New-York tribune., 1920-01-03
Mixed Doubles
|GainingFriends
In This Country
Mrs. Wightman and Vari-
Gus Partners Have Stood
Out Prominently Here
By Fred Hawthorne


tennis in this country has reached it's
full development, there will be more
interest shown in mixed doubles, and
there will be better teams and more of
them than is the case at present.
Even in recent years there has been
gradual increase in the attention
paid to mixed doubles on American
courts, and few teams have stood
out prominently, such combina-
tions, for instance, as Mrs. George w.
Wightman and Harry C. Johnson; Mrs.
,Wightman and Irving Wright; Mrs.
Wlghtman and her husband; Miss Mary
K: Browne and w. T. Tilden, I'd; Miss
Molla Bjurstedt and Irving Wright,
and Miss Marion Zindestein and Vim
cent Richards.
All Have Held Titles
All these have held the national
championship, Miss Zinderstein and
Richards being the present title hold
ers, and all have proved unusually
brilliant teams. But there should be
more mixed doubles teams of the same
callber, and there will be, as soon as
the old prejudice against this form OF
tennis dies natural death.
| consider. Tilden as probably the
greatest mixed doubles player among
the men in this country to-day, and
either Miss Browne or Mrs. Wightman
the superior of all the women. The
popular conception of mixed doubles is
that the man dominates the court and
mat the woman, to be a really success
fuI part of the combination. must play
the shrinking violet and keep out of
the way.
The falseness Of this supposition has
oeen proved in the cases of the women
l. have mentioned abovs Each and
every one is player of ,ae first rank
IN the singles, all except Miss Zinder-
stem having held the national title In
the cases of Miss Browne, Mrs. Wight
iEand and Miss Zinderstein, they were
unusually fine net players, a material
help in mixed doubles, while Miss Blur
stedt (now Mrs. Franklin I. Mallory,
is a splendid volleyer and so speedy in
covering her court that she nullifies
the lack of an overhead game.
Tilden is a natural poacher in dou
bles. mems or mixed. and this is q
decided asset in the latter event, if not
carried to excess. Gifted with a tre-
mendous reach and an uncanny antici-
patton OF an opponents next move the
tail fhlladelphlan Swarms all over the
court, volleying, smashing, driving.
yet, when paired with Miss Browne IN
1913 and 1914, at Philadelphia. when
they won the national championship.
Tllden permitted his brilliant little
partner to do her share of the work
and MISS Browne proved fully equal
TO the demands put upon her.
Used Different Tactics
Mrs. Mallory and Irving Wright were
totally different playing combination,
with the wonderful Morse girl covering
the greater amount Of court and
wright dong most of his execution
from close to the net, where his tricky
chop stroke proved powerful factor.
Mrs. Wightman knows the doubles
game as perhaps no other woman, and
few men know it. All the strategy
and tinesse are hers; she has that nat
ural instinct for the game that enables
her to do the right thing at the psyche
logical moment. She can hold her
own with the men in the fast rallies
from mid-court and she frequently out
guesses the opposing pair at such
times.
When playing with her husband in
the hnal round of the mixed doubles
tournament at the West Side Tennis
Club of Forest Hills, in 1918. Mrs.
| Wlghtman showed ner ability to handle
the situation when mere man fell
down on the job. l forget who formed
the opposing team, but at any rate
the play was very fast and George
Wlghtman, not in the best physical
condition and out Of practice, began to
weaken in the third set.
All through the last SET when lack
OF wind prevented Wightman from 90
ing after placed shots that were far
beyond his reach, he called in plead
ing voice to Mrs. Wightman: "YOU get
1t, Hazel!' and Mrs. Wightman did.
and 1t was her brilliant work that won
the match.
Abroad the mixed doubles game is
more evenly developed than It is in
this country, and there are number
or teams that have alternated in win
ming the championship tournaments at
the great annual meetings for the
south of France titles.
The Countess Schulenberg, paired
with the late Doherty brothers, Regi-
nald F. and "Little Do"; Mrs. r. Lam
bert Chambers and the late Tonv
Wllding; Nine. and M. Max Decugis; :;
Miss Elsa Ryan and Decugis and Mile
Suzanne Lenglen and Decugis, the
present champions, are among the
greatest combinations that have graced
the European courts.
1t would be great thing for the
game If, in the next few years, inter
national matches could be arranged
between the leading mixed doubles
teams of the United States and Eu-
rope. Then we should see mixed dou-
bles in its highest form, and l believe
that few such matches would open
the eyes of followers of the game to
the possibilities Of this division of the
game