to choose 
 some date which does not clash with a neighbouring 
 meeting ; for the L.T.A. would be bound to recognize 
 
 the protest of a committee resenting an incursion 
 II 
 
1 62 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 into its preserves. Even as the fixture list is at 
 present arranged it may be doubted whether the 
 sphere of influence of some old-established meetings 
 is adequately respected. Of course the best date is 
 that which immediately precedes or follows that of 
 a neighbouring tournament ; patrons of the one will 
 naturally be drawn to the other. 
 
 The importance of having good men at the head 
 of a tournament cannot be over-estimated. I am 
 not now referring to the referee, who does not arrive 
 on the scene until the eve of the meeting, but to the 
 secretary and his executive committee. Some of the 
 most successful tournaments I have visited abroad 
 have been engineered and controlled by one man, 
 and though different methods are employed and 
 generally a larger clientele has to be considered in 
 this country I am all in favour of centralizing authority 
 as much as possible. A string of names — especially 
 if an occasional title can be introduced — may look 
 very well on a prospectus or a programme, but it 
 will generally be found that seventy per cent, of 
 these gentlemen are mere figureheads ; the bulk of 
 the organizing work falls on the shoulders of three 
 or four zealous officials. The ideal working com- 
 mittee is probably composed of a secretary who 
 exercises the functions of commander-in-chief; a 
 treasurer who deals with all the accounts, receives the 
 gate-money and the seat-money at the close of each 
 day's play, collects competitors' entrance fees and 
 furnishes them with receipts, pays the ball-boys and 
 generally controls the financial side of the meeting ; 
 a gentleman whose duty it is to preside at the ball- 
 tent and control the supply of balls to the ball-boys 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 163 
 
 — carriers, who unless strongly kept in hand may- 
 prove a source of much annoyance and some 
 waste ; a gentleman who stands by the referee and, 
 like the watchman at a fire-station, keeps a constant 
 look-out over the whole playing arena, giving the 
 word immediately there is a vacant court ; and three 
 or four other officials whose work consists chiefly 
 of finding umpires, seeking out competitors, per- 
 sonally conducting them to the court assigned 
 for their combat and generally assisting the referee 
 to keep the programme moving efficiently and 
 expeditiously. 
 
 Zealous and willing as the executive committee 
 should be, it is essential they should give the pro- 
 fessional referee, who is virtually the tournament 
 manager, a perfectly free hand, deferring to his 
 judgment whenever necessary. The players have 
 more respect for his commands than they have for 
 any other official on the ground, and his long ex- 
 perience and intimate knowledge of the idiosyncrasies 
 of the leading competitors invests him with an 
 authority which committee-men cannot exercise. 
 Indeed, how much committees and players generally 
 owe to the referee it would be impossible to say. 
 A man whose work is never done, who before one 
 tournament is through is busy with the next, who 
 may be required to sit up half the night allotting 
 handicaps and classifying competitors, who journeys 
 as far and as often as a commercial traveller, who 
 is expected to be the embodiment of cheerfulness 
 and courtesy every moment of the meeting, who has 
 to snatch at his meals between the intervals of his 
 exacting labours and frequently to subsist on a 
 
1 64 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 sandwich and a whisky-and-soda covertly consumed, 
 who must be prepared to add to his regular duties 
 those of *' confessor," mediator in personal disputes, 
 philosopher and money-lender, who must have a 
 faultless memory for faces, abundant resource and a 
 warm regard for the virtues of the English climate. 
 Such are only some of the qualifications required by 
 a modern referee. 
 
 Deciding points of law is the least of his prescribed 
 duties ; the really onerous part of his work comes 
 under the following heads, as Mr. F. R. Burrow in 
 an illuminating article^ points out : — 
 
 *' First, getting the tournament 'through,' which, 
 in a * three-day rush,' is a matter demanding an 
 inconsiderable amount of management. Secondly, 
 displeasing as little as possible (a) the committee, 
 (d) the spectators, and (c) the competitors. The 
 committee must have it borne in upon them that, 
 were it not for the invaluable assistance they are 
 affording, the whole thing would be a lugubrious 
 and ghastly failure. The spectators must be pro- 
 vided with the matches they most desire to see, at 
 the time when they most desire to see them, and on 
 the courts where they can see them most comfortably. 
 The competitors must be conciliated ; and if necessity 
 ordains that their match is to be played on a court 
 they consider a bad one, they must be promised a 
 good one for their next game ; allowed to go and 
 have lunch exactly when they want it ; not put on to 
 play directly after lunch ; permitted to catch the 5.30 
 this afternoon and to come by the 11.47 to-morrow 
 morning ; given occasionally a day off to go and get 
 
 1 Lawn Tennis and Badminton. 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 165 
 
 married ; and never, never, never, except in the most 
 dire circumstances and when the referee is in his 
 darkest moods, scratched." 
 
 '' But besides these more obvious duties, the 
 referee is expected (by the majority of competitors) 
 to provide them with postcards, pens, pencils, 
 telegraph forms, safety-pins, information as to the 
 dates of all future tournaments and entry forms for 
 the same, soda-water, cigarettes and indeed every 
 likely and unlikely thing desired of players. I re- 
 member once a fair competitor coming and asking 
 me if I could lend her an elastic band. I produced 
 one, but it was said to be *'too small." A larger 
 one gave satisfaction, and she departed with it. But 
 I have never been able to understand to this day, 
 why she should have come back to the tent a minute 
 later to tell me she wanted it to fasten her sleeve up 
 with. And I never got it back. 
 
 ''The referee's tent, moreover, is made a reposi- 
 tory for rackets, ' owe-40 ' coats, umbrellas, cameras, 
 * clean ' balls and shoes ; and his table, with its 
 neatly arranged diagram of courts and pinned out 
 programme, is made to serve as a seat for lady com- 
 petitors, who perch upon the front edge of it and 
 make helpful and interesting remarks over a shapely 
 shoulder. It is the referee's duty to explain to the 
 ' crack ' man, who never deigns to look at a programme 
 but comes up on the morning of the second day with, 
 ' I say, can't I play (the next best man) now ? ' that 
 Providence and the exigencies of the * gate ' have 
 prevented the two meeting till about three o'clock 
 on the last afternoon of the tournament, and to repeat 
 this information at intervals until the actual time for 
 
1 66 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 the match arrives, when each of the finalists will 
 probably want to know why he can't play his Mixed 
 Double. It is also a most important part of the 
 referee's duty to see that every lady competitor, so 
 long as she remains in that event, gets one round of 
 Ladies' Doubles every day. It will not be for lack 
 of reminders if he does not see that this is done ; for 
 if two ladies come into his tent at the same time it 
 is almost ten to one that their first words, spoken in 
 chorus, will be, * Can't we play our Ladies' Doubles ? ' 
 I have never fully understood whether this desire to 
 play Ladies' Doubles arises from a passionate delight 
 in that form of the game, or from a mere desire to 
 get it over and done with ; but the innovation, at a 
 recent private tournament, that all ladies were obliged 
 to go up and volley, would certainly ruin the event 
 from the referee's point of view. As it is, he knows 
 that when he has put a Ladies' Double on to court 
 he need bother himself no further about that court 
 for an hour and a half ; that four players will be quite 
 happy, feeling they are at least getting their money's 
 worth ; and that one more umpire will be proudly 
 conscious that he has indeed made great strides 
 forward towards the umpire's prize." 
 
 While on the subject of referees it may be 
 desirable to devote a little space to the varying 
 methods employed by these indispensable officials 
 for bringing their tournaments to a successful issue. 
 I am bound to say that the perfect system has not 
 yet been discovered or if it has it has not yet been 
 put into practice ; and it seems to me, speaking 
 generally, that the management of the modern prize 
 meeting is conducted rather on lines of temporary 
 
THE REFEREE MARKING UP RESULTS AT LES AVANTS, SWITZERLAND 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 167 
 
 expedience and makeshift design than on a systematic 
 plan carefully conceived and carried out. Take the 
 case of the competitor desiring to know whom he is 
 to play and when he is to play. By purchasing a 
 threepenny programme as he enters the ground he 
 can doubtless ascertain the name of his opponent 
 in the first round, but if more than one round is 
 decided in one day he has no means of finding out 
 the first of these material facts unless he goes to the 
 referee and puts him to the trouble of referring to 
 previous results. The simple remedy — and I wonder 
 it is not more generally adopted at English meetings, 
 as it is at practically every tournament abroad — is to 
 have a notice-board reserved for competitors and on 
 that to paste loose sheets from the programme, care 
 being taken to ** repeat " on this board every result 
 as it comes in. So with regard to an *' Order of play." 
 I believe Mr. H. S. Scrivener has recently introduced 
 this much-needed reform at his tournaments, thus 
 conferring a precious boon on all competitors, besides 
 adding materially to his own comfort ; but at the 
 majority of English meetings it is often impossible 
 for the competitor to ascertain approximately when 
 he or she may be required to go into court. At small 
 holiday tournaments where the bulk of the players 
 are on the ground at the same time and have nothing 
 else to do but to sit about in the sun and await their 
 turn, the absence of any preconceived programme 
 does not matter ; but at the big urban meetings, 
 where business men are concerned and where trains 
 have to be fitted in and other appointments considered, 
 it seems to me highly desirable that some attempt at 
 drawing out a rough programme should be made. 
 
1 68 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Even If the announcement were confined to the order 
 of play for the first hour of the day and to the 
 occupation of the courts immediately after lunch it 
 would be some guide to the mystified competitor, 
 while it would certainly prove helpful to the ''gallery " 
 which has a right to know what it is going to get 
 for its money. At Wimbledon, by the way, the 
 excellent plan is now adopted of publishing a list of 
 the chief matches in one or two daily papers each 
 morning — a publicity device that is carried out with 
 much success at the Riviera meetings. 
 
 There are difficulties in the way of anticipating 
 too minutely I confess. There is the man who 
 scratches at the last moment and thus causes the 
 abandonment of an advertised tie ; there is the 
 wearisome match that exceeds its time limit and 
 accordingly throws other matches, judiciously planned, 
 out of joint; there is the lady who begs as a special 
 favour that she may not be called upon to display 
 her prowess, or lack of prowess, in a gallery court ; 
 there is the player, possibly down to appear in a 
 given court at a given time, who gaily goes ofT to tea 
 for all the world as if he were at a garden-party. 
 But I do not think the disadvantages outweigh the 
 advantages, and I am certain now that open tourna- 
 ments have assumed the colossal proportions they 
 have, that a better system is wanted than that at 
 present in vogue. It is not satisfactory that com- 
 petitors should be told that they will be wanted in 
 due course, or that they should be compelled to exert 
 pressure on the referee to get themselves put on, or 
 that they should be required to buttonhole their 
 opponents, find an umpire and ascertain that the 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 169 
 
 ball-boys are not asleep at the back of their tent. 
 Much of the present discomfort and delay might be 
 averted if overnight and before lunch a rough draft 
 of prospective matches were published. Lawn tennis 
 players are as a rule easy-going people and they are 
 not given to collective protest, but I believe that 
 there is not a single competitor of either sex who 
 would not welcome the universal introduction of '*an 
 order of play." 
 
 Comparisons are odious and foreign conditions 
 are not always the same as those prevailing at home. 
 Yet I have never concealed my admiration for the 
 manner in which Mr. Charles Voigt runs the inter- 
 national meeting at Homburg. I do not say that 
 all Mr. Voigt's methods would succeed or that they 
 would be desirable in this country. But put into 
 practice at Homburg where men and women of all 
 nationalities, ages and temperaments are competing, 
 they produce one of the smoothest-worked and most 
 enjoyable tournaments in Europe. Let me give Mr. 
 Voigt's secret in his own words : 
 
 " I prefer to run a tournament by myself with no 
 committee to help. I make a point of sitting in the 
 centre of the courts where I can see all that is going 
 on and even keep track of how the various matches 
 stand. If umpires would only follow my advice more 
 and call ou*" loudly the state of the game, previous 
 sets, etc., this would be an easier task. I rarely have 
 a court vacant for more than a couple of minutes. 
 I put another match on at once. 
 
 '* Except for the championship (exhibition) court 
 where most of the spectators sit, I seldom fix matches 
 for certain courts. It doesn't pay. But I make out 
 
170 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 a * List of Matches ' for morning and afternoon well 
 in advance without fixing times (excepting approxim- 
 ately for the chief court as a guide to the public), and 
 I expect every player on the list to be down punctually 
 at the hour fixed for play to begin. Then I put 
 matches on as I think best. 
 
 "I do all I can to impress upon players to help 
 each other and aid in finding an umpire for their 
 match. I am always willing to promise two or four 
 competitors a court at a certain hour if they can come 
 along with an umpire. Umpiring to my mind is the 
 bane of the game. I should like to see a staff of 
 four or six professional umpires who could go round 
 the various tournaments. Every player should be 
 asked to contribute towards this expense (2s. 6d. or 
 5s. a head). Elderly ball-boys would do. 
 
 " I do not believe, as some referees do, In making 
 a plan with certain matches on certain courts except to 
 the extent I have mentioned. An elaborate order does 
 not pay. The duration of matches is so uncertain. 
 
 " When the weather is fine I always get through 
 as many matches in one day as possible. The record 
 for six courts at Homburg (10 to 12.30 and 2.30 to 
 6.30) was once sixty-seven matches. 
 
 '* Players should help the referee more than they 
 do by being punctual, by being dressed ready for 
 play, and by not leaving the court without first 
 advising the referee. * Tea ' I regard as a confounded 
 nuisance. I never take anything during the hours 
 of play and I am surprised that players should hang 
 over the teacups as they do. 
 
 " I always pay much attention to the public and 
 their wishes and make a point of letting them see 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 171 
 
 the best matches ; and variety too, such as singles, 
 doubles and mixed. On the conclusion of one match 
 I always call out the next in the chief court so that 
 spectators may know what is to follow. 
 
 '* In order not to hurt the feelings of Germans at 
 a place like Homburg, I usually write my notices in 
 German and English and generally converse with 
 players in their own language, an attention which 
 they always appreciate. 
 
 '* One trouble at Homburg is to secure the various 
 players' rooms. Another is finding them partners 
 for the doubles. Tact in this matter is essential. 
 I rarely put total strangers or persons of different 
 social standing together. This is very important 
 abroad, where many ranks are represented." 
 
 An important point raised by Mr. Voigt is the 
 locality of the referee's headquarters. Too often the 
 referee pitches his tent where he can neither survey 
 the courts properly nor command the movements of 
 players ; while his chances of watching a match in 
 progress and obtaining a first-hand impression of a 
 player's form which shall assist his handicapping are 
 reduced to a minimum. Where possible it would be 
 well for the ground to be so arranged that the referee 
 takes his stand in the centre, from which position he 
 could be in direct communication with every court 
 and be free from contact with the many people who 
 ply him with irrelevant questions. 
 
 I now come to the fitting out of a tournament, 
 the *' properties " that ^ prize meeting requires. Take 
 a concrete case, the Eastbourne meeting of 1907. 
 Twenty courts were here fitted up in Devonshire 
 park. There were eleven events and nearly seven 
 
172 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 hundred and fifty matches were contested. Here 
 is a hst of the materials ^ used : — 
 
 138 dozen balls 340 uprights 
 
 36 scoring blocks 340 toprods 
 
 20 pairs of posts 1000 yards of canvas 
 
 20 nets loio yards of rope 
 
 20 centre guides 310 iron stakes 
 
 20 pairs of dividing posts 30 wood corner poles 
 
 20 umpires' chairs i large swing board for No. i 
 
 20 numbers for marking courts Court 
 1000 yards of stop-netting 
 
 Of course there are very few open tournaments 
 that require to be equipped on anything like the 
 scale of the Eastbourne meeting, and the economical 
 system now in vogue by which the manufacturers 
 loan materials to various tournament committees, 
 thus saving them an almost prohibitive expense, must 
 be regarded as a great boon. In the case of tourna- 
 ments taking place within a radius of twelve miles 
 of London, goods are sent by road on the manu- 
 facturers' vans and delivered on the ground. Outside 
 this radius the goods are packed and handed over 
 to the railway company which delivers direct to the 
 ground. As all committees have to pay carriage on 
 goods the amount charged is collected by the carrier 
 at the time of delivery. In some cases the goods 
 will not be left unless this carriage is paid on arrival. 
 The materials should be carefully unpacked by the 
 groundman, whose hands are usually augmented by 
 extra help at such times. They should be arranged 
 in proper order under cover, with the object not only 
 of expediting the actual piecing together but of pro- 
 tecting them from rain. 
 
 Where, as so often happens, tournaments are held 
 
 ^ The approximate value of the above would be about ;^5oo. 
 

POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 173 
 
 on cricket fields or plots of grass employed for lawn 
 tennis only once a year, measurements will first have 
 to be taken and the courts pegged out. Needless to 
 say particular attention should be paid to the position' 
 of the courts in relation to the sun — they should 
 be arranged as near north to south as possible. The 
 committee will already have settled upon the number 
 of courts they require and in what part of the ground 
 this *' gallery " court with its extra space for spectators 
 shall be placed. Of course if there is a grand stand 
 or a seat-equipped pavilion already in position the 
 selection of the site for the principal arena is governed 
 by this consideration.-^ 
 
 It is highly desirable that adequate space, say 
 18 feet, should be left between the side-lines of 
 parallel courts. If there is less space the risk of 
 competitors colliding with each other is considerable ; 
 this risk should be avoided at all costs. The better 
 plan but one very difficult to carry out on a limited 
 area is to have all courts placed end-to-end so that 
 each has its own unfettered side-run as well as an 
 adequate run-back. The official recommendation 
 is a clear margin of at least 1 2 feet on each side and 
 2 1 feet at each end of the court. I wish this advice 
 were generally followed. In the accompanying plan 
 of the All- England ground at Wimbledon, arranged 
 for the championships, it will be seen that no court 
 is allowed to interfere with another so far as the 
 players' movements out of court are concerned. On 
 some grounds I could name, even those on which 
 important matches are decided, the juxtaposition of 
 the courts is such that no base-line linesman — and 
 
 \See^Appendix for method of marking out a court. 
 
174 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 seven line umpires are recommended for important 
 matches ! — could possibly find room to officiate, while 
 the legs of the umpire's chair actually stand in the 
 neighbouring court. It is not every ground that can 
 afford the same accommodation as Wimbledon and 
 the side-by-side system is often compulsory, especially 
 where the grand stand is expected to give a full view 
 of two or three matches in progress at once ; but the 
 end-to-end system has much to commend it. 
 
 As regards the equipment required for a single 
 tournament court I think the following is an exhaus- 
 tive list : — 
 
 I pair of poles, with necessary i8 iron uprights, 6 feet 
 
 fixing arrangements i6 iron toprods, 9 feet 
 I net I umpire's chair 
 
 I centre guide i box of sawdust 
 
 1 pair of dividing posts, better i number for court 
 
 known as singles sticks 2 scoring books 
 
 2 24-yard lengths of 7 ft. stop-netting 
 
 The above quantity of netting, it should be 
 noted, allows for backing and wings at each end. 
 If netting be required to go practically all round the 
 court, just twice the amount named above would be 
 necessary. The position in which the poles should 
 be placed can be ascertained by taking a tape 
 measure and measuring off 39 feet down the side- 
 line from the outside edge of the base-line ; the 
 centre of the pole should be 3 feet from the side-line. 
 In fixing stop-netting, where possible a run-back 
 of 24 feet should be allowed, and the distance be- 
 tween courts should be not less than 1 5 feet. All these 
 distances should be carefully measured out and pegged. 
 In order that a straight line be kept when fixing 
 uprights a cord should be drawn lightly along the 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 175 
 
 ground. The toprods, 9 feet in length, should 
 then be placed on the ground end to end along 
 the cord. This will give the distance at which the 
 holes for the uprights should be bored. The uprights 
 can then be put in position, and the toprods fixed in 
 their places. The next thing is to hang the stop- 
 netting on the hooks provided. It should be arranged 
 alternately in and out of the uprights so that move- 
 ments by gusts of wind may be obviated. Of recent 
 years it has become the fashion to have the best 
 courts at tournaments completely surrounded or 
 backed by green canvas, an idea originated by 
 Slazenger & Sons for the championships at Wimbledon 
 in 1903. The device forms an ideal background 
 and is much appreciated by players. Canvas and 
 necessary materials for fixing can be hired with the 
 other materials. In many cases where space is at 
 a premium, a complete circuit of canvas round each 
 court is out of question ; in that case committees 
 should limit their enterprise to canvas at the back of 
 each court. The higher you can get this green 
 background the better. I have never yet met a 
 first-class player who would not rather have two 
 extra feet of green canvas in front of him than all the 
 applauding ladies in the town. An excellent idea, 
 introduced at Wimbledon, are movable green screens 
 about the height of an average man's shoulder. 
 They are just high enough to cover the aim of the 
 player and yet not so high that a spectator, standing 
 perhaps on a foot-board, cannot watch the rallies over 
 them. To equip one court with an ordinary canvas 
 background only two lengths of canvas, each 24 yards 
 long, would be necessary. 
 

 
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PLAN OF THE ALL ENGLAND GROUND, WIM- 
 BLEDON, ARRANGED FOR THE CHAMPION- 
 SHIPS 
 
 KEY 
 
 - - Green canvas round the CourtR. 
 
 A. Covered Stand for Public (Pes' cd Seats). 
 
 B. Covered Stand. 
 
 C. Covered Stand. 
 
 D. Uncovered Stand. 
 
 E. Seats for Competitors. 
 
 F. Subway. 
 
 G. Announcement of Matches. 
 
 H. Reserved Public Seats in Stand B. 
 
 L Committee Box. 
 
 J. Members. 
 
 K. Press. 
 
 L. Seat Office. 
 
 M. Scoring Board. 
 
 N. Green Screens at ends of Centre Court. 
 
 O. Tea Tent. 
 
 P. Refreshments. 
 
 Q. Entrance and Turnstile. 
 
 R. Dressing Rooms. 
 
 S. Secretary's Office. 
 
 T. Pavilion and Bar. 
 
 U. Referee's Tent. 
 
 V. Extra Temporary Dressing Rooms. 
 
 W. Tea Enclosure. 
 
 X. Summer. Houses. 
 
 13 
 
178 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 I believe I am right in saying that under the 
 present system, which appears to work efficaciously, 
 all goods loaned to a tournament may be offered for 
 sale after the meeting is over. As the manufacturers 
 considerably reduce their ordinary price — in view, I 
 suspect, of the advertisement they receive and of 
 the profit they make over the sale of balls — the com- 
 mittee by pushing the sales of those goods may help 
 considerably to defray the cost of carriage. Material 
 which is not used is either returned to the manufacturers 
 or is despatched to the next meeting on the circuit. 
 
 In respect to the number of balls required the 
 quantity is naturally governed by the number of 
 events, the number of matches, the condition of the 
 courts and the weather. At Eastbourne, as I have 
 said, 138 boxes, each containing a dozen balls, were 
 devoted to 750 matches ; but the weather for 
 this meeting happened to be exceptionally fine. 
 Never stint players over balls is a safe rule, and 
 beware of discriminating too much between the needs 
 of the crack and the needs of the ordinary competitor. 
 The latter has paid his entrance fees and is just as 
 much entitled to consideration as anybody else. 
 There is a happy medium in this matter and 
 some executives just hit it. In wet weather or in 
 failing light the appeal of players for new balls, 
 even those engaged in handicap events, deserves 
 the utmost consideration. There was a well-known 
 tournament habitu6 with a stamina not particularly 
 sound, who made a practice of demanding new balls 
 at the beginning of the third set, no matter what the 
 condition of the original balls might be. His friends 
 thought that it might be a subterfuge to gain a 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 179 
 
 second **wlnd" and to test their suspicions the ball- 
 boy on his arrival at the pavilion with the usual 
 request was told to take back the old balls (which 
 were not really old) and say nothing about it. He 
 carried out these instructions and the wily warrior was 
 none the wiser, though he was certainly the fresher. 
 
 I am tempted to introduce here another ball story. 
 It relates to the Buxton Meeting, when its glory was 
 a little brighter than it is to-day. Dr. Dwight, the 
 well-known American player and now the President 
 of the U.S.N.L.T.A., was making a British 
 circuit. He had at that time an almost ungovernable 
 passion for new balls and at Dublin, where he had 
 previously been competing, this craving had been 
 satisfied with true Irish hospitality. But at Buxton, 
 out of consideration for their balance sheet, the 
 committee could not deal with quite so lavish a hand ; 
 nevertheless they were prepared to make an exception 
 in the genial ** Doctor's" favour. Dwight entered 
 the referee's tent scenting a possible match. B. C. 
 Evelegh, then as now, was in charge of the reins 
 and duly allotted the American a tie in the Handicap 
 Singles. '' New balls of course ? " said Dwight. 
 "They are ready, waiting for you," replied the 
 secretary,^ his eyes twinkling through his glasses. 
 Off went Dwight to uncase his racket. Meanwhile 
 the secretary winked at Evelegh and called Ernest 
 Renshaw on one side. The result of this interlude 
 was that the great '' E. R." went forth to fill the 
 umpire's chair, two ball boxes under his arm. Dwight 
 and his opponent appeared in court and Dwight said 
 to Renshaw, '' Got those new balls, Ernest ? " " Yes, 
 
 ^ Mr. A. J. Harrison, to whom I am indebted for this recollection. 
 
i8o THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 here they are," the umpire answers, proceeding to 
 open one of the boxes. Turning his head slightly 
 on one side, Renshaw mechanically dealt out a dozen 
 balls — the very oldest and absolutely the dirtiest that 
 
 could be found on the ground ! '* What the dev ," 
 
 began Dwight, almost foaming at the mouth. But 
 before he got further, Renshaw glanced down, 
 pretended to grasp the source of D wight's wrath, 
 humbly apologised for the secretary's lamentable 
 error and immediately dealt out a brand new half 
 dozen from the other box. 
 
 The prize meeting has exercised such potent 
 influence on the spread and popularity of lawn tennis 
 that the casual observer might have some ground for 
 supposing the game existed solely to promote its 
 interests. Of course that would be a misconception. 
 There are hundreds of club committees that have 
 never permitted their thoughts to run in the direction 
 of an open tournament and there are hundreds of 
 players who have never deigned to lift their rackets 
 in public competitions. In thus avoiding the anxieties 
 and perils of tournament management and tournament 
 play both parties perhaps have little cause for regret. 
 It cannot be too strongly emphasized that tournaments 
 have their limitations in usefulness and were never 
 intended to be the sole objective of the lawn tennis 
 votary. 
 
 The question as to whether there are not too 
 many tournaments and consequently an excess of 
 competitive zeal may be legitimately raised. Perhaps 
 there are too many, though I know of no tournament 
 which does not attract new competitors every year, 
 and that is not, apart from the enjoyment it affords 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL i8i 
 
 players, a source of social interest and gaiety to the 
 local people. 
 
 The suggestion that leading players make a tour 
 of open tournaments in order to pick up the valuable 
 prizes that may be offered is mere idle and ignorant 
 gossip. When competitions are thrown open to the 
 whole country and efforts made to secure a representa- 
 tive entry, it is only natural, first-class talent being 
 limited, that the same players should head the lists at 
 one meeting after the other. Their success is the 
 normal result of superior skill and consistency. Be- 
 cause it is repeated in several different districts before 
 differently constituted crowds I do not see that the 
 charge of prize-hunting, preferred by a few people, 
 can be sustained. I do not say that here and there 
 you will not find a man — and dare I add a lady ? — 
 carefully scanning a fixture list in search of a pocket- 
 tournament off the beaten track of the cracks that 
 shall yield a haul of prizes ; in every pursuit and 
 pastime there are men with eyes on material gain. 
 But so far as ninety-five per cent, of tournament 
 competitors are concerned, my experience is that the 
 silver contents of the prize-table are rarely con- 
 sidered. I believe I am right in saying they are not 
 unfrequently left unexamined. Good courts, a salu- 
 brious environment, a genial committee and the 
 presence of other capable players are much more 
 likely to influence the entry at any one meeting. 
 Perhaps I ought to have put this last consideration 
 first. It is a recognised maxim with all tournament 
 promoters that one first-class player will bring another ; 
 that the surest method of securing a representative 
 entry is to advertise the fact that a certain number 
 
1 82 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 of distinguished exponents have already promised to 
 come. After all, do you suppose that men who have 
 played high-class lawn tennis for any length of time 
 find pleasure in sweeping through the lists at a meet- 
 ing which neither fires their zeal nor tests any of 
 their good qualities ? Not all the silver mugs in the 
 world would have induced H. F. Lawford to make a 
 circuit of the minor meetings. The Renshaws, the 
 Baddeleys, the Dohertys and all those giants of 
 the game whose names and fame will live in lawn 
 tennis history have given us substantial proof that 
 the value of their prizes was to them a matter of in- 
 difference. 
 
 A propos of prizes. I may perhaps touch briefly 
 upon a practice that is rapidly gaining ground and 
 that up to the present, so far as I am aware, has not 
 received the official consideration of the Lawn 
 Tennis Association. I mean the practice of " seed- 
 ing" or doctoring the draw. Rule 17 in the 
 regulations governing prize meetings declares that 
 the draw shall be conducted in the following manner : 
 *' Each competitor's name shall be written on a 
 separate card or paper, and these shall be placed in 
 a bowl or hat, drawn out one by one at random and 
 copied on a list in the order in which they have been 
 drawn." It is scarcely a secret that this rule is 
 honoured as much in the breach as in the observance. 
 I am not prepared to deny that there are valid reasons 
 why this should be so. In an entry (say) of thirty- 
 two players for an open single, it would be possible, 
 if the players chanced to be drawn in order of merit, 
 for the seventeenth best player to win the second 
 prize ! As no less an authority than *' Lewis Carroll " 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 183 
 
 has pointed out/ the mathematical chance that the 
 second best player will, by the mere accidental arrange- 
 ment of pairs, get the prize he deserves is only sixteen- 
 thirty-firsths ; while the chances that the best four 
 shall get their proper prizes is so small that the odds 
 are twelve to one against its happening. It has also 
 been urged as a point in favour of '' seeding the draw " 
 that as the success of many tournaments and there- 
 fore the entertainment of competitors depends largely 
 on ** gate-money," the interests of the public should 
 be considered so far as ensuring that the best players 
 or the best pairs meet in the final rounds. Another 
 argument is that the ''majority of players" if con- 
 sulted would raise no objection to the practice. 
 
 As against these considerations, all worthy of 
 attention, must be set others which I think should 
 turn the scale in favour of a ''regulation" draw, or at 
 any rate should lead to the official sanction of the 
 present unauthorised system. One is that every 
 additional element of chance introduced into tourna- 
 ment play, provided it be a legitimate element, is to 
 be encouraged ; the moral certainty with which 
 winners of many open events can be detected before 
 play begins is frequently a source of comment. The 
 programme often hangs fire on the first two or three 
 days of a week's tournament. If the crack players 
 by a chance draw were brought more into conflict in 
 earlier rounds, my impression is that committees would 
 reap the be'nefit of the attendant excitement while 
 suffering no appreciable difference in their receipts on 
 the Saturday, ipso facto a day for crowds. Further, if 
 
 ^ A pamphlet on The True Method of assigning Prizes^ with a Proof 
 of the Fallacy of the Present Method^ by Charles L. Dodgson, M.A. 
 
1 84 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 you ''manipulate" the draw, you have to run the risk, 
 and it is often a serious risk, of disorganising and de- 
 laying your programme on the last day, owing to the 
 presence of the same players in several finals. These 
 champions may properly plead fatigue and wish to 
 postpone one of their matches to the Monday, and 
 the public who have paid their shillings or their half- 
 crowns at the gate may complain that only two, in- 
 stead of the three advertised finals, have been decided. 
 Whereas if the draw had proceeded on regulation 
 lines, as of course it does at several meetings, the 
 chances are against a sequence of the same finalists. 
 The poor referee is accordingly relieved of much 
 anxiety. A stronger argument against the practice is 
 that its unchecked pursuit might lead to greater and 
 more reprehensible delinquencies. I was once present 
 at a foreiofn tournament where there was no draw at 
 all, the manager of the meeting merely selecting the 
 four semi-finalists and filling in the gaps with the 
 other players, most of them '' rabbits." Nobody 
 minded except one Count who had never entered for 
 the open singles but found his name included. I 
 have no doubt the manager considered he was acting 
 for the best, as probably he was. But in England, 
 where amateur competitors are concerned, it is highly 
 desirable that regulations carefully framed by govern- 
 ing bodies should be observed, not only in the law 
 but in the letter. It is in the interests of all amateur 
 games that such a course should be adopted. 
 
 A final word about umpires, that much-maligned 
 body of honorary officials who can generally claim 
 our sympathy, but less frequently secure our thanks. 
 I think there can be no question that the incompetent 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 185 
 
 umpire, who is so often pressed into service, like the 
 steeds in Hobson's stable, is a great danger to the 
 interests of the game ; for his ignorant rulings may- 
 invoke unseemly discussions on court that prejudice 
 the game in the eyes of spectators, oblivious to the 
 shortcomings of the man in the chair. Moreover, 
 umpire's mistakes, which have a tendency of being 
 committed at crucial periods of a contest, may and 
 often do vitally affect the result of an event and lead 
 to much annoyance and heartburning on the part 
 of competitors. Two episodes are recalled to my 
 mind in contemplating the *' iniquities " of umpires. 
 One relates to the late Harold Mahony who usually 
 displayed a commendable tolerance towards doubtful 
 decisions. On one occasion, however, the umpire's 
 decrees were so flagrantly inaccurate as to stir the 
 placid waters of the Irishman's mind — he shot 
 an ominous scowl in the direction of the chair. A 
 look of injured innocence swept the official face, 
 ** Champion or no champion," he declared, "you 
 needn't think you can browbeat me^ To which 
 admonition Mahony softly replied, " I was looking at 
 you more in sorrow than in anger." 
 
