Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-06-07
HARDER THAN ITL0OKS
The Science and Skill Necessary in
Playing Lawn Tennis.
SEVERAL TELLING STROKES.
Some Good and had PositiOns-Thc Nils.
take Made by the NOn.PIaying Specta-
tOr-nuscIe and Endurance Are Re.
quired-Becoming
- HERE is a notion which is quite

~ HERE ls q notion which Is quite
S$N general that tennis. to use al express
N sive term, is a dude game" This
FL popular idea of the game is due to
~ two causes, the principal being
that to the mere spectator thu, implements
used in the game and the style Of playing do
not indicate that skill or strength or any OF the
qualities which are prominent III other athletic
sports is necessary. Then again many Of the
players effect in their costumes soft fabrics Of
rather delicate shades. the blazer, the fan
mel or cheviot shirt, the trousers Of white fan
mel and the silk sashes altogether make up q
costume that is quite killing. 1t IL true that a
really truly tennis exquisite is rs rule not
much of a player. but he is admired by the
ladies, he frequently adorns a tennis court
especially on ladies' day, and to the non-playing
spectator he constitutes the ideal tennis
player. Then the fact that ladies are not
only Interested in the game, but
actually play. serves to d iscrcdit the game with
many who are not accustomed to associate the
female sex with active par ticipation i'll any
manly sport. All these notions about the game
are entir ely superficial. The ball may seem to
be a tritling affair as compared with the regu-
lation base ball, and SO it is. The racquet is
ridiculously broad when placed side by side
with a base ball bat for example, and to the
man who merely z lances at the game it is I'M
possible to understand how there can be any
difficulty in striking n little light ball with a
broaG-faced racquet over a net five feet high.
This tanning of II ball back and forward over
a net. which seems to be the main feature OF
the game, is in the opinion of the casual locker
on mere child's play. The spectator is certainly
iuStiipl in this estimate of the CANA
LEARNING HIS MISTAKE.
II, however. he should take a racquet and
attempt to play a game. or even if he should
watch attcntively one or two games between
players of only ordinary ability. he would be
apt to speedily change his opinion. He will
soon realize that the game requires physical
endurance of q high order. a skill that can
only be acquired by long and arduOus practice
and the exercise of brain power that entities
the game to a place in the first rank of athletic
sports. II is one OF the Oldest outdoor sports
known, being a modified form OF the ancie mt
court tennis. and its growing popularity since
its modern revival ls an evidence that 1t pos
sesses substantial merit. 1t lacks, however,
certain features which appeal to the love of
excitement. Still. Il contest between skilled
PLAYERS has frequently been witnessed by
crowds, when the enthusiasm has been fully
equal to that displayed over a game between
two popular base ball teams. Lawn tennis as
a scientific game is rapidly being developed in
this city as well as throughout the country. and
the dudish young man III his exquisite cos
tune. which is so fetching when set off by a
green lawn, is gradually giving place to the
Young man in tennis working clothes. whose
muscle and powers of endurance are thor
Oughlv tested in the play.
1t will be interesting TO note some of the
scientific features of the games as well as those
not scientific and below are given a number of
Illustrations which are reproduced from instan-
taneous photographs made by the New York
Herald.