Evening star., 1915-07-11
BY MAURICE E. McLoUGHLIN,
tAmerica's Creates, Tennis rlayer,>


The average tennis player is natu-
rally stronger on his forehand than on
his backnand. In both strokes the po-
sition is sidewise to the net, and the
ball should not be played too close
preferably near arms length. AL the
end of your reach you can make iuli
swing. Cramped action is fatal. Poor
form in general is caused by the player
falling into cramped positions.
The ball should also be played lit
tie in advance of the body. This does
not mean. however, that you should
reach forward before the ball is MT, as
such 4 move would naturally ruin your
swing. Neither should you allow the
ball to get past your body before hit
ting it, 1t should be fairly opposite
your body. but trihe in advance.
You should have your left shoulder
pointed down the line of flight along
which the ball is coming. In other
words, the body, edge forward, Snoul"
be parallel to the line of flight of the
ball THE swing should be free and
natural. the weight ut first evenly dls-
tributed' on the balls OF the feet. IN
your swing back your right 1oot Will
bear most of it, This foot will be
about parallel to the net: the left foot
in advance and at somewhat OF an
angle. The feet are about eighteen
inches apart. as general rvie. Ihc
weight will he transferred from the
rear foot to the foot in from. as the
stroke is made. and q good player VIII
he found advancing OH the ball.
Your feet do not necessarily have to
be perfectly stationary. but it is essen
tial that the stroke be tined accu-
rately, SO that it gets the advantage of
some body weight and the proper loin
rotation. 1t is we'll to have the fore
arm mach in line with the racket
handle possible when racket meets
ball, but there is no hard and fast rule.
How to Apply "Top."
/ put q varying amount of top on
all forehand strokes. depending entire
ly on the speed and depth l want the
ball to have. The forearm principally
imparts this spin to the ball. which is.
of course. sent away rotating forward
or top first from the striker. This
makes the shot dip or dive" rather
suddenly. and when it bounds It goes
faster than a straight drive. But eN-
aggerated top will slow its flight. the
drive is more of 4 sweep than 4 hit. as
in golf. and the finish should be well
after the ball and not primarily across
the body
My attention was once called to
woman player. a very good forehand
shot. but her position was directly
facing the coming ball, and in her
swing she did not turn her body at
all. striking directly against herself.
Needless to say, this is 4 horrible eN-
ample of what tC avoid.
The steps to learning row to amply
top are. first, the vertical upward
movement of the racket from below
the ball and across it; then the COM
bination OF this motion with . general
forward movement of racket and arm;
third. whatever additional wrist work
comes naturally and effectively. By Il
slight lifting of the racket at the
moment of impact more or less top"
is impaired. and its use certainly
makes ones stroke easier to control.
Whding said that he liked to feel the
ball on his racket" before imparting
this over-spin. Personally, l think the
correct feel OF the stroke has much
to do with it's success, but the racket
must of necessity be at the same time
moving forward and upward across
the ball