 I think it was at Brighton several years ago that 
 G. W. Hillyard — he will, I know, forgive me for 
 recalling this incident — was so upset at the remark- 
 ably defective umpiring which caused him the loss of 
 an important match that, to calm his ruffled feelings, 
 he strolled down to the beach and sat down under 
 the brow of a breakwater. Hours passed and the 
 other events in which the present All England 
 secretary was competing were entirely ignored. At 
 length Hillyard rose in a more philosophical frame 
 
1 86 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 of mind and returned slowly to the ground. He was 
 met by the secretary who offered him the sympathy 
 he deserved. *' I should not have minded so much," 
 said G. W. H., now his genial self again; "only he 
 wore a green shirt and would persist in calling me 
 ''Illyardr' 
 
 Enrol the names of as many trustworthy non- 
 playing umpires before the tournament begins is 
 good advice that all executives should follow. Make 
 their lot as light and as comfortable as possible and 
 let them know by little acts of courtesy, such as 
 invitations to the tea tent, admission passes for their 
 wives, that you appreciate their services. I am sure 
 it is desirable as much as possible to relieve com- 
 petitors from the task of umpiring. True, keen 
 spirits enjoy it and when all prospect of victory in 
 the lists is gone may actually compete with one 
 another for the honour of mounting the chair. Where 
 these enthusiastic players are known to be competent 
 — and it is not every player, good, bad or indifferent, 
 who makes a sound umpire — engage their services by 
 all means. But never press a competitor to arbitrate 
 a match just before he is going to play ; both the 
 vision and the temper may suffer in such a manner 
 that the result of his own tie may be affected. Nor 
 is it advisable to get any umpire to officiate at two 
 matches without a short interval. Umpiring is 
 wearying to the flesh as well as to the spirit, and I 
 have sometimes groaned inwardly when in a ladies' 
 double, already stretched to an abnormal length, the 
 prospect of Vantage games in the third set becomes 
 imminent. In many matches it is usual and desirable 
 to have linesmen, especially when foot-faulting is not 
 
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT CONTROL 187 
 
 only suspected but openly committed. But I know 
 of many players who, except on all but the most 
 stressful occasions, would rather their match be con- 
 ducted by one thoroughly competent umpire than 
 by a corps of gentlemen on the line, often selected 
 hurriedly from the crowd, whose decisions have to be 
 respected by the umpire whatever his own impressions 
 may be. A faulty judgment on the line has lost 
 many a momentous match. I am not sure that it has 
 not affected the championship table. In selecting his 
 line lieutenants before an encounter the captain of 
 the court cannot be too careful, even at the risk of 
 offending a short-sighted vice-president ! 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 HANDICAPPING 
 
 The old bisque system and its defects — Limitations of the " quarter " 
 system — The " sixths " method — Difficulties under which official 
 handicappers labour — Mr. H. S. Scrivener explains his modus operandi 
 and offers some suggestions — Personal experience of players' form 
 desirable — A comparison between English and foreign handicapping — 
 The methods of a leading Continental handicapper — Is the present 
 system unsound in principle ? — The advisability of club handicapping — 
 Some voluntary systems not recognised at tournaments 
 
 CHAPTERS in a book, like the holes in a golf 
 course, should vary in length. I accordingly 
 propose after the long chapter we have just 
 left behind to make this one a '' Bogey 3." 
 
 The principle of handicapping in lawn tennis is 
 not quite as old as the game itself, but it was put into 
 practical shape as far back as 1885 when Mr. Henry 
 Jones (''Cavendish") to whom present-day votaries 
 owe a heavy debt of gratitude wrote a letter to the 
 Field. The first system introduced was called the 
 bisque system and in view of its variable character 
 and the unsatisfactory results which it brought about, 
 it is as well that the present generation of players 
 know it only by name. A bisque was one stroke 
 taken by its owner whenever his fancy or the state of 
 the match prompted, except when the ball was 
 actually in play or after he himself had served a 
 
HANDICAPPING 189 
 
 fault. It was given either in augmentation or 
 diminution of other odds. Two bisques was the 
 largest number ever given at one time, though 
 occasionally players would play fancy matches among 
 themselves, giving four, five, and even six bisques. 
 Besides bisques (which may be described as '' floating 
 sixths ") there were the stationary odds : Half-fifteen 
 (the equivalent of the present three-sixths), fifteen, 
 half-thirty (the equivalent of 15.3) and so on; and 
 the odds ran thus : one bisque, two bisques, half- 
 fifteen, half- fifteen and one bisque, half- fifteen and 
 two bisques, fifteen, fifteen and one bisque, and so on. 
 Owed odds ran thus : one half-fifteen for two 
 bisques {i.e. the ower owed half-fifteen and received 
 two bisques), owe half-fifteen for one bisque, owe 
 half-fifteen, owe fifteen for two bisques, owe fifteen for 
 one bisque, owe fifteen, and so on. As may be 
 imagined, a bisque was a very valuable thing in the 
 hands of a player who knew how to use it. It nearly 
 always meant a game, and probably an important 
 game, and it was no uncommon thing for a man to 
 declare that he would sooner owe another half-fifteen 
 for two bisques than play him level. Conversely, in 
 the hands of a player who was ignorant of its value, a 
 bisque was almost useless, for the player almost 
 invariably took it in such a manner as to waste it. 
 As Mr. Wilberforce points out, the old method 
 attributed to the bisque a fractional value of fifteen 
 which was notoriously inaccurate when odds were 
 given and still more so when they were owed. 
 
 From the bisque players passed to the "quarter" 
 system which reigned for about four years. This 
 plan divided fifteen into quarters — one quarter, two 
 
I90 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 quarters and three quarters of fifteen, both given and 
 owed. For a player to give one quarter of fifteen 
 meant that he conceded a stroke to his opponent at 
 the beginning of the second, sixth and every 
 subsequent fourth game of a set ; two quarters of 
 fifteen meant the concession of a stroke at the 
 beginning of the second, fourth and every subsequent 
 alternate game ; three quarters meant the concession 
 of a stroke at the beginning of the second, third and 
 fourth games, and so on. In the case of owed odds 
 a quarter fifteen meant that in the first and fifth 
 games a player must win a stroke before he could 
 begin to score in the ordinary way ; two quarters that 
 he must win a stroke in the first, third and subsequent 
 odd games. 
 
 Though a great improvement on the bisque 
 system, this plan provided a unit, one quarter of 
 fifteen, which was too large and a number of available 
 classes which were too few. The basis of handi- 
 capping by odds needed broadening not only to 
 increase the accuracy of the handicapping but to 
 ensure that players, whose form differed materially, 
 met on more level terms. The present '* sixths" 
 system was accordingly evolved, primarily by Mr. 
 W. H. Collins, and introduced in 1894. Its principle 
 extends the giving or owing of odds to six games 
 instead of four, and the details of its working are 
 fully set out at the end of this volume.^ The table of 
 differentiation by which players allotted different odds, 
 whether owed or received, could meet on an adjust- 
 able scale was wisely amended in 1906 and is now, 
 subject to defects inherent in a system of this 
 
 ^ See Appendix. 
 
HANDICAPPING 191 
 
 arbitrary character, about as near perfection as it can 
 be. It may be noted that the United States did not 
 adopt the quarter-fifteen system until 1896,^ six years 
 after its Introduction in England, but after that a year 
 sufficed to bring the two countries Into line. 
 
 The leading handicappers for whose conscientious 
 and impartial labours none but feelings of respect can 
 be entertained adopt various methods of arriving at a 
 just handicap and it is not unnatural, the system being 
 what it is, their handicaps should sometimes materially 
 differ. It would be Invidious on my part to express 
 any opinion on the individual merits of these methods 
 and the results achieved. Taking into account the 
 initial difficulties under which the handicapper at 
 every big tournament works — insufficient information, 
 imperfect data that may sometimes be Intentionally 
 withheld by a competitor, the vicissitudes of form 
 which even the best-known players display, the 
 appearance of the ''unknown quantity" or the re- 
 appearance of some player after a protracted absence 
 from the arena — taking these factors into account the 
 adjudications are remarkably sound and their accuracy 
 Is very rarely Impugned by the results of the matches. 
 I said that it would be invidious to discriminate In the 
 matter, but I do not think there is any harm in 
 remarking the wonderfully consistent success that has 
 attended the efforts of Mr. B. C. Evelegh, the doyen 
 of referees, in the department of handicapping. I 
 have never attempted to fathom the complexities of 
 Mr. Evelegh's system, nor do I think anybody, 
 except that gentleman himself, could give a detailed 
 analysis of its working. Yet the results are convinc- 
 
 1 Mr. Paret. 
 
192 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 ingly sound. They must evoke admiration for the 
 far-reaching knowledge, unique experience and utter 
 lack of bias which govern the work of this handi- 
 capper. I hope I shall see his hatless head at many 
 a tournament to come. 
 
 Mr. H. S. Scrivener, who became referee at 
 Wimbledon two seasons ago and whose handicapping 
 record is both long and honourable, has kindly supplied 
 me with the following interesting notes on his system : 
 
 "The system upon which I handicap (be it 
 understood that I claim no originality whatever in 
 respect of it) may thus be set down : I have a 
 fixed scale from which I very rarely depart ; that is 
 to say, I handicap everybody from the best handicap 
 player of the year, whom I place on the owe 40 
 mark, or if need be, behind it. I might even say 
 that I handicap everybody from the All England 
 Champion, for I would always put the A. E. Champion 
 on the very back mark honoris causa. I regard 
 R. F. Doherty as the best handicap player of the 
 day, and I should place him at owe 50 or at any rate 
 at owe 40.3, though the handicap table does not 
 actually go beyond owe 40 of which more anon. But 
 A. W. Gore, whom I regard as the next best handicap 
 player to "R. F.," has recently won one of my handicaps 
 from owe 40. Other players follow in order of merit 
 up to 30 and sometimes beyond it. The advantage 
 of this system is that every player has a fixed handicap, 
 unless of course he improves or deteriorates. This 
 makes it easier work for the handicapper when he 
 goes on to his next tournament and is also more 
 interesting for the player, for he can tell at a glance 
 whether the handicapper thinks he is improving or 
 
HANDICAPPING 193 
 
 otherwise. I seldom make a bad mistake with a 
 player when once I have handicapped him and have 
 his record, and I attribute this to the * fixed ' principle 
 which I adopt. 
 
 ** Where there are two classes I still preserve the 
 same scale, putting all players above 15.3 in the 
 second. The 15.4 players then become scratch in 
 class two, and so on. The advantage of a second 
 class (purely from a handicapping point of view : 
 there are others) is that it enables you to give more 
 start to a really weak player. In a one-class handicap 
 you cannot well go beyond 30.3, but in a two-class 
 you can give 30 in the second which is the equivalent, 
 in a one-class, of about 40.3 — an obviously impossible 
 start. Sometimes, when the first-class handicap is 
 small, and the second large, I make 15.4 the limit in 
 the first. I also do this with men who express a 
 wish to be in class one. It pleases them and doesn't 
 as a rule hurt anybody else. I make one exception 
 to my scale rule but that is only a partial exception. 
 When I get a tournament where the class is weak, i.e, 
 where there is no one better than (say) three-sixths or 
 four-sixths, I make what I call * a second-class handicap 
 with owe-makers ' — that is to say, I put the 15.4 
 men on scratch and make all the players who are 
 better than 15.4 owe rather less than double what 
 they would give to 15.4. Thus a 15 player would 
 owe, in a * second-class handicap with owe-makers ' 
 about 15. 1, a four-sixths player about 30 and so on. 
 But where there is a first-class handicap I never make 
 anyone owe odds in the second, for if he is good 
 enough to owe odds in the second he is good enough 
 for the first. The method, sometimes adopted, of 
 13 
 
194 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 picking out so many players (generally a small number) 
 and saying * these shall form the first class, and all 
 the others shall go into the second,' I regard as very 
 unscientific. Another disadvantage of making players 
 owe odds in class two is that when you come to 
 handicap them in doubles you have to go through 
 a laborious calculation in order to arrive at their 
 equivalent handicap in received odds as compared 
 with the players in class one. Thus if A, receiving 
 four-sixths in class one plays in the handicap doubles 
 with B owing five-sixths in class two, what is their 
 right start ? To fix it you must first find (or 
 estimate) what B's handicap would be if he were 
 playing in the same class as A. Under my system 
 you can always arrive at what a second-class man's 
 start would be in a first-class handicap by adding 
 15.4 (ten points) to his start. On rare occasions I 
 alter the scale of a first-class handicap by putting 
 everybody * on ' two or three points with a view to 
 making the games in which the men behind scratch 
 are concerned take less time. For instance, I put 
 the owe- 1 5 men at scratch, the scratch men at three- 
 sixths or four-sixths and so on ; but I generally 
 repent of it afterwards because I have always to 
 make notes to remind me of it on future occasions, 
 and I also find that the majority of the players are 
 so used to my fixed scale that they come and ask 
 me what I have been playing at ! Moreover, the 
 alteration of the scale generally causes minor dis- 
 crepancies which partially spoil the accuracy (or what 
 I think is the accuracy) of the handicap. 
 
 " I have referred to handicapping doubles. There 
 is really some art in this as well as in single handi- 
 
HANDICAPPING 195 
 
 capping, although it naturally takes less time once 
 you have got your singles completed. The ordinary 
 rule-of-thumb method is to add together the single 
 starts of the pair you are handicapping (or, if one is 
 an ower and the other a receiver, to subtract the 
 ower's start from the receiver's) and divide by two. 
 But there are other things to be remembered. For 
 instance, you may know from experience that a 
 certain player is stronger or weaker in a single than 
 a double and you must make allowance for this. 
 Again two players may be a ' pair ' in the true sense, 
 and on that account far stronger in combination than 
 they are individually. This is often overlooked. 
 Or again, if an * uneven ' pair play together, say an 
 owe- 1 5 man and a 15.2 man, they are unlikely to be 
 as strong as an * even ' pair, say a couple of one-sixth 
 men, though the handicap in the two cases would 
 work out at about the same. 
 
 ''When there are two classes with starts up to 
 (say) 30 in the second and two long-starters in class 
 two go in together in the doubles, you of course get 
 an impossible start. A for instance gets 15.4=10 
 points and B 30=12 points, and you must give 
 each in addition the 10 points allowance for being in 
 class two. The sum is therefore: io4-io-fi2-j-io 
 
 = — =21 points = 40.3! With these people you can 
 
 really do nothing (unless there are two classes in 
 doubles, which is rare) except put them on 30.3 or 
 30.2 and pull the whole of the rest of the handicap 
 back four or five points. But of course this has the 
 effect of putting the owers back some eight or nine 
 points and consequently doubling the probable dura- 
 
196 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 tion of many matches In the event. You can seldom 
 afford to do this, and when you can't you simply dock 
 these 40.3 worthies of five or six points and put them 
 on the limit, say 30.2, where of course they stand no 
 chance unless they happen to 'come off' in some 
 unexpected fashion ; for they are on the same mark 
 as pairs who could give them 1 5 or more. 
 
 '* The last paragraph forms a suitable prelude to 
 the few remaining words I have to say about the 
 sixths system itself. To my mind it is the best that 
 can be devised, having regard to the present method 
 of scoring. But for handicap purposes (at any rate) 
 the game is too short. The tables provide for starts 
 up to 40, but no handicapper ever gives 40 for the 
 simple reason that in a game into which the element 
 of luck necessarily enters, you cannot place anybody, 
 however weak, within an ace of every game of the 
 set, every time he meets a man on scratch or behind 
 it. And yet he actually needs 40 as compared with 
 some of the players in the handicap, though you 
 can't give it to him. Thus the following situation 
 frequently arises : — A owes 40, B receives five-sixths, 
 C receives 30.1. A can just about owe 40 and give 
 five-sixths to B, but cannot quite owe 40 and give 
 30.1 to C, although B if he meets C can give him (C) 
 15.4. You can't give B less (so as to put him right 
 with C) because in that event A, if he meets him, 
 will smother him ; neither can you give C more (to 
 put him right with B) because in that event he will 
 smother A if he meets him, while to move A up so 
 as to give him a better chance against C entails 
 giving him too good a chance against B. In other 
 words, the game is long enough for A to catch B and 
 
HANDICAPPING 197 
 
 for B to catch C but it is not long enough for A to 
 catch C. The only thing to do is to move both A 
 and B back proportionately, but that entails putting 
 A back below owe 40 ; in fact, lengthening the game 
 beyond its recognized limits. This, of course, is 
 frequently done, but if a man whom I had set to owe 
 * 50 ' came to me and objected to play at those odds 
 I should feel bound to admit the validity of his 
 objection. Personally, I believe the game would be 
 improved — not only in handicaps but in ' levels ' too 
 — if it were lengthened at the other end by the 
 addition of another ace thus : 15; 30 ; 40 ; 50 ; game, 
 with deuce and Vantage and so on if the score 
 reached 50-all instead of 40-all. But of course this 
 would upset the table of differential odds entirely. 
 
 *' Another plan would be to use the now obsolete 
 loo-up method of scoring for handicaps. There is 
 no inherent objection to two methods of scoring in 
 the same game ; you have it in golf. In fact the 
 two methods bear a close resemblance to match and 
 medal play respectively. In the ordinary method 
 each game is like a hole which you win (or lose) in 
 so many strokes. You may take few or many, but 
 when you have won or lost it, it is the game, or the 
 hole, which counts; the strokes don't matter. In a 
 lOO-up game, on the other hand, every stroke counts 
 for or against you, just as in medal play, right up to 
 the end of the * round.' I believe it to be a fact 
 that lawn tennis players who also play golf prefer 
 match to medal play as a rule. Perhaps there is 
 something in the lawn tennis temperament to account 
 for this. If there is I am sure that it also accounts 
 for the loo-up game having fallen into desuetude. 
 
198 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 But I am sorry that it Is so. I feel sure that with a 
 little practice I could turn out some very satisfactory 
 handicaps under the loo-up system (loo-up, by 
 the way, Is merely a name ; a shorter game would 
 probably be necessary at most tournaments) and 
 I believe the variety of the thing would be 
 appreciated." 
 
 Mr. G. M. Simond, another leading handicapper, 
 the accuracy of whose allotments is reflected in the 
 scores registered, says that he has **no particular 
 system of handicapping and that it Is beyond his 
 powers to invent one." I gather from this that Mr. 
 Simond bases his odds, as other handicappers have 
 not always been able to do, on personal knowledge 
 of the competitor's form previously gained in court. 
 That is to say, he regards his own form, now seasoned 
 Into a condition of stability, as a standard from which 
 reliable comparisons and deductions can be obtained. 
 It is an excellent plan, for It brings home to the 
 handicapper the propriety of taking into account 
 varying conditions and their effect on different com- 
 petitors. For example, some players are as much 
 as fifteen better on hard courts than they are on grass, 
 and vice versa. Personal experience of these changes 
 in form Is a most valuable asset for a handicapper. 
 Mr. Simond, by the way, has this criticism to offer 
 of Continental handicapping : " My feeling Is that the 
 back-markers are often put too far back and the 
 genuinely bad players not far enough forward — a 
 method of handicapping that tends to make games 
 unnecessarily long besides giving the receiver of odds 
 a very poor chance of success." 
 
 My own experience confirms this view, the aim of 
 
HANDICAPPING 199 
 
 some Continental handicappers, especially those who 
 may be called amateurs, apparently being to respect 
 the dignity of the best players by making them owe 
 sufficiently imposing odds, and yet giving them a by 
 no means difficult chance of securing the first prize. 
 
 Even when the odds are most accurately adjudi- 
 cated by experienced handicappers, the stronger 
 player, unless crushed by excess of odds, as Mr. 
 Heathcote points out,^ has always a reserve in service, 
 skill, judgment and confidence that will probably 
 suffice in a close contest to turn the scale. If any 
 careful comparison of the results of British and 
 Continental handicapping be made, it will probably 
 be found that the poorer player is more mercifully 
 treated in England than abroad. By this I mean 
 that the chances of a back-marker ** coming through " 
 at home are considerably less than they are on the 
 Continent. 
 
 Mr. Charles Voigt, whose task of handicapping 
 at fashionable foreign resorts like Homburg, is not 
 made easier by the cosmopolitan character of the 
 entry, sends me the following brief " note " as to his 
 system : 
 
 " I rarely handicap any player without first having 
 seen him play and I think I may say I can usually 
 * size up ' a new-comer fairly quickly. If wholly 
 unknown, I put him or her into the open singles^ 
 (without charging them entrance fee for this event) 
 and carefully watch the form displayed. I make a 
 point of keeping all Continental lawn tennis journals 
 
 ^ Badminton volume. 
 
 ^ Regulations governing English meetings would not permit of this 
 device, though its value as a guide to form may be admitted. 
 
200 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 and of carefully following players' performances — 
 German, French, Dutch, Belgian, etc. I am rarely 
 mistaken in handicapping them against each other, 
 making due allowance for the brilliant but erratic 
 exponents such as the Continent yields in large 
 numbers. 
 
 "In doubles I never add up each player's singles 
 handicap and divide by two, as some referees do. 
 I base my handicap on the previous experience in 
 double harness which the couple in question may 
 have had, and I also take into account the volleying 
 capacities of each pair and as to whether they have 
 had more experience in doubles than in singles. 
 Age and condition must also be a factor ; but one 
 has to be on one's guard against the veteran who 
 secretes as much stamina as the youngster." 
 
 Mr. Wilberforce is doubtless right when he says ^ 
 that the present system of handicapping, however 
 much it may have been improved by recent changes, 
 is unsound in principle — unavoidably unsound, he 
 adds. ** The large number of players who enter for 
 handicaps," remarks this authority, ''renders it 
 absolutely impossible to assign the odds to them 
 separately in pairs before each round, and recourse 
 is compelled to an arrangement in classes which is 
 permanent and unchanged throughout the competi- 
 tion. This system depends for its accuracy on the 
 hypothesis that if A say, can give B the odds of 
 fifteen, and C and A are equal players, it necessarily 
 follows that C can give B fifteen. Now I have no 
 wish to exaggerate, and will therefore only say that 
 in very many cases this assumption is entirely 
 
 ^ Lawn Tennis^ by H. W. W. Wilberforce. 
 
HANDICAPPING 201 
 
 Incorrect. It Ignores completely the difference 
 between styles of play, the familiarity with the 
 opponent's game and other similar circumstances 
 which exercise great influence in determining the 
 odds which lie between two individual players ; in 
 short, it looks upon men as machines." 
 
 It is a pity that some system cannot be introduced 
 similar in principle and in practical value to the golf 
 handicap — a handicap that should be previously 
 determined by club committees and should be 
 respected by the executive at an open meeting. 
 Not many clubs may possess an ''owe-thirty " or even 
 an *' owe-fifteen " member, whose form is, so to speak, 
 standardized and against whom other members, desirous 
 of securing a recognized handicap, could compete, the 
 aggregate of the aces scored by each side being com- 
 pared. But nearly every club of any standing has 
 members who have been handicapped (whether rightly 
 or wrongly) at open meetings and against these the 
 aspirant for an official handicap could always try his 
 skill. As men improved or deteriorated, their handi- 
 cap, always regarding the best member as *' bogey," 
 could be adjusted — it would give an added zest to 
 club games. It does not follow that the open tourna- 
 ment handicapper would necessarily adopt the club 
 handicap, but he would at least know that it had the 
 official sanction of a reputable committee — that he 
 could base his own handicap on something more 
 tangible than the inconclusive evidence frequently 
 submitted by the player himself. A lady is reported 
 to have given the following **line" as to her capacities 
 on an entry form : '* Five years ago the vicar's wife 
 gave me fifteen in every game, and she beat me 
 
202 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 easily. She still gives me fifteen, but now I always 
 beat her easily." On such ambiguous information 
 do handicappers under the present system sometimes 
 have to work. 
 
 Other systems of handicapping, far less complex 
 than the sixths system, which is still a mystery even 
 to some regular tournament votaries, may be judici- 
 ously employed in practice games. Where one 
 player is considerably weaker than another it is not 
 a bad plan to deprive the better man of the use of 
 his opponent's court between the service-line and the 
 net except for the service. This handicap will require 
 him to make good length returns and deepen his 
 volleying. Or, the better man may be required to 
 play only into one half of the whole court, the centre- 
 line being extended for this purpose to the base-line. 
 This will improve his direction. It is also possible 
 to " cripple " the superior man by depriving him of 
 the use of the volley, or of the ground stroke, though 
 in some cases neither of these losses might prove a 
 sufficiently big handicap. To limit a man to one 
 service and abolish the fault is another excellent 
 handicap which serves a double purpose. The loo- 
 up system, mentioned by Mr. Scrivener, is capable 
 of reliable adjustment, but I confess that as a golfer 
 who favours match play in preference to medal play, 
 I have found this method of scoring rather tedious 
 and calling for more arithmetical precision than a 
 tennis player, faced with other problems, cares to 
 exercise. 
 
 Elsewhere in this volume I mention the match in 
 which Mr. Ernest Renshaw handicapped himself by 
 wearing a lady's skirt, apparently with little detriment 
 
HANDICAPPING 203 
 
 to facility of movement. As a last resort, this penalty- 
 might be recommended to English handicappers 
 seeking to reduce the powers of the ''owe-forty " 
 man. But the linesmen would need to be warned 
 that the difficulties of their position would be con- 
 siderably increased ! 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURTS 
 
 The good grass court the exception — Essential requirements — 
 What makes the best background ? — Relative cost of turfing and seed- 
 sowing — How to carry out effective draining — Turfing a new lawn — 
 How to sow seed — Some mowing and rolling tips— Renovating a court 
 during the off season — The importance of a turf nursery — Asphalt 
 surfaces compared — A good floor for a covered court — Background 
 for a covered court — Accommodating spectators — Some points from 
 Stockholm — What it costs to construct a covered court 
 
 TRUTH compels me to admit that the good 
 grass court is the exception rather than the 
 rule. And perfection may be sought for 
 almost in vain. The vast majority of private lawns 
 on which tennis is pursued have some defect in the 
 actual surface or in the immediate surroundings which 
 militates against complete success and renders ideal 
 match play impossible. It might be urged that few 
 owners of private courts are so punctilious about 
 conditions of play as to regard any minor deficiency 
 in turf or background as inimical to the enjoy- 
 ment of their game. That is a view which only 
 the suburban householder having limited space at 
 his command and no soul above second-class tennis 
 could express ; it will not serve the potential owner of 
 a really first-class court. 
 
 Let it be affirmed at once that a really serviceable 
 
 204 
 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURTS 205 
 
 lawn tennis court must be regarded as a separate 
 entity from the rest of the garden. For something 
 approaching perfection to be obtained the lawn must 
 be tended all the year round with thorough and minute 
 care, and the work of keeping it in order and attend- 
 ing to its manifold needs must be undertaken by 
 someone who understands his business. For the 
 effects of neglect or carelessness are rapidly discern- 
 ible, and unless certain acts are performed in certain 
 seasons and with a due regard to certain factors the 
 full enjoyment of a summer season may never be 
 realised. 
 
 Lawn tennis being a comparatively modern game 
 the fruits of experience in the construction of first- 
 class courts have scarcely had time to mature— at 
 least so it would seem. In many country houses 
 tennis has been adapted to the lawn rather than the 
 lawn for tennis ; and as a result the expert who may 
 be called in to effect improvements is faced with 
 difficulties the surmounting of which may necessitate 
 radical changes in the disposition of the garden. A 
 venerable oak that casts its broad shadows over the 
 court may have to be sacrificed, a picturesque bank 
 preventing an adequate run-back may have to be 
 levelled out of existence, or it may be necessary to 
 encroach on beds that lend charm and colour to the 
 grounds. Owners of old-fashioned gardens, who are 
 floriculturists first and lawn tennis players after, may 
 be forgiven if they pause before committing what 
 seems to them sacrilege. But the tennis enthusiast who 
 is building himself a new home and the promoters of 
 clubs, to whom the remarks that follow are chiefly 
 addressed, may be assumed to have no object in view 
 
2o6 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 other than the provision of a true, shadowless and 
 accommodating surface. 
 
 The ^question of background and adequate 
 accommodation is of primary importance. Not 
 only is a level area of 128 feet by 60 feet required 
 — the court should of course be placed north to 
 south in order that sun in the afternoon may not 
 inflict an unconscionable penalty on one side — but 
 the adjacent land must be free from high trees that 
 interfere with uniform light or even from smaller 
 trees the branches of which are deflected by inter- 
 mittent breezes. Yet the space beyond the playing 
 area should not be bare and unbroken ; an unlimited 
 area makes it difficult to measure the strength of the 
 stroke and accurately gauge the flight of the ball 
 while it oflers no shelter from the wind, that most 
 disturbing climatic agent. A good yew hedge or 
 a thick line of shrubs makes a serviceable natural 
 background, provided of course stop-netting is utilised ; 
 but better than anything else I like the green-painted, 
 closely-latticed fence about ten feet high such as is 
 found behind the sand courts at Cannes. The turf 
 should come right up to this fence, which ought for 
 greater comfort and convenience to be continued on 
 either side several feet beyond the parallel base-line. 
 A background like this obviates the use of stop- 
 netting, it is not so solid as to prevent light and 
 air from coming through, and its cris-cross structure 
 tends to prevent the ball from bounding back into 
 court with disconcerting force. When a brick-wall 
 is already in position a covering of thick-leaved ivy 
 will form a good background and may be recom- 
 mended. 
 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURTS 207 
 
 Lawns, of course, are made either by laying turf 
 or sowing seed. The chief point in favour of turf is 
 a saving of time, but as against this must be set the 
 additional expense and the difficulty of procuring 
 really reliable turf. Much of the usual turf offered 
 for sale consists of coarse meadow grasses, clovers 
 and weeds ; it is quite unsuitable for the making of 
 a first-class lawn. Again, if turf is laid in the spring 
 the finer and most valuable grasses stand a serious 
 chance of being destroyed by the hot summer sun. 
 
 Roughly the cost of turfing a quarter of an acre 
 may be estimated from /^i6 to ;^i8, whereas the 
 cost of seed for the same area should not exceed 
 £4., I OS. The seed-sown lawn might not be playable 
 by the following June, whereas the turf plot should 
 be. On the other hand, the chances of a satisfactory 
 court the season after favour the seed-sown surface. 
 
 Draining, an essential preliminary too often 
 neglected, requires some expert knowledge and is 
 conditional on the situation of the property and the 
 quality of the soil. Land drain pipes are the most 
 advantageous for draining a lawn and they should 
 be laid in herring-bone fashion, a 4-inch piping for 
 the main drain and a 2 to 3-inch piping for subsidiary 
 drains. The pipes should be laid in trenches 18 
 to 24 inches deep, the subsidiary drains being about 
 10 to 15 feet apart and entering the main drain at an 
 angle of over forty-five degrees in order not to arrest 
 the flow of the water. It is advisable to set the 
 joints in cement in the vicinity of shrubs or trees, 
 otherwise their roots will enter the drain and possibly 
 choke it ; also to partly fill the trenches with clinkers 
 or other porous material, thereby increasing the 
 
2o8 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 effectiveness of the drain, especially where clay is 
 concerned. As the soil in the trenches is bound to 
 sink in some measure, the draining should be com- 
 pleted several months before the actual sowing of the 
 seed begins. 
 
 The correct time to turf is between September 
 and December. If the weather is open it is possible 
 to lay turf during February or March, but the work 
 is far more hazardous and the dry cold winds of late 
 spring are calculated to jeopardise the life of the 
 grass. The process of turfing may be briefly 
 described. The ground has first to be dug to the 
 depth of a spade or more and such alterations made 
 in the level as are necessary. Next the ground 
 must be covered with a liberal dressing of well-rotted 
 dung — about one load of dung to a hundred square 
 yards of ground. Fork or work the dung into the 
 soil so that it becomes incorporated with the surface 
 soil ; break down the surface into a fine tilth and 
 rake off all large clods, stones and weed roots ; roll 
 and cross roll with a light roller ; correct any defects 
 in the level that may have developed ; lightly open 
 up the surface with an iron rake and then lay the 
 turfs which must be cut a uniform thickness upon 
 the raked surface and beat it down firmly but not 
 too severely with a turf beater. It is desirable to 
 cover the turf with a compost made up of finely sifted 
 soil with which a few pounds of grass seeds have 
 been mixed. Work this compost well into the turf 
 and the cracks between the turf, using a new birch 
 broom or bush harrow. After removing the surplus 
 compost, roll with a light roller. For the next two 
 or three weeks the court may be left alone, giving 
 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURTS 209 
 
 the turf time to settle and the roots of the grass to 
 take hold. Then employ a heavy roller. 
 
 If seed is to be sown the best period is early in 
 September. The soil is warm at the end of summer 
 and an abundance of rain and dew may be expected 
 that is very beneficial to the growth of the seed. The 
 young grass will have time to become well established 
 before the cold weather arrives ; moreover the autumn 
 sown grass will have got a start of the weeds which 
 appear in spring. Having manured and prepared 
 the seed-bed, choose a calm dry day for seeding. 
 Should the soil be wet it will stick to the operator's 
 boots and the level may be seriously disturbed. 
 Slightly stir the surface with a rake and divide up 
 the ground into strips about 3 feet wide by means of 
 pegs and strings ; then divide the seed into as many 
 equal portions as there are strips. Sow the seed 
 (selected of course with a view to the geological 
 structure of the soil) by hand with the back bent, 
 taking care to spread it as evenly as possible over 
 the surface. Then lightly rake in two directions, 
 taking care not to bury the seed too deeply. Finally, 
 roll and cross-roll with a light roller. 
 
 Given propitious weather, the young grass should 
 appear above the ground after a fortnight. When 
 about one inch in height it is benefited by an 
 application of malt culms, rape dust, prepared com- 
 post or Carter's fertilizing fibre. A top-dressing 
 Yii^i only protects the grass from extremes of 
 temperature and helps to conserve moisture but 
 supplies nitrogen to the young blades. When the 
 grass has grown another half-inch it is ready to cut, 
 which may be done either with a freely running 
 14 
 
2IO THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 machine set rather high or with scythes. Too much 
 importance cannot be attached to the necessity of 
 keeping young grass (in fact any grass on a tennis 
 court) cut quite short. Otherwise, instead of tillering 
 out and covering the ground, it will grow thin and 
 long. If thin or bare places are detected on a newly 
 sown lawn they should be repaired at once by 
 carefully loosing the surface soil, sowing a handful 
 of seed and covering and rolling in the usual manner. 
 Roughly speaking about two bushels of seeds are 
 required for the full area of a court. 
 
 Half the grass courts in this country, it is not 
 too much to say, are spoiled by neglect, not only 
 during the winter but while the season is actually 
 in progress. If a lawn is not kept up to the mark it 
 is certain to deteriorate ; the weeds will multiply, the 
 soil become poverty stricken, and eventually it will 
 have to be relaid, re-sown or renovated. To main- 
 tain a lawn in first-class condition periodical top- 
 dressing is absolutely essential, much more so when 
 the turf is frequently used. Rolling and mowing are 
 regular and natural processes to which it might be 
 assumed close attention is devoted ; but even these 
 elementary functions are often neglected. The only 
 way to obtain good thick turf is by constant use 
 of the mowing machine. Two inches may be 
 considered the extreme length to which the grass 
 should grow at any time of the year. Provided a 
 lawn be free from weeds — and this qualification is 
 very important because otherwise the weed seeds 
 would be scattered all over the lawn — and is kept 
 closely cut, the machine can be used without the 
 box ; the roots will then be afforded a certain 
 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURTS 211 
 
 amount of protection during the hot weather. I 
 assume, of course, play is not actually imminent. 
 
 Needless to say have a good machine in use, not 
 a cheap, soft-metal article. Sweep the lawn before 
 cutting and take special care to remove any stones, 
 worm-casts or other irregularities. And do not omit 
 to oil the bearings, the edges of the knives and the 
 ledger blade with best ** sperm " or olive oil before 
 using the machine. Any old or dried-up oil should 
 be wiped off with cotton waste. The knives when 
 properly set should revolve freely and cut a piece of 
 note-paper at any part of the blade ; too tight setting, 
 a common fault, will make the machine draw heavily. 
 After using the mower give it a comprehensive 
 cleaning and greasing before putting it away in a 
 dry place. These may sound elementary maxims, 
 but if satisfactory mowing is to be carried out they 
 cannot be too strongly enforced. 
 
