New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-07
Can Average Man Player
Beat Woman Tennis Star?

champion Of England six times. arrived
at pretty much the same conclusion m
her book, Lawn Tennis for Ladies'
She gives it as her opinion that "the
FIRST class man would be able to give
the lady champion thirty or even more
IN order TO have a close struggle
Thirty as every tennis follower knows,
is a tremendous handicap.
One day at Forest Hills last sum,
mer Ralph l.. Bags, who IS ranked
in the seventh ten in this country
PLAYED Miss Bjurstedt a practice
match. He won the first set VITA
such ridiculous ease, by serving ms
American twist service and following
II 20 the net. that Frederick b. Alex
ander and others, watching the match
ioyfully insisted that he stop serving
so hard and stop rushing 70 the net;
In the two factors of delivery and
net work lies most Of the answer 20
the woman's irforiority on the court
The formation Of the female shoulder
blade prevents a woman from hitting
"a much overhead rs a man; her
strength is not so great as a man s.
her spced Ct foot hampered addition
ally by skirts (which hamper very lit
tie now, and less every year,. is not
so great as mans, and her stature IS
generally shorter. Ergo, her service
is Gar inferior 20 mans.
Il is IN this department Of play and
in net work that women are complete
~ ecl'psed by men. II seems TO us
that at least two hundred men in this
country can serve better than the best
women. With most members Of the
fair sex the service is merely a meth
r 4 kan in, Al
More Agile at Net.
At the net man is far more agile,
Of course. has a stronger wrist, usu-
ally a longer reach, and greater
height. He can get TO the net faster
than a woman, and thus avoid the
danger of having the ball dropped at
his feet An overwhelming majority
of women players are baseliners, IN
consequence. although the successful
aggressive play used by Miss May
sutton Mrs. Bundy) Miss Hazel
Hotchkiss Mrs. Wightman), and Miss
Biurstedt at the net has opened the
ewes of modern women players, and
they are trying desperately. and for
the most part futilely, TO learn the
same type Of game.
Matches between women are less in
teresting and exciting than those be
tween men. largely BECAUSE Of the diff
ference IN serve, smash and volley. As
for women's doubles-with, often as
not, one player at the net and another
in backcourt and a wild hurlyburly
Of a scramble that would make any
self-reSpecting egg ashamed-well,
some tournam ent-giving clubs omit
them altogether.
Some women can play almost
mans type of game, and it is to these
that we must look for better things.
Women must learn to volley and get
more pace into their drives. As for
service. they seem limited physically,
although several women. notably Miss
Helen Alexander. of Philadelphia, and
Miss Florence Ballin, of New York,
are learning effective twist services.
Miss Marie Wagner has an excellent
straight delivery.
Women have been welded to the
baseline game for so long that it APP
pears to be as great a folly to con-
denim them for following it as IL
would be TO condemn them for not be-
ing the physical equals of men. 1t
is not easy TO change the habit of
years. We have seen some women
try to storm the net and meet With
immediate disaster, and then go back,
naturally, TO their old familiar base
line game.
According to the Greeks. Apollo
once made a lion to brighten his hunt
ing sister, Diana. But she threw
eternal ridicule on him by caricaturing
his creation in the person of a cat.
We have tried to brighten the women,
and await the cat.