Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-18
BY MAURICE E. McLouaHLIN.

"
Strokes on the hand side of
right-handed player, and vice versa
are taken in what might be called th'
most unnatural positions in tennis
The back swing is much more nam
pered than in any other stroke Ih'
strength of the wrist Is much more II
demand. The back is more turned
toward the coming ball. The racke
meets the ball farther from you. Al
these things make the ordinary back
hand stroke an awkward one. and II
the early stages of ones game IL
naturally a defensive stroke
Speaking in general, 1t remains III Inc
nature of a defensive stroke IN mos
English play. This can somewhat ne
accounted for by the English principe
of wrist below racket head 'wh!cr
causes an angle between the racke'
handle and the forearm and by the
fact that there is a noticeable lack o.
"top" on the English back l,
ANYTHING the tendency is the othei
way, and they impart more or less
backspin to the ball. which causes II
to float" in the air with flight ina,
Is very straight and true. because OF
this such a stroke is the easiest OF az
to command any great variety or an
giles, as the ball does not drop qulcki!
enough.
The Doherty brothers were largely
responsible for the modern EnSilsn
style Needless to say, their own back
hand work was far from weak. and
have met players with the En- Sllsh
type of backhand who made II a
stroke not to be triied with. FreutZ-
helm. the German player, is an excel
H. =
nize its value and should hesitate TO
inveigh against it. There is no DOUBT.
as far as keeping the wrist low ana
the racket horizontal are concerned.
that this maneuver checks ones speed
when running in for low backhand
yolleys Nevertheless the more verti-
cal racket in such an instance is more
dangerous to control.
Backhand in American Tennis.
The backhand has become a beauti-
fully offensive stroke in modern Amer
lean tennis. T. r. Pell is probably the
most striking exponent of this. He
can hit with equal ease from all posi-
lions. and has sufficient speed com
bined with wonderful accuracy. His
stroke-form is perfect. c. p. Dixon,
the old English champion. and J. c
Parke. the Irishman who beat Brookes
backhard style, which Pell does not
favor He plays with racket ha ndle
and forearm in the same plane CT
force as Vaile would put it. And GER
tainly his is a style worth every ones
cultivation.
Generally speaking. the English
style of backhand favors the use of
the full arm in volleys on this side.
while the Australians depend more
upon the forearm. But. with the later.
he Ill nd
play. and their weight is behind the
stroke.
As to the position of the feet, the
right side is naturally turned toward
the net, and the right foot should be in
advance of the left when the stroke is
played In hot rally one may be
caught out of position, and. if the left
foot is in advance. the stroke is natur-
ally hampered considerably. But this
detail of keeping the left leg back out
Of the way really comes under the mat
tiers that are governed by subconscious
control. As your stroke develops such
things automatically take care OF
themselves.
The force of the average backhand is
in the elbow and forearm. but a rigid
wrist Is required. The finish should be
strong and correct. In regard to the
use of the thumb up the handle. do not
employ this grip personally, but from
observation should be inclined to ad-
vocate II II ii comes naturally to the
player. 1t has never fitted in with my
grip for other strokes. and the change
for me is so unnatural that I have
never cultivated it.
Most players. however. use the thumb
up the handle and feel that it assists in
guiding the direction of the shot. The
inclination of the racket varies, OF
course, with ones intention. Practice
soon establishes the angles at which
the ball will rebound in certain ways
just as we calculate angles in billiards
so the trajectory of the approaching
ball in tennis should be borne in mind
racket should he angled to counteraci
whatever spin the ball has, and return
II to the spot desired.
Methods of Executing Backhand.
If category is wanted. should sa,
that there are four distinct methods OF
executing a backhand stroke. One i,
the English backhand second the stiff
arm block type, third the free arm type
where elbow, forearm and wris
operate together to give top" to the
ball. and. last. the slice type, where
underspin is impaired.
I shall at once admit the weakness o.
my own backband. For great many
years ! used the fourth type above
mentioned. 1t has very definite limita
tions. and as soon as I reached larger
competition I realized that radica
change should be made from under.
spin to a trife over-spin.
As the under-spin was accomplished
by slight flick Of the wrist, / encoun.
tered much difficulty. My wrist is ever
now too flexible just before and dur
ing the impact. This is very natura
fault. as wrist f1exibility figures mos
prominently I'm nearly every othel
stroke | make. At present my owl
backhand is quite Inadequate, how
ever. | cannot control IL properly wheI
hit it hard enough TO be effective
II is not my idea of the range of
perfect banckhand that il he as eff
fective as the forehand But an ade
fensiye stroke when the ball comes il
proper position, and also a strok
whose direction may be controlled. Be
yond this il should be soundly defen
sive. with control of the lob or tos
and strong in volleying power.
Each individual will have to worl
out his own method of changing gri
from the forehand. The hand in whic
the racquet is Graded may prove a
aid. but the natural turning over o
the forearm. bringing the same fac
of the racket in use for the back
hand as is used for the forehand. vii
prObab bly, solve this problem.
The wrist should be made as stron
as possible. and the ball hit with cour
age and conviction. / often smash
ball backhand. but only balls that com
high and rather slow, with a some
what nat trajectory. | volley an eoua
percentage on both sides.
As remarked In The Service" d
not practice running around" a strok
10 your backhand. In practice at tn
present time ! endeavor to take tn