 As for rolling, grass must have a firm surface 
 in order that it may thrive. On a new lawn with the 
 blades as yet weak a light roller can only be used, 
 but as soon as the grass is strong it will bear and 
 demand a heavier implement. Do not always roll in 
 the same direction ; roll from north to south one day 
 and from east to west the next. Do not roll when 
 the ground is hard and dry, when no good accrues, 
 or during frosty weather, when only serious damage 
 results ; but roll frequently during the spring and 
 autumn.^ A wooden roller made up in segments 
 with the outer edges rounded may be recommended 
 for light work and one need hardly add that if a horse 
 
 ^ For the method of marking out and fitting up a court see p. 174 
 and Appendix. 
 
212 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 is employed to drag a roller the animal should wear 
 leather ''shoes." When watering — and this process 
 should never be carried out under a hot sun — dis- 
 tribute the water evenly over the court, giving it 
 sufficient moisture to go down to a depth of 6 
 inches. 
 
 The renovating and upkeep of a lawn during the 
 off-season is imperative. Immediately the season 
 ends any traces of weeds should be removed and the 
 level of the court corrected. The weeds must come 
 up, root and branch : insist on seeing the roots 
 before they are thrown away. Top dressing I have 
 already mentioned. In nine cases out of ten the 
 base-line will want patching and for this purpose a 
 nursery should be an indispensable adjunct to every 
 club. It should be a perfectly simple matter to 
 prepare two plots of land, sow them down and 
 maintain them in exactly the same way and with the 
 same care as the courts themselves. There will then 
 be found ready to hand adequate material for re- 
 novating all the worn places. When one plot is 
 cleared away, level it up and sow it again — the cost 
 is immaterial while the convenience is great. Never 
 be without a well-stocked turf nursery is a golden rule. 
 Sheep under certain conditions are useful winter 
 guardians ; they will manure the grass, keep it short 
 and by constantly moving about help to give the turf 
 a firm surface. Expense may thus be saved in cutting, 
 rolling and manuring. But sheep in the spring should 
 be cake or artificially fed, otherwise they do little 
 good except keep the grass short. Beware of the 
 sheep that pull out the small grass rootlets. Indeed, 
 except when the club cannot afford the ordinary 
 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURTS 213 
 
 methods of cutting, rolling and manuring, one is not 
 inclined to recommend the employment of sheep. 
 
 Courts for winter play, both covered and hard, 
 loom so largely on the horizon of the modern lawn 
 tennis player that they would have received separate 
 treatment in this volume had not the manner of their 
 making been exhaustively treated by thoroughly 
 competent authorities at a comparatively recent date.^ 
 Plans, however, are given of the new covered court 
 at Queen's Club, erected under the supervision of 
 Mr. G. L. Orme in 1905 — a court that in nearly 
 every respect may be regarded as a model for the 
 prospective owner of an indoor arena. Mr. Orme 
 is of opinion that asphalt makes a dead floor and 
 renders the bound of the ball unsatisfactory. My 
 experiences of the indoor asphalt court at Lyons 
 scarcely endorse this view. Tiring to the feet it 
 may be, as Mr. Orme suggests, but so far as uni- 
 formity and elasticity went this particular surface, 
 painted green, left nothing to be desired. After the 
 hard sand courts on the Riviera I found the asphalt 
 floor of Lyons more tractable than the oak floor at 
 Auteuil, where, by the way, the run-back is inadequate 
 and the timbered roof too low ; and personally I 
 would rather pass from grass to asphalt than from 
 grass to wood. The first covered court in existence, 
 that belonging to the old Maida Vale Club,^ had 
 
 ^ See chapter on " Hard Courts and Covered Courts" in the Badminton 
 volume ; also directions in Lawn Tennis^ by W. Baddeley. 
 
 2 The Maida Vale court was replaced in 1885 by the Hyde Park 
 Club court which was the scene of the Covered Court Championships 
 for ten years and the nursery of many fine players. Its surface was 
 made of parallel wooden boards 4 inches wide, laid on bearers i foot 
 apart. This court is now used for cycle lessons and as a skating rink. 
 

 S'l 
 
 
 CO 
 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURTS 215 
 
 an asphalt floor which still elicits the praise of its 
 former patrons. However, the weight of expert 
 opinion is in favour of a well-laid wooden floor. It 
 is affirmed that the jar to the feet is less while the 
 bound of the ball more nearly resembles that on a 
 hard and true turf surface, which, I take it, is the 
 plane par excellence for lawn tennis. 
 
 Wood block is too dead, a fact proved when the old 
 courts at Queen's Club were first laid. A few years 
 ago they were relaid with boards of American maple 
 I inch thick and 3J inches wide, put down on joists. 
 These, again, are not altogether satisfactory. The 
 boards have warped to a certain degree and con- 
 sequently the floor is not quite true ; further the 
 nature of the stain has rendered them more slippery 
 than is desirable. In the floor of the new court 
 American white wood, also known as bass wood, has 
 been employed, the boards being i^ inch thick and 
 4 inches wide, grooved and tongued and secret 
 nailed, laid on 5-inch by 2-inch joists, 12 inches 
 apart. This floor has been pronounced by the best 
 players as eminently satisfactory. The floor is 
 finished with oil stain of a green colour that makes a 
 good surface ; the bound of the ball has sufficient 
 spring without being too fast. In America, by the 
 way, canvas stretched tight over the floor area has 
 been used with satisfactory results. 
 
 In regard to background for a covered court 
 nothing is more effective than a green baize curtain 
 7 feet 6 inches high, hung the whole width of the 
 end walls. Green in fact, here as outside, is the 
 best colour for walls, natural or artificial. The run- 
 back of a good covered court should be 20 feet 
 
2l6 
 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURTS 217 
 
 with a 1 2 -feet margin at the sides — the old courts 
 at Queen's have not quite so much. Mr. Orme 
 believes that the best light is admitted through a 
 glass roof and not through side windows. In 
 Stockholm, where the building of covered courts 
 has been zealously studied, the light at the Crown 
 Prince's Club is admitted not through a glass roof 
 which could not bear the weight of winter snow, but 
 through a clear-story similar to that in a Gothic 
 church, blinds being fixed to regulate the rays of 
 the sun. When I was at Stockholm the weather 
 did not provide the normal quantity of light and I 
 was not able to sample this famous court under 
 the best conditions, but I can well believe that the 
 Swedish method under the circumstances is a sound 
 one. If a glass roof is adopted, the glass should 
 occupy about two-thirds of the area. The latest 
 system of patent glazing is a great improvement on 
 the old method of wooden bars with glass puttied 
 in — the putty in time perished, admitting rain. In 
 the modern glazing no putty is used ; the glass 
 fits into metal clips fashioned as to be impervious 
 to water. 
 
 Spectators at Queen's are accommodated in 
 galleries running round the walls ; but I am inclined 
 to think that both players and public are handi- 
 capped by this system — the players because their 
 aim when taking overhead balls is apt to be diverted 
 by the movements of the crowd and the public 
 because, perched above the play, they cannot fully 
 appreciate either its speed or its finer phases. With 
 this view Mr. Orme agrees, his opinion being 
 that the best arrangement would be tiers of seats 
 
2i8 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 fixed on the ground at each side. At Stockholm 
 there is an open *' box " on one side of both courts, 
 and since these are placed end-to-end and divided 
 off by a substantial "organ loft," an excellent view 
 of the play may be obtained from the floor. The 
 spectator may have his choice of a bird's-eye or 
 surface view, and the player is not disturbed. The 
 Crown Princes Club, by the way, is used at night, 
 being equipped with hanging Swedish lamps. The 
 powerful light from these is thrown up on huge 
 umbrella - shaped shades which distribute it evenly 
 over the whole court. Lawn tennis has also been 
 pursued in some measure by artificial light in this 
 country, but not with very satisfactory results. 
 Experiments on an extensive basis are, I under- 
 stand, now being prosecuted. 
 
 Roughly speaking, the cost of a covered court, 
 built of brick walls, with a wooden floor and a glass 
 roof such as I have described, the remaining portions 
 of the latter being lead or slate, would be ;^25oo. 
 In this estimate the three principal features may 
 be divided as follows: walls ;^iioo, floor ;^400 
 and roof ^looo. A court of which the walls are 
 made of corrugated iron, with match-boarding inside, 
 the roof being supported on iron stanchions, might 
 be built for ^1200. 
 
CHAP.TER XV 
 
 HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 
 
 Effects of travelling — Respect to local feelings — Minor trials and 
 tribulations — Round the Metropolitan meetings — The danger of too 
 many tournaments — Memories of the Northern — A conception of rus 
 in urbe — The " well idea " at Edgbaston — The boon of a clear Sunday 
 — Some devices at Newcastle — The pseudonym considered — Recollec- 
 tions of Moffat and the Scottish championships — Fitzwilliam week — 
 The pertinacity of the Yorkshireman — The Welsh championships — A 
 full-dress rehearsal of Wimbledon — A holiday tour on the East 
 Coast — Seaside meetings on the South Coast — Some impressions of 
 Eastbourne 
 
 WIMBLEDON I have '' covered" (as the 
 news-editors say) In another chapter. 
 Here I propose to unload a few recollec- 
 tions of some of the open meetings in Great Britain 
 and Ireland at which it has been my privilege to 
 appear as a humble competitor. The pleasures of a 
 lawn tennis tournament are not entirely extracted 
 from contests on the field of play. In addition, 
 there are many engagements and diversions that 
 tend to ease the labourer's task and promote friend- 
 ship and goodwill. Without such attributes a tennis 
 week, however exhilarating the rallies might be, 
 would lose the salt which adds flavour. Most 
 zealous lawn tennis players go on tour at some 
 time in their career, and those who have *' carried 
 
 ai9 
 
2 20 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 their bags" readily admit that a well-selected, not 
 too exacting, round of holiday tournaments offers 
 the very best medium for improving play and 
 sampling the attractions of other cities and other 
 citizens. Now that the motor car has become almost 
 a vehicle of the people, it can be and often is utilised 
 as a transport to the merry meeting grounds, or at 
 least can be employed to annihilate the short dis- 
 tance that divides one tournament from the next. 
 Quite recently a party of Midland players carried out 
 a match tour by motor car and from reports that came 
 to hand one gathered that railway trains will hence- 
 forward be voted obsolete by these pilgrims. It 
 would be interesting to test the relative effects which 
 a 40-H.P. Daimler, say, and an express train, 
 both travelling at about the same rate, would 
 exercise on the lawn tennis form of two players at 
 the end of the journey. My own impression is 
 (though my friend, A. F. Wilding, an intrepid motor- 
 cyclist, probably holds a different opinion) that the 
 train-carried passenger would win. But coming to 
 court on a rationally paced motor car is another 
 matter ; in this case the vision and the nerves are 
 not subjected to a tension obviously bad. The 
 motor -borne player has then nearly the best of 
 everything. 
 
 During a season's tours up and down the country 
 the lawn tennis player must be careful to pay proper 
 respect to local feeling and must guard against offend- 
 ing the susceptibilities of those who not only sacrifice 
 much of their time to promote the success of the 
 meeting but often cater directly for the creature 
 comforts of the visitor. I recall the case of one 
 
HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 221 
 
 competitor who apparently preferred the company of 
 his own bag to that of a lady who had just served 
 him with tea, when the latter's motor car was stand- 
 ing at the entrance gate to take them both home. 
 Another player is reported to have borrowed a com- 
 mittee-man's heavy overcoat for an umpiring bout 
 and kept it until it and he came boldly along next 
 year ! A pseudo-champion, once condescending to 
 play with the president of the club in the handicap 
 doubles, pleaded when the first round was called 
 that he had sprained his elbow. Yet on the next 
 day he was able to contest five matches in open 
 events. I once met a competitor who openly accused 
 the handicapper of favouring local committee-men 
 because, quite properly, he was made to concede 
 odds to two of them ! I mention these well-founded 
 instances not because they typify the habits and 
 manners of tournament players as a body — that 
 goes without saying — but to illustrate the degree 
 to which uncouth behaviour at an open meeting 
 may occasionally go ; in short, to emphasize the 
 responsibility which falls on every competitor to 
 maintain the dignity and good name of the tennis 
 community. Leave a good impression behind you 
 not only of your style and methods in court but of 
 your social bearing towards the ''local people." 
 That seems to me justifiable advice. Remember 
 that in some districts the tournament is the week of 
 the year, long anticipated and not soon forgotten. 
 Your name may be in the mouth of every player 
 in the district, anxiously waiting to see you perform. 
 Let your personality subsequently be the subject for 
 favourable comment. 
 
2 22 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Causes for irritation and distraction apart from 
 those on the court itself are bound to arise. There 
 is the business telegram, generally timed by some evil 
 agency to arrive the very moment we are stepping 
 into court to contest an important tie. There is the 
 late opponent, or, worse still, the late partner. There 
 is the unwelcome discovery that the steel points which 
 our conviction assured us had been carefully packed 
 in brown paper in a corner of our bag have been left 
 at home. A favourite racket takes it into its gutted 
 head to snap one of its tendons just as we unscrew 
 the press. A lady partner, hitherto immune from 
 physical ailments, sprains her ankle in getting out of 
 the train or falls off her bicycle and cuts her palm 
 open. The groundman has forgotten to dry our 
 only spare shirt. The lager beer is bad ; the supply 
 of viands runs short. We contract an attack of 
 '* cold feet " on hearing that our opponent has a 
 fiendish breakaway service. It rains the moment 
 we remove our blanket coat. There are a hundred 
 and one small trials and tribulations sent, I doubt not, 
 by an inscrutable Providence to test the spirit of the 
 competitor. You will find, in lawn tennis as in other 
 things that the men (and women) who ride gaily and 
 roughshod over the minor worries are the men (and 
 women) who succeed. Some players are, of course, 
 constitutionally more susceptible than others. But 
 the more one considers these mental upheavals and 
 their causes afterwards, the more is one convinced 
 that their justification is not so real as it originally 
 seemed and that their repression should be sternly 
 encouraged if progress is to be made. 
 
 But we must paddle back from this backwater to 
 
HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 223 
 
 the main stream. There is now so much scope for 
 the tournament competitor round London that, if he 
 does not object to the daily survey of myriad chimneys 
 through the window of a railway carriage and does 
 not mind sometimes scrambling for a court and 
 waiting until dark for an opponent, he can wield his 
 racket at Metropolitan meetings from the last week 
 in May to the last week in July. Beginning at 
 suburban Surbiton he can end at urban Redhill, and 
 in the interval he can have inspected the subterranean 
 dressing-rooms at Chiswick Park, the choice and 
 multi-coloured dresses of the ladies at Beckenham, 
 the no less dazzling display of fashion at East 
 Croydon, the undulating character of the courts at 
 Watford, the aristocratic associations of Queen's, the 
 perspiring efforts of the " five-o'-clockers " at Gipsy 
 and the side-shows at the Crystal Palace. These and 
 other attractions, including the Wimbledon carnival 
 to which all men's footsteps turn towards the end of 
 June, are open to him. I have known players make 
 the complete circuit of these London tournaments and 
 sell shares or coal on 'Change in between. Imagine 
 what this feat means — for it is a feat. Say half a 
 dozen meetings are visited in succession, and no more 
 than two hard matches are contested each day. This 
 means that the business man, working at his office by 
 the clock from ten to four, must be prepared to play 
 twelve matches a week and over seventy matches in 
 the prescribed period. Sometimes he may be required 
 to play as many as three matches in one day, 
 especially if he contrives to show himself early. A 
 percentage of these may be, and often are, ''rabbit- 
 hunts " ; but they involve time and exertion. A bout 
 
2 24 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 of lawn tennis after business hours is a splendid tonic 
 and nerve-bracer — there is none better — but I question 
 the wisdom of competing without a break at all of 
 these London gatherings. I feel certain the chances 
 of a man being stale at Wimbledon or at the holiday 
 tournaments are, if he does so, very great. With 
 even more force does this reflection apply to 
 ladies. They may not have business claims to settle 
 — they are fortunate in that respect — but the majority 
 of them have home ties, or I suspect they have, and 
 one cannot believe, apart from this consideration, that 
 a *' rush-round " all the London meetings, with their 
 attendant train journeys and possibly hurried or 
 belated meals, is beneficial in the long run. Do not 
 imagine I would wish to see any of the London 
 tournaments discontinued. They are deservedly 
 popular and most of them are well managed. They 
 bring together men and women of different clubs 
 and sometimes afford the only opportunity for the 
 local player to meet other players. They provide a 
 convenient excuse for the country cousin to visit 
 London and for the London hostess to absorb the 
 subtleties of tennis ''shop." May they live long! 
 And I hope the zealous competitors who boast that 
 they have not missed a single meeting on the circuit 
 will also attain longevity. 
 
 I have never yet been to Manchester without 
 using an umbrella and I have never yet been lucky 
 enough to see a dry court on the Northern Clubs 
 ground. They must have some fine days in Lanca- 
 shire or they wouldn't need barometers — and I have 
 vainly tapped many in this district. I recall tapping 
 one so vigorously at the capacious mansion of Mr. 
 
HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 225 
 
 Joseph Duckworth, my genial host at Heaton Mersey, 
 that Norman Brookes, who was trying to telephone 
 to Wilding at Sheffield, fancied something had got 
 on the wires. Anent climatic vagaries, I remember 
 that poor Harold Mahony, attempting to gain a foot- 
 hold at one Northern meeting, removed his shoes 
 and suffered his borrowed socks to slide about in 
 the mud. Miss May Sutton too, not so long ago, 
 soiled her pink ribbons and her season's record by 
 trying to drive In what she described in her best 
 Californlan as a ** cattle track." Of course Miss 
 Sutton did not mean to impugn the quality of the 
 Northern courts, nor do I — they are really very good 
 when they are dry ; and this meeting, one of the best 
 managed in the country, certainly one of the best 
 patronized by the public, has traditions and a fame 
 which claim respect. County matches here have a 
 status which they do not elsewhere enjoy — more 
 perhaps Is the pity — and the Lancashire team, when 
 mobilized at full strength, is by no means to be 
 despised. It was at Old Trafford that two of its 
 leading members, X. E. Casdagli and S. E. Charlton, 
 inflicted the first public defeat which Norman Brookes 
 experienced in doubles in 1907. I can see the beam- 
 ing faces of the local partisans now ; it had tempor- 
 arily stopped raining and the ropes and stands were 
 thronged. 
 
 The Northern championships, like the golf 
 championships, are movable feasts, but they journey 
 In a fixed orbit — one year at Old Trafford, the next 
 at Algburth. It has been said that the equipment 
 of the meeting Is transported from Manchester to 
 Liverpool and vice versa by means of the Ship Canal 
 15 
 
2 26 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 and if this is so it may account for the black-speckled 
 balls which biannually make their appearance on the 
 Old Trafford courts ! I suspect the real cause of 
 new balls changing their colour like chameleons is 
 the adjacent presence of a railway line notorious for 
 its rich smoke ! Aigburth is much the pleasanter 
 of the two Northern grounds — spacious, open, even 
 picturesque. It is sumptuously equipped with a 
 county cricket pavilion (to which the luxury of a late 
 dinner is added) and delightfully free from the smoke 
 and dust of cities. Here Mr. B. C. Evelegh can 
 survey from his tent a sward sedulously tended by 
 the local groundmen, while the committee may assure 
 themselves that, unless a succession of thunderstorms 
 passes over the courts (as it has been known to do 
 before now) their stands will be well filled throughout 
 the week. It was at Liverpool that I first became 
 sensitive of S. H. Smith's sterling capacity as a mixed 
 double player in partnership with Miss E. W. 
 Thomson.^ This combination, working on the same 
 lines, proved as successful as the Riseley-Smith coali- 
 tion, Miss Thomson, as everyone knows, being a 
 particularly nimble volleyer. S. H. Smith and F. L. 
 Riseley for many years dominated the Northern 
 meeting. Smith won the singles seven years in 
 succession and the doubles with Riseley for five. 
 The West of England pair may well pat each other's 
 backs over their Northern exploits. The name of 
 nearly every player of eminence is emblazoned on 
 the Northern rolls. Here the All England Mixed 
 Doubles Championship, first annexed by Ernest Ren- 
 shaw and Mrs. Hillyard, came into being, remaining 
 
 ^ Now Mrs. Dudley Larcombe. 
 
HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 227 
 
 with varying fortunes ever since. For five years H. S. 
 Mahony and the lady who is now Mrs. S terry were 
 Invincible. Miss Lottie Dod and Miss Martin were 
 among its shining lights for several years. Here, 
 too, first Pirn and then Wilfred Baddeley had each a 
 four years' reign as champion. 
 
 I always like the Midland meeting at Edgbaston, 
 chiefly because it realises one's conception of rus in 
 urbe. A cab will take you from your Birmingham 
 hotel to the entrance in twenty minutes unless your 
 horse falls down the steep avenue which leads to the 
 ground. And once there you might easily imagine 
 you were miles away from the mainspring of Midland 
 commerce. I have tried hard to discover a single 
 chimney from the top of the terrace but have never 
 succeeded. I hope I never shall. The courts here 
 have been carefully laid with an eye to picturesque 
 effect intensified by the natural beauties of this 
 park-like district. Some are better than others ; it 
 would be too much to expect twenty courts used 
 throughout the summer to be of the same quality. 
 But they are all serviceable and the ''gallery" surface 
 is usually first-class. Here the ''well idea," which 
 renders the erection of unsightly stands unnecessary, 
 has been carried out most efficaciously and the 
 drainage being sound, there is no excretion of surface 
 water. The pavilion Is roomy and comfortable and 
 has lately received the additional luxury of a glass- 
 walled reading and writing-room, from which, dry 
 and at ease, one can pity the poor fellows required 
 by the exigencies of the programme to wage their 
 battles in the rain. That hospitable appendage, the 
 invitation tea tent, is also welcomed here, presided 
 
228 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 over daily by leading ladies of the district. One 
 always feels "at home" at Edgbaston. The com- 
 mittee, headed by the brothers Burges — I am not 
 sure whether they are twins or not : so many tennis 
 brothers are there — enterprising Howard Todd, 
 another Howard — Howard Smith, Arthur Short, 
 H. H. Monckton (never happier than when umpiring 
 in the gallery court) and others, seem to have 
 cultivated a knack in this respect. 
 
 There is nothing a tennis tourist in full cry enjoys 
 more than a clear Sunday, a Sunday entirely free 
 from tennis talk or tennis problems. Motoring may 
 here have its uses, and I shall always remember with 
 gratitude the excursion which my host, Mr. Charles 
 Hide, of the Birmingharn Post, contrived for one or 
 two of us in Shakespeare's country. It included a 
 visit to Stratford's honoured sights and a run through 
 some of tjie daintiest scenery in Warwickshire. A 
 distinguished traveller was of the party and he knew 
 not only every stile and almost every stone in the 
 district, but many other lands beside. We buried 
 the racket gladly for the time being. 
 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne is a far cry for the southerner, 
 but the Northumberland county tournament is well 
 worth a visit, if only to see how thoroughly the 
 Northern officials can manage a big meeting. Each 
 year for one week the executive have the use of the 
 county cricket ground, a little more than a stone's 
 throw from the famous Jesmond Dene, and to 
 splendid service do they put this enclosure. Though 
 the courts are neither very dry nor very true (indeed 
 they require the impossible, a season's care and 
 attention) yet they are quite as good as many genuine 
 
HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 229 
 
 courts confined to tennis. A peep into the committee 
 shed here (they use nothing so fragile as a tent) 
 brings home to you the fact that every big tourna- 
 ment has its business side, its many departments and 
 its many extraneous worries. New inventions to 
 facilitate both players and public alike have a habit 
 of coming out at Newcastle. One — I think it was 
 conceived by Mr. Ellwood Holmes, formerly honorary 
 secretary of the meeting — was a small metal slot whicji 
 could be hung on the umpire's ladder. It displayed 
 numbers corresponding to those in the programme 
 and at once informed the spectator both of the event 
 in progress and the identity of the players. Perhaps 
 if this serviceable device were adopted at all tourna- 
 ments it might abolish the habit which a few players 
 contract of assuming absurd pseudonyms. Imagine 
 the smile of amused contempt passing over the face 
 of a spectator who turns to his programme and finds 
 that "A.L.G.Y. Dear" is competing against *' M.Y. 
 Darling " ! If a nom de guerre is necessary — and 
 only under very exceptionable circumstances can I 
 see that it is — ^surely the imagination of the gentleman 
 who wishes to conceal the fact that he is playing 
 lawn tennis can rise higher than an alias that brings 
 the game into the realm of opera bouffe. That 
 reflection has nothing to do with Newcastle, where 
 for all I know to the contrary grandmothers and 
 uncles with legacies to leave may live for ever and 
 never require to be buried on the day that a legatee 
 is down to play a tournament tie. 
 
 Newcastle has its honoured names. I have only 
 space to mention here Mr. A. J. Harrison, the father 
 of the game in the district and in others besides; 
 
2 30 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Mr. A. E. Bainbridge, under the roof of whose 
 beautiful mansion every champion of both sexes must 
 at one time and another have stayed ; the .YoiiU 
 family who have, inter alia, presented the thirty- 
 guinea challenge cup for the open singles ; Mr. F. H. 
 Corder, who, sitting at the left hand of Mr. Evelegh 
 throughout the week, could probably qualify for a 
 touring refereeship if he were not now grey in the 
 service of the Northumberland Association ; Mr. 
 Ellwood Holmes whom I have previously mentioned, 
 Mr. Wilfred Hall, Mr. R. N. Sutton, Mr. Myles 
 Watson, Mr. A. W. White and others. 
 
 Going farther north is Moffat, the venue of the 
 Scottish Championships, managed for some years by 
 Mr. A. Wallace McGregor, a pillar of Scottish lawn 
 tennis and a several-years' holder of the doubles title. 
 I confess to no great liking for the Moffat courts or 
 climate. My opinion may be coloured by the fact 
 that I have sampled them only once, but there it is. 
 I went to Moffat to be braced up, but as a tonic it 
 proved immeasurably inferior to Buxton, my next 
 point of call. F. W. Payn was at the Scottish 
 Championships that year and won the title. I 
 remember in the handicap doubles we played a 
 fairly close match with Wiley Grant and Robert" 
 Leroy, the young Americans. I mention this match 
 because I recollect that Mr. L. J. Grant, father of 
 the aforesaid Wiley, was so anxious my partner 
 should not be guilty of a foot-fault, the direst mis- 
 demeanour in the eyes of this zealous parent, that he 
 not only posted himself opposite the line, crossing 
 over as we crossed over, but buttonholed half a dozen 
 other onlookers before we began and requested that 
 
HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 231 
 
 they too should critically gaze upon Payn's feet. It 
 was Mr. Grant — I know he will forgive me for 
 recalling these incidents — about whom a story may 
 be told which shows him to be an almost idolatrous 
 father. Wiley — I am not sure whether it was at 
 Moffat or not but I think it was — had lost a match 
 by the rim of his racket, and Mr. Grant had set his 
 heart on his son winning it. So mournful was he 
 over the reverse that throughout the evening he 
 related to everybody who would lend him his ear the 
 progress of the match, game by game, almost stroke 
 by stroke. The pathetic note always came at the 
 end and the phrase was never varied : ** Five three, 
 forty love and Wiley serving ! " This testimonial to 
 his son's serving capacity and his dismay at its fatal 
 aberration tickled our fancies immensely — for the last 
 sentence was always the same. I remember one 
 practical joker — it was really rather rude — went round 
 inviting all kinds of people, even waiters, to innocently 
 approach Mr. Grant and crave details of Wiley's 
 sensational defeat. 
 
 Though boasting a national championship the 
 Moffat meeting has rarely attracted a very large or 
 a very representative entry ; it is one of those tour- 
 naments where the man who receives the entry could 
 make a safe book on the winners. But if the play 
 itself is not exceptionally stern, the tournament has 
 many independent attractions. There are several 
 charming walks ; the adjacent hydro, at which nearly 
 all the players forgather, is a delightful rendezvous. 
 Here is a capacious swimming bath much patronized 
 by players after their matches, always ** something 
 going on" after dinner, and the food is Scotch and 
 
232 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 wholesome. Can it be the porridge that keeps the 
 good English lady players away? For some reason 
 or other they rarely reveal themselves at Moffat. 
 
 Fitzwilliam week ! Its glories have faded since all 
 Dublin society, in dresses that would have done credit 
 to Ascot, gathered in Fitzwilliam Square, sometimes 
 four thousand strong, to applaud the fierce rallies of 
 Lawford and Renshaw, and later the no less capti- 
 vating exhibitions of Hamilton, Pim, the Baddeleys, 
 the Dohertys and other giants. The Irish champion- 
 ships in those days rivalled the Horse Show in popular 
 attraction and in the harvest of gold they brought 
 the hotel - keepers. Under Master (now Colonel) 
 Courtenay's matchless control the tournament vied 
 with Wimbledon as the meeting of the year. Irish 
 hospitality was dispensed with regal liberality and 
 every prominent English player braved the billows 
 of St. George's Channel with a fortitude inspired by 
 habit. Alas ! that a combination of circumstances 
 should have caused this famous meeting to be now 
 but a shadow of its former self. Even the battle- 
 ground has been changed and the fashionable crowds 
 have melted away. Happily signs of revived interest 
 are now visible and Ireland may yet rear another 
 band of players which shall challenge the picked men 
 of England. Dublin at the present time can produce 
 one or two players of conspicuous ability and given 
 further intercourse with the best English exponents 
 these should reach an even higher plane. The '* Irish 
 drive " is not a lost art yet, nor is Irish hospitality one 
 smile less enticing. The Chaytors are still there to 
 welcome the English invader, as I found and appre- 
 ciated, and better sportsmen than J. F. Stokes, J. C. 
 
HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 233 
 
 Parke, H. N. Craig and T. D. Good, the leaders of 
 the Irish brigade, one could not wish to meet. 
 
 Commend me to the Yorkshiremen for pertinacity 
 on the tennis court. The county of broad shires may 
 not breed champions whose skill repels the foreign 
 invader and is the cynosure of all eyes at Wimbledon, 
 but it produces hundreds of clubs the members of 
 which are as tough and as enthusiastic as any players 
 I have ever met. Leeds, Sheffield and Hull all have 
 their complement of level-headed, indomitable votaries, 
 possessing that timely virtue of extracting hopeless 
 matches out of the fire and of now and then achieving 
 remarkable success against opponents ranked in a 
 higher class. One does not forget that the Yorkshire 
 team recently won the county championship under 
 circumstances which strikingly demonstrated their 
 tough-hearted qualities and their capacity for effective 
 combination. They are fortunate in possessing such 
 a zealous and sanguine mentor as Mr. Clement Pflaum, 
 the treasurer of the Yorkshire L.T.A. who in addition 
 to " fathering " the county team keeps a watchful eye 
 over promising recruits and is keenly on the alert at 
 the Yorkshire trial matches. I have a great respect 
 for Mr. Pflaum's organizing power, a signal illustration 
 of which is annually furnished at that colossal August 
 bank holiday tournament held at Ilkley, the Mecca of 
 all Leeds players and of many others beside. At this 
 moorland meeting — quite a feature of the season as 
 regards the number of its entries and the spirit of 
 fierce competition that prevails — as many as four 
 hundred and fifty matches have been finished in 
 three days, sixteen courts being employed. Almost 
 as many players enter for the open singles here as at 
 
2 34 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Wimbledon and the man who would force his way- 
 through to the final stages must be prepared, practic- 
 ally speaking, to remain on court while the clock 
 completes a circuit. The handicapping at Ilkley, a 
 task involving the burning of many candles, is an 
 object lesson in fairness, and the results testify to its 
 remarkable accuracy. Here the brothers Watson are 
 usually to the fore. Here, too, are several Yorkshire 
 pairs capable of bagging a set from the elect. Scar- 
 borough I have not visited since one of the Baddeleys, 
 a brother, I fancy, of the twins, won almost the last All 
 England junior championship contested at this breezy 
 spa. I remember the wind blowing a service back 
 over the net and I think I saw H. S. Barlow smash 
 a ball that bounced out of the ground. That must 
 be fifteen years ago. The Yorkshire Association 
 tournament is now held on different courts — courts 
 that succeeded in drawing the Dohertys back to the 
 provinces a couple of seasons back. 
 
 Whenever I have been to the Welsh champion- 
 ships ^ at Newport, the weather has been so tropical 
 as to make one turn, gratefully if guiltily, to the hot 
 and cold *' showers " thoughtfully provided in the 
 pavilion. The courts here are as a rule very true 
 and very well preserved and the management of the 
 meeting displays a warm regard for the interest of the 
 players and spectators. For nearly ten years the 
 meeting witnessed a succession of triumphs for S. H. 
 Smith, who has revelled in the hard, sun-baked surface, 
 and for three years it welcomed the invincible Miss 
 Sutton who closed her vigorous campaign at the 
 
 ^ Instituted first at Penarth, near Cardiff, June 14, 1886, under the 
 patronage of Lord Windsor. 
 
HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 235 
 
 Welsh championships by bearing off the eighty-guinea 
 challenge cup presented by the late Marquis of Bute. 
 The fact that Smith and Miss Sutton appreciate a 
 high bound testifies to the elasticity of the Newport 
 courts. The fast surface also suits that fine forehand 
 exponent, J. M. Boucher, who on the two occasions 
 that Smith did not enter won the title. Not a grace- 
 ful exponent, for no player could be who keeps his 
 elbow and wrist so stiff, Boucher is the quintessence 
 of accuracy and steadiness. His handicap record — I 
 have seen him give almost impossible odds and survive 
 — must nearly equal that of Ernest Renshaw. ** I've 
 drawn Boucher in the first round and may as well go 
 home," is not an uncommon expression in the dressing 
 room at Newport. 
 
 Buxton to my mind has the best air of any place 
 in England where tournaments are held, and were it 
 not lugubriously associated in the minds of tourists 
 with moist courts and dripping tents, would assuredly 
 regain its former glory. The meeting takes place 
 in the pleasure gardens, as at Leamington, and is 
 the venue of the ladies' doubles championship, won 
 last year by Mrs. Hillyard and the late Miss C. 
 Meyer. A terrific gale blew over the ground one 
 year I was there, and the referees' tent was only 
 saved from utter destruction by the united efforts of 
 players and officials. Leicester has great attractions 
 for me. It is not a large meeting but the entry for 
 the open events bristles with big names, and thanks 
 to the interest displayed in it by Mr. and Mrs. 
 George Hillyard, who *'put up" a small army of 
 *' cracks" at Thorpe Satchville, the public are 
 enabled to see almost a full - dress rehearsal of 
 
2 36 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Wimbledon. My friend, Harry S. Scrivener, pulls 
 the strings at Leicester, and pulls them with com- 
 mendable placidity and dignity. Indeed, so mindful 
 are the committee of the value of his services that 
 instead of sending him to a common hotel they 
 provide a noble clubhouse in the centre of the town 
 for his habitation at night. Scrivener is the lord of 
 some thirty rooms for four days. Save for an odd 
 servant or two he is alone in the building ; it 
 requires the instinct of a bloodhound to track him 
 down. 
 
