Evening star., 1920-02-29
AMERICAN WOMAN
RACKETERS SHOULD
W|NWORLD HONORS
Mrs. MaIIory's Trip Abroad
Will Give Line on Other
Prospective COntenderS.
by W. II. HOTEL.


should carry off the initial honors for
the Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
trophy. the equivalent of the Davis
cup in international competition.
Play for the trophy next summer will
be staged in this country
II seems hardly possible that any
team capable of defeating Mrs.
Wightman, donor of the trophy and
present national champion: Mrs.
Molla Bjurstedt Mallory. four times
winner of the title; Miss Eleanor
Goss and Miss Marion Zinderstein.
This certainly is formidable COM
binaton.
While Great Britain has some very
fine woman players. including Mrs.
Lambert Chambers. many times Eng
liSh champion, and Franc" mas Su-
zanne Lenglen. who defeated the Brit
ish star at Wimbledon last season,
neither country apparently has a
quartet as formidab BILE as the four
Americans enumerated above
ComparfxOn Is Difficult.
There is little dope available on
which to base comparison OF the
tyeps of the game played by the best
foreign and American woman tennis
luminaries, but what there is indicates
that practically all of the continental
racketers. except Nine. Lenglen, mold
their method Of play along the same
lines as the men--the safe and sane
play of sticking to the back court
and wearing down the opposition.
They are said to be amazingly steady,
remarkably accurate and almost un-
tiring on the courts.
However, we have the case of young
Miss Elizabeth Ryan, practically un-
known in this country, but a recog-
,,;1 OF in
the foreign players are far from In
vincible. Miss Ryan forced Mime. Len
glen to extend herself to defeat the
American girl in the semifinals at
Vim bl edon last summer In fact, Nine.
Lenglen declared Miss Ryan was
harder for her to beat than was MRS.
Chambers in the title match.
Mrs. Mallory's Trip Interests.
Mrs Mallory's trip to England next
summer will be followed with the
greatest interest. She not only Will
meet the leading British woman play
ers, but likely will clash with Nine.
Lenglen. Her showing in the various
matches will give line on the
chances of the foreign teams to carry
off the international trophy.
1t must be admitted that any play
er who can take the measure Of Mrs.
Mallory would have grand chance
to defeat Mrs. Wightman, while an
exceptionally strong doubles team
would be more than apt to take the
measure of Miss Goss and Miss Zin-
derstein, the American champions.
they won the title last summer from
being defeated by Mrs. Wightman and
Miss Eleanora Sears. In fact, had not
Miss Sears been suffering from
sprained ankle it is more than likely
that she and Mrs. Wightman would
~
AS there will be four singles and a
doubles match in the contest for the
Wightman cup, it is obvious that II
a foreign team could beat Mrs.
wightman and win the doubles 1t
would capture the trophy. But we
look for Mrs. Mallory in her trip over
seas, to demonstrate that American
women are supreme on the courts,
even if she runs into Nine. Lenglen.
Mrs. Mallory was not up to her game
last year when she dropped the
American title, but it is dollars to
doughnuts that she will assume the
crown again this year. She has be-
gun a course of preparation. with the
trip abroad and the United States
championship in view.
No Cheek as to Travel.
Some folks have declared that inter-
national tennis for women will not
be a success because the fair sex can
not travel about the world unescorted
or unchaperoned. This seems foolish.
for the days when women can no
longer travel to Europe, to Australia
or to wherever they please have past.
But it hardly would be necessary
for them to go unchaperoned. for
there are as many players of the
front rank married as there are un-
married. We have Mrs. Wightman,
Mrs. Mallory. Mrs. Thomas c. Bundy.
Mrs. Rawson Wood and others avail
able, while England has Mrs. Cham
bers, Mrs. Hillyard. Mrs. Sterry and
Mrs. Larcombe, all former champions,
who could guide an International ten
mis- party. 1t seems assured also that
France could do the same for Miss
Lenglen and her teammates. and that
Australia. Canada and other countries
would not be lacking in this respect