Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1915-current, 1916-02-05
TENNIS GROWING
IN POPULARITY
BY FRANK q. mEnKe.
BY Pae. and Int'l News Service.


NEW YORK. Feb. 5.-Tennis calls
for the best there is In a person; for
the utmost in mental effort and the
utmost In physical.
The greatest injustice that ever has
been done to tennis is to refer to It as
q "mollycoddles" game. It Is q siren
uous gan ca game that weaklings
cannot play. 1t calls for more exer-
ton and more skill than do baseball or
even football. No one can play tennis
who isn't in extremely good physical
condition. because the strain of the
game will wear down quickly all those
who are not physically fit.
If you play tennis yourself you know
the truth of this statement. II you
don't play Il, II might be worth your
while to watch the playing of few
sets sometime-to watch the whirwind
action Of the players.
Tennis Real Game.
Tennis requires It's devotees to be
ION their toes" every second of the
game. "Bing." You hit the ball and
send 1t sailing over the net, after a
hard chase on your part to meet it
before it bounds out of your reach.
Do you then get chance to rest? No,
none at all, because second after
you hit that ball your opponent has
driven 1t back at you. Sometimes It
is headed straight at you, but oftener
it is as far away from you as your
place the ball where the other fellow
can't hit 1t.
The net game really is a game foI
the young. 1t asks so much in speed
and endurance that the older folks
cannot play 1t. A portly person. as q
tennis plays, Is fizzle. He cannot
cover the ground rapidly and, as a re
suit, he is just joke as an opponent
Tennis is game that has come to
the fore during the past five years
with wonderful rush despite preju
dice. Years ago 1t was rich mans
game. There were few public tennis
courts, and the only courts were those
conducted in connection with the ex
clucive country clubs. But times have
changed.
Mlllions Play Tennis.
There are millions of tennis players
in the United States today where there
were only thousands few years ago
The municipal authorities in the
various cities found that tennis was 9
real game-and beneficial one. sc
they installed courts in their public
parks. Persona in many cities WIN
owned vacant lots recognized the
gradually increasing popularity of ten
mis- and have built courts on those lots
For those who are able to play the
game there is no athletic contest tina
furnishes more mental or physical ex
ercise. The constant chasing after th'
ball from one side to the other, brings
the blood into healthy circulation anC
1t hardens practically every muscle ii
the body. Those who play tennis con
sistently, rarely know a sick day
merely because tennis is the best con
ditioner known.
And tennis develops the brain a
much as 1t develops the body. A sloy
thinker never becomes a good tennl
player. but the wits Of slow thinke
always are sharpened bit by playinl
the game. Ones brain must NOV
with the speed of lightning to keep III
with the over shifting conditions II
the game.
"Alertness is the keynote of tennis
wrote one expert And he is right
To play good game OF tennis on
must be alert In body and brain. On
must follow every movement of tina
ball, and, at times, anticipate It. One
brain must move quickly and one
body must follow instantly the die
tates Of the brain. Tennis is a gam
in which fractions OF seconds Otter
times mean defeat or victory.
II you would be healthy and sharI
| witted, try tennis.
II