 The East Coast provides a salubrious August 
 holiday round, particularly serviceable to the player 
 who seeks a brisk circuit with his racket rarely cased. 
 He may begin at Saxmundham, in the charming 
 park belonging to the Right Honourable Walter 
 Long, M.P., a fortnight's campaign that will take 
 him subsequently to Colchester, where he must make 
 due allowance for an inclined plane, and then on to 
 Felixstowe, a popular if somewhat wind-swept tourna- 
 ment. The irrepressible Aliens, with their inexhaust- 
 ible fund of tittle-tattle, used to make this round 
 regularly, and I can see the cherubic Charlie Allen 
 sitting in the little parlour of the Bell Inn at 
 Saxmundham inviting every player who passed the 
 window to come in and celebrate the slaughter of 
 the ** rabbits." The addiction of the twins to a 
 thirst-quencher after a hot day on the courts has 
 yielded many stories. One of the best is that which 
 depicts *'E. R. " entering a private bar and ordering 
 his special concoction. Having consumed this potion 
 with one pull " E. R. " leaves the bar. '* C. G. " as 
 like his brother as one pea is to another, enters and 
 
HOME TOURNAMENTS I HAVE VISITED 237 
 
 duly drinks his particular " refresher." The landlord 
 naturally thinks both his customers are one and the 
 same man, and his astonishment may be imagined 
 when **E. R. " comes back in a few minutes for a 
 ** repeat order" ! 
 
 Almost every holiday resort that respects itself 
 and seeks modern recognition now has its annual 
 tournament. There are so many flourishing and 
 enjoyable meetings on the South Coast, for example, 
 that an intrepid channel swimmer wishing to visit 
 them all need pay nothing in railway fares. Folke- 
 stone, Hythe, Eastbourne, Brighton, Shanklin, 
 Falmouth are only some which have their weeks, and 
 were the tourist gifted with the aquatic powers of 
 Captain Webb he could swim across to Boulogne 
 and Dieppe and there pursue his campaign. Brighton 
 and Eastbourne are the climax of the season and the 
 final muster at both seems each year to become more 
 imposing and more unwieldy. About eight hundred 
 matches were played on the county ground at Hove 
 in the 1907 tournament, a record task even for the 
 celebrated management of Mr. Evelegh and Mr. 
 Lionel King, and more than this total the following 
 week at Eastbourne. Devonshire Park makes its 
 appeal on a scale which includes guaranteed fine 
 weather, a large and appreciative gallery, musical 
 accompaniments, a hundred outdoor tea - tables, 
 evening concerts and fireworks. The lists here 
 bring together young and old in motley profusion. 
 Eastbourne is the only tournament save Wimbledon 
 (where there are no handicap events) that habitually 
 runs over into the second week. The wily veteran 
 is much in evidence, never so quietly effective as 
 
238 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 when tackling a young blood who strolls up in a 
 loud blazer and casts a half-contemptuous, half- 
 joyful look at the grey hairs. To Eastbourne 
 also comes in ever-increasing numbers the young 
 lady who has made a hit at her suburban club and 
 who has been given to understand by her friends 
 that a couple of seasons only divides her from the 
 championship at Wimbledon. Disillusionment may 
 follow after an early exit from the handicap events 
 or it may be temporarily delayed until some opponent 
 of ten years' experience of tournaments, conceding 
 half-thirty and owing as much, gently crushes the 
 aspirant, as she herself was crushed a decade before. 
 There is nothing like an open prize meeting to reveal 
 the fact that proficiency and honours at lawn tennis 
 can only be purchased after a long and arduous 
 apprenticeship. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP 
 
 (1900-1903) 
 
 The symbol of international supremacy — Why the first British team 
 failed — Roper Barrett gives his impressions and offers some criticisms — 
 Englishmen taken on the flank — Ward and Davis create a sensation at 
 Wimbledon — The Dohertys and Dr. Pim go to America — Comments on 
 Dr. Pim's selection for the internationals — The States team triumphs at 
 Bay Ridge — Ten thousand spectators watch a single combat — Dohertys 
 demonstrate their invincible skill in the doubles — The screw service and 
 its effects — " R. F." reaches the challenge round at Newport — England 
 challenges again and the Dohertys "sweep the board" — Another un- 
 expected situation for Mr. Collins — How the issue hung in the balance 
 at Longwood — The Cup finally lifted — An American appreciation of 
 " H. L." 
 
 THE Story of the Dwight Davis Challenge 
 Cup Competition is a rich record of inter- 
 national rivalry, patriotic fervour and strenu- 
 ous endeavour. The massive solid silver punch-bowl 
 lined with gold, valued at about ^200 and presented 
 by Mr. Dwight F. Davis of St. Louis, bears a relation- 
 ship to lawn tennis somewhat akin to that of the 
 America Cup and yachting. And so far as public 
 interest in America is concerned the ifight for this 
 trophy, symbol of international supremacy, has aroused 
 as much excitement and attracted as many onlookers 
 as the struggles of British and American racing craft 
 off Sandy Hook. We may even draw a more specific 
 
240 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 analogy between these two contests. Both have 
 sprung from American enterprise and from the In- 
 herent desire of Americans to assert their supremacy 
 in every branch of sport. Both are governed by 
 hard and fast regulations which, though they have 
 never Impaired the cordial relations of the rival 
 authorities, have yielded a demand for modification 
 or adjustment. Both, on the days of actual conflict, 
 have been influenced In result by the vagaries of the 
 weather and by conditions peculiar to the scene of 
 action ; and both have brought out the distinctively 
 constructive methods, as well as the sporting tempera- 
 ments, of the two countries. At first sight the 
 maritime passage of a wind-propelled yacht may 
 appear to have little or nothing in common with 
 the human -projected flight of a tennis ball on a 
 lawn. Yet the successful issue of the first depends 
 largely on human effort — on the skilful handling of 
 the wheel, the care of the canvas, the training and 
 control of the crew, and a complete knowledge of 
 the course. If we substitute a racket for the wheel, 
 regard the crew as human muscles and the course as 
 confined within the limits of a court, the comparison 
 becomes more Intelligible. 
 
 But there is this great difference between the 
 contests for the Davis Cup ^ and the America Cup. 
 Many valiant efforts have been made by this country 
 to gain the blue riband of yachting. These have not 
 yet been crowned with success ; the theatre of war 
 still remains American waters. For three years the 
 lawn tennis players In the States victoriously defended 
 
 ^For historical data respecting the inception of the International 
 Competition, see Appendix. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 241 
 
 the Davis Cup against the attack of the invader — 
 not always a well-balanced attack, let me add. But 
 in 1903 the superior skill, greater consistency and 
 wonderful tenacity of the British team prevailed — the 
 trophy was exported for the first time to British soil. 
 Three more years, and though the field widened and 
 challengers came from the Continent and even from 
 distant Colonies, the custody of that cup was safe- 
 guarded. The Dohertys had captured it ; they were 
 its trusty defenders. But in 1907, a bad year for 
 England's sporting prestige and one in which neither 
 the Dohertys nor S. H. Smith and Frank Riseley 
 were available for home service, the Davis Cup 
 exhibited further globe-trotting tendencies, and as the 
 result of a brilliant campaign by Norman Brookes 
 the Australian and Anthony Wilding the New 
 Zealander, set off on a long journey to the uttermost 
 ends of the earth. Happily its destination was a 
 Commonwealth linked to us by Imperial ties. The 
 Davis Cup is still a family possession, despatched 
 across the seas as tangible proof of our sons' prowess. 
 That it will come back sooner or later to the Mother- 
 land, untarnished by its sojourn abroad, we may con- 
 fidently predict. 
 
 There can be little question that the first British 
 team that went over in 1900 to challenge for the 
 Davis Cup suffered from several disadvantages. For 
 one thing, it lacked the administrative assistance and 
 paternal influence of a non-playing manager. It was 
 new to the climatic conditions of America ; the tour 
 was strictly limited, and its members had no time to 
 feel their feet on American soil. The conditions of 
 play were likewise novel and in some measure primitive. 
 16 
 
242 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Perhaps our team had underestimated the strength 
 and skill of their opponents. Certainly they were 
 repulsed in a manner which suggested, even if it did 
 not proclaim, their inferiority, while the confidence of 
 the British authorities seemed scarcely justified. But 
 let me interpolate here the interesting and untoned 
 impression of this, the pioneer tour of an ofl[icial British 
 team, kindly supplied for this volume by Mr. H. 
 Roper Barrett, one of its three members : 
 
 ''After many disappointments^ the team that 
 actually set sail was Arthur Went worth Gore, Ernest 
 D. Black and Herbert Roper Barrett — poetically 
 referred to in the official organ as ' The Dauntless 
 Three.' The Campania landed us at New York on 
 a Saturday morning. Here we were met and 
 welcomed by Mr. Stevens' (he was an American 
 player of those days) man. We appreciated Mr. 
 Stevens' kindness in sending down his man ; it 
 seemed so friendly and kind and much better than 
 coming himself. Having had no particular facilities 
 offered us for practice, it was unanimously decided, 
 Gore being in the chair, that we should forthwith 
 visit Niagara. Accordingly on the same night we 
 took train and went right through to Buffalo, where 
 we saw the wonderful Falls, crossed over to Canada 
 and subsequently went beneath them. The Falls 
 * beggar description ' ; it is impossible to describe 
 their grandeur and power and, as you know, I am 
 no poet. Let that go. We saw many hundred 
 thousand tons of water rushing over the Fall each 
 minute and throwing up spray three or four hundred 
 
 ^The Dohertys and several other leading players were unable to 
 accept the invitation of the L.T.A. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 243 
 
 feet above the level of the land, the sun meantime 
 forming beautiful rainbows. Well, having inspected 
 this bewildering sight and the awful whirlpool where 
 Captain Webb tempted Providence once too often, 
 we journeyed back to Boston. Here we were heartily 
 welcomed by Palmer Presbrey, M. D. Whitman, Leo 
 Ware, James Dwight, Leyman, A. Codman and many 
 others famous in the lawn tennis world of America. 
 Palmer Presbrey looked after us right royally, made 
 us members of all the leading clubs and had us put 
 up at the University Club. I should like to express 
 our special appreciation of the unremitting attention 
 we received from Palmer Presbrey and James Dwight, 
 and particularly to mention the farewell dinner they 
 gave us at the Somerset Club on leaving Boston, 
 with Mr. Leyman in the chair. 
 
 '*Now as to conditions of play at Longwood, the 
 venue of the international matches. The ground 
 was abominable. The grass was long. Picture to 
 yourself a court in England where the grass has 
 been the longest you ever encountered ; double the 
 length of that grass and you have the courts as they 
 were at Longwood at that time. The net was a 
 disgrace to civilised lawn tennis, held up by guy 
 ropes which were continually sagging, giving way as 
 much as 2 or 3 inches every few games and fre- 
 quently requiring adjustment. As for the balls, I 
 hardly like to mention them. They were awful — 
 soft and mot kery- loo king — and when served with 
 the American twist came at you like an animated 
 egg-plum. I do not exaggerate. Neither Beals 
 Wright nor Holcombe Ward nor Karl Behr can 
 make the balls used at Wimbledon break as much as 
 
244 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 these did. They not only swerved in the air, but 
 in hitting the ground broke surely four to five 
 feet. Our team was altogether taken at a dis- 
 advantage. We had never experienced this service 
 before and it quite nonplussed us. The spectators 
 were most impartial and the female portion 
 thereof not at all unpleasant to gaze upon." (This 
 last sentence may explain something.) Mr. Barrett 
 proceeds : 
 
 *' M. D. Whitman, Dwight Davis and Hol- 
 combe Ward were a fine team, certainly the best 
 America ever had. Taking into consideration 
 the adverse conditions under which we played 
 (the thermometer was 136° Fahr. in the sun — a. 
 dry heat) I do not think we did so badly. -^ The 
 umpires (who sat on chairs perched on tables) 
 and the linesmen discharged their duties most 
 satisfactorily. Indeed, we had nothing to com- 
 plain about in regard to American sportsmanship 
 and hospitality. 
 
 " Personally I had to catch the Campania back 
 to Liverpool on the next Saturday. I was only 
 in America a week, and I often laugh to myself 
 over the fact that I journeyed some 6800 miles to 
 play thirty games.^ Still I do not grumble. There 
 was no one else to represent England and I felt I 
 had to go despite the inconvenience and personal 
 expense to which we were put. 
 
 ''Whitman, let me conclude, was one of the finest 
 
 ^ America won by 3 matches to nil, 10 sets to one (won by Black 
 against Davis) and 76 games to 50. Rain interrupted the last day's 
 play which was never completed. 
 
 2 Davis and Ward beat Black and Barrett 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 245 
 
 single players I ever saw, but I think Gore was a 
 match for Davis. "^ 
 
 Mr. Barrett's outspoken criticisms of the playing 
 conditions at Longwood are doubtless justified ; these 
 must have seriously militated against the chances of 
 the British team which had been familiar to up-to- 
 .date English accessories. But I do not think that 
 even on perfect courts with perfect nets and in a 
 more normal temperature the Englishmen would have 
 triumphed. Nor do I gather that Mr. Barrett holds 
 any other opinion. The American writer^ who said 
 that ** it will always remain a mystery why the 
 English players should not have had some inkling 
 of what they had to expect " was not referring to the 
 conditions, though he might have been, but to the 
 American service. '' The Englishmen," this chronicler 
 goes on, '' were taken on the flank and utterly routed. 
 To those across the water it was some consolation 
 to know the three players who represented Great 
 Britain, good as they were, were not the three best 
 men possible to send over." Possibly they may not 
 have been, but that reflection does not absolve the 
 L.T.A. from a charge of over-confidence or relieve 
 them from a share in the defeat. The truth is, 
 probably, that estimations of American form were 
 based on the results of an unofficial tour made by 
 Dr. Eaves, H. A. Nisbet and H. S. Mahony through 
 the States in 1897. At Newport Nisbet beat both 
 Whitman and Earned, while Dr. Eaves, defeating 
 Nisbet in the final, came within a few points of 
 
 ^ A thunderstorm stopped the tie between Gore and Davis. Davis 
 Won the first set 9-7 ; the second was drawn at 9-9. 
 2 F. S. Mansfield in the Boston Globe^ August 4, 1902. 
 
246 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 winning the American championship. But in the 
 intervening three years American players had made 
 great strides. Apart from their service, which they 
 developed with much enterprise and conspicuous suc- 
 cess, the players in the States were adding new strokes 
 to their repertoire each season. Commenting on their 
 progress, the late H. S. Mahony observed about this 
 time : '* The Americans dart in and kill many a volley 
 which an English player would either let drop, half- 
 volley or volley very weakly. Of their ground-play, 
 especially on the forehand, there is nothing to be said 
 but praise, and those who saw Larned's beautiful 
 ground-strokes in this country will thoroughly endorse 
 this opinion." 
 
 In 1 90 1, anxious to re-establish the supremacy 
 which it was felt the result of the first conflict had 
 impaired, the English Association challenged again 
 and visions of an early revenge began to float before 
 the eyes of English players. But this dream had 
 to be postponed. No team whose chances of success 
 might have been considered superior to those of the 
 1900 combination could be raised, and it was wisely 
 decided to wait another year. Obviously the desire 
 of the Association was to pit the Invincible skill of 
 the Doherty brothers against the American holders ; 
 it was therefore necessary to await the convenience 
 of the champions. The wisdom of this course was 
 proved by the remarkable success which attended 
 the visit to Wimbledon of the American doubles 
 champions, Holcombe Ward and Dwight Davis, in 
 the summer of 1901. Not until this redoubtable 
 pair served, smashed and lobbed their way through 
 to the challenge round did the average Englishman 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 247 
 
 appreciate the real potency of their game, nor give 
 Black, Gore and Barrett their righteous due. Even 
 in the challenge round itself, when only the potential 
 resistance of the Dohertys divided the invaders from 
 the championship, the extraordinary powers of Ward 
 and Davis and the efficacy of American methods 
 were so far demonstrated that had not rain cut the 
 match short on the first day the visitors might have 
 triumphed. As it was, the Dohertys were tested 
 to the utmost to save their titles on the following 
 day.^ A team more aggressive and synergetic had 
 never been seen in the centre court of Wimbledon. 
 
 It is no exaggeration to say that when R. F. and 
 H. L. Doherty, Dr. Joshua Pim and *' Captain" 
 W. H. Collins were selected to take up the second 
 challenge for the Davis Cup, every player in this 
 country proudly pictured the trophy coming back 
 with the team. This confidence was justified ; why 
 it was not fulfilled we shall presently discover. 
 
 When one considers that the British travellers 
 were going to exhibit their prowess before the 
 assembled gaze of 10,000 spectators in New York, it 
 is remarkable — indeed an indication of newspaper 
 apathy in regard to lawn tennis at that time — that 
 the party should have slipped out of England un- 
 attended by even the faintest trumpeting in the daily 
 press. It is true one paper sent its representative to 
 Euston to interview the champions, but the result 
 when published was so obviously lacking in illumina- 
 tion as to be practically worthless — it seems to have 
 
 ^ When rain stopped play on the first day both sides had won a 
 set and were "games all" in the third. The match was entirely 
 replayed on the morrow, when the Dohertys won. 
 
248 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 provoked great hilarity on the other side. Perhaps 
 there was some desire on the part of the tourists 
 themselves to "lie low," for the medical member of 
 the team (who sailed a week later) was mysteriously- 
 referred to as "Mr. X" and "A Famous Player" 
 and seems indeed to have left these shores rather in 
 the character of a stowaway than as a champion 
 whose name was a household word on every tennis 
 lawn. Doubtless there were sound professional 
 reasons for this secrecy, but it must be recorded that 
 the voracious journalists on the other side scarcely 
 tasted " Mr. X " while greedily swallowing Dr. Pim. 
 
 With a view to winning the Eastern Doubles and 
 thus gaining a passport to Newport,-^ the team went 
 through at once to Boston and after enjoying a trip 
 to Nahant on Mr. Charles Hayden's yacht im- 
 mediately began operations on the Longwood courts. 
 The British players seemed to have impressed 
 themselves most favourably on the spectators. The 
 Dohertys' appearance in court was described as 
 " very pleasing."^ "Wearing the light blue colours 
 of Cambridge University and attired in white clothes 
 they contrasted favourably with the grotesque and 
 dishevelled appearance of some of the American 
 players." As the brothers' only object in competing 
 at Longwood (apart from their desire to win the 
 Eastern Doubles which they fulfilled) was to gain 
 practice in singles, " H. L." retired after winning 
 three rounds comfortably, " R. F." a little earlier. 
 
 ^ The winners of the Eastern and Western Doubles meet at 
 Newport to decide which shall challenge the holders of the Doubles 
 Championship. In 1907 the Southern champions were also admitted to 
 this final eliminating contest. 
 
 2 Boston Globe ^ August 4, 1902. 
 
r 1 ^ 
 
 O 
 
 Q 
 
 I i 
 
 a 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 249 
 
 Had they not done so, as Mr. Collins points out,^ 
 **they might, one or the other of them, have had to 
 play two hard matches on both Friday and Saturday, 
 or have been compelled to retire in the final round of 
 the singles. **What the press will have to say to- 
 morrow," wrote the English captain in his diary, ** is 
 none of our business." As a matter of fact the press 
 only wrote nice things. '* The decision to withdraw," 
 said one of the leading dailies,^ " can in no wise be criti- 
 cised. The Dohertys availed themselves of an oppor- 
 tunity to become accustomed to the American style 
 of playing and to acquire a familiarity with American 
 turf and balls. Nobody should question the propriety 
 of their withdrawing if it seems policy to do so." 
 
 It is interesting to note, in view of the criticisms 
 levelled against the Longwood courts by the first 
 British team, that Mr. Collins stated at a complimen- 
 tary dinner ^ before leaving Boston that he considered 
 the differences in conditions of play in America and 
 England so slight ** that any player could get accus- 
 tomed to them with two days' practice " ; while the 
 Dohertys themselves admitted* that the ''American 
 conditions, except for the great heat, are quite up to 
 ours ; and we could not wish to have better courts 
 than those at Brookline near Boston." Doubtless 
 there had been great improvement in the two years. 
 
 There can be little question that when the 
 Dohertys, now joined by Dr. Pim, arrived at Bay 
 Ridge to contest the international matches, they were 
 fairly confident of winning the Davis Cup at the first 
 
 ^ Report to the L.T.A. ^ Boston Globe^ July 30, 1902. 
 
 ^ Held at the County Club, Brookline, August 2, 1902. 
 * R. F. and H. L. Doherty on Lawn Tennis. 
 
2 50 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 time of asking. Their achievements at Longwood, 
 slight as they were, included victories over both 
 Larned and Ware and the brothers Wrenn in the 
 doubles, each with the loss of only one set. It is 
 true neither had yet met Whitman in a single, but 
 both had met and defeated players who employed 
 Whitman's service and most of his methods. As to 
 W^ard and Davis, the Dohertys had vanquished them 
 at Wimbledon a year ago. Among Americans, how- 
 ever, there was a feeling of quiet confidence. ''The 
 visitors," we are told,^ '* decline to express any opinion 
 on the outcome, but seem to be very confident under 
 the surface. Their experience in Longwood helped 
 this feeling immensely. Captain Collins declared 
 yesterday that every condition was satisfactory to him- 
 self and his men. He had tested the American balls 
 and found them very similar to the English and appar- 
 ently quite as good. The turf suited him and he said 
 all three of his men were in excellent condition." 
 
 Now we come to a question of policy on the part 
 of the British captain that subsequently evoked much 
 comment on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Collins 
 nominated R. F. Doherty and Dr. Pim for the four 
 singles and the brothers Doherty for the one doubles 
 tie. " People are constantly asking me," said Mr. 
 Collins subsequently,^ ''why the 'doctor' was chosen 
 instead of H. L. Doherty. They don't seem to 
 realise that the Americans had fresh men for the 
 doubles and that sometimes in America it is hot. If 
 H. L. Doherty had played on the Wednesday and 
 Thursday in the singles, and the weather had not 
 
 ^ New York Suriy August 5, 1902. 
 
 ^ Interview in Lawn Tennis^ September 10, 1902. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 251 
 
 been as it was, propitious, he might have been a rag 
 on the Friday. Apart from that, the ' Doctor ' was 
 playing extremely well in practice against the 
 Dohertys and we saw no reason before the match that 
 he would not show the Americans some of his old 
 quality. He was never in better training in his life, 
 I should say. I don't even think he was over- 
 trained, although he had taken off more than two 
 stone in six weeks." I give this explanation in justice 
 to Mr. Collins who has proved himself an efficient 
 and generally a far-sighted captain ; but I am bound 
 to add that the net result-^ of the international 
 matches at Bay Ridge makes it now clear that the 
 British captain would have been better advised had 
 he left the brunt of the attack entirely in the hands 
 of the Dohertys, as he did in 1903. The chances, it 
 seems to me, were two to one in favour of '* H. L." 
 playing. There were four singles and only one 
 double. Pim's responsibility was therefore just 
 double as much as the younger Dohertys and his 
 pre-eminent standard twice as important. Only a 
 month previously '' H. L." had become champion of 
 England, and he had won the championship of 
 Ireland the same year. Pim had been champion 
 eight years previously ; for some years he had been 
 out of the tournament arena. Even the American 
 journals expressed surprise at the selection. A 
 shrewd judge ^ of the game wrote: "Had the 
 challenging side eliminated Dr. Pim and played only 
 the brothers Doherty, it is easily conceivable they 
 
 ^ America won three of the four singles, Pim only winning one set 
 in the seven he contested. 
 
 ^ Herbert Henshaw in Brooklyn Life^ August 16, 1902. 
 
252 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 might have won two of the four single matches as 
 well as the doubles. Certainly Dr. Pirn must be 
 omitted from any critical analysis. He was simply a 
 first-class man badly out of practice and the only 
 cause for wonder is that, after his long retirement and 
 without adequate preparation he should have been 
 chosen to represent the English Association in such a 
 contest. Seemingly the only rational explanation 
 would be that Dr. Pim in any form was thought to 
 be a better third choice than any English player now 
 in active competition, which would tend to confirm 
 the oft-repeated assertion of English critics that 
 the British game has retrograded." This excerpt 
 suggests that Dr. Pim, though outplayed, was not 
 outclassed. Seven years earlier when on tour in the 
 States, it may be noted, he was regarded as half- 
 fifteen better than any American player. Mr. Collins, 
 perhaps, had much to justify his action. 
 
 The matches themselves created immense interest. 
 Over 5000 people watched the play on the first day, 
 over 6000 on the second and the doubles tie, when 
 the Dohertys beat Ward and Davis,^ actually attracted 
 a crowd of 10,000 — the largest assembly that ever 
 watched a lawn tennis match. The conditions were 
 perfect.^ R. F. Doherty was decidedly unlucky in 
 having to finish his tie with Earned, postponed over- 
 night on account of rain, in the morning and play 
 Whitman the same afternoon. Though this arrange- 
 ment was unanimously agreed upon,^ '* R. F." was 
 perhaps justified in subsequently remarking to me, 
 "Whitman was fresh and I was not. I beat him 
 
 ^ The score was 3-6, 10-8, 6-3, 6-4. 
 ^ Mr. Collins in his official report. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 253 
 
 at Newport afterwards in the final of the American 
 championship. It is a fair assumption I should have 
 beaten him at Bay Ridge if I had not had the 
 mornings strain and excitement." As for the tactics 
 pursued in this match we are told^ that *' R. F." 
 continued to battle for the net in the American 
 fashion and though beaten in three straight sets 
 made a much better stand than was at first antici- 
 pated. *' It is certain that R. F. Doherty owed his 
 success against Larned to his recognition of the 
 futility of English tactics, and it is at least safe to 
 say that he will be stronger in the singles game 
 when he leaves this country." It was in the doubles 
 that the brothers convincingly demonstrated their 
 superlative skill. This was probably the most re- 
 markable doubles contest ever seen. Davis and 
 Ward, the most spectacular team in lawn tennis 
 annals, after playing in invincible style for nearly 
 two sets, were gradually worn down and beaten 
 out by the most heartbreaking precision and certainty 
 of return. The crowds filed out from the beautiful 
 grounds of the Crescent Athletic Club still under 
 the spell of the great tennis they had witnessed and 
 tried simultaneously to climb on one lone car of the 
 Fort Hamilton line which had been thoughtfully 
 provided by the trolley authorities to carry 6000 
 people back to town.^ Dwight Davis, the donor of 
 the cup, appears to have been the pivot upon which 
 the whole match turned ; he it was who nearly won 
 victory and who finally earned defeat. A whirlwind 
 at first, his terrific smashing and twist service almost 
 demoralised the Englishman. He held himself in 
 
 ^ Mr. Herbert Henshaw. * Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 
 
2 54 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 check a good deal in handling deep lots and did not 
 sacrifice points in attempting to kill those balls which 
 other men volley with less speed ; but towards the 
 finish he missed many sharp volleys and low shots — 
 his "kills" missed fire. Ward was a marvel of 
 steadiness, but he was evidently less feared on the 
 other side of the net than his partner, for even when 
 Davis was palpably tiring In the second set the 
 Dohertys lobbed more to Ward than to Davis. 
 ''Ward worked like a beaver to stem the tide."^ 
 " H. L. " seems to have handled the Americans' 
 screw service with less embarrassment than " R. F.," 
 and during the rallies was the "wheel-horse doing 
 the lion's share of the work." He was very certain 
 in all his strokes, but his return of the service was 
 his best point. " R. F. " made nearly all of the 
 killing strokes and also more errors. There seems 
 to be little doubt that In gaining this memorable 
 victory the Dohertys used more . of the American 
 style of play than any foreign team that had pre- 
 viously crossed the Atlantic. 
 
 I have only space for a brief mention of the 
 Dohertys' subsequent visit to Newport, the venue of 
 the American championships. Fortified by what had 
 happened at Bay Ridge, Americans were fairly con- 
 fident of retaining the singles title which Dr. Eaves 
 had so nearly captured five years earlier ; but to 
 strengthen assurance M. D. Whitman, the idol of 
 home players, was induced to re-enter the champion- 
 ship arena, ^ and safeguard the honour of the States. 
 
 ^ New York Sun. 
 
 2 Whitman resigned the championship in 1900 having won it for 
 three successive years. He had since practically retired from the game. 
 
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 Z Pi 
 
 HH (J 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 255 
 
 The doubles were considered to be visibly moving 
 towards England. As it happened, American antici- 
 pations were realised, but it was not ** invincible" 
 Whitman who proved to be the saviour of his 
 country. Of the eighty-three competitions in the 
 singles, R. F. Doherty and Whitman duly reached 
 the final.^ The Englishman, playing magnificent 
 tennis, defeated the pride of America with com- 
 parative ease. When R. F. faced Earned, the 
 holder, in the challenge round the heat — to quote a 
 remark subsequently made to me by Doherty — was 
 so intense ''that the linen collars of the spectators 
 were reduced to pulp." The Englishman struggled 
 bravely but ineffectually, and the more acclimatised 
 holder triumphed with the loss of one set in four.^ 
 Thus the results at Bay Ridge were exactly reversed. 
 There ** R. F. " beat Earned and fell to Whitman ; 
 at Newport it was the other way round. In the 
 doubles the brothers again achieved a notable victory, 
 and by defeating Ward and Davis in the challenge 
 round not only proclaimed their superiority in the 
 four-handed game but exported the title to England 
 for the first time in its history.^ 
 
 That England would challenge again next year 
 for the Cup was certain, while another safe assumption 
 was that H. L. Doherty, unbeaten in any match in 
 America, would support his brother exclusively in 
 both singles and doubles. With the doubles almost 
 
 ^ Dr. Pirn was beaten in the fourth round by L. E. Ware on the day 
 of his departure. " H. L. " scratched to his brother in the semi-final. 
 
 ^ Americans admit that the EngHsh challenger was handicapped 
 by the heat. 
 
 ^ The Dohertys won 11-9, 12-10, 6-4. They lost only one service 
 each ; Ward lost two, Davis three. 
 
256 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 a victory in hand, it would go hard with England if 
 the brothers could not each win a singles tie and thus 
 secure the rubber. That this anticipation was not 
 only realised but that the Dohertys made a clean 
 sweep of all the American honours, international 
 and national, history now bears witness. In fact, the 
 brothers' tour of 1903 was a triumphant progress 
 from beginning to end. Their coup dessai the 
 previous year may have failed ; their coup de grace 
 lacked neither conclusiveness nor dramatic effect. 
 Whitman, now finally retired, did not play for 
 America, nor were Davis and Ward available for 
 the doubles ; but Larned, the hero of Newport, 
 was in the defending team, as sound and forceful 
 as ever, while the Wrenn brothers, one of whom 
 took Whitman's place in the singles, were justly 
 considered to be quite as powerful a combination 
 as the thrice-crowned doubles champions, in fact 
 more "heady" and more reliable. But the English- 
 men, familiar now with American conditions, undis- 
 mayed by the American service and with their tactical 
 campaign carefully planned and as carefully rehearsed, 
 were masters of the situation. Both at Longwood 
 (the scene of the 1900 international matches when 
 England was outclassed) and at Newport, where 
 '' H. L." gained the laurel wreath which *' R. F." had 
 so nearly worn the year before, the brothers proved 
 themselves to be the greatest and most natural ex- 
 ponents of the game the world had ever seen. Surely 
 the American achievements of the Dohertys in 1903 
 must stand out as the brightest feature of their dazzling 
 career. Whenever I hear this or that admirer urging 
 the superior claims of another player, either of the 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 257 
 
 past or the present generation, I Invariably recite to 
 the doubtlnor Thomas the record of this marvellous 
 tour. Not a record, mark you, of figures alone — 
 indeed some of the victories were more dearly bought 
 than those of the previous year — but a record of cour- 
 ageous zeal, of difficulties surmounted, of unemotional 
 confidence, and of absolute indifference to the state of 
 the weather and the size and temper of the crowd. 
 
 On this victorious trip the Dohertys were again 
 accompanied by Mr. W. H. Collins as captain. I 
 see that In some of the American newspapers — which, 
 by the way, gave remarkable prominence to these 
 matches — Mr. Collins is described as *' trainer." 
 Though Its English meaning rather suggests a 
 man waiting in the pavilion with a rough towel, 
 the title is not misplaced : Mr. Collins did train his 
 team, physically, morally and mentally. He studied 
 their every comfort, arranged every travelling detail, 
 kept a watchful eye over their meals and despatched 
 them early to bed. I'm not sure he didn't act as 
 chaperon at the many social functions which the 
 brothers attended. This genial amateur *' trainer" 
 had more than one unexpected situation to face. 
 Two days before the first International ties began, 
 R. F. Doherty complained of pain In his playing 
 arm. To quote Mr. Collins:^ "He said that he 
 felt something go wrong in his doubles match the 
 day before,^ but as a similar feeling had previously 
 occurred, he did not think anything of It at the time. 
 He made no further mention of It until Monday morn- 
 ing when he said that his arm was troubling him 
 
 1 Official Report to L.T.A. 
 
 2 At an invitation tournament at Nahant, partnered by H. S. Mahony. 
 
 17 
 
258 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 again. I immediately telephoned for Dr. F. H. 
 Whipple, who had helped us out of our former 
 troubles, and he arrived at 9 a.m. He could not 
 find any trace of serious trouble, but gave instructions 
 as to treatment and returned at 2.30 p.m. and treated 
 the sprain for three-quarters of an hour. Later in the 
 afternoon the Dohertys had a knock-up and " R. F." 
 found pain in playing his backhand or forehand, 
 if the stroke necessitated a long reach. Overhead 
 there was no pain to speak of. Dr. Whipple saw him 
 again at 7 p.m. and thought that the practice had 
 done him no harm. He came again at 10.20 p.m. 
 and fixed up the arm for the night." With such 
 tender care are international tennis champions treated. 
 On the next morning the doctor gave his decision and 
 it was against '' R. F." and England. There would 
 be great risk in playing that day ; in fact if he did 
 play he might be hors de combat for several weeks. 
 On the other hand, if he rested his arm for twenty- 
 four hours he might possibly be fit on the morrow, 
 and there was *'a very fair chance" of his being able 
 to play on Thursday. The medical certificate stated 
 that "■ R. F." was suffering from a strain of the deltoid 
 muscle of the right shoulder and probably of capsular 
 ligament. Now came Mr. Collins' problem. H. S. 
 Mahony had come over with the Dohertys as reserve 
 man, it being distinctly understood that he only played 
 in the event of either of the brothers being incapacitated. 
 That contingency had arisen, but the English captain 
 was naturally reluctant to risk the chances of the whole 
 team and tour by substituting the Irishman. Could 
 Mahony play in one single and not in the other ? Mr. 
 Collins thought he could, basing his contention on 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 259 
 
 Regulation 1 1 ^ which allowed one player to be sub- 
 stituted for another in case of illness, provided the 
 captain of the opposing side consented. W. A. 
 Larned was accordingly consulted, but the American 
 captain, while expressing sincere sympathy with the 
 English team, decided according to Regulation 8 ^ 
 that if Mahony played in the first round of the singles 
 he must also play in the second. He would agree to 
 this substitution, but he would not consent to three 
 men playing in the singles. Accordingly Mr. Collins 
 had to decide whether he should play Mahony in both 
 singles and run the risk of losing them both or whether 
 he should concede America a '' walk-over " in the first 
 round and pray that '* R. F." might be well enough to 
 contest, and win, the second. Then there were the 
 doubles ; but here the Americans did not object to 
 the substitution of Mahony for *' R. F." as a partner 
 for '' H. L." Mr. Collins took the bolder course. He 
 scratched the man with the injured arm and presented 
 America with a match — as it happened the only 
 one ^ they "won." Possibly the English captain re- 
 membered Dr. Pim, or possibly he had unqualified 
 confidence in the administrations of Dr. Whipple. 
 Providence evidently heard the prayer of Mr. Collins 
 for on the next two days it rained so hard that no 
 play was possible. On the Friday the patient not 
 only went into court and defeated the Wrenns in 
 partnership with his brother,^ but experienced no ill 
 effects after the match. England was now one up 
 with two to play. Prospects of victory looked very rosy. 
 
