New-York tribune., 1921-02-27
Mrs. Wightrnnan
And Miss Force
Win Net Title
Mrs. Wood and Miss Walsh
Lose Hard Struggle for
the Florida Championship
By Fred Hawthorne

PALM BEACH, Fla. Feb. 26.-Mrs.
George W. Wightman, Of Boston, and
Miss Katherine Force, of New York, are
the new women's lawn tennis doubles
champions of Florida, winning the
honor this afternoon on the courts of
the Palm Beach Tennis Club by de-
feating Mrs. Rawson L. Wood and Miss
Phyllis Walsh, of New York and Phila
delphia, by a score of 6--3, 4-6, 6-e
in the final round of the annual cham
pionship tourney.
1t was not until after a stirring
struggle in which the tides OF fortune
ebbed and flowed, first 20 one side and
then to the other, that Mrs. Wightman
and Miss Force finally came out with
flying colors. Throughout the three
fast sets it was the play of the former
national champion that stood out as
the feature of the match.
The three other players all did their
part we'll. Miss Force surprising the
large gallery by the plucky manner in
which she stood up under the concen-
trated attack of Mrs. Wood and Miss
Walsh, but in the last analysis Mrs.
thing at the psychological moment was
the deciding factor in an extremely
we'll played match.
Divide First Two Sets
After splitting even on the first two
sets Mrs. Wightman and Miss Force
ran into lead of 4-2 in games in the
third set, and it looked like a QUICK
finish then. But at this critical stage
Mrs. Wood, whose playing had been un-
even, steadied down and came through
with brilliant display, and the games
went to Gall, with the rallies fast
and keenly fought.
Here the generalship and skill of
Mrs. Wightman came 20 the fore. See
ing that the opposing pair were sub
mitting Miss Force to a continuous
fusillade of drives and smashes, the
Boston star adopted desperate methods,
crossing over into her partners court
to take shots that looked like winning
points for the other side and turning
them into aces.
After two long drawn out deuce
games Mrs. Wightman and Miss Force
won the thirteenth and fourteenth
games, the last by breaking through
Miss Walsh's severe service. The final
point was scored when Mrs. Wood,
standing close to the net, sent q back
hand volley into The barrier.
Earlier in the day the two final round
contenders had won their places by
victories in the semi-fnal brackets,
Mrs. Wightman and Miss Force defeat
ing Miss Gertrude Conway and Miss
Annette Tilford at rs, 6E1, and Mrs.
Wood and Miss Walsh scoring over
Miss Marjorie Dunlap and Miss Kathe-
rine O'Rourke, 6-1, 6-3.
The start of the mems championship
singles has been postponed until Mon
day to allow some of the players now
on their way here from outlying points
to arrive. Among these are Ichiya Ku-
magae, the defending ehampion; DR..
William Rosenbaum, George L. Wrenn
and Harold H. Hackett. Dick Williams,
who. arrived yesterday, went through
an hour of practice with George A.
Gutter, the Palm Beach professional,
and seemed to be in excellent stroke
he declared the clay courts were in
excellent condition.
Mrs. Wightman Plays Well
The order of service in the final
doubles match went as follows: Mrs.
Wood, Miss Force, Miss Walsh and
Mrs. Wightman, and they continued in
that order to the end, Mrs. Wight
man and Miss Walsh did the greater
share of the aggressive work, both
hanollng the Dali overhead with fine
crlspness and accuracy.
Considering the countless chances
she took on these shots, Mrs. Wight
man was guilty of remarkably few err
rors, and this was the more to be praised
because of the fact that she was often
caught cold" when the attack was
suddenly switched to her, after long
periods of idleness.
The former national champion also
made clever use of change of pace,
working soft. deceptive chops that
barely foated the ball over the net
when the other pair were far out of
position near the base line.
Miss Walsh also performed well at
the net, besides running back after
numerous deep lobs and handling them
we'll. Mrs. Wood, as 1 have said, was
uneven in her work to-day in the first
two sets, but came back strongly in
the last and almost turned defeat into
victory.
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