Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-29
By MAURICE z. .McLouaHLIN.

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tAmerica.s Greatest Tennis Piayer).
II 50 far I have barely touched upon
the subject Of laiies-tennis 1t Is not
from a lack Of respect for the game
as played by the gentler sex. Rather
I should say that L have. mentally re-
garded the subject as one apart, as
subject that other writer's II refer In
particular to the lady contributors to
tennis lore) are far more competent to
discourse upon. However, perhaps 1eW
observations may not be ar1iss. for after
all the fundamental principles Of the game
are the same, whether it is played by
women or men,.
TIE chief reason why the average lady' 8
game differs SO from that of man is I'M
questionably a physical one. The vast
ma jority Of women players do not pos
sess SUFFICIENT strength to hit ball really
hard, or the ability to cover the court
with the agility fast-moving tennis Dali
demands should hesitate to say that
it is through lack of ability that the
feminine player does not bring her game
up to the masculine standard. 1t is purely
a physical limitation.
Obviously. the woman who is blessed
with the physique, plus all the other
requisites that make up tennis ability, IS
the one VINO builds her game most along
masculine lines, and SO SURPRISES her
sisters in competition. Such ladies are
the grand exceptions to the rule, and j
am proud to state that, so FAR as Amer
lea is concerned. California easily leads
any other part Of the country in having
developed the greatest number OF these
grand exceptions" :. 80,
There are various reasons for this );
perhaps the principal one is climate. You
will. almost invariably find that an
equable climate. engenders a desire and
love for the out Of doors. So it is at least
in California, especially. among the ladles,
for, Of course, the average woman mas
more leisure than the average man Wnat,
then, Il more natural than that under
these circumstances they should build up
q strong physique jointly with their I'M
provement and development IN tennis
skill?
Another reason Is that ladies' are en-
couraged mbre in the game in Cali
foi1iia than in any other locality Il
have ever known, possibly excepting
England. There is scarcely tennis
tournament of any Importance in Cal.
fornia- where the ladies' events are not
treated as of equal Importance with
those of the men. This can. scarcely
country As afresult this participation
in frequent tournaments has the natural
effect Of stimulating feminine interest in
the game and bringing into ladies' play
ton which is SO absolutely essential to
the Development Of a high-class tennis
player. -
And beyond these there is another rea-
epriority Of the California woman play
ers. They frequently play with and
against the better man players. mat
ter Of invaluable assistance to- girl
she learns to adapt herself to the faster
shots Of the men. which naturally has
the effect of making the strokes Of other
ladies seem eAsiery-to handle.
This was certainly true in the cases Of
Mrs. T. c. Bundy formerly May Sutton)
and Mrs George, Wishtnan formerly
Hazel Hotchkiss), the two greatest wom-
an players ever. developed on. California
courts. Needless to say. their fame has
long ere this spread far beyond local
confines, and we are perfectly safe In
saying that each at the height Of her
game was second to no woman player
the world has ever seen. Both girls were
forever playing With the men. Indeed
their natural tennis ability soon justified
such association not to mention their
attractive personalities. which are rele-
gated to secondary position for the mo-
ment. as my remarks are confined prtn-
cipaliy to the tennis aspects Of the case.
The same thing has been! true Of Miss
Mary Brown, our present national cham
pion. During the stages OF her improve
n,ent to a high tennis ranking she
circle as did Mrs. Bundy. and also: was
aided materially through the able tuition
Of her brother Nat. the present national
clay, court. champion in doubles with
Claude Wayne. And finally, learning and
developing the game ON hard courts has
Its advantages. as have pointed out In
regard to the men: for a womans- stroke
IL bound to accumulate speed with fire.
quent play thereon. and her footwork
will be appreciably quickened. -
In a previous article 1 treated at some
length the development Of Mrs T. c.
Rundyss forehand. Her mastery there of
a distinctly individual, stroke Illustrates
the fact that It is possible for women to
attain proficiency in the finer points of
technique as well as building, their game
upon. solid foundation. Certain very
violent measures resorted to by men. as
in the case of the difficult American twist
service and the -,leaping smash, must Of
necessity remain largely beyond a woul-
ans range, but there Is no reason. for in-
stance. why women should not be better
volleyers than they are. -
Setting aside the efrort required for
continual running in the average
woman Is more chary than the average
man about exposing herself to the
rapid fire Of a rally at the net. think
line voileyer. this can be largely
counteracted by constant practice.
Familiarity with a hard hit ball at
close quarters will rob It of most Of it's
strengthened the realization win. fol-
low that any close hafd-hit ball may
be met. at least. even II the return
stroke has no very definite intention
behind It. ....----.
The racket will be found an easy pro-
lection. In the last Analysis. against
most chances Of the players being hit,
and II the eye IL trained constantly
and couraReously II Is astonishing how
many close vo1ley shorts may he
brought OF with fair success by merely
blocking the ball. And after this idea
is mastered the follOw-throuRh have
already dwelt on might be added. After
all there Is some lunging and running
to be done whether the player 10 close
IN or lingering around the base line.
and lady player. who acquires some
proficiency in Coming in" nine chances
ont of ten will soon have the drop
upon her opponent Of the same sex.
Just AS one naturally cites California
IN discussing the general topic Of Ia
dies tennis In America, SO one thinks
OF England when turning to the SUBJ
iect of their tennis abroad. Yet we
must look for a. different explanation
OF the Englishwoman's marked pro-
fciency. as It certainly is not so largely
climatic nor Is the quality Of their
game due to their play on hard courts
-As matter Of fact. their tennis Ii
played almost entirely on grass Be
yorId a doubt the lady players of Eng
land maintain a higher standard OF
ability than those anywhere else in the
world, and I think the most likely and
logical reason for this IL the vas,