 1 Since amended, see Appendix. 
 
 2 H. L. Doherty beat R. D. Wrenn in three straight sets. 
 
 3 The score was 7-5, 9-7, 2-6, 6-3. 
 
26o THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 *' The chances are against us," said one Boston daily,^ 
 *' and most of the wiseacres say the cup is already lost." 
 
 The Davis Cup was lifted on that day but only 
 by an almost superhuman effort on the part of the 
 Englishmen. '' The outcome of it all hung balanced," 
 says one eye-witness, ** until almost the very end of 
 play. First it wavered one way, then another, and 
 at times was exactly even,^ until not only the players 
 but the gallery^ itself was worn to a frayed and 
 jagged edge. It all went to make the severest kind 
 of test and that the British players stood it so well 
 adds no little to their glory. The putting on of two 
 such matches, side by side, at the same time was the 
 refinement of cruelty to tennis lovers and to the 
 players must have been nerve-racking." Mr. Collins 
 also refers to this contiguity: ''There was nothing 
 between the two courts but the umpire s ladder, and 
 it was very disconcerting to players in the middle of 
 a rest, when perhaps they were trying to time a well- 
 placed lob, to hear roars of applause fired across their 
 court at the neighbouring match. They had not only 
 the anxiety of their own match on their shoulders, but 
 could not help following the state of affairs in the other." 
 
 Of these two historic matches '* R. F.'s" engage- 
 ment with Wrenn was the most spectacular and 
 exciting, while the meeting of the Anglo-American 
 champions produced the better tennis. " Never," 
 says one intelligent onlooker, ''had such enthusiasm 
 and patriotic demonstration been seen in an American 
 
 ^ Boston Daily Advertiser^ August 8, 1903. 
 
 2 At one and the same time, when England wanted but one match 
 to win, Larned and " H. L." were " two sets all, four all," with Larned 
 40-15 ; while in the next court " R. F." and Wrenn were exactly level 
 in the fifth set ! ^ Over 5000 were present. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1900-1903 261 
 
 athletic arena. Strokes were so marvellous that hats 
 were not infrequently tossed in the air and hundreds 
 stood up and wildly cheered." It is greatly to the 
 credit of Americans that they could be so thoroughly 
 impartial. No discordant note or lack of taste 
 marred the occasion, and when Larned was at last 
 beaten and the Davis Cup had been secured by the 
 visitors a most extraordinary ovation was given 
 H. L. Doherty as he slowly walked to the clubhouse. 
 Although the other match was going on, four 
 thousand persons rose as one man and gave this 
 stranger in a strange land a reception such as no 
 foreign athlete has ever received in America. "It 
 was a spontaneous recognition," said one writer,^ 
 **of the great proficiency, pluck and sportsmanship 
 that has endeared this modest and unassuming 
 British player to all lovers of clean sport." 
 
 *' H. L.'s" volleying and his accurate placing 
 appear to have been a revelation to all. In covering 
 the court the British champion was stealthy as a cat 
 and seemed to have a wonderful faculty of anticipating 
 Larned's every move. He was seldom taken by 
 surprise and played throughout with machine-like 
 precision. At the end he was in perfect condition, 
 showing no effect of the great strain which he had 
 borne for more than two hours and a half. ** R. F." 
 on the other hand, was visibly out of condition at 
 the close ; it was only by a supreme effort he 
 managed to gain the necessary points in the last game. 
 So the symbol of international supremacy came 
 to England, borne on the shoulders of these inimitable 
 brothers. 
 
 1 Bostoji Sunday Globe^ August 9, 1903. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP 
 
 (1904-1907) 
 
 Four years' residence of the trophy In England — The coming of the 
 Continental expert — Belgium beaten but not disgraced at Wimbledon — 
 Norman Brookes mentioned as a " dark horse " — America mobilises an 
 invading team — Beals Wright defeats Brookes at Queen's — The 
 Australian uses an abnormally loose racket — America fiercely attacks 
 the holders at Wimbledon but is repulsed by Smith and the Dohertys — 
 American training methods — Holcombe Ward's electrical display 
 against H. L. Doherty — A wholesome dread of S. H. Smith — A fatal 
 blunder at the net — The United States advance again — Grievous 
 accident to Beals Wright — American ladies braced in spirit at Newport 
 — The Wildings are faced with a problem — England again wins the 
 challenge round — Dohertys have a narrow escape in the doubles — A 
 lean year at hand — H. L. Doherty's retirement and its consequences — 
 "Touch-and-go" character of the 1907 matches — Karl Behr's brilliant 
 but erratic attack — Brookes more vulnerable in doubles — The 
 Australian's magnificent record in the singles — The cup goes to the 
 Colonies 
 
 IN the last chapter I dealt with the British 
 campaign waged on American soil in quest of 
 the Dwight Davis trophy — a campaign that, 
 after two unsuccessful assaults, culminated in the 
 capture of the international championship. In this 
 chapter I propose to review the principal events 
 associated with the four years' residence of the Cup 
 in this country, its prosperous defence for three of 
 
 these years and its annexation on the fourth and last 
 
 262 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 263 
 
 occasion by the envoys from the Colonies — its second 
 quadrennial movement. 
 
 Though the competition lists had been open to 
 all nations from the first, it was not until the theatre 
 of war shifted to England that other countries threw 
 down the gauntlet. But for some years the leading 
 players in France and Belgium had been girding up 
 their loins with this object in view, and the strenuous 
 battles which they fought with representative English 
 exponents in their own arenas, more especially on 
 the hard courts at Brussels and Ostend and on the 
 wood floor at Auteuil, inspired them with increasing 
 confidence. Nevertheless the French and Belgian 
 teams which came to Wimbledon in 1904 to par- 
 ticipate in the preliminary ties, though heartily 
 welcomed, were scarcely considered serious rivals to 
 the English holders and in the absence of American 
 challengers,^ the custody of the Davis Cup at any rate 
 for another year was considered safe. Apart from 
 the fact that the Continental visitors suffered from 
 the initial disadvantage of playing on an unfamiliar 
 grass surface — for there are no grass courts across 
 the Channel — their experience of foreign matches 
 was limited to a rare excursion over their own 
 borders, while their engagements with English 
 players, even on their own courts and amid their own 
 friends, had been confined to occasional tussles with 
 men not always of the first rank. In these matches 
 they had displayed considerable dash and had 
 employed distinctive methods that certainly embar- 
 rassed, if they did not outwit, the tourists from the 
 
 ^ The U.S.N.L.T.A. decided to wait another year before making 
 an attempt to regain the cup. 
 
264 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 game's birthplace. But there was sometimes too 
 plainly visible in these young foreign zealots a 
 temperamental trait that occasioned weakness at 
 critical moments and that provoked vicissitudes of 
 form more potent and less under control than those 
 which affected English competitors. This inability 
 to maintain a high standard over five long sets was 
 likely to become less as time went on — indeed, recent 
 proof of its gradual disappearance has been forth- 
 coming ; and it was a tolerably safe assumption that 
 the Continental experts who came over in 1904 
 would show a marked improvement subsequently. 
 
 Belgium's narrow defeat of France in the pre- 
 liminary round was a surprise. It is true the 
 Netherlands were represented by two players, Paul 
 de Borman and Willie Lemaire, who had a justly 
 merited reputation on the Continent ; but France 
 had Max Decugis and P. Aym6, the first at least 
 considered capable of winning both his singles ties. 
 Decugis was not then as formidable as he is now ; 
 he had not brought his service and his forehand 
 cross-drive to that state of perfection which brooks 
 little comparison and which won him the London 
 Covered Court Championship in 1907. Nor had 
 he yet schooled his mercurial temperament. But 
 he was then, as now, a great player, free, natural 
 and versatile, and his defeat by Lemaire after a 
 protracted five-set contest came as a surprise and 
 practically decided the issue against France.^ 
 Lemaire deserves great credit for this victory and 
 for his crushing defeat of Ayme, the more so because 
 
 ^ Belgium beat France by 3 matches to 2. France won the doubles 
 3 sets to 2, and Decugis beat de Borman 6-4, 5-3, retired. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 265 
 
 he is psychologically a bad match-player and might 
 have been expected to collapse under the strange con- 
 ditions. Lemaire is the owner of a most prepossessing 
 backhand drive which, keeping the ball at a low 
 trajectory, was not calculated to cheer the heart of 
 the Frenchman, seeking for a high bound to punish. 
 To those who had not seen him previously perform, 
 de Bormans style attracted much interest and his 
 peculiar forehand drive, the ball being taken at the 
 top of the bound with a straight arm and breaking 
 treacherously on the other side of the net, was the 
 subject of general comment. On a hard court 
 this stroke is a veritable terror and I have a vivid 
 recollection of encountering it for the first time at 
 Homburg the year before this international ; of vainly 
 striking at something which I took to be the ball, 
 but which nearly always proved to be the buoyant 
 atmosphere of the Taunus region. On grass the 
 ** kick " is less dangerous, for the pace being slower 
 there is more time to gauge its movements ; but 
 that it was a useful weapon at Wimbledon was 
 proved by the fact that de B or man scored the first 
 set against Frank Riseley in the challenge round 
 and made a bold fight for the last two. Parenthetic- 
 ally let me add that this broad-limbed Belgian is 
 one of the cheeriest Davis Cup competitors we have 
 welcomed. I shall always remember the genial and 
 somewhat naive speech he delivered at a Caf6 Royal 
 banquet. It was the utterance of a large-minded, 
 modest sportsman ; for de Borman is adept at other 
 things besides lawn tennis. 
 
 The challenge round in 1904 ended, as it was 
 expected to end, in a conclusive victory for the 
 
266 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 holders. Save for the match in which Riseley 
 forfeited a set to de Borman, England won all her 
 ties in three straight sets. " H. L.," then the holder 
 of both the English and American championships, 
 lost but six games in his match with de Borman, 
 demonstrating once more his supreme capacity for 
 adapting his attack to meet new methods and his 
 indifference to the breakaway service. The doubles 
 was practically a farce, the two Dohertys, unruffled, 
 their armour unsoiled, won as they chose. 
 
 The first invaders were thus repulsed with heavy 
 casualties. But before the sound of the firing had 
 quite died away, it was unofficially announced, not 
 only that America would ''come after her own" 
 next year, but that Australasia would enter the 
 arena. This was good news. Under the regula- 
 tions governing the competition, Australia and New 
 Zealand were united as one nation. Ready at hand 
 in this country, just finishing an academic course 
 at Cambridge University, was a young player, a 
 native of Christchurch, New Zealand, whose rapidly- 
 maturing skill had already won him fame and whose 
 strenuous personality was soon destined to make 
 itself known at almost every tournament in this 
 country and on the Continent. In 1905 Anthony 
 Wilding had not acquired such an ace - winning 
 backhand as he has to-day, nor was he so good a 
 general ; but he owned a forceful top-charged drive 
 executed from a high bound and a variety of twist 
 services which had not then had a chance to become 
 "stale." Clearly he was an asset to Australasia 
 and being on the spot and familiar with English 
 methods of attack was instantly voted a place in 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 267 
 
 the team. Writing to me about this time Wilding 
 had said : '* I hear I have been nominated for 
 Australasia. That ought to mean a go against the 
 Yankees In the final round, and possibly a contest 
 with England. Who my colleagues will be I do 
 not know, but I hear Brookes and Dunlop are 
 coming and that Brookes Is a dark horse. The 
 news is rather vague and my instructions also." 
 The great majority of English players had heard 
 nothing of Norman Brookes at that time. To them 
 he was not even a name, so distant was the scene 
 of his Victorian triumphs from the headquarters of 
 the game. A few, taking their cue from Dr. Eaves 
 who had paid several visits to the land of his birth 
 since settling in England, displayed more Interest 
 and even some concern, but these were inclined to 
 reserve their opinion until the mysterious left-hander 
 had arrived and had given a proof of his capacity. 
 Of A. W. Dunlop more was known, for he had 
 won the Victorian championship as far back as 
 1899 and was regarded by the cognoscenti as a 
 sound and pertinacious player, just the man in fact 
 for strenuous international work. 
 
 Meanwhile America was mobilising her henchmen 
 with due ceremony and no little confidence. Cousin 
 Jonathan had his eyes fixed securely on the cup and 
 he spared neither time nor trouble to pick the best 
 men. There was some Inevitable criticism, here and 
 there a little heartburning among those passed over ; 
 but when William Earned, Beals C. Wright, 
 Holcombe Ward and William J. Clothier finally set 
 sail under the trustworthy captaincy of Mr. Paul 
 Dalshields, Americans from President Roosevelt 
 
268 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 downwards united in voting them a fine fighting 
 team. The first three had played in England fairly 
 recently, Ward in the memorable double mentioned 
 in the preceding chapter, while of Clothier it was 
 said that he had the figure of a guardsman and the 
 strokes of a Larned. Trained and tended like 
 racehorses, these four Americans were certainly a 
 formidable, almost an awe-inspiring, combination. I 
 remember being impressed by such outward symbols 
 of majesty as black shoes, leather racket-cases and a 
 certain dionified aloofness off the courts. 
 
 Queen's Club was the venue of the eliminating 
 ties this year, and here in the preceding London 
 championships Beals Wright gave an earnest of the 
 Americans' form by defeating Brookes, whose re- 
 markable service and volleying powers had already 
 created a mild sensation. The States were drawn to 
 play France in the first round, while Australasia were 
 pitted against Austria, making their debut in the 
 international arena. There was nothing very re- 
 markable about these contests. They ended in 
 hollow victories-^ for the two English-speaking 
 nations. Decugis clearly demonstrated his com- 
 parative impotence on grass, while both the Austrians, 
 and especially Von Wesseley, created a most favour- 
 able impression. The Americans did not call on 
 '* Champion Larned " in this series, but Holcombe 
 Ward, the then title-holder, was in great form, 
 executing his inimitable chop volleys with true 
 artistic delicacy. Brookes and Dunlop, I recall, had 
 
 ^ Neither America nor Australasia lost a match. America lost one 
 set (Clothier to Germot) and Australasia two (Wilding one each to 
 Kinzl and Von Wesseley). 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 269 
 
 some difficulty in beating the Austrians in the doubles 
 without the loss of a set. It was obvious they had 
 not yet got the bit between their teeth in double 
 harness. 
 
 To say that America beat Australasia by five 
 matches to love in the final round is to furnish no 
 true conception of what in reality was a stern and 
 strenuous engagement. Wilding was comfortably 
 disposed of by both Wright and Larned — this result 
 was expected. What was not expected and what 
 when it happened, occasioned many lifted eyebrows, 
 was the victory which both these x^mericans scored 
 over the redoubtable Brookes, by that time thought 
 to be well-nigh invincible, a worthy foe for Doherty's 
 steel. The battle^ between Wright and Brookes 
 was one of the best exhibitions of spectacular tennis 
 I have ever witnessed. Both men were left-handed, 
 which added a novelty to the conflict, and both had 
 whipping, breakaway services which they followed to 
 the net. The rests therefore were mainly composed 
 of short and sharp volleying often characterised by 
 great brilliancy and audacity and the fact that the 
 match lasted over two hours is an indication of how 
 the issue wavered. In this contest Brookes used an 
 abnormally loose racket, the gut being knotted with 
 the object of invoking more break, and (since repent- 
 ing of his whim) I believe he attributes his defeat to 
 this cause. For my own part I am inclined to give 
 Wright full credit for this noteworthy victory. On 
 that day he was slightly the better tactician, his 
 *' kills " had more finality, his volleying was a shade 
 crisper. And the fact that Larned subsequently 
 
 1 Wright won 12-10, 5-7, 12-10, 6-4. 
 
2 70 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 defeated Brookes without the loss of a set,^ though 
 the first was mighty close, confirms this impression. 
 I do not think Larned could have beaten Wright as 
 the latter played at Queen's on that occasion. The 
 doubles was a tough and anxious engagement for the 
 American champions, but they survived it creditably, 
 losing but one set.^ Thus was America once more 
 able to challenge England for supremacy. 
 
 Again I would remark that the figures chronicling 
 the triumph of the holders are entirely misleading if 
 taken by themselves. For America to lose two five- 
 set matches in the singles, both against the English 
 champion, and to come within a few aces of vanquish- 
 ing the Doherty brothers in the doubles, while it 
 testifies to the imperviousness of the home defence, 
 also demonstrates the formidable character of the 
 American attack — an attack that quite conceivably, 
 with a little more luck, might have achieved success. 
 1 shall always thank my lucky stars I was a witness 
 of this memorable struggle, to my mind one of the 
 most impressive ever seen at Wimbledon. Both 
 sides — I must not forget to mention that S. H. Smith 
 was wisely selected to assist the Dohertys in the 
 defence — were screwed up to concert pitch. So 
 carefully trained and dieted were the Americans — no 
 University crew ever received so much attention — 
 that I veritably believe that if the combat had been 
 postponed another week Mr, Dalshields would have 
 become positively morbid with over-anxiety. Rumours 
 used to reach me of some of the training "wheezes" 
 employed, and one day, happening to penetrate into 
 
 ^ Lamed won 14-12, 6-0, 6-3. 
 
 ^ Ward and Wright beat Brookes and Dunlop, 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. 
 
HOLCOMBE WAI^D, IJEALS C. WRIGHT, I\rR. PAUL DALSH lEI.DS (CAPTAIn), W. A. LAKNED, \V. J. CLOTHIER 
 
 THE AMERICAN DAVIS CUP TEAM, 1905 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 271 
 
 the sanctity of the dressing-room, I discovered Ward 
 busily engaged in applying a solution of alcohol to 
 his body. Another *'tip'' of the Americans was to 
 drink cold tea between the sets. Even now I can 
 see Mr. Paul Dalshields corkscrewing his way among 
 the spectators armed with a capacious teapot which 
 he impressively deposited on the umpire's chair. 
 Not that the envoys from the States went about 
 boasting of their prime condition. They observed, 
 one and all, a solemn reticence about the Spartan 
 methods adopted to make them perfect athletes — 
 possibly lest the secret should reach their rivals' ears ! 
 Instead of housing themselves at a fashionable West 
 End hotel the team made their headquarters at 
 Wimbledon, where none could frustrate their dis- 
 cipline or lure them away from the paths of 
 righteousness. 
 
 I think no one could ever desire to witness a more 
 electrical display than Holcombe Ward presented 
 against H. L. Doherty in the first two sets, both of 
 which fell to his racket — I had almost written his 
 magician's wand. It was like nothing ever seen on 
 the centre court before or since. There was the 
 little dark-haired New Yorker, with his immobile, 
 intellectual face, his short pattering stride, literally 
 " downing " the world's champion, or so it seemed, 
 before the eyes of his admirers. Up like a racing 
 dog would come the agile Ward after his service and 
 with a deft turn of his pliable wrist intercept every one 
 of the champion's returns — now a chop that made the 
 ball lay dead, like a mashie shot on the green, next 
 a shot cross volley that found an opening even Doherty 
 could not guard, then a backhand hook which barely 
 
272 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 grazed the top of the net. Of course his service broke 
 — what American volleyer's does not ? But in this 
 match it gyrated more than ever and it puzzled the 
 champion a good deal. From my place on the line 
 I could perceive Mr. Dalshields vainly attempting to 
 suppress his smiles and in the committee box I could 
 see the high priests of English lawn tennis moving 
 uneasily in their seats. But the salvation of '' H. L. " 
 was at hand. His own well-stored reservoir of 
 strength permitted him to wait with confidence for 
 the draining of the American's resources ; he felt, too, 
 that Ward's exhibition was like a pyrotechnic display 
 that leaves darkness in its train. In fact, the American 
 soon began to hoist signals of distress ; his sprints to 
 the net became less frequent, his hand lost much of 
 its cunning, he resorted to lobbing and some of it was 
 short enough for Doherty to smother. The end 
 came painfully with a love set.^ It was almost a 
 tragedy. 
 
 Here I should like to point out that the laws in 
 America permit a player to enjoy seven minutes' 
 respite at the conclusion of the third set during which 
 he may secure a " rub-down " and change his flannels, 
 whereas in England no such recuperative pause is 
 allowed. I do not say Ward would have beaten 
 Doherty if he had obtained this '' breather " — for he 
 had practically shot his bolt — but, given some such 
 interval to which he was accustomed, his collapse 
 would probably have been less conspicuous. 
 
 The Americans have always had a wholesome 
 dread of S. H. Smith. They worship at the shrine 
 of Doherty, but they would sooner see either of the 
 
 1 H. L. Doherty beat Ward 7-9, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 273 
 
 brothers on the other side of the net in a single than 
 the great base-line driver. Not only is Smith ab- 
 solutely unruffled by their screw services, accepting 
 them more readily than the lightning deliveries of 
 F. L. Riseley, but he can pass them with impunity at 
 the net. '*We are forced to play Smith from the 
 back of the court," they would say ; "to go up is to 
 forfeit an ace or at best to invite disaster." R. D. 
 Little and Ward both tried the close-quarter game in 
 1906 ; it failed hopelessly. Larned tried it during part 
 of his match in 1905 ; he was forced to retreat. The 
 aim was too accurate, the force too severe. Larned 
 managed to win one set from Smith, while taking two 
 from Doherty. In fact, Smith's record against the 
 Americans at Wimbledon is superior to that of any 
 other Englishman,^ and it will always be a source of 
 keen regret that he was not able to defend the Cup 
 in 1907. Another memorable double was fought out 
 in 1905 between the respective champions of England 
 and America. Ward and Wright proved themselves 
 more consistent, better tacticians than Ward and 
 Davis — Wright, too, is a prince among low volleyers 
 and Ward second to none at the judicious toss — and 
 the Dohertys were only just able to run out in the 
 fifth set.^ But for the fact that Ward accidentally hit 
 the net after essaying a simple smash — one of those 
 nerve-straining incidents that vitally affect the issue — 
 America would, I fancy, have won this great match. 
 
 The failure of the 1905 team to recapture the- Cup 
 naturally caused disappointment in the States and 
 
 ^ In Davis Cup ties against America at Wimbledon Smith has won 
 12 sets and lost i. H. L. Doherty has won 12 and lost 6. 
 2 The Dohertys won 8-10, 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 8-6. 
 18 
 
274 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 the policy of the American captain in playing Larned 
 in the singles ties of the challenge round in preference 
 to Beals Wright, who had exhibited such fine form 
 against Australasia, was a theme for some adverse 
 comment. As to this, it need only be said that the 
 selection of Larned was put to the vote of the whole 
 team before the meeting with England and that he 
 obtained his place with the full approval of his 
 colleagues. Possibly Wright might have done a 
 little better than the present champion, but I doubt 
 whether he would have beaten Smith, leaving Doherty 
 out of the question. 
 
 Far from damping the enthusiasm of the 
 Americans this last reverse only served to kindle 
 fresh ardour and when next March came round the 
 States not only advanced with another challenge 
 but immediately set about recruiting a representative 
 team. Beals Wright having won the American 
 championship on his return from Ward, was naturally 
 the first choice. The past holder was the second and 
 the company was completed with the inclusion of 
 Ralph D. Little of New York and Kreigh Collins of 
 Chicago, champion of the Western States. The 
 original idea was to play Ward and Wright in all the 
 important matches, reserving Little and Collins 
 in case of mishap ; but to universal regret Fate 
 ordained that Beals Wright, the hope of his side and 
 undoubtedly the best singles player in America at 
 that time, should meet with a grievous accident to 
 his hand on the eve of sailing from New York. It 
 seems that the Bostonian, who was in training at the 
 Crescent Athletic Club and was alone at the time, 
 got up early in the morning and in attempting to 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 275 
 
 force open a soda water bottle broke the glass and 
 gashed the forefinger of his right hand. He was 
 just able to telephone for medical assistance before 
 collapsing. A special steamer was chartered to take 
 him across to New York where the best available 
 treatment was administered. On the next day 
 Wright set sail for England with his arm in a sling 
 and with doubtful prospect of representing his country 
 in the internationals. The disaster was the more 
 unfortunate because just prior to its happening the 
 patient had exhibited form which gave tennis 
 supporters in America every cause for the liveliest 
 confidence and suggested his ability to win both his 
 singles ties. On arriving at Liverpool Wright still 
 had his hand bound up, but he informed me cheerily 
 on the quay that, under favourable circumstances, he 
 might be able to participate in the challenge round if 
 America survived the preliminary tie with Australasia.^ 
 These circumstances, however, did not occur. On 
 the contrary, when he arrived in London Wright was 
 immediately ordered into a nursing home where 
 it was found that blood-poisoning had supervened 
 in his finger. Days of some anxiety followed, that 
 naturally affected adversely both the form and the 
 spirits of the remaining players. But the meeting 
 with Australasia had been arranged to take place at 
 Newport, Monmouthshire, and thither journeyed the 
 respective teams, the Americans being joined by a 
 party of ladies who, I remember, expressed much 
 disappointment at the grim appearance of the Welsh 
 
 ^ France and Austria both challenged and the first round was set for 
 decision at Liverpool ; but at the last minute through reasons not quite 
 apparent neither team appeared on the scene. 
 
276 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Newport, so different in its social atmosphere 
 from their own. The fair supporters nevertheless 
 zealously explored the neighbourhood in quest of 
 diversion, modern and ancient, and judging by the 
 uproarious gaiety which prevailed at the Westgate 
 Hotel after dusk their excursions in the Wye Valley 
 must have braced their spirits. It was here that I 
 first met the gentle and genial Mr. Frederick Wilding, 
 father of Anthony Wilding, himself a former doubles 
 champion of New Zealand. Mr. Wilding, visiting 
 England after many years absence, came to Newport 
 at an opportune moment, for it was against Holcombe 
 Ward in this workaday city that his son gave of his 
 very best. I recall that the American was leading 
 five-three in the fifth set and apparently sailing 
 serenely towards victory. A terrific fight for the 
 next two games ended in the Colonial drawing level 
 and then, after another sparkling exhibition on both 
 sides, running out at eight-six. Meanwhile the other 
 Australasian, L. O. S. Poidevin, withdrawn from the 
 cricket arena to wield the racket, was showing 
 surprising ability against Little, and when the two 
 Wildings and myself left the ground to catch our 
 train for London, Australasia actually held a lead 
 in the final match of the series.^ Now a problem 
 presented itself. The Wildings, father and son, had 
 arranged to fly off that night to Prague for the 
 Austrian tournament. If Poidevin took the third 
 set from Little — he had already won one — and then 
 
 ^ At the finish America beat Australasia by three matches to two. 
 Wilding won both his singles ties ; but Poidevin was narrowly beaten 
 by Little, as well as by Ward, and the doubles went to America 7-5, 
 6-2, 6-4. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 277 
 
 another, Australasia would be in the challenge round 
 and the little excursion to Bohemia would have to 
 give way to a strenuous tussle on the centre court at 
 Wimbledon. Most men would have waited to see 
 the finish out, but Wilding fils was just then in one 
 of his most virulently peripatetic moods, and nothing 
 would persuade him (except Poidevin's unexpected 
 victory, when he would willingly have stayed) to 
 forego or postpone the trip. Accordingly I recollect 
 arranging with some good friend to wire the result of 
 the last match to Swindon, where we stopped en 
 route to Paddington. We spent the whole of the 
 journey to Swindon speculating on Poidevin^s chances, 
 and when the buff-coloured envelope was put into 
 my hands as I alighted We had all been forced to 
 agree that Austria was ''on." It was. Poidevin 
 had struggled bravely and had forced the third set 
 to Vantage games, but he was not in adequate 
 practice for a first-class bout and Little found all his 
 form in the final set. The Wildings had twenty 
 minutes to get to Cannon Street from Paddington 
 and one porter was knocked down in the rush that 
 ensued to get the baggage on to a hansom. I'm not 
 sure how much was left behind here, but at Cannon 
 Street the Wildings were. Motor-cabs had not then 
 become general and even an irrepressible young 
 Colonial must encounter some rebuffs. 
 
 The challenge round at Wimbledon in 1906 was 
 shorn of much of its interest by the enforced idleness 
 of Beals Wright, whom I can see now sitting by the 
 umpire's chair and holding an umbrella aloft with 
 his uninjured hand. Poor Wright ! He must have 
 cursed his luck that day. Deprived of meeting 
 
278 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 *' H. L." and Smith the previous year in singles, 
 he had come over this year acknowledged by all 
 to have a prior right ; yet once more he had to play 
 the role of spectator. His colleagues made a brave 
 fight, but except in the doubles they were outclassed. 
 It is true Little astounded the gallery, as Ward had 
 done the previous summer, by capturing two sets 
 from H. L. Doherty, the American's volleying being 
 as clean as it was audacious. But the English 
 champion had somewhat under-estimated the powers 
 of his opponent and began in his slackest mood ; 
 when fully roused to action by the figures on the 
 score-board he quickly turned the tables and finished, 
 as he always does, the fresher of the two. S. H. 
 Smith again showed his appreciation of American 
 methods by winning two matches and six sets off 
 the reel, his lightning passes being most exhilarating 
 to watch ; while in the doubles the Dohertys, for 
 the fifth year representing their country in this 
 department, had a much stiffer ordeal to face than 
 they expected and at one period were in real danger 
 of defeat.^ Six weeks later the brothers lost the 
 championship to Smith and Riseley, and I cannot 
 help thinking their display in the international was 
 a portent of what was to follow. In his overhead 
 strokes *' R. F." was palpably less severe than usual. 
 '* H. L." was not quite so infallible as he had been. 
 There was no appreciable decline in his play, but 
 *' R. F.'s" temporary loss of strength had loosened 
 the strong link which had made them such an in- 
 vulnerable combination. 
 
 England, then, for the third year in succession 
 ^ The Dohertys beat Ward and Little, 3-6, 11-9, 9-7, 6-1. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 279 
 
 had defended the international trophy without the 
 loss of a match, and so long as she could command 
 a team equal in skill and experience to those which 
 gave battle on these occasions, the Cup appeared 
 safe. But the lean year was at hand. Early in 
 1907, just before the Covered Court Championship 
 began at Queen's in April, it was announced that 
 H. L. Doherty had decided to sheath his racket for 
 a year. He would neither defend his title at 
 Wimbledon nor be available for the international 
 contest. I will not here set out the many reasons re- 
 ported to have brought about this retirement which, 
 at first discredited, subsequently caused the keenest 
 disappointment. Most of them are probably wide 
 of the mark. There was no apparent decline in 
 form or in physique, but there was an appreciable 
 escape of enthusiasm, and a strong desire to forego 
 for one season at any rate the strain and excitement 
 of strenuous match play. Perhaps Doherty would 
 have been better advised had he announced his 
 intention to resign the championship at the end 
 of the preceding season ; but as it was, the 
 question being one for personal consideration, no 
 complaint could legitimately be brought against the 
 holder for relinquishing his title after five years of 
 sovereignty. The internationals stood in a different 
 category. Here a player was not called upon to 
 vindicate his own prowess and keep intact his own 
 reputation. He was required to assist his country 
 in the effort to retain possession of a coveted symbol 
 — that of international supremacy. It was a case 
 of honour not honours, and though there may have 
 been some good and valid reason which kept '* H. L." 
 
2 8o THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 out of the team in 1907, I think the people who 
 expressed surprise at his absence had some cause 
 for their feeling. *' H. L." had borne the heat of 
 the international campaign so long and so triumphantly 
 — he had never once suffered a reverse either in 
 England or America — that I can well believe he 
 considered himself justified in withdrawing on the 
 sixth occasion and leaving the work to other men. 
 The pity was that he should have selected a year 
 when his services were most required and when, so 
 far as one could judge before the competition began, 
 his absence meant the forfeiture of the Cup to foreign 
 or colonial hands. 
 
 Neither of the Dohertys being available, the 
 selection committee had to seek other defenders. 
 Needless to say, S. H. Smith was among the first 
 to be asked and though the famous Stroud player 
 had not participated in any tournaments during the 
 summer, he consented to go into training and came 
 to Wimbledon to get his hand and eye into trim. 
 Frank Riseley, still suffering from the effects of a 
 strained shoulder, did not play at all in 1907, and 
 A. W. Gore had been selected to co-operate with 
 Smith in the singles, the ex-champion with H. Roper 
 Barrett being the combination for the doubles. This 
 team, inferior as it was to that of 1905 and 1906, had 
 potential elements of success about it, and the fact 
 that Smith's record in Davis Cup ties eclipsed even 
 that of H. L. Doherty, suggested that two matches 
 at least might be won by the holders, while Gore 
 was thought capable of winning one of his ties. But 
 another withdrawal was to come. After finding in 
 practice matches that his form had suffered by in- 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 281 
 
 activity and that the damp courts then prevailing 
 militated against a complete recovery, Smith re- 
 luctantly retired, and Roper Barrett^ was deputed 
 to take a double share in the defence. Thus did it 
 come to pass that two of the three men chosen to 
 represent England in the first Davis Cup contest 
 should be solely responsible for the custody of the 
 trophy seven years later. There could be no question 
 as to their claim to this honour in view of the with- 
 drawals that had taken place ; but the fact only 
 served to emphasize how dominant the members of 
 the old school still were. 
 
 The chief impression left on my mind of the 1907 
 Davis Cup matches was the "touch-and-go" character 
 of the whole series. Just as America came within 
 a few aces of beating Australasia^ in the preliminary 
 round — how near the issue was we shall presently 
 see — so did England,^ despite all anticipations to 
 the contrary, come very near indeed to saving the 
 trophy. Indeed, no series of matches since the 
 international championship was created, except those 
 at Boston in 1903, have hung so long in the 
 balance as these, and it is opportune to reflect 
 that on each occasion the result achieved affected a 
 movement of the Cup. Thus did the defenders in 
 both instances make a desperate effort to stem the 
 invader. 
 
 ^ Dr. W. V. Eaves was also nominated for the British Isles. 
 
 2 In aggregate of aces Australia won 703, America 672. 
 
 3 The English team in this and former contests was officially 
 described as "The British Isles"; but ever since the Cup matches 
 were introduced Xh^ personnel of the English teams actually playing has 
 (with one exception) been confined to Englishmen. Hence the use 
 here and elsewhere of the shorter and more serviceable title. 
 
282 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 The next impression recorded from the struggle 
 was that each nation had to depend too much upon 
 the skill and endurance of one man ; not one of the 
 three teams, in fact, was well balanced. Beals 
 Wright, as it proved, was as much superior to Karl 
 Behr in generalship on the American side as Brookes 
 was to Wilding on the Australasian side, and the same 
 may be said in lesser degree in regard to the 
 greater capacity of Gore to win singles on the 
 English side. Of course, both England and America 
 were handicapped by the trend of circumstances 
 which necessitated the employment of players not 
 admittedly the best for the work in hand. The 
 holders, as I have said, lacked the services of both 
 Dohertys and of Smith and Riseley. America would 
 have stood a better chance — in fact, a fairly safe 
 winning chance — if either Earned or Clothier had 
 replaced Behr in the singles and Ward had partnered 
 Wright in the doubles. Not that Karl Behr, entirely 
 new as he was to the international arena, did not give 
 a fine display and justify his inclusion.^ He possibly 
 did as well against Brookes as any American of that 
 period would have done. But his impulsive tempera- 
 ment and lack of stability at critical moments, his 
 ungovernable desire to finish a rally by a sensational 
 stroke before it had well begun, his inability to "piece 
 himself out" for five protracted sets, were defects 
 which, though they did not detract from the brilliancy 
 of his play, probably lost him the deciding match with 
 Wilding. At one time the simple destruction of a 
 short lob would have made the Yale man '' four-two " 
 in the fifth set. It was a stroke the accomplishment 
 
 ^ Behr had beaten Larned at Newport, U.S.A., the previous year. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 283 
 
 of which might — who shall deny ?— have decided the 
 destiny of the Davis Cup and perchance have 
 restored it to its original owners. Behr is by 
 no means singular in missing such chances ; the 
 annals of lawn tennis bristle with lost opportunities. 
 I mention the incident to show how the result 
 of great contests may depend upon a slight deflec- 
 tion of the wrist or the smallest miscalculation of 
 the eye. 
 
 The difference between the two members of each 
 team visible in the singles was even more conspicu- 
 ous in the doubles when the component parts were 
 joined together. Norman Brookes with his magic 
 service and cunning volleying proved himself well- 
 nigh invincible when engaged in single combat, but 
 allied with Wilding (or for that matter with any 
 player of first-class ability) he became more vulnerable 
 and less irresistible. This fact was demonstrated not 
 only in the two Davis Cup doubles which he lost 
 but in one or two additional reverses. The short 
 cross-volleys and hooked returns, so deadly when 
 only one adversary had to be outmanoeuvred, proved 
 less potent in a wider court where two opposing 
 rackets were concerned. Again, the lack of a back- 
 hand drive comparable in force and direction with 
 his forehand drive and his inability to bury over- 
 head balls were characteristics almost amounting to 
 defects in a double game. To the onlooker most of 
 the game is seen, and though Brookes may honestly 
 believe that Gore and Barrett ought to go down in 
 three sets before himself and Wilding, my own 
 opinion, for what it is worth, is that the Englishmen 
 are a better combination and were fully entitled to 
 
2 84 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 their sensational victory.^ Neither Brookes nor 
 Wilding has the slaying capacity of Barrett at the 
 net, nor has Wilding the all-round tactical experience 
 and resource of either Barrett or Gore. In service 
 the Colonials are of course superior, but the strange 
 part about both men's deliveries — a temporary aberra- 
 tion incident to many of their engagements — is that 
 they are less irresistible when their ascendancy is most 
 required. This may or may not be a failing common 
 to most champions, but it was certainly not a weak- 
 ness of the Dohertys, who would, there can be little 
 question, have secured an unembarrassed victory over 
 the present doubles champions. I will go so far as 
 to say in this respect that it was something of an 
 accident that Brookes and Wilding became the joint 
 title-holders in 1907. 
 
 But in singles the redoubtable Victorian, in these 
 Davis Cup ties, was indisputably the king of the court. 
 To him and almost to him alone must be given the 
 credit for the capture of the trophy. He lost but one 
 set ^ in four matches ; Wilding lost nine in four, both 
 men engaging the same opponents. Brookes beat 
 Wilding's two conquerors in three straight sets. 
 His display, too, in the last match against America 
 was worthy of the occasion. Wright had defeated 
 Wilding and made the issue depend on the battle 
 between Brookes and Behr. With startling nerve 
 the American won the first set, once more giving an 
 electrical exhibition of close-quarter volleying. From 
 
 ^ After requiring only a single ace to give them a three-set-to-love 
 victory, Brookes and Wilding were beaten by Gore and Barrett with the 
 following score: 3-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 13-11. The match lasted over 
 two hours. 
 
 2 To Karl Behr. 
 
THE STORY OF THE DAVIS CUP, 1904-1907 285 
 
 the dressing-room window Wright, in a fever of 
 suppressed excitement, was watching the movements 
 of the score-board In the centre court. Before he had 
 dressed the men were three-all in the second bout. 
 Was It possible the Cup might — ? Wait ! There 
 was a set to the Australian. He had got abreast. 
 The Yale boys, crowded together in a corner of one 
 of the stands, had ceased to yell. Old George 
 Wright of Boston had stopped clapping. Now 
 Brookes was gaining rapidly. His jaw was set like 
 a vice. He served and volleyed as he had never 
 served and volleyed before. Behr was passing his 
 hand nervously through his black hair as he walked 
 back *'to receive." The ordeal was too great. 
 Hold! His powder was not quite exhausted. He 
 would steady himself to fire his last shots. He would 
 show those Yale fellows, whom he lately captained, 
 that Americans went down with their colours flying. 
 But all the while the grim, Iron-nerved Australian, 
 conscious of victory, was advancing to the goal. 
 
 That match, in which America's hopes faded and 
 Australasia's triumph was practically sealed, will 
 stand out among the many famous contests that have 
 made the Davis Cup competition both a medium for 
 rivalry and an instrument for goodwill among the 
 nations. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 
 
 Differences in conditions — And in the scale of living expenses — 
 The game par excellence on the Continent — The attractions of the 
 Beau Site Courts — Royalty at Cannes — Some social attributes and 
 harmless gaieties — Concerning the Nice Club — Tournament administra- 
 tion at home and abroad — Genial personalities at Nice — Memorable 
 matches in the South of France — The Casino element at Monte Carlo — 
 Playing before celebrities — Tom Burke — Mentone a self-owned club — 
 One effect of railway travelling on the Riviera 
 
 I SUPPOSE the education of a lawn tennis 
 player or rather of a lawn tennis tourist, 
 cannot be regarded as complete until he has 
 visited the French Riviera during the season and 
 traversed the round of tournaments which consti- 
 tute one of its features. It is not everybody who can 
 afford the time and the money to patronize these 
 sunny meetings and not everybody who, when he 
 gets to the South of France, can reproduce the form 
 that has brought him fame and prizes on English 
 grass courts. Instances could be mentioned where 
 even champions, attempting to conquer without initial 
 experience the conditions atmospherically, photo- 
 logically and psychologically novel, have ignomini- 
 ously failed and returned to a fog-bound London 
 sadder and wiser men. But if a player goes out to 
 
 the South early enough and surveys the ground 
 
 286 
 
ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 287 
 
 before attempting to erect his structure of tournament 
 successes, disillusionment and dismay may be avoided. 
 He may still find the conditions embarrassing and 
 difficult to master, but he will have made a fool of 
 himself in comparative privacy. Like the cautious 
 householder, about to enjoy the felicities of a hot bath 
 but doubtful as to the temperature of the water, he 
 can go cautiously to work. 
 
 Participation in the Riviera tournaments involves, 
 as I have said, considerable expense, but nothing 
 like the disbursement which is popularly supposed. 
 It is a fallacy, associated with most fashionable 
 resorts abroad, to suppose that the cost of living at 
 Monte Carlo, Nice or Cannes is any more than the 
 cost of living at English coast resorts like Eastbourne 
 or Felixstowe, to name two tennis centres. Of 
 course every facility is offered to the sybaritic visitor 
 to rid himself of superfluous wealth. I have 
 myself — by invitation, let me add — dined at Monte 
 Carlo hotels where a sovereign a day is a normal 
 charge for a bedroom alone and where, if the "guest " 
 prescribes himself a whisky-and-soda and suggests 
 that it might be conveyed to his room, he is mulcted 
 to the extent of five francs on his bill. Nor are 
 some of the less pretentious hotels guileless in respect 
 to flagrant overcharging. I recall one hotel in this 
 district I once had the bad fortune to patronize — or 
 rather which patronized me — where the concierge 
 must have reaped during the season quite a nice 
 little harvest by practising an audacious trick on 
 visitors not smart or bold enough to expose it. It 
 was customary here as elsewhere for the hall-porter 
 to order carriages and to charge for them on a 
 
288 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 separate bill exempt from managerial inspection. 
 The porter made it a rule to present this bill for 
 payment on the very eve of the guest's departure, 
 producing it in fact as an after-thought when the 
 traveller was in no mood to discuss details. On 
 subsequently examining this almost illegible document 
 the payee would discover that he had been display- 
 ing an abnormal passion for vehicular traffic. At 
 least thrice as many vehicles as he had actually used 
 would be down on the bill. If he was not a man 
 habitually imposed upon, philosophically accepting 
 such taxes as ''part of his holiday," he would doubt- 
 less smother that concierge, now securely fleecing 
 his next victim, in curses. If detection came on the 
 spot, the wily fellow had a very artful excuse ready 
 at hand. *' But sztrely, Mr. So-and-So, you ordered 
 six carriages during your stay ? " he would say in 
 his blandest manner. " Why, I telephoned for them 
 myself'^ Upon your gently pointing out that you 
 
 were not Mr. So-and-So, but Mr. , and that you 
 
 had had but one carriage to take you to the Casino 
 on a rainy night, he would instantly assume a most 
 apologetic air. ''A thousand pardons, M'sieur! 
 I have stupidly mistaken you for the gentleman on 
 the first floor. Really, you are dressed almost 
 identically alike. Voilal I will correct the mistake 
 instantly." One would have been open to bet 
 that if the ''gentleman on the first floor" had taken 
 his departure a few minutes earlier, he would not 
 have been debited with only one carriage ! 
 
 In point of fact, there are to be found on the 
 Riviera hotels suited to every pocket except that of 
 the veritable tripper and him the caterers of sun- 
 
ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 289 
 
 seeking mankind have no desire to lure to the 
 Littoral. Nice, the southern home of winter lawn 
 tennis, has many excellent private hotels where, by 
 arrangement with the proprietors, pension can be 
 obtained for ten francs a day — I know of some 
 where the charge is even less. At Mentone the same 
 board-and-residence facilities are obtainable, and 
 though Monte Carlo and Cannes are less inclined 
 to consider the smaller economies of living, the 
 judicious inquirer can always find accommodation 
 at moderate prices at these resorts. Lawn tennis 
 players have a habit here, as elsewhere, of flying in 
 a flock, a habit that ensures a community of social 
 interests as well as tending to reduce the ordinary 
 tariff to a special level. The proprietor of a foreign 
 hotel generally has a keen eye to business, and the 
 prospect of renewing your acquaintance next year 
 and possibly securing new clients through your 
 influence is one which he never neglects. Nor 
 does he fail to regard the tournament competitor 
 as something of an appendage to his establishment, 
 as a guest may be whose name and fame will figure 
 prominently in the papers. For on the Continent lawn 
 tennis is the game par excellence. Practised and 
 patronised by royalty and by many a nobleman whose 
 lineage is proclaimed in the Almanac de Gotha, it 
 yields to no pastime in focusing attention and forming 
 a topic of social conversation. Indeed, in some of the 
 most fashionable resorts it has no serious rival as an 
 athletic diversion, combining the medium for physical 
 exercise with the theatre for spectacular effect. Muni- 
 cipal authorities have not been slow to recognize its 
 magnetic properties and to develop its popularity. 
 19 
 
290 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 If I were asked which set of courts on the Riviera 
 offers the most enjoyment and combine with the 
 natural beauty of their surroundings a surface second 
 to none in France, I think there could be only one 
 answer — the Beau Site sand courts at Cannes. 
 *' People say," Mr. H. W. Wilberforce once wrote, 
 ''that Americans when they die go to Paris; of a 
 verity the Paradise of lawn tennis players is Cannes." 
 That is just praise. It is possible the new-comer 
 may experience greater initial dismay on the Beau 
 Site courts than on some of the other courts in the 
 South. For they may be a trifle slower and more 
 exposed to the torrid glare of an afternoon sun. 
 But once the visitor has shaken off the effects of 
 the cross-country journey and has learnt to treat 
 the new conditions with the respect they deserve 
 he will be charged with admiration for this arena. 
 Situated on an elevation some considerable distance 
 from the centre of the town, in the grounds of a 
 hotel famous for the delectable views of sea and ' 
 land it commands, the courts are entirely independent 
 of extraneous buildings. Powerful as the sun's rays 
 may be they are not reflected by white-faced villas 
 such as surround the courts at Nice and Monte Carlo. 
 The background is a high green latticed fence on one 
 side and a grove of orange and eucalyptus trees on 
 the other, while the spectators, given no cause to 
 intrude on the playing surface, are catered for on a 
 terrace to the left. The courts themselves are made 
 of a particularly fine and adiactinic sand, indigenous 
 to the district, which rolls out to perfection, especially 
 after a light shower. They receive, as all good courts 
 should, careful and minute attention at the hands of 
 
ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 291 
 
 experienced gardeners who, with their brooms, hose 
 and rollers, are always to be found in early attendance. 
 Whether it is the consistency of the climate, the 
 boon and volatile companionship that one meets with 
 at Cannes, the uniformity of the courts or the social 
 gaieties that supplement but do not necessarily inter- 
 fere with the game, I do not know, but certain it is 
 that here, within a mile of the Esterelles and a stone's 
 throw of the blue Mediterranean, 'mid the blossoms 
 of mimosa trees and the intoxicating perfumes of 
 carnations and other exotics, is an incomparable 
 arena for lawn tennis. The Beau Site has been the 
 Mecca for the racket-laden tourist these thirty years. 
 In its most primitive stage, when the balls were made 
 of worsted and the net as high as a Badminton net, 
 the game was introduced there, while early in the 
 eighties the two Renshaws and H. F. Lawford 
 descended on Cannes with rules and strokes bearing 
 the hall-mark of the All England Club and for years 
 the twins made It the winter headquarters of their 
 exploits. Since then almost every champion from 
 every country has revelled In the sunshine of the 
 Beau Site, displaying his prowess before a company 
 frequently augmented by a royal visitor. It was at 
 Cannes, that King Edward, as Prince of Wales, was 
 first initiated into the scientific principles of first-class 
 lawn tennis and In watching the Dohertys perform 
 observed that the pastime was something more than 
 a gentle exercise for the diversion of garden-party 
 guests. The Grand Duke Michael of Russia was 
 another ardent patron of the tournaments here ; so, 
 too, was the late Duke of Cambridge who, on one 
 occasion when distributing the prizes, expressed regret 
 
292 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 that army officers fifty years ago had not enjoyed 
 the physical benefits of lawn tennis. The Grand 
 Duchess Anastasie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, mother 
 of the German Crown Princess, has for many years 
 taken an active interest in prize meetings held on 
 these courts, in some of which she has herself 
 competed and to all of which she has brought a 
 keen personal enthusiasm. The great charm about 
 the Beau Site tournament, held usually about the 
 third week in March, is its self-contained character. 
 A few competitors may come over daily from Nice 
 or may walk in from a neighbouring hotel or villa, 
 but the majority are staying in the Beau Site hotel 
 which at this time also shelters a goodly company 
 of genial golfers. Hence there is much innocent 
 fun — bridge parties, flying motor excursions to Monte 
 Carlo, fancy dress balls at which it is a point of 
 honour for every player to appear in some eccentric 
 guise, concerts, dances and I know not what. There 
 is always a bevy of nice girls to keep the men 
 civilized and the merriment is sometimes tremendous. 
 Flirtations are not unknown and more than one player 
 has lost his heart, if only temporarily, in this merry 
 mansion. I recall one occasion, when a popular cup- 
 holder, setting out for a Spanish seaport, there to 
 initiate the Spaniards into the mysteries of the screw 
 service, was literally held up by a party of fair 
 admirers, the ladies virtually using main force to 
 detain the peripatetic champion within their domain. 
 At length when by some physical subterfuge he had 
 eluded their clutches and gained the shelter of the 
 waiting cab, the maidens, not to be out-manoeuvred, 
 found a short cut to the road and there so delayed 
 
ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 293 
 
 the progress of the travellers that one of them in his 
 subsequent hurry to catch the train left his overcoat 
 behind on the arm of a porter and forgot to extract 
 his ticket from his registered baggage ! Such is the 
 riotous fun at the Beau Site. And when the serious 
 work of the tournament is over there is generally a 
 cry for some freak match in which, possibly as the 
 outcome of a wager, a player attempts to give absurd 
 odds under conditions equally whimsical. If I mistake 
 not, it was at the Beau Site that Ernest Renshaw, 
 garbed in a skirt, handsomely defeated two ladies 
 using a double court, while here it was that H. L. 
 Doherty, conceding what proved to be an impossible 
 handicap to quite a respectable opponent, very nearly, 
 but not quite, placed £100 in the pocket of a sporting 
 admirer. 
 
 Close at hand, at Napoule, easily reached by 
 brake or train or motor, are the Cannes golf links, 
 memorable if only as the scene of Arnaud Massy s 
 first international triumph when, at the great 
 professional tournament organized by the Grand 
 Duke Michael, he secured two first prizes and 
 heralded his apotheosis at Hoylake. On that 
 occasion, I recall, H. L. Doherty did duty as a 
 marker, and as the little champion, cleek in hand 
 and pencil in pocket, strode from hole to hole in 
 the wake of the massively built, iron-nerved French- 
 man, who was soon to become the champion of the 
 sister game, I could not help contrasting their re- 
 spective physiques, yet noting that both had the ideal 
 temperament for spectacular sport. After all, it is the 
 control of the mind, just as much as the control of 
 muscles, that conduces to mastership in games. 
 
294 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 I have written of the Cannes courts -^ first because 
 they are in my humble opinion the best and most 
 engaging arena for the Riviera visitor, hallowed by 
 tradition, still retaining their pristine glory. But 
 they are by no means the only inviting centre for 
 lawn tennis in these radiant parts. As one of 
 the best managed clubs in Europe, the venue of 
 the South of France Championships, and the 
 winter rendezvotis of many keen Continental 
 votaries, the Nice Club has justly earned wide 
 fame. The tourist has merely to sample its 
 attractive fare to add his meed of praise to the 
 general chorus. With many a stern international 
 match contested in this enclosure, the tennis here 
 is naturally of a more serious character than it is 
 at Cannes or Mentone. Competitors feel, as it were, 
 that they have the eyes of the outside world upon 
 them, whereas at the Beau Site the warriors are 
 occasionally crying a halt to tension. As soon as 
 November turns, the club's wheels, carefully oiled 
 during the summer, begin to revolve, the old 
 habitudes turn up again, resuming their quarters at 
 the neighbouring Continental or at some villa or 
 hotel close by ; notes of a summer's travel and 
 tournaments are compared, the fixture card com- 
 pleted and many a tough private battle waged. 
 Soon after Christmas there is the annual club 
 tournament. Then in the second week of March, 
 with the Nice season at its height and signs of 
 King Carnival's riotings still visible, comes the 
 open tournament, so long dominated by the 
 
 ^ A new club, known as The Cannes Lawn Tennis Club, was 
 opened in February 1908. 
 
ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 295 
 
 Dohertys. Thanks mainly to the enterprising and 
 tactful rule of Mr. A. G. Morganstern who, on 
 returning to America a couple of years ago, was 
 compelled to resign the honorary secretaryship, the 
 financial side of the Nice Club has always been 
 flourishing. Having no rent to pay (the ground 
 was the spontaneous gift of a games-loving resident) 
 the committee spend every penny of their surplus 
 funds in improving the ground and its appointments. 
 Thus only last year a complete system of new 
 drainage was installed, each of the four courts being 
 served separately and independently ; the handsome 
 pavilion was so improved that the sun gains 
 admission to every room ; while the courts them- 
 selves were top-dressed anew and made to assume 
 their original colour — the dark red tinge of the 
 Esterel earth. About eighty permanent members, 
 fifty monthly members and some hundred and 
 eighty non-playing members now enjoy the 
 privileges of this luxurious club. The subscription 
 is not high considering the manifold advantages — 
 new balls practically every day, ball- boys, hot shower- 
 baths, all the latest papers are some. I think it 
 is ;^4 for the year or season, £2 for a month and 
 sixteen shillings for non-playing permanent members. 
 The prizes and cups presented during the season 
 are always handsome, their total value amounting 
 to something like ^450. Indeed, the club is 
 almost too generous in this respect. They could 
 not of course award what they do unless their own 
 efforts were supplemented by the town of Nice, the 
 Casinos and many private donors. 
 
 As for the open tournament, I know of few 
 
296 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 on the Continent so efficiently and expeditiously 
 managed. Organized on imperial lines, every 
 department has its official in charge. There is a 
 reception committee, a squad of gentlemen whose 
 special duty it is to find umpires, and members 
 delegated to superintend the distribution of balls, 
 admissions to the stand, the proper working of the 
 scoring-board, the programmes, the press, and the 
 ball-boys. I am not sure there is not a committee- 
 man in the dressing-room to put your damp clothes 
 into the hot-air cupboard, another to hand you a 
 towel after you have enjoyed the luxury of a warm 
 shower, and a third to operate the giant racket-press 
 that stands waiting to sheathe your sword ! Do you 
 seek seclusion and shelter from the sun's glare pend- 
 ing an important match, there is the club-room at 
 hand, containing the very best library of lawn 
 tennis literature I have ever set eyes on, signed 
 portraits of famous players and a generous supply 
 of daily and weekly newspapers. Ample, too, are 
 the facilities for comfortable letter-writing. Lately 
 some of the larger clubs in England have afforded 
 their members the convenience of a writing-room and 
 in other ways studied their interests, but most of them 
 have yet something to learn from the Nice Club. 
 Of course there is an ''Order of play" arranged 
 overnight — that boon is now a recognized feature 
 of practically every Continental tournament. The 
 competitor who is staying, let us say, at the Regina 
 Hotel, Cimiez, can telephone down about five 
 o'clock in the afternoon and learn precisely at what 
 hour he will be required to be in attendance in the 
 morning, or whether he will be wanted at all. 
 
ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 297 
 
 Similarly, players coming from Mentone or Cannes 
 can fit their movements in with the tabulated 
 schedule ; there is no irritating delay, no necessity 
 to mob the referee in order to make him speculate on 
 the probabilities of your playing before lunch or before 
 dusk and certainly none of the elements of chaos and 
 uncertainty that mar the pleasure of a few big 
 tournaments in England. I have dealt with this 
 question of efficient tournament management else- 
 where and have no desire in this discursive chapter 
 to emphasize comparisons between the conduct of 
 home and foreign meetings, especially as the latter 
 have initial advantages over English tournaments 
 that conduce to smoother working. But, making 
 full allowance for such facilitating factors as more 
 settled weather, a smaller entry and the absence of 
 competitors with business claims whose leisure is 
 limited and who may arrive late on the ground with 
 a very sound excuse, I am bound to say that the 
 general administration of foreign meetings from the 
 player's point of view is superior. And a close 
 study of the Nice tournament and of others I could 
 name — some of them controlled by Englishmen, 
 let me add — is calculated to remove all doubts. 
 
 The Nice Club abounds with genial personalities. 
 I have already mentioned Mr. Morganstern, to whom 
 the club owes a debt which it can never repay. Full 
 of the humour which compels affection, a splendid 
 organizer, always enterprising yet never rash, keen to 
 play but keener to facilitate the play of others, he 
 was a very lovable and able fellow. The present 
 secretary, M. Alvarado Rice, is a worthy successor, 
 who has the best interests of the club at heart. His 
 
298 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 zeal during the tournament is proverbial. I shall 
 always remember a few years back, watching his arm 
 descending automatically into the ball-box near the 
 close of every set in which a crack was concerned, 
 drawing out six new balls, deftly holding them, three 
 in each hand, until the last rally had been played, 
 and then as dexterously shooting them out to the 
 ball-boys standing on either side of the court. The 
 whole process was an exhibition of human mechanism 
 of which M. Alvarado, solemn as a shunter on point 
 duty, was an unconscious master. I once asked M. 
 Alvarado how many new balls he used during the 
 tournament. ** From sixty to sixty-five dozen," was 
 his reply. Verily, I think a wink would produce a 
 boxful ! 
 
 Sound judge of the game, one of its shrewdest 
 chroniclers in the press, and a player of no mean 
 distinction a few years back is Mr. F. L. Fassitt, now 
 a vice-president of the club and for long its bulwark. 
 As I write I can see his round, cheery countenance 
 peering through the stop-netting above the over- 
 lapping hands supported on a stick and beneath a 
 Homburg hat cocked slightly on one side. Only 
 once did I see a shadow of genuine annoyance sweep 
 over its plane and that was when the recent champion 
 of a great Republic went into court against an 
 opponent whom Fassitt fancied he could "hold" if 
 not demolish, and yet, to almost everybody's surprise, 
 failed to score a single game in two sets. And the 
 painful part of it was, from the vice-president's point 
 of view, the routed champion did not seem to mind 
 his subjugation in the slightest ; he did not even 
 make the customary excuses in the dressing-room. I 
 
ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 299 
 
 rather suspect Fassitt wrote some caustic sentences in 
 his despatch to Paris that night about the South of 
 France championship being treated in such cavalier 
 fashion, and I should not wonder if he is still smarting 
 silently over this whimsical upheaval of form. In 
 truth, you cannot display your best form on Perrier 
 Jouet, followed by cr^me de menthe ! 
 
 Indefatigable though unobtrusive worker on the 
 club's behalf is Mr. H. W. Stonehewer Bird who, 
 during the tournament, generally has charge of the 
 games-indicator, and is so familiar by years of practice 
 with its somewhat laboured mechanism that the 
 executive, it is said, view his promotion with appre- 
 hension. Among regular winter denizens are the 
 twin Aliens, almost a landmark in the Avenue de la 
 Gare during February and March. It was here, if I 
 remember aright, that I first had the pleasure of 
 meeting the Countess Schulenburg, best and most 
 graceful of all German lady players and for years an 
 invincible mixed partner to R. F. Doherty. The 
 Countess won the South of France ladies' champion- 
 ship in 1900, 1902 and 1904. S. H. Smith and F. 
 L. Riseley, who in double harness had gone through 
 the previous summer season in England without 
 losing a single match (not even at Wimbledon, where 
 they defeated the Dohertys and gained championship 
 honours) made a very welcome first appearance on 
 the Riviera in 1903 — a winter season which probably 
 witnessed the highest-class tennis ever seen in these 
 parts. There were some great matches at Monte 
 Carlo before Smith came on to Nice. In the Monte 
 Carlo Cup '* H. L." playing Smith at his own back- 
 court game and beating him 6-2, 6-2, retired to his 
 
300 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 brother, the holder, in the semi-final. Meanwhile 
 Riseley had become thoroughly acclimatized and was 
 well-nigh irresistible. He put out Ritchie in the 
 semi-final with the loss of one set in four and then 
 faced ** R. F." in what proved to be an ever- 
 memorable encounter. In the third game of the first 
 set Riseley had the bad fortune to slip and fall ; he 
 was slightly stunned and he cut his knee severely. 
 Nevertheless, though this mishap naturally affected 
 his game and assisted Doherty to take the first set 
 comfortably at 6-i (31 aces to 18), it could not damp 
 the fire of the Cliftonian s brilliancy. In the second 
 bout, after the holder led 5-3, Riseley made a 
 magnificent recovery and '* fourteen-all " was called 
 before ** R. F " forfeited his service and finally the set 
 at 14-16. At this juncture Riseley retired, and though 
 he might not have won the match had he gone on — 
 " R. F." was holding him fairly confidently — the 
 performance was worthy of all credit. It was at the 
 same meeting that the nev/ doubles champions, 
 playing the Dohertys level in the second round of 
 the handicap doubles, repeated their triumph at 
 Wimbledon, Riseley being the hero of a strenuous 
 fight. Both pairs, it may be noted, won five games 
 off the reel in the first set, the final score in the 
 Gloucestershire men's favour being 1 1-9, 6-^, 6-4. 
 As Smith and Riseley also won the open doubles, 
 defeating R. F. Doherty and G. W. Hillyard in the 
 final, and Smith won the mixed with Mrs. Winch, 
 Monte Carlo has, I doubt not, very pleasant memories 
 for the West of England ''firm." A few days later 
 H. L. Doherty and Smith met in the final of the 
 South of France Championship at Nice. Five 
 
ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 301 
 
 terrific sets were contested, Smith winning the first 
 two and the holder the next three. The result 
 demonstrated the truth of Doherty's contention that 
 the only way to beat Smith was to play him at his 
 own game and be prepared to '' run a hundred miles " 
 — a plan of campaign which the American inter- 
 nationals never could adopt. 
 
 One story may be told relating to the great driver's 
 first and only appearance in the Riviera arena — I 
 believe it to have the additional merit of being true. 
 In one of his early rounds Smith had disposed of a 
 foreign competitor with such ease that the umpire's 
 work was reduced to a minimum. The overwhelming 
 measure of his defeat must have rankled in the latter's 
 mind, for a day or two later seeing the famous Stroud 
 exponent gazing admiringly at a passing Carnival 
 procession, the victim approached him cautiously from 
 the rear and with all his strength flung a handful of 
 confetti in the giant s face, accompanying the discharge 
 with the triumphant yell — ** Take dat Smit of 
 Strood r' 
 
 When I first went to Monte Carlo, the tourna- 
 ment was held on a couple of sand courts somewhat 
 cramped for room and encroached upon by the spec- 
 tators, but admirably situated within a pebble's throw 
 of the Casino doors. Indeed, so conveniently placed 
 was the arena that gamblers on their way to and 
 from the rooms would drop in at the tennis to enjoy 
 an hour of sunshine and meditation ; and If their call 
 was made on the return journey and Fate, as was so 
 often the case, had dealt unkindly with them in the 
 Temple of Chance, it did not require a divining-rod to 
 discover the absence of precious metal on their persons. 
 
302 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Similarly, if a punter had been lucky enough to bring 
 off a coup of any dimensions he rarely succeeded in 
 checking his chuckles ; more or less accurate reports 
 of his triumph would rapidly spread over the ground, 
 sometimes to the detriment of efficient umpiring. So 
 contiguous were the tables to the courts in those days 
 that it was no uncommon event for a competitor to 
 stroll into the spider's web between his matches, 
 though the excursion might necessitate a rapid change 
 of garments. I need hardly add that the success or 
 failure attending this mild flutter was calculated to 
 exercise more than a casual influence over his sub- 
 sequent play. On one occasion a certain player, 
 notoriously unlucky at both ball games (he was about 
 as wild on court as he was in the Casino), turned up 
 after lunch to play a tie in a condition of mind that 
 evidently indicated the loss of his last louis. But the 
 full extent of his impoverishment was never realized 
 until he went into court and hit every ball in the first 
 four games clean out of the ground, finally retiring in 
 a fit of abject misery when he had projected a short 
 lob into the tir de pigeon lying below the terrace. 
 Mention of the shooting-gallery reminds me that a 
 special event was reserved for those expert marksmen 
 who forgather at Monte Carlo at this season for the 
 Grand Prix and other prizes. These gentlemen — all 
 well known sportsmen and some of them the finest 
 shots in the world — rather fancied themselves in the 
 handling of the inoffensive racket. The keenest 
 rivalry prevailed, and I am not sure that a few rather 
 bulky books were not incidentally compiled. The 
 main feature of the tournament, however, was the 
 cosmopolitan character of both the gallery and the 
 
ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 303 
 
 competitive lists, the courts serving as a kind of chapel 
 of ease for the Casino, where ladies of hereditary and 
 commercial wealth would come to exhibit their jewels 
 and their dresses, often bringing with them a gold- 
 netted bourse and hanging it carelessly on the arm 
 of a chair, and where male denizens of all nationalities 
 would come to be temporarily diverted. I remember 
 once playing a single before the rather perfunctory 
 gaze of such celebrities as Plerpont Morgan, Cornelius 
 Vanderbllt, Kubelik, Santos Dumont, Chevalier, and 
 at least half a dozen star actresses, and of thinking at 
 the time what fun it would be to disturb an American 
 millionaire's hat with a wayward service. On the 
 same night I think I saw Mr. Vanderbllt toying at 
 roulette with five-franc pieces ! 
 
 Now that the courts at Monte Carlo have been 
 transferred down to the Condamine, a sumptuous 
 hotel having been erected on the old site, there may 
 not be quite the same dclat about the proceedings ; 
 but the surface is excellent and the space available 
 for play, though yielding a somewhat treacherous 
 background, nearly three times as large. Certainly 
 the Casino authorities have not been slow to recognize 
 that lawn tennis is an indispensable side-show for 
 their society patrons, besides being in ever-increasing 
 demand as a medium for physical exercise. The 
 value of the prizes awarded at the annual tournament 
 is probably as high as at any other meeting in the 
 world, ranging from ;^i2 for the first prize in the open 
 singles (in addition to the chance of winning a ;^I20 
 challenge cup outright) to £2 for third prizes in 
 second-class handicap events. In all something like 
 ;^200 is expended in prizes. Though the new courts 
 
304 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 are a measurable distance from the fashionable hotels, 
 they are well served by trams, and if the ''gallery" 
 is not quite so cosmopolitan as it was of yore, it is 
 certainly quite as large and perhaps more Inclined to 
 appreciate the subtleties of first-class lawn tennis. I 
 must not forget to mention that Tom Burke is in- 
 stalled here as professional, and spends most of his 
 time and gathers in a little of the money not deposited 
 on the green cloth by instructing pupils of all ages. 
 Burke has had an experience in the art of coaching 
 second to none, and though by reason of this very 
 fact his own first-class standard may have slightly 
 deteriorated — youth must be served — I warrant there 
 are not many tennis wrinkles that this genial master 
 has not picked up. It was usual every season for 
 Burke to play Tom Fleming, a son of " old Tom," 
 a home-and-home match at Monte Carlo and Cannes, 
 where the latter Is stationed. Many a strenuous 
 tussle, generally running into five sets, have these pro- 
 fessionals waged. But I must confess that the 
 mechanical consistency of their ground strokes and 
 their lack of finesse at short range would never impel 
 me to undertake a long journey to see them battle. 
 
 And now a final word about one or two remain- 
 ing Riviera courts. It was never my good fortune 
 to play at San Remo, though I have visited this 
 beautiful Italian resort and can well believe that 
 the open tournament which is held there about the 
 middle of February — a prelude to the more important 
 meetings that are to follow — combines a delightful 
 environment with a not too exacting programme. 
 Of Mentone and its tournament I have very pleasant 
 recollections, tempered only by memories of the 
 

ROUND THE RIVIERA COURTS 305 
 
 rather tedious journey involved if one is staying 
 at Nice. I shall never forget once boarding a 
 Paris rapide at Nice on a terribly hot morning and 
 finding myself more dead than alive at Mentone. 
 I had been forced to spend more than an hour 
 packed standing in a corridor into which no breath 
 of fresh air could have penetrated since the train 
 left the Gare de Lyon fifteen hours ago. We were 
 detained at Monte Carlo for an abnormally long 
 time — I remember vainly trying to break a window 
 — and the referee's face had deep furrows in it as 
 he resented my tardiness and bustled me into court. 
 I scarcely knew whether I stood on my head or 
 my feet when I began to serve, but I do know I 
 was badly beaten by a man against whom I thought 
 I had a fair chance. 
 
 The Mentone Club, no views so grand as those 
 seen from its courts, has been in existence now 
 some seven or eight years and owed its inception 
 and rise primarily to Mr. R. de Bourbel, who is 
 still its president, to Dr. D. W. Samways, Mr. 
 Stewart B. Binny, honorary secretary, and Mr. 
 A. E. Madge, who has managed every open tour- 
 nament. There are now three excellent sand courts 
 and four croquet lawns, and a membership which 
 beginning with 92 has now risen to over 400. The 
 club stands in a different category to any other on 
 the Riviera in that it is now the owner of its own 
 grounds. These extend to nearly 11,000 square 
 metres and embrace a fully - equipped and most 
 comfortable pavilion at which, let me add, they 
 have learnt the rare art in these parts of brewing 
 good tea. As a spacious boulevard now passes 
 20 
 
306 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 within a hundred yards of the club down to the sea 
 and villas — hotels and blocks of flats are erected 
 in the immediate vicinity, though not near enough 
 to obscure the Alpes-Maritimes — the committee did 
 a good stroke of business when after some trouble 
 they secured the freehold for a moderate sum. 
 
 But then they are keen and enterprising lovers 
 of the racket on the Riviera ! 
 
n 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 V. 
 
 LAWS OF THE GAME 
 THE SINGLE-HANDED GAME -^L^ I 
 
 1. For the single-handed game, the Court is 27 feet in width and 
 78 feet in length. It is divided across the middle by a net, the ends of 
 which are attached to the tops of two posts, which stand 3 feet outside the 
 Court on each side. The height of the net is 3 feet 6 inches at the posts, 
 and 3 feet at the centre. At each end of the Court, parallel with the net, 
 and at a distance of 39 feet from it, are drawn the Base-lines, the 
 extremities of which are connected by the Side-lines. Half-way between 
 the side-lines, and parallel with them, is drawn the Half -court-line, 
 dividing the space on each side of the net into two equal parts, called 
 the Right and Left Courts. On each side of the net, at a distance of 
 21 feet from it, and parallel with it,'are drawn the Service-lines. The 
 marking of the part of the Half-court-line between the Service-liiies 
 and the Base-lines may be omitted, with the exception of a small 
 portion at the centre of each Base-line, as indicated in the plans 
 appended to these Laws. 
 
 2. The balls shall not be less than 2J inches, nor more than 2^^ inches 
 in diameter ; and not less than i^ oz., nor more than 2 oz., in weight. 
 
 3. In matches where Umpires are appointed, their decision shall 
 be final ; but where a Referee is appointed, an appeal shall lie to him 
 from the decision of an Umpire on a question of law, and in all such 
 cases the decision of the Referee shall be final. 
 
 4. The choice of sides and the right to be Server or Striker-out 
 during the first games shall be decided by toss; provided that, if the 
 winner of the toss choose the right to be Server or Striker-out, the 
 other player shall have the choice of sides, and vice versd ; and provided 
 that the winner of the toss may, if he prefer it, require the other player 
 to make the first choice. 
 
 5. The players shall stand on opposite sides of the net ; the player 
 who first delivers the ball shall be called the Server, the other the 
 Striker-out. 
 
 307 
 
308 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 6. At the end of the first game the Striker-out shall become Server, 
 and the Server shall become Striker-out ; and so on alternately in the 
 subsequent games of the set. 
 
 7. The Server shall serve with both feet behind {i.e., farther from 
 the net than) the base-line, and within the limits of the imaginary 
 continuation of the centre-service and the side-lines. It is not a fault 
 if one only of the Server's feet do not touch the ground at the moment 
 at which the service is delivered. He shall place both feet on the 
 ground immediately before serving, and shall not take a running nor a 
 walking start. He shall deliver the service from the right and left 
 Courts alternately, beginning from the right in each of his service 
 games, even though odds be given or owed. 
 
 8. The ball served must drop within the service-line, half-court- 
 line, and side-line of the Court which is diagonally opposite to that 
 from which it was served, or upon any such line. 
 
 9. It is 2^ fault if the service be delivered from the wrong Court, or 
 if the Server do not stand as directed in Law 7, or if the ball served 
 drop in the net or beyond the service-line, or if it drop out of Court or 
 in the wrong Court. If the Server, in attempting to serve, miss the 
 ball altogether, it does not count a fault ; but if the ball be touched, no 
 matter how slightly, by the racket, a service is thereby delivered, and 
 the laws governing the service at once apply. 
 
 10. A fault may not be taken. 
 
 11. After a fault, the Server shall serve again from the same Court 
 from which he served that fault, unless it was a fault because served 
 from the wrong Court. 
 
 12. A fault may not be claimed after the next service has been 
 delivered. 
 
 13. The service may not be volleyed, i.e., taken before it touches 
 the ground, even though the ball be clearly outside the Service Court. 
 
 14. The Server shall not serve until the Striker-out is ready. If 
 the latter attempt to return the service, but fail, he loses the stroke. If, 
 however, the Striker-out signify that he is not ready after the service 
 has been delivered, but before the ball touch the ground, he may not 
 claim a fault because the ball ultimately drops outside the Service Court. 
 
 15. A ball is in-play from the moment at which it is delivered in 
 service (unless a fault) until it has been volleyed by the Striker-out in 
 his first stroke, or has dropped in the net or out of Court, or has touched 
 either of the players or anything that he wears or carries, except his 
 racket in the act of striking, or has been struck by either of the players 
 with his racket more than once consecutively, or has been volleyed 
 before it has passed over the net, or has failed to pass over the net 
 before its first bound (except as provided in Law 17), or has touched 
 the ground twice consecutively on either side of the net, though the 
 second time may be out of Court. 
 
APPENDIX 309 
 
 ^ 16. It is a /^^ if the ball served touch the net, provided the service 
 be otherwise good ; or if a service or fault be delivered when the 
 Striker-out is not ready. In case a player is obstructed by any 
 accident not within his control, the ball shall be considered a let, but 
 where a permanent fixture of the Court is the cause of the accident, the 
 point shall be counted. The benches and chairs placed around the 
 Court and their occupants, and the Umpire and Linesmen shall be con- 
 sidered permanent fixtures. If, however, a ball in play strike a 
 permanent fixture of the Court (other than the net or posts) before it 
 touches the ground, the point is lost ; if after it has touched the ground, 
 the point shall be counted. In case of a let, the service or stroke counts 
 for nothing, and the server shall serve again. A let does not annul a 
 previous fault. 
 
 17. It is a good return — 
 
 (a) If a ball touch the net or post, provided that it passes 
 over either and drops into the Court ; 
 
 (d) If a ball, served or returned, drop into the proper Court 
 
 and screw or be blown back over the net, and the player 
 whose turn it is to strike reach over the net and play the 
 ball, provided that neither he nor any part of his clothes 
 or racket touch the net, and that the stroke be otherwise 
 good ; 
 
 (c) If a ball be returned outside the post, either above or below 
 the level of the top of the net, even though it touch the 
 post, provided that it drop into the proper Court ; 
 
 (^ If a player's racket pass over the net after he has returned 
 the ball, provided the ball pass over the net before being 
 played and be properly returned ; 
 
 (e) If a player succeed in returning a ball, served or in play, 
 
 which strikes a ball lying in the Court. 
 
 18. The Server wins a stroke if the Striker-out volley the service, or 
 fail to return the service or the ball in-play (except in the case of a let), 
 or return the service or ball in-play so that it drop outside any of the 
 lines which bound his opponent's Court, or otherwise lose a stroke, as 
 provided by Law 20. 
 
 19. The Striker-out wins a stroke if the Server serve two consecutive 
 faults, or fail to return the ball in-play (except in the case of a let), or 
 return the ball in-play so that it drop outside any of the lines which 
 bound his opponent's Court, or otherwise lose a stroke, as provided by 
 Law 30. 
 
 20. Either player loses a stroke if the ball in-play touch him or 
 anything that he wears or carries, except his racket in the act of striking, 
 or if he volley the ball (unless he thereby makes a good return) no 
 matter whether he is standing within the precincts of the court or outside 
 them ; or if he touch or strike the ball in-play with his racket more than 
 
3IO THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 once consecutively ; or if he or his racket (in his hand or otherwise) 
 touch the net or any of its supports while the ball is in-play ; or if he 
 volley the ball before it lias passed the net. 
 
 21. On either player winning his first stroke, the score is called 15 
 for that player ; on either player winning his second stroke, the score is 
 called 30 for that player ; on either player winning his third stroke, the 
 score is called 40 for that player ; and the fourth stroke won by either 
 player is scored game for that player ; except as below : — 
 
 If both players have won three strokes, the score is called deuce ; 
 and the next stroke won by either player is scored advantage for 
 that player. If the same player win the next stroke, he wins the 
 game ; if he lose the next stroke, the score is again called deuce ; 
 and so on until either player win the two strokes immediately 
 following the score at deuce, when the game is scored for that 
 player. 
 
 22. The player who first wins six games wins a set ; except as 
 below : — 
 
 If both players win five games, the score is called games-all ; and 
 the next game won by either player is scored advantage-game 
 for that player. If the same player win the next game, he wins 
 the set ; if he lose the next game, the score is again called games- 
 all ; and so on until either player win the two games immediately 
 following the score of games-all, when he wins the set. 
 
 Note. — Players may agree not to play advantage-sets, but to decide 
 the set by one game after arriving at the score of games-all. 
 
 23. The players shall change sides at the end of the first, third, and 
 every subsequent alternate game of each set, and at^the end of each set, 
 unless the number of games in each set be even. It shall, however, be 
 open to the players by mutual consent and notification to the Umpire 
 before the opening of the second game of the match to change sides 
 instead at the end of every set, until the odd and concluding set, in 
 which they shall change sides at the end of the first, third, and every 
 subsequent alternate game of such set. 
 
 24. When a series of sets is played, the player who was Server in 
 the last game of one set, shall be Striker-out in the first game of the 
 next. 
 
 ODDS 
 
 25. Odds are received in each group of six games, in the first place, 
 in the earliest possible even games ; that is to say, a receiver of one- 
 sixth receives a stroke in the second game of each group of six ; a 
 receiver of two-sixths, in the second and fourth games ; and a receiver 
 of three-sixths, in the second, fourth, and sixth games. 
 
 When the even games are exhausted, odds are then received in the 
 earliest possible odd games ; that is to say, a receiver of four-sixths 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 311 
 
 receives his strokes, over and above a receiver of three-sixths, in the 
 first game of each group of six ; and a receiver of five-sixths, in the first 
 and third games. 
 
 The positions in which strokes are received are shown in the 
 following table : 
 
 
 1st 
 Game. 
 
 2nd 
 Game. 
 
 3rd 
 Game. 
 
 4th 
 Game. 
 
 5th 
 Game. 
 
 6th 
 Game. 
 
 iofis 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 lofis 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 fofis 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 IS 
 
 iofis 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 IS 
 
 fofis 
 
 15 
 
 
 IS 
 
 IS 
 
 
 IS 
 
 Example. — A player receiving four-sixths of fifteen receives nothing 
 in the third and fifth games, and fifteen in the first, second, fourth, and 
 sixth games of a set. 
 
 Note. — The table is not carried beyond the sixth game, as in the 
 next and every succeeding six games the odds recur in the same 
 positions. 
 
 The above odds may be given in augmentation of other received 
 odds. 
 
 Fifteen is one stroke given at the beginning of every game of a set. 
 
 Thirty is two strokes given at the beginning of every game of a set. 
 
 Forty is three strokes given at the beginning of every game of 
 a set. 
 
 26. Odds are owed in each group of six games, in the first place, in 
 the latest possible odd games ; that is to say, an ower of one-sixth owes 
 a stroke in the fifth game of each group of six ; an ower of two-sixths, 
 in the fifth, and third games ; and an ower of three-sixths, in the fifth, 
 third, and first games. 
 
 When the odd games are exhausted, odds are then owed in the 
 latest possible even games ; that is to say, an ower of four-sixths owes 
 his strokes, over and above an ower of three-sixths, in the sixth game of 
 each group of six ; and an ower of five-sixths, in the sixth and fourth 
 games. 
 
312 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 The position in which strokes are owed are shown in the following 
 table : 
 
 
 1st 
 Game. 
 
 2nd 
 Game. 
 
 3rd 
 Game. 
 
 4th 
 Game. 
 
 5th 
 Game. 
 
 6th 
 
 Game. 
 
 iofi5 
 
 
 
 
 
 IS 
 
 
 |ofi5 
 
 
 
 IS 
 
 
 IS 
 
 
 fofi5 
 
 IS 
 
 
 IS 
 IS 
 
 IS 
 
 
 IS 
 
 
 |ofi5 
 
 IS 
 
 
 
 IS 
 
 IS 
 
 fofi5 
 
 IS 
 
 
 IS 
 
 IS 
 
 IS 
 
 Example. — A player owing two-sixths of fifteen would owe fifteen 
 in the third and fifth games, and nothing in the first, second, fourth, and 
 sixth games. 
 
 Note. — The table is not carried beyond the sixth game, as in the 
 next and every succeeding six games the odds recur in the same 
 positions. 
 
 The above odds may be owed in augmentation of other owed odds. 
 
 Fifteen is one stroke owed at the beginning of every game of a set. 
 
 Thirty is two strokes owed at the beginning of every game of a set. 
 
 Forty is three strokes owed at the beginning of every game of a set. 
 
 THE THREE-HANDED AND FOUR-HANDED GAMES 
 
 27. The above laws shall apply to the three-handed and four-handed 
 games, except as below. 
 
 28. For the three-handed and four-handed games, the Court is 36 feet 
 in width. Within the side-lines, at a distance of 4J feet from them, and 
 parallel with them, are drawn the service-side-lines. In other respects 
 the Court is similar to that which is described in Law i. 
 
 29. In the three-handed game, the single player shall serve in every 
 alternate game. 
 
 30. In the four-handed game, the pair who have the right to serve 
 in the first game may decide which partner shall do so, and the opposing 
 pair may decide similarly for the second game. The partner of the 
 player who served in the first game shall serve in the third ; and the 
 
APPENDIX 3 1 3 
 
 partner of the player who served in the second game shall serve in the 
 fourth, and so on in the same order in all the subsequent games of a 
 set. 
 
 31. The players shall take the service alternately throughout each 
 game ; no player shall receive or return a service delivered to his 
 partner ; and the order of service and of striking-out, once arranged, 
 shall not be altered, nor shall the Striker-out change Courts to receive 
 the service before the end of the set. 
 
 32. The ball served must drop vi^ithin the service-line, half-court-line, 
 and service-side-line, of the Court, which is diagonally opposite to that 
 from which it was served, or upon any such line. 
 
 S^. It is a /aul^ if the ball do not drop as provided in Law 32, or if 
 it touch the Server's partner, or anything that he wears or carries. If, 
 however, the ball in service strike either the striker-out or his partner 
 the server wins the stroke. 
 
 34. If a player serve out of his turn, the Umpire, as soon as the 
 mistake is discovered by himself or by one of the players, shall direct 
 the player to serve who ought to have served ; but all strokes scored, 
 and any fault served before such discovery, shall be reckoned. If a 
 game shall have been completed before such discovery, then the service 
 in the next alternate game shall be delivered by the partner of the 
 player who served out of his turn j and so on in regular rotation. 
 
HOW TO MARK OUT A COURT 
 
 In marking out a Court the most essential point is that it should be 
 accurately squared. This may best be done as follows : — 
 
 Fix two points, A and B, 27 feet apart. These are the extremities of 
 the net line of your Court. Fasten the end of a lawn tennis tape 
 
 A 27" B 
 
 -7. 
 
 C D 
 
 measure at A, and hold it at the measurement 39 feet. Then fix another 
 tape measure on point B, and hold it at the 47 feet 5 inches mark. Hold 
 both measures firmly in the left hand, with the 39 feet and the 47 feet 5 
 inches marks coinciding. Then step back until the tapes are taut, taking 
 care that they do not slip in the left hand. This will determine point 
 " C." Reverse the tapes and perform the same operation on the other 
 side. You have point " D." Then A, B, C, D are the corners of one- 
 half of a single Court. Measure similarly on the other side of A and B, 
 which will give the outside corners of the other half. The measurements 
 
 and marking of a double Court can be seen from the plan given opposite. 
 
 314 
 
36 Feet 
 
 ikh 
 
 
 
 ISifezt 
 
 I 
 
 s 
 
 s 
 
 ■s 
 oj 
 
 s 
 
 ISiFezt 
 
 4iFf 
 
INCEPTION OF THE DAVIS CUP 
 
 Official negotiations in connexion with an international match 
 between England and America appear to have been opened up by the 
 receipt of a letter from Dr. Dwight, president of the United States 
 National Lawn Tennis Association, by Mr. Herbert Chipp in the 
 summer of 1897. This letter was read at a Council Meeting of the 
 British Lawn Tennis Association on June 9 of the same year, when the 
 following Resolution was adopted : — 
 
 That it is desirable in the interests of lawn tennis that a match 
 
 be arranged between the United Kingdom and the United States 
 
 under Association auspices. 
 
 Mr. W. H. Collins, then Secretary of the L.T.A., accordingly placed 
 himself in communication with Dr. Dwight, who replied as follows : — 
 
 {Letter from Dr. Dwight to Mr. W. H. Collins) 
 
 "Woods Hall, 
 
 Mass., June 21st, 1897 
 
 " Dear Sir, — Your letter of June loth just received. I am some- 
 what at a loss to know how to answer it. I wrote to Chipp as an old 
 friend, who was probably in a position to know that players of the first 
 rank would be likely to come over to a few of our tournaments if some 
 allowance for expenses was made. 
 
 " Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to have the British 
 L.T.A. send over two, three or possibly four, players for an inter- 
 national match and to play in certain tournaments, especially the 
 Championships. Next year we might in return send our players to 
 England under similar conditions. 
 
 " It seemed to me, when I wrote before, that the time was so late 
 that the formal correspondence between the two Associations could 
 hardly take place. What we should like would be to have (say) three 
 players come over in time to play for the Eastern Doubles Champion- 
 ship and incidentally the Singles at Longwood (Boston), July 26 ; at 
 Hoboken, August 2, in an invitation tournament where the best players 
 of each country could play an international match if it can be arranged ; 
 and at Newport, August 17, in the Singles Championship. And should 
 an English pair win the Eastern Doubles at Longwood, it would be 
 called upon to play the winners of the Western Doubles tournament, the 
 
 winners of that match playing the Doubles Champions of last year. 
 
 316 
 
APPENDIX 317 
 
 "Time is therefore of great importance to us. I therefore ask 
 officially your assistance and that of your Council in bringing about 
 some such arrangement, and I beg to assure you of my readiness to 
 enter into any scheme by which alternate international matches may be 
 arranged between the two Associations later. 
 
 " The U.S.N.L.T.A. will pay ^40 for each of these men for steamship 
 passages and £10 for railway fares (making ;^5o apiece) provided that 
 they compete in the above-named tournaments or in others that might 
 be substituted for them should any unforeseen accident arise. 
 
 " I own I have always had great doubts of the propriety of paying 
 expenses of players, but to the extent named we are ready to go. 
 
 " May I beg you to bring the matter to a point as soon as possible, 
 as your men should sail July 17th. Please telegraph me 'D wight, 
 Somerset Club, Boston,' after your meeting on July ist, at my expense. 
 
 " We are very anxious that your players should come this year. I 
 have tried to make myself clear as to points of importance to us, and I 
 trust you will see your way to arranging the matter. — Believe me, with 
 much respect, Yours truly, 
 
 "James Dwight, 
 
 '' Pres. U.S.N.L.T. Association 
 
 The above letter was duly considered at the Council Meeting on 
 July I, when it was decided on various grounds — chiefly, I beHeve, 
 financial — not to send an official team to America that season.^ 
 
 The next step was taken at a Council Meeting held on November 3, 
 1897, at which Mr. Collins reported a proposal that had been made 
 for the visit of an American team to England, and it was considered 
 desirable that arrangements should be made for their reception and a 
 fund raised, not exceeding ^160, for the purpose of meeting the expense. 
 A Committee of Management ^ was accordingly appointed, which six 
 weeks later recommended to the Council that the international match 
 between England and America should follow the Championships at 
 Wimbledon. But matters fell through unexpectedly. W. A. Larned 
 wrote from America, in April 1898, that while the arrangements made 
 suited their views, neither himself nor R. D. Wrenn would be able to 
 come that year, and he was afraid America could not raise a repre- 
 sentative team. 
 
 The matter remained in abeyance until March 7, 1900, when a 
 letter was read at a Council Meeting from Dr. Dwight to Mr. G. R. 
 Mewburn, then, as now, Hon. Secretary of the L.T.A. I quote the 
 letter as I did the other, because I believe that many readers will 
 
 1 A .British team consisting of H. S. Mahony, Dr. W. V. Eaves and H. A. 
 Nisbet proceeded to America unofficially in 1897. 
 
 2 Consisting of Hon. R. P. Bowes Lyon, H. W. W. Wilberforce, W. H. Collins, 
 H. S. Mahony and H. A. Nisbet. 
 
3i8 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 be interested to follow the steps which led to the inception of the 
 Davis Cup. 
 
 {Letter from Dr. Dwight to Mr. G. R. Mewburn) 
 " 22$, Beacon Street, 
 
 "Boston, i6ihjan. 1900 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I beg to call your attention, as Secretary of the L.T.A., 
 to an experiment which we are making that will, I hope, increase the 
 interest in lawn tennis. One of our players here has offered us a Gup, 
 to be a sort of International Challenge Cup. I enclose the conditions ^ in 
 a rough form. I trust that we shall both take a deep interest in them 
 for many years to come. 
 
 " I am very anxious that some of your better players should make us 
 a visit this summer, and I hope that, should they come, your Association 
 will see its way to challenge for the Cup. You can easily understand 
 that we thought it necessary to require the Governing Association of a 
 country to make the (Challenge to prevent a series of stray challenges 
 from players good and bad who might be coming to spend a month 
 here. In yachting, the expense prevents the possibility of too much 
 competition for the right to challenge. In lawn tennis it would be 
 different. 
 
 " I hope, as I said before, that the scheme will prove a success. It 
 might do a great deal for the game here, and possibly even with you it 
 might be a help. In any case I trust you will do what you can to give 
 us a lead in the matter. 
 
 " Please accept my sincere sympathy and good wishes in your 
 present troubles ! ^ I have eaten your salt too often not to feel very 
 strongly for the anxiety that you all must feel. — With every wish for 
 better times. Believe me, Very truly Yours, 
 
 "James Dwight, 
 
 ''Fres. U.S.N.L.T. Assoc. 
 
 Thus was the gauntlet thrown down and the Davis Cup inaugurated. 
 The Council of the L.T.A. unanimously decided that the "British 
 Isles " should send a challenge, and a committee was formed to draw 
 up regulations,^ and submit them to Dr. Dwight and the U.S.N. L.T.A. 
 for approval. 
 
 1 See p. 319. 2 A reference to the Boer War, then proceeding. 
 
 3 Since amended. See p. 320. 
 
ORIGINAL CONDITIONS OF THE DAVIS CUP 
 
 {Submitted by Dr. Dwight^ President of the United States N.L.T.A.^ to 
 the Secretary of the Lawn Tennis Association^ idth January 1900) 
 
 Cup to be given to the Committee of the U.S.N.L.T.A. under the 
 following conditions, which can be changed by a two-third vote of the 
 Committee of the Governing Association of the country where the Cup 
 is held, with the consent of the donor and upon his death, then and 
 thereafter with the consent of the U.S.N.L.T.A. Challenge for the Cup 
 may be refused if not received before ist May of each year by the 
 Secretary of the Governing Association of the country where the Cup is 
 held. 
 
 A challenge must be sent by the Secretary of the Governing 
 Association of the country challenging, who must give proof, if necessary, 
 that the challengers are citizens of the said country, are members of 
 some club belonging to the said Association and are amateurs in good 
 standing. 
 
 In the event of two challenges the Committee of the Governing 
 Association of the challenged country shall have the right to decide 
 which to accept. 
 
 Matches to consist of four single matches between two players of 
 each country and one double match ; double teams not necessarily 
 comprised of the same players as the singles. 
 
 All matches to be the best of five sets ('vantage). The country 
 winning three of five matches to hold the Cup. 
 
 Laws governing the championship of the country where the Cup is 
 held to govern the Cup matches. Composition of teams need not be 
 made known till one fortnight before the matches. 
 
 If at any time five years shall elapse without a challenge, the Cup is 
 to be returned to the donor. 
 
 Agreement to be signed by the Association of the country winning 
 the Cup to abide by conditions or return the Cup to the U.S.L.T. 
 Association. 
 
 319 
 
REGULATIONS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL 
 LAWN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP 
 
 1. The Competition shall be called "The International Lawn Tennis 
 Championship," and shall be open to any Nation which has a recognized 
 Lawn Tennis Association or Corresponding Organisation ; and, for the 
 purposes of these Regulations, Australia with New Zealand, the British 
 Isles, British South Africa, Canada, India, and the United States of 
 America shall, amongst others, be regarded as separate Nations. 
 
 2. The Nation for the time-being holding the International Lawn 
 Tennis Championship shall hereinafter be termed "The Champion 
 Nation." 
 
 3. The Competition shall take place in accordance with the following 
 Regulations, and, except in so far as may be agreed upon by the 
 competing Nations for their own tie, with the Laws and Regulations of 
 the game for the time being sanctioned by the Champion Nation. 
 
 4. The management of the Competition shall be entrusted to a 
 Committee, hereafter termed " The Committee of Management," which 
 shall be appointed annually by the Lawn Tennis Association or 
 Corresponding Organisation of the Champion Nation. 
 
 5. The Committee of Management shall make all arrangements for 
 the preliminary Tie or Ties (if any) of the Competition where such 
 preliminary Tie or Ties are to be played in the Country of the Champion 
 Nation, and also for the Challenge Tie, and its decision in respect of all 
 such arrangements shall be final. The Committee of Management shall 
 also have power to depute to others, in any preliminary Tie or Ties, the 
 making of all or any of such arrangements as may be deemed necessary. 
 
 6. Any Nation wishing to compete shall give notice to the Secretary 
 of the Lawn Tennis ^Association or Corresponding Organisation of the 
 Champion Nation, so that it shall reach him not later than the first 
 Monday in March of the year in which the Competition is to take place. 
 Should more than one Nation challenge, they shall compete among 
 themselves for the right to play the Champion Nation in the Challenge 
 Tie. The Draw, at which each challenging Nation may be represented, 
 shall be made by the Committee of Management on the day following 
 the first Monday in March and particulars shall be notified to the 
 respective Secretaries for the time being of the Lawn Tennis Associa- 
 tions or Corresponding Organisations of the several competing Nations, 
 
APPENDIX 321 
 
 with an intimation of the latest date by which the Tie or Ties shall be 
 concluded. Failure to conclude a Tie by the date fixed by the Com- 
 mittee of Management shall render both Sides liable to be scratched, 
 unless in the opinion of the Committee of Management the weather, or 
 other unavoidable hindrance, shall have made completion impossible. 
 Competing Nations shall arrange among themselves for the playing of 
 their respective Ties upon a ground or grounds, and upon a date or 
 dates convenient to those concerned ; but, in the event of an agreement 
 not being arrived at, the preliminary Tie or Ties shall be played in the 
 Country of the Champion Nation upon a ground or grounds, and upon 
 a date or dates, to be fixed upon by the Committee of Management. 
 
 7. When gate-money shall be taken, one half of the profit shall 
 belong to the visiting Nation ; or, in the case of a Tie being played on 
 neutral ground, one-third each to the visiting Nations, and the remaining 
 fraction of profit in each case shall go to the Nation in whose Country 
 the Tie shall be played. 
 
 8. The Challenge Tie shall be played in the Country of the Champion 
 Nation at a date and upon a ground to be agreed upon by common 
 consent. In the event of an agreement not being arrived at, the fixing 
 of the date and ground shall be submitted to Arbitration. 
 
 9. A player shall be qualified to represent a Nation if he shall have 
 been born in that Nation, or shall have resided therein for at least two 
 years immediately preceding a Tie, provided always that he be a 
 bond fide Amateur ; but no one shall be entitled to play for more than 
 one Nation in this Competition during the same year. During the time 
 that a player may be qualifying to play for a Nation under the residential 
 qualification, he may play for the Nation for which he shall have been 
 last previously qualified. 
 
 10. The Lawn Tennis Association or Corresponding Organisation of 
 each of the Nations concerned shall appoint a Captain of its side. In 
 default of such appointment a side shall choose its own Captain. 
 
 11. For each Tie a Referee, from whose decision there shall be no 
 appeal, shall be appointed by common consent of the Captains of the 
 competing Sides. He shall have power to appoint Umpires. He shall 
 decide any point of law which an Umpire may profess himself unable to 
 decide, or which may be referred to him on appeal from the decision of 
 an Umpire by the players. He shall decide, if he be called upon to 
 decide by the Captain of either Side, whether or not a Match or Matches 
 shall be stopped owing to the state of the courts, the state of the weather, 
 darkness, or other unavoidable hindrance. 
 
 12. {a) Each competing Nation shall, twenty-one days before the date 
 fixed for the commencement of a Tie, nominate to the Committee of 
 Management not more than four players, without specifying who shall 
 play in Singles and Doubles. Different players, however, may be 
 nominated by a Nation for different Ties. 
 
 21 
 
322 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 {b) Each Captain shall, twenty-four hours before the time fixed for 
 the commencement of play in each Contest, give notice of the com- 
 position of his Team to the Executive Committee, and his Team shall 
 be selected from the four players previously nominated for the Tie. 
 Such selection by the Captain, however, shall be regarded as solely for 
 the convenience of the Executive Committee, and may be varied by him 
 before the commencement of play. 
 
 {c) For the Second Round of the Singles Contest in any Tie the 
 Referee may sanction the substitution of another of the players 
 nominated by a nation for that Tie in the place of any player, who, in 
 the opinion of the Referee, is j incapacitated by illness, accident, or 
 other unavoidable hindrance ; provided that such substitute shall not 
 be the player who has already competed in the Singles Contest. 
 
 13. The time of cessation of play shall be fixed before the com- 
 mencement of each day's play by the Captains of the opposing Sides, or 
 by the Referee if they shall disagree. It shall be the duty of the 
 Referee to stop play when this time arrives ; provided, nevertheless, that 
 he may extend the time with the consent of the Captains of the opposing 
 Sides. A player shall not be called upon to play more than one Match a 
 day, except with the unanimous consent of the Captains of the opposing 
 Sides and the majority of the Executive Committee. 
 
 14. Each Tie shall be decided by the combined results of Singles 
 and Doubles, and the Side which shall win the majority of Matches shall 
 be the winner of a Tie. 
 
 15. In the Singles, each Team shall, subject to Regulation 12, Clause 
 {c\ consist of two players, who shall play each against each of the 
 opposing Team the best of five advantage sets. The order of play and 
 courts shall be decided by lot. In the Doubles, each Team shall consist 
 of two players, who shall play against the opposing Team the best of 
 five advantage sets. 
 
 16. Unless otherwise arranged by the unanimous consent of the 
 Captains of the opposing Sides and the majority of the Executive 
 Committee, the Doubles shall take place between the two rounds of the 
 Singles Contest. If, however, a player be chosen for both the Singles 
 and Doubles Contests, and if, by a change in the above arrangements, 
 he be called upon to play his two Singles' Matches on consecutive days, 
 then there shall be an interval of one day between the second and the 
 third day's play. Provided, nevertheless, that if there be an interval 
 between the first and second day's play, either from postponement, 
 arrangement, or the interval of a Sunday, there shall not be an interval 
 between the second and third day's play. 
 
 17. If any player be absent when called upon to play by the Referee, 
 the opposing Side shall be entitled to three love sets. 
 
 18. Any competing Nation whose Lawn Tennis Association or 
 Corresponding Organisation, or whose Representatives shall fail to 
 
APPENDIX 323 
 
 conform to the above Regulations, may be disqualified by the Com- 
 mittee of Management in respect of the Competition for the year 
 wherein such failure shall occur. 
 
 19. Winners of a preliminary Tie shall notify the result without delay 
 to the Committee of Management, by telegram, which shall be confirmed 
 by letter. 
 
 20. For purposes of correspondence and the giving of notices 
 required by these regulations the Secretary for the time being of the 
 Lawn Tennis Association or Corresponding Organisation of the 
 Champion Nation shall be regarded as representing the Committee of 
 Management. 
 
 21. The above Regulations shall be binding upon the Nations 
 concerned, and shall not be altered except with the consent of two- 
 thirds of the Associations or Corresponding Organisations whose 
 Nations shall have from time to time competed and who shall record 
 their votes. 
 
 Note. — In the above Regulations, one Nation playing against 
 another is regarded as a "Tie"; Singles and Doubles are 
 regarded as separate " Contests " ; and the best of five advantage 
 sets is regarded as a "Match." The players in Singles and 
 Doubles are regarded as separate " Teams " ; and the players in 
 the combined contests as a " Side." 
 
INDEX 
 
 Adelaide, 42 
 
 Aigburth, 225 
 
 Alfonso, King, 50 
 
 All England Club, traditions of, 3, 
 223 ; Prince of Wales President of, 
 4 ; croquet at, 5 ; inception of, 5 ; 
 suggested sites for, 5 ; deficit at, 
 6 ; first lawn tennis courts at, 6 ; 
 changes of title, 7, 22 ; as legislators, 
 8, 12, 291 ; relations with L.T.A., 
 4, 8, 10, 23 ; as autocrat, 9 ; asphalt 
 court at, 17; annals of, 18; 
 flourishing condition of, 22 ; dwin- 
 dling profits at, 26 ; Archdale 
 Palmer's regime at, 26 ; plan of 
 championships at, 176; Davis Cup 
 matches at, 265, 270, 273, 277, 281. 
 See also Championships 
 
 All England Plate, 26 
 
 Allen, C. G., 236 
 
 — E. R., 75, 81, 89, 91, 236 
 Aliens, the, 152, 236, 299 
 
 America, lawm tennis in, 39, 239 ; 
 career of expert in, 40; Inter- 
 scholastic Association of, 40; stand- 
 ard of play in, 41, 59, 24; women- 
 players of, 41 ; grip of players in, 59 ; 
 lobbing in, 123, 140 ; doubles in, 
 133 ; training methods in, 157, 267 ; 
 covered courts in, 215 ; Davis Cup 
 matches in, 239-261 ; conditions in, 
 249 ; championship of, 255, 256 ; 
 Dohertys in, 247, 256 ; Davis Cup 
 teams from, 267, 274, 281 
 
 — Cup, 238 
 
 American service, difficulties of, 27, 
 256 ; in Australia, 42 ; angle of break 
 of, 103, 112; first introduction into 
 England, 106 ; terminology of, 106 ; 
 principles of, 107 ; shape of ball in, 
 114; method of playing, 115; 
 difficulties in learning, 116 ; in Davis 
 Cup matches, 244, 254, 256, 272, 
 283 
 
 Asphalt courts, 17, 213 
 
 Auckland, N.Z., 43 
 
 Australasia and Davis Cup, 266, 
 269, 275, 281, 285 
 
 Australia, lawn tennis in, 41 ; Lawn 
 Tennis Association of, 41 ; Inter- 
 state matches in, 42 ; courts in, 42 ; 
 American service in, 42 ; University 
 zeal in, 42 ; and Davis Cup, 266 
 
 Austria, lawn tennis in, 48 ; standard 
 of play in, 48 ; tournaments in, 48 ; 
 the game in the smaller towns of, 49 ; 
 A. F. Wilding in, 49 ; private courts 
 in, 50 ; Davis Cup team from, 268 
 
 Auteuil Club, Paris, 50, 213, 263 
 
 Ayme, P., 264 
 
 Ayres, F. H., 17 
 
 Backgrounds, 175, 206, 215, 290 
 Backhand drive, 6'], 83 
 
 — smash, 90 
 
 — volley, 94, 138 
 
 Baddeley, W., 26, 29, 31, 36, 54, 58, 
 
 126, 157, 227 
 Baddeleys, the, 182, 232, 234 
 Baden-Baden, 47 
 Bainbridge, A. E., 230 
 Ball-boys, 131, 163, 169, 170, 179 
 Balls, bound with white cloth, 6, 16; 
 
 inside seam of, 17 ; supply at 
 
 tournaments, 163, 178 ; in America, 
 
 243, 249, 250; made of worsted, 
 
 291 ; at Nice, 298 
 Barlow, H. S., 29, 32, 129, 234 
 Barrett, H. Roper, 84, 243, 280, 283 
 Baseball, 98 
 
 Basto, William Pinto, 50 
 Batthyany Strattmann, Prince, 49 
 Bay Ridge, 249, 255 
 Beau Site courts, 290 
 Beau Site Hotel, 292 
 Beckenham, 223 
 Behr, K., 243, 282 
 Belgium, progress in, 263 ; challenge 
 
 for Davis Cup by, 263 ; v. France at 
 
 Wimbledon, 264 
 
 325 
 
326 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Berkeley, Humphrey, 27 
 
 Berlin, 47 
 
 Binny, S. B., 305 
 
 Bird, H. W. Stonehewer, 299 
 
 Birth of the game, i 
 
 Bishop of London, 40 
 
 Bisque, the, 188 
 
 Black, E. D., 242, 244 
 
 Body- weight, use of, 73, 77, loi, 1 15 
 
 Borman, P. de, 82, 264 
 
 Boston, 243, 248 
 
 Boucher, J. M., 75, 235 
 
 Boulogne, 50 
 
 Bourbel, R. de, 305 
 
 Break, see Service, Swerving, and 
 
 American Service 
 Brighton, 185, 237 
 Brisbane, 42 
 Broel-Plater, Count, 48 
 Brookes, N. E., 27, 34, 36, 42, 55, 60, 
 
 %Z, 93, 124, 225, 241, 267, 269, 282 
 Brussels, 263 
 Burges brothers, 228 
 Burke, Tom, 304 
 Burrow, F. R., 164 
 Bute, Marquis of, 235 
 Buxton, 178,230, 235 
 
 Cafe Royal, 265 
 
 Cambridge, Duke of, 291 
 
 Canada, lawn tennis in, 45 
 
 Cannes, 206, 287, 289, 294 
 
 Cape Colony, 44 
 
 Caridia, G. A., 96 
 
 Carlos, the late King, 50 
 
 Carlsbad, 49 
 
 Cascaes, Sporting Club, 50 
 
 Casdagli, X. E., 225 
 
 Casino, Monte Carlo, 301, 303 
 
 " Cavendish," 7, 188 
 
 Chambers, Mrs. Lambert, 36, 59 
 
 Champagne, 157 
 
 Championship, vicissitudes at, 4, 25 ; 
 first, 7, II ; second, 12 ; question of 
 adjourning, 13; entries at, 13; 
 Renshaws at, 13, 18, 20, 25 ; 
 spectators at, 20, 25, 36; Renshaw 
 V. Lawford for, 20 ; advertising 
 charges at, 22 ; erection of grand- 
 stand for, 22 ; umpiring at, 12, 28 ; 
 successful factors of, 25 ; Pim v. 
 Baddeley for, 26 ; decline in profits 
 at, 26 ; revival of interest in, 26 ; 
 improvements at, 28 ; winner of All- 
 Comers and, 28, 34 ; lost by one 
 stroke, 31 ; Dohertys at, 32; record 
 year at, 33 ; Brookes v. H. L. 
 
 Doherty for, 34 ; cosmopolitan 
 character of, 36 ; conditions at, 36 ; 
 ground plan of, 176 ; Ward and 
 Davis at, 246 ; H. L. Doherty's 
 resignation of, 279 
 Championship, AH England Junior, 234 
 
 — American, 253, 255 
 
 — of Austria, 48 
 
 — Australasian, 42 
 
 — Covered Court, 213, 264 
 
 — Doubles, 15, 23, 35, 246 
 
 — German, 46 
 
 — International, 320 
 
 — Irish, 232 
 
 — Ladies', 9, 13, 23, 35 
 
 — Mixed Doubles, 35, 226 
 
 — of New Zealand, 43 
 
 — of Portugal, 51 
 
 — Scottish, 230 
 
 — South African, 44 
 
 — Swedish, 57 
 
 — Welsh, 234 
 Charlton S. E., 225 
 Chateau d'Oex, 53 
 Chaytor, D. G., 36 
 Chaytors, the, 232 
 Chevalier, A., 303 
 
 Chipp, Herbert, 19, 27, 36, 316 
 Chiswick Park, 223 
 Chop service, 104 
 Christchurch, N. Z., 43 
 Cintra, 51 
 
 Climate, effects of, 150, 291 
 Clothier, W. J., 267, 282 
 Codman, A., 243 
 Colchester, 236 
 Collins, Kreigh, 274 
 
 — W. H., 190, 247, 250, 257, 316 
 Colonies, progress in, 34, 41, 266 
 Combination in doubles, 134, 141 
 Committees, duties of, 43, 162, 172, 
 
 228 
 Continent, growth of the game on, 38, 
 
 45. 53, 263 
 Control of the ball, 79 
 Copenhagen, 52 
 Corder, F. H., 230 
 County matches, 225, 233 
 Courtenay, Colonel, 232 
 Courts, evolution of, 3, 6, 7 
 
 — asphalt, 17, 42 
 
 — grass, at tournaments, 172 ; mate- 
 rials required for single, 174 ; canvas 
 round, 175 ; in private gardens, 205 ; 
 turfing, 207 ; cost of turfing, 207 ; 
 draining, 207 ; marking out, 314 ; 
 sowing seeds on, 207 ; top-dressing. 
 
INDEX 
 
 327 
 
 209; mowing, 210; neglect of, 
 210; weeds on, 210; watering, 212; 
 renovating, 212; sheep on, 212; 
 "well idea," 227; plans of, 315 
 Courts covered, 213; see also Covered 
 Courts 
 
 — sand, 213, 290 
 
 — in America, 243, 260 
 
 Covered courts, 213 ; at Queen's Club, 
 213; in Sweden, 51, 217; in Paris, 
 213 ; in Lyons, 213 ; plans of, 213 ; 
 first, 213; championships, 213; 
 construction of, 215 ; background 
 for, 215 ; lighting, 217 ; spectators 
 in, 217 ; cost of, 218 
 
 Craig, H. N., 233 
 
 Crescent Athletic Club, New York, 
 
 253» 274 
 Cricket and lawn tennis, 79, 96, 98, 
 
 no, 173 
 
 Croquet at All England Club, 5, 22 
 Cross-volleying, 89, 91, 95, 137, 142, 
 
 145 
 Crown Prince's Club, Stockholm, 51, 
 
 217 
 Crystal Palace, 223 
 Czech Club, Prague, 48 
 
 Dabbs, Dr., 147 
 Dalshields, Paul, 267, 270, 272 
 Dancing and lawn tennis, 74, 158, 292 
 Davis Cup, donor of, 239 ; negotia- 
 tions concerning, 316; inception of, 
 318; original conditions of, 319; 
 regiilations of, 259, 320 ; and 
 America Cup, 239 ; Continental 
 challenges and, 241, 263 ; Colonies 
 and, 241, 276, 281 ; first British 
 challenge for, 241 ; conditions of 
 play in, 252, 272 ; matches, 242, 
 243, 245, 249 ; Roper Barrett on, 
 242 ; England's first defeat in, 244 ; 
 second challenge for, 246 ; Dohertys 
 and Pim play for, 247 ; failure of 
 second English team, 251 ; Pirn's 
 selection for, 251 ; popular excitement 
 over, 252, 260, 285 ; great double at 
 New York, 253 ; England's third 
 challenge for, 255 ; Dohertys capture, 
 , 256 ; Mr. Collins and, 257 ; American 
 sportsmanship and, 261 ; in England, 
 262 ; Belgium and France challenge 
 for, 263, 268 ; banquets, 265 ; 
 invaders repulsed, 266 ; Australasia 
 challenge for, 266, 276 ; N. E. 
 Brookes and, 267, 283 ; America's 
 first challenging team, 267 ; Presi- 
 
 dent Roosevelt and, 267 ; matches 
 at Queen's Club, 268 ; America 
 beats Australia in, 269 ; Wright v. 
 Brookes in, 269, 284 ; America 
 repulsed in, 270, 278, 281 ; Ward v, 
 H. L. DoKerty in, 271 ; S. H. Smith 
 in, 272 ; Dohertys v. Ward and 
 Wright in, 273 ; America re- 
 challenge for, 274; Wright's acci- 
 dent, 275 ; matches at Newport, 
 Mon., 275; A. F. Wilding and, 
 276, 284 ; challenge round 1906, 
 277 ; Dohertys unable to defend, 
 280 ; won by Australasia, 281 ; 
 England's brave defence of, 281 ; 
 impressions of, 281 
 Davis, D wight F., 106, 239, 244, 246, 
 
 250, 253 
 Decugis, M., 61, 78, 264, 268 
 Demeanour on court, 30, 130, 15 1, 
 
 156, 222, 261, 264 
 Devonshire Park, 171, 237 
 Dieppe, 50 
 
 Diet, 146, 152, 158, 299 
 Dinard, 50 
 
 Dod, Miss L., 24, 227 
 Dodgson, C. L., 183 
 Doherty, H. L., 31, 34, 35, 36, "J^, 
 78, %'i, 90, 127, 138, 151, 248, 251, 
 256, 261, 266, 271, 278, 293, 300 
 — R. F., 26, 34, 92, 94, 192, 248, 
 
 252, r,57, 278, 299 
 Dohertys, the, at Wimbledon, 26, 32 ; 
 grip of, 54; at lobbing, 140; on 
 drinking during matches, 157 ; and 
 prizes, 182; in Dublin, 232; at 
 Scarborough, 234 ; v. Ward and 
 Davis at Wimbledon, 247 ; first visit 
 to America, 247 ; at Longwood, 248 ; 
 on American conditions, 249 ; at 
 Bay Ridge, New York, 250 ; tactics 
 of, 253 ; employing American 
 methods, 254 ; at Newport, 254 ; 
 win American Doubles Championship, 
 255 ; eulogy of, 256 ; second visit to 
 America, 256 ; capture Davis Cup at 
 Longwood, 256 ; defend Davis Cup 
 at Wimbledon, 266, 270, 273 ; 
 narrow escape of, 273, 278 ; defeat 
 of, 38, 278, 300 ; retirement of, 279 ; 
 strength of, 284 ; and King Edward, 
 291 
 Doubles, serving in, 117, 119, 136; 
 subordination of, 132 ; American 
 development of, 133; spectacular 
 features of, 133, 160; popularity at 
 clubs, 134; low standard of, 134; 
 
328 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 combination in, 134, 135, 141 ; 
 volleying in, 136; return of service 
 in, 139; lobbing in, 140; handi- 
 capping in, 194 
 
 Doubles, mixed, 142 
 
 — ladies', 166 
 
 Draining courts, 207 
 
 Draw, seeding the, 182 
 
 Dressing rooms, 177 
 
 Driffield, L. T., no 
 
 Drinking, 155 ; during matches, 157 
 
 Drive, Irish, 81, 232 
 
 Driving, forehand, 66 ; backhand, 67, 
 83 ; see also strokes 
 
 Drop-volley, 93 
 
 Dublin, 13, 33, 179, 232 
 
 Duckworth, Joseph, 225 
 
 Dunedin, N.Z., 43 
 
 Dunlop, A. W., 267 
 
 Dwight, Dr. J., 58, 179, 243, 316 
 
 Eastbourne, 171, 237 
 
 East Coast tournaments, 236 
 
 East Croydon, 223 
 
 Eastern doubles, 248, 316 
 
 Eaves, W. V., 29, 31, 85, 93, 138, 
 246, 254, 267, 281, 317 
 
 Ebermann, J,, 50 
 
 Edgbaston, 227 
 
 Edward, King, at Marienbad, 48 ; at 
 Cannes, 291 ; Prince Batthyany 
 and, 49 ; Dohertys and, 291 
 
 Elbow, effect of keeping down, 67 
 
 Erskine, W., 14 
 
 Etretat, 50 
 
 Evelegh, B. C, 179, 191, 226, 230, 237 
 
 Falmouth, 237 
 
 Fassit, F. L., 298 
 
 Faults, causes for, 99 ; hints to 
 
 overcome, 102 
 Feet, position of, in driving, 74, 78 ; 
 
 in serving, 99, 115 ; clearing the, 138 
 Felixstowe, 236 
 Fencing, 151 
 Field, 7, 188 
 Field tennis, 2 
 Finger-work, importance of, 56, 62, 
 
 .87,.ii5 
 Fitzwilliam Square, 232 
 — week, 232 
 Fleming, Tom, 304 
 Folkestone, 237 
 Follow-through, 70, 76, 84, 96 
 Food, see Diet 
 Foot-faulting, 122, 187, 230 
 Forehand driving, 66 
 
 France, lawn tennis in, 2, 50, 263 ; 
 
 Davis Cup teams from, 263, 268 
 Franzenbad, 49 
 Froitzheim, O., 46 
 Fry, C. B., 152 
 
 German Crown Princess, 292 
 
 Germany, growth of game in, 45 ; 
 number of courts in, 45 ; champion- 
 ships of, 46 ; national independence 
 of, 46 ; tournaments in, 46 
 
 Gipsy tournament, 223 
 
 Golf and lawn tennis, 25, 47, 62, 68, 
 70, T], 92, III, 121, 197, 201, 293 
 
 Good, T. D., 233 
 
 Gordon Bennett motor course, 47 
 
 Gore, A. W., 31, 67, T], 80, 89, 124, 
 157, 192, 242, 245, 280 
 
 — Spencer, 11, 12, 15 
 Gothenburg, 52 
 Grand Prix, 302 
 Grant, L. J., 230 
 
 — Wiley, 230 
 
 Grass courts, see Courts 
 
 Grip, standard, 54 ; defects of, 55, 83 ; 
 
 forehand, 56 ; backhand, 57, 83 ; 
 
 changes of, 58 ; lack of uniformity in 
 
 champions', 59 ; for lifting drive, 82 ; 
 
 for service, 99 
 
 — of Dohertys, 55, 57 ; of N. E. 
 Brookes, 55, 70 ; of W. Baddeley, 
 58 ; of Miss Sutton, 59 ; of S. H. 
 Smith, 59 ; of Mrs. Lambert 
 Chambers, 59 ; of M. Decugis, 61 ; 
 of H. S. Mahony, 61 ; of American 
 players, 61 
 
 Gustav, King, 51, 52 
 
 Hadow, P. F., 12, 15 
 Half-shots, 83 
 
 — volley, 96, 138 
 Hamburg, 45 
 
 — Lawn Tennis Guild, 46 
 Hamilton, W. J., 32, 81, 232 
 Hand, position for grip, 56 
 Handicap singles, 127 ; tactics for 
 
 back-marker in, 127 ; receiver of 
 odds in, 127 ; volleying in, 128 ; 
 winning the toss in, 128 
 Handicapping, by cord across court, 
 7 ; first-class players and, 30 ; 
 history and principles of, 188 ; bisque 
 system of, 188 ; quarter system of, 
 189; sixths system of, 190; methods 
 of leading experts, 191 ; H. S. 
 Scrivener on, 192 ; in doubles, 194, 
 200 ; loo-up method, 197, 202 ; on 
 
INDEX 
 
 329 
 
 the Continent, 198 ; C. A. Voigt on, 
 199; golf system of, 201 ; difficulties 
 of, 202 ; other systems of, 202, 293 ; 
 competitors and, 221 ; relating to, 
 310 
 
 Handles, size of, 62 
 
 Harrison, A. J., 229 
 
 Hartley, Canon J. T., 14, 15 
 
 Hayden, Charles, 248 
 
 Head, bending the, 84, 87 
 
 Heathcote, C. G., 7, 11, 199 
 
 — J. M., 16 
 Hide, Charles, 228 
 
 Hillyard, G. W., 9, 24, 31, 33, 81, 
 185, 235, 300 
 
 — Mrs., 9, 25, 226, 235 
 Hirst, G. H., no 
 Hobart, C, 82 
 
 Holmes, Ellwood, 229, 230 
 
 Homburg, 46, 169, 199, 265 
 
 Hook-volley, 92 
 
 Hotels, 158 ; on Riviera, 287, 292 
 
 Hull, 233 
 
 Hyde Park Club, 213 
 
 Hythe, 237 
 
 He de Puteaux, 50 
 
 Ilkley, 233 
 
 India, lawn tennis in, 45 
 
 International matches, 316, 320; see 
 
 also Davis Cup 
 Inter-scholastic Association of America, 
 
 40 
 Inter-State matches in Australia, 42 
 
 — 'Varsity matches, 9 ; in America, 
 41 ; in Australia, 42 
 
 Irish drive, 81, 232 
 
 Jiu-jitsu, 62 
 
 Jones, Henry, 7, 188 
 
 King, Lionel, 237 
 Kormend, 50 
 Kubelik, Plerr, 303 
 
 Lacrosse and lawn tennis, 45 
 
 Ladies' Championship, 9, 23, 35 
 
 Lamb, H. J., 44 
 
 La Napoule, 293 
 
 Lamed, W. A., 246, 250, 252, 256, 
 267, 282, 317 
 
 Lawford, H. F., 13, 15, 20, 22, 129, 
 182, 232, 291 
 
 Lawn Tennis Association, relations 
 with All England Club, 4, 8, 10, 
 23 ; transfer of rules and regulations 
 to, 8 ; formation of, 8 ; functions of, 
 
 161 ; and seeding the draw, 182; and 
 Davis Cup, 246, 252, 316 
 Lawn Tennis Association of Austral- 
 asia, 41 
 
 — of New Zealand, 43 
 
 — of South Africa, 44 
 
 — of Germany, 45 
 — ■ of Sweden, 52 
 
 — of Switzerland, 52 
 
 — of United States, 263, 316 
 
 Laws, confusion of, 6 ; first editions 
 
 of, 8; observance of, 182 
 Leamington, 235 
 Leeds, 233 
 Leicester, 235 
 Lemaire, W., 264 
 Les Avants, 53 
 Le Touquet, 50 
 "Lewis Carroll," 182 
 Lewis, E. W., 29, 33, 36 
 Leyman, 243 
 Lifting-drive, 79, 81, in 
 Linesmen, 173, 187, 203 
 Lisbon, 50 
 
 Little, R. D., 273, 274, 278 
 Liverpool, 226, 275 
 Lob, the, 91, 123, 140, 144 
 
 — volley, 93, 138 
 
 London Covered Court Championship, 
 264 
 
 — tournaments, 223 
 Long, Right Hon. W., 236 
 
 — tennis, 2 
 Longue Pauine, La^ 2 
 
 Longwood, U.S.A., 243, 248, 256, 317 
 
 Lubbock, E., 15 
 
 Lucerne, 53 
 
 Luiz, King, of Portugal, 50 *■ 
 
 Lyon, Hon. R. P. Bowes, 317 
 
 Lyons, 213 
 
 Madge, A. E., 305 
 
 Madrid, 50 
 
 Mahony, H. S., 29, 32, 61, 90, 185, 
 
 225, 227, 247, 258, 317 
 Maida Vale Club, 213 
 Manchester, 224 
 Mansfield, F. S., 245 
 Marienbad, 48 
 Marshall, Julian, 7, 9 
 Martin, Miss, 227 
 Massy, A., 293 
 Match play, 118, 155 
 M.C.C., Tennis Committee of, 6; 
 
 confirmation of rules by, 7 ; severance 
 
 from All England Club, 8 
 M'Gregor, A. W., 230 
 
330 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand J Duchess 
 
 Anastasie of, 292 
 Meden, C. A. von der, 46 
 Meers, E. G., 24, 27, 122, 124 
 Melbourne, 36, 42 
 Mentone, 289, 305 
 Mewburn, G. R., 317 
 Meyer, Miss C, 235 
 Michael of Russia, Grand Duke, 291, 
 
 293 
 
 Mixed doubles, 142 ; evolution of, 
 143 ; tactics in, 144 ; lady's share in, 
 143 ; serving in, 144 
 
 Moffat, 230 
 
 — Hydro, 231 
 Monckton, H. H., 228 
 Monte Carlo, 287, 289, 301, 305 
 Montreal, 45 
 
 Montreux, 53 
 
 Morganstern, A. G., 295, 297 
 Mowing, 210 ; machines, 211 
 Murray, J. O'Hara, 47 
 Muscles, saving the, 62 ; training the, 
 150 
 
 Nahant, U.S.A., 248 
 Napier, N.Z., 43 
 Nervousness, causes of, 73 
 Net, changes in, 3, 6, 8, 12 ; passing 
 racket over, 13 ; at tournaments, 174 
 
 — cord strokes, 31 
 Newcastle, 228 
 Newport, Mon,, 234, 275 
 
 — U.S.A., 40, 246, 248, 254, 256, 276 
 New South Wales, 42 
 
 New Zealand, lawn tennis in, 41, 43 ; 
 courts in, 43 ; public school 
 championships in, 43 ; clubs in, 43 ; 
 and Davis Cup, 266, 276 
 
 Niagara Falls, 242 
 
 Nice, 287, 289 
 
 — Club, 294 
 
 Nisbet, H. A., 246, 317 
 Northern tournament, 224 
 Northumberland County Tournament, 
 
 228 
 Nostitz, Count, 50 
 
 Odds, see Handicapping 
 Old Trafford, 225 
 Order of play, 168, 296 
 Ordinary twist service, 104 
 
 — American service, 106 
 Orme, G. L., 213, 217 
 Osborn, Colonel, 30 
 Ostend, 263 
 
 Oxford, Doubles Championship at, 23 
 
 Palmer, Archdale, 26 
 
 Paret, J. Parmly, 59, 72 
 
 Paris, 50 
 
 Parke, J. C, 233 
 
 Parker, H. A., 82 
 
 Partners at tournaments, 135 
 
 Pasadena, 36 
 
 Pastime^ lo 
 
 Pavilions, 227, 296 
 
 Payn, F. W., 92, 230 
 
 Pelotta, 50 
 
 Permanent base, need for, 126 
 
 Perth, 42 
 
 Pflaum, C, 233 
 
 Pilsen, 49 
 
 Pim, J., 26, 29, 30, 36, 54, 93, 152, 
 
 227, 232, 247, 251, 259 
 Pisek, 49 
 Placing, variety in, 117 ; importance of, 
 
 121, 125 
 Poidevin, L. O. S., 272 
 Port Elizabeth, 44 
 Porter, John, 152 
 Portugal, lawn tennis in, 50 ; Royalty 
 
 and the game in, 51 ; championships 
 
 of, 51 ; Royal courts in, 51 
 Prague, 48, 50, 276 
 Presbrey, Palmer, 243 
 Prince of Wales at Wimbledon, 4 
 Prince's Club, 5, 15 
 Prize meetings, see Tournaments 
 Prizes, 181, 183, 295, 303 
 Professionalism, 42, 304 
 Programmes, tournament, 167, 296 
 Pseudonyms, 229 
 
 Quarter system of handicapping, 189 
 Queen's Club, 213, 223, 268, 279 
 
 Racket, evolution of, 16, 92 ; size of, 
 16 ; hold of, 54 ; handles of, 62 ; 
 swing of, 69 ; impact of ball with, 
 69; path of, 71 
 
 — scoring, 6 
 
 Ragatz, 53 
 
 Railway travelling, 164, 167, 220, 223, 
 277, 293, 305 
 
 Rand, courts on the, 44 
 
 Redhill, 223 
 
 Referee, duties of, 135, 163; value of, 
 163 ; worries of, 165 ; tent of, 165 ; 
 methods employed by, 166 ; as 
 handicapper, 191 
 
 Regulations for International Champion- 
 ship, 320 
 
 Renshaw, Ernest, 19, 24, 29, 36, 129, 
 179, 202, 226, 234, 293 
 
INDEX 
 
 331 
 
 Renshaw, William, 15, 18, 19, 21, 24, 32 
 Renshaws, the, 13, 16, 19, 23, 25, 32, 
 
 54, 182, 232, 291 
 Reverse twist service, 105 
 
 — American service, 106 
 Rice, M. Alvarado, 297 
 Richardson, J. T., 15 
 
 — L. A., 44 
 Ringhoffer, Baron, 50 
 
 Riseley, F. L., 33, 35, 105, 120, 226, 
 
 265, 273, 278, 280, 299 
 Ritchie, M.J. G., 81, 300 
 Riviera, courts on, 213, 290; condi- 
 tions, 286, 297 ; hotels, 287 ; climate, 
 290 ; Renshaws on, 291 ; Royalties 
 on, 291 ; golf on, 293 ; tournament 
 management, 295, 297 ; prizes, 295, 
 303 ; memorable matches, 299 ; 
 Dohertys on, 299 ; gambling, 301 ; 
 millionaires, 303 ; professionals, 
 304 ; railways to, 305 
 Rohan, Prince Raoul de, 50 
 Rolling, 210, 211, 290 
 Roosevelt, President, 39, 267 
 Royalty and lawn tennis, 4, 39 
 Rules of the game, 307 
 Run-back, 173, 174, 205, 213 
 Running in on the service, 90, 95, 1 1 7, 
 
 122, 137 
 Russia, lawn tennis in, 2 
 
 "St. Leger," 14 
 
 St. Moritz, 53 
 
 Sand courts, 206, 213, 290 
 
 San Remo, 304 
 
 San Sebastian, 50 
 
 Santos Dumont, A. , 303 
 
 Sam ways. Dr. D. W., 305 
 
 Saro, 52 
 
 Saxmundham, 236 
 
 Scarborough, 234 
 
 Schoolboys and the game, 40, 43, 52, 
 234 
 
 Schulenburg, Countess, 299 
 
 "Scissors,'' 89 
 
 Scrivener, H. S., 9, 21, 23, 167, 192, 
 236 
 
 Scottish championships, 230 
 
 Service, advantage of, 12 ; evolution 
 of, 27 ; variety in, 27, 98, 116; grip 
 for, 56, 99 ; use of body-weight in, 
 73, loi ; running in on, 90, 117, 
 122 ; position of feet in, 99 ; throwing 
 up the ball in, 99 ; second, 102 ; in 
 doubles, 117, 119, 137; tactics in, 
 117; return of, 121, 139, 144; 
 
 partner's position for, 136; lobbing 
 as reply to, 140 ; in mixed doubles, 
 
 143 
 Service, American, 27, 42, 103, 109, 
 115,243,256 
 
 — chop, 104 
 
 — ordinary twist, 104 
 
 — reverse American, 106 
 
 — underhand twist, 105 
 Shanklin, 237 
 
 Sheep on courts, 212 
 
 Sheffield, 225, 233 
 
 Short, A., 228 
 
 Shoulder work, effect on strokes of, 
 
 66, 71, 77, 84 
 Simond, G. M., 198 
 " Sixths" system of handicapping, 190, 
 
 196, 200 
 Slazenger & Sons, 175 
 Sleep, 158 
 
 Smash, the, 89, 91, 94, 142 
 Smith, Howard, 228 
 
 — S. H., 33, 35, 67, 74, 77, 89, 124, 
 226, 234, 270, 272, 278, 280, 299, 
 301 
 
 Soil, 208, 209 
 
 Somerset Club, Boston, 243 
 
 South Africa, lawn tennis in, 44 ; 
 standard of play in, 44 ; champion- 
 ships of, 44 ; courts in, 44 ; Union 
 of, 44 
 
 — Coast Tournaments, 237 
 
 — of France, see Riviera 
 Spain, lawn tennis in, 50, 292 
 Spectators at tournaments, 20, 25, 34, 
 
 36, 47, 164, 184, 217 
 Sphairisfiki, 3 ; diagram of court for, 
 
 2 
 Spin, variation in, 79^ 244 
 Stands at tournaments, 176, 217 
 Steel points, 222 
 Sterry, Mrs., 227 
 Stevens, R., 242 
 Stockholm, covered courts in, 51, 217 J 
 
 English players at, 52 
 Stone, Dr., 27 
 Stop-half-volley, 97 
 
 — netting, 172, 174 
 
 — shots, 85 
 
 — volley, 93 
 Stratford-on-Avon, 228 
 Striker-out, position of, 120 
 Strokes, learning the, 64 ; evolution of, 
 
 66 ; effect of shoulder, arm, and wrist 
 on, 66, 81, 85 ; body- work and 
 timing in, 69, 73 ; hitting the ball at 
 top of bound, 72 ; measuring, 75 ; 
 
332 THE COMPLETE LAWN TENNIS PLAYER 
 
 keeping the racket *'open," yS; 
 getting good length, 85 
 
 Strokes off the ground, 15, 18, 56 
 
 Sun, effects of, 119, 255, 290 
 
 Surbiton, 223 
 
 Sutton, Miss May, 24, 35, 41, 82, 225, 234 
 
 Sutton, R. N., 230 
 
 Sweden, lawn tennis in, 51, 157; 
 covered courts in, 51, 217 ; champion- 
 ships of, 51 ; facilities to schoolboys 
 in, 52; King of, 51, 52 
 
 Swerving, principles of, 107 ; in Davis 
 Cup matches, 244 
 
 Swing-back, 69, 73, 75, 116 
 
 Switzerland, lawn tennis in, 52 
 
 Sydney, 42 
 
 Tabors, the, 14, 15 
 
 Tactics, in serving, 117; against a 
 volleyer, 124 ; against a base-liner, 
 124; for one base-liner against 
 another, 125; in general, 129; in 
 doubles, 136, 139; in mixed doubles, 
 143; in refereeing, 170; in Davis 
 Cup matches, 253, 272 
 
 Tapeda Club, Royal, Lisbon, 5 1 
 
 Tasmania, 42 
 
 Tate, T. J., 16 
 
 Tea, 156, 170, 227 
 
 Temperament, see Demeanotir 
 
 Temperature, variations of, 36, 150 
 
 Tennis Committee of M.C.C., 6 
 
 — real, players of, at championship, 
 II ; comparison of strokes with, 16 ; 
 trammels of, 18 
 
 — Cabinet, 40 
 
 Tent, referee's, 165, 171, 176; dressing 
 
 176 ; tea, 227 
 Thorpe Satchville, 235 
 Timing the stroke, 69 
 Todd, Howard, 228 
 Top, putting on, 81, 85, iii 
 
 — dressing, 209, 295 
 Toss, winning the, 118 
 Tournaments, partners at, 135; 
 
 veterans at, 147, 237 ; catering at, 
 154 ; meals at, 154 ; drinking between 
 matches at, 155, 157 ; tea at, 156, 
 170, 227; adequate sleep at, 158; 
 hotels at, 158 ; rest between, 159 ; 
 popularity of, 160; promotion of, 
 161 ; duties of committees at, 163, 
 
 166, 169, 296; spectators at, 164, 
 170, 184, 229; programmes at, 165, 
 
 167, 229; ladies' doubles at, 166; 
 reforms needed at, 167, 297 ; 
 
 competitors at, 167, 170; order of 
 play at, 169, 296; fitting out, 171, 
 178; manufacturers and, 174, 178; 
 courts at, 173 ; Wimbledon manage- 
 ment of, 175 ; balls at, 178, 298 ; 
 fallacies about, 180; prizes at, 181, 
 295 ; first-class players at, 181 ; 
 " seeding the draw " at, 182; umpires 
 at, 184 ; handicapping at, 192 ; 
 pleasures of, 219 ; motoring to, 220 ; 
 hostesses at, 221 ; competitors at, 
 221, 223, 297; worries at, 222; 
 ladies and, 224 ; clear Sunday at, 
 228 ; business side of, 229 ; 
 pseudonyms at, 229 ; chances of 
 success at, 238 
 
 Training, 28, 134, 146, 153, 158, 272 
 
 Transvaal, 44 
 
 Turf, laying, 207, 208 ; cost of, 207 ; 
 nursery, 212 
 
 Turkish baths, 151 
 
 Turnier Club, Berlin, 47 
 
 Umpires, at first championship, 
 12 ; at Wimbledon, 28 ; at critical 
 periods, 130; and foot-faulting, 122 ; 
 lack of, 168; professional, 170; 
 chairs for, 174 ; incompetent, 185 ; 
 stories of, 185 ; players acting as, 186 
 
 Underhand twist service, 105, 129 
 
 Universality of lawn tennis, 35, 38, 
 263, 289 
 
 Universities of America,' the game at, 
 
 41 
 
 — of Australia, 42 
 
 — of Sweden, 52 
 United States, see America 
 Upsala, 52 
 
 Vaile, P. A., no 
 
 Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 303 
 
 Ventilation, 158 
 
 Veterans, 15, 134, 147, 237 
 
 Victoria, 42, 267 
 
 Vienna, clubs at, 48 
 
 Voigt, C. A., 169, 199 
 
 Volleying, development of, 15, 27, 86; 
 grip for, 56; close-quarter, 60; 
 learning, 87 ; finger-work in, 87 ; 
 high and low, 88 ; cross, 89, 142 ; 
 overhead, 91, 142 ; hook, 92 ; stop 
 and drop, 93 ; lob, 93, 138 ; tactics 
 in, 94; in doubles, 94, 136; defence 
 against, 95 ; half, 96 ; base-line play 
 against, 124; American, 124; for- 
 bidden ground for, 126 ; in handicap 
 matches, 128 ; in mixed doubles, 143 
 
INDEX 
 
 333 
 
 Walsh, J. H., S, 7 
 
 Ward, Holcombe, 36, 97, 115, 138, 
 
 243, 244, 246, 250, 254, 267, 271 
 Ware, L. E., 243, 250, 255 
 Washington, 39 
 Watering, 212 
 Watford, 223 
 Watson, brothers, 234 
 
 — Miss Maud, 23 
 
 — Miles, 230 
 
 Webb, Captain, 237, 243 
 Weeds, 210 
 Wellington, N.Z., 43 
 Welsh championships, 234 
 Wesseley, C. Von., 48, 268 
 Whipple, Dr. S. F. H., 258 
 White, A. W., 230 
 
 — House court, 40 
 
 Whitman, M. D., 243, 246, 252, 254 
 Wiesbaden, 47 
 
 Wilberforce, H. W., 134, 157, 189, 
 
 200, 290, 317 
 Wilding, A. F., 35, 49, 81, 220, 225, 
 
 241, 266, 276, 282 
 
 - F., 276 
 Williams, E. L., 27 
 
 Wimbledon, special trains to, 20 ; see 
 Chainpionship and All England 
 Club 
 
 Wind, Influence of, 36, 119 
 
 Wingfield, Major, 2, 6 
 
 Woodhouse, O. E., 19 
 
 Wrenn, brothers, 250, 256 
 
 Wright, Beals, 138, 243, 267, 274, 
 277, 284 
 
 Yale, 285 
 
 Yorkshire Association, 233, 234 
 
 — County team, 233 
 Youll family, 230 
 
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