The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-09-14
MODERN TENNIS FANS
KNOW INSIDE FACTS
ABOUT Big MATCHES
(By Associated Press)

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 1.-THE
tennis fan is sport follower of dis
tinctive type. This is the concensus
of opinion among both players and Of
ficials who discuss the gallery and its
pecularities during the national sin
giles tournament The fans develop
ment has been rapid in recent years
and from a collective standpoint he
has undergone a remarkable trans
formation.
Il can remember" remarked Ed
ward Conlin, former president of the
Umpires association and one of the
most prominent referees in the game
today, when the gallery consisted of
a few dye-in-the-wool followers of ten
mis- and young women who considered
it fashionable to watch the play. From
this nucleus the spectators have
grown to thousands and they know
tennis today as well as any other
sport fans knows and follows the play
of his particular favorite or star.
Back in the old days there were
many persons who came to witness
the big matches, especially the Davis
cup contests. who were attracted be-
cause it was an international match
d110 I4Cy WdAtCo " oCO tACiA NoulAIAs
men win. They knew little, if any
thing about the game and its POSSIBLE
tiles for thrills All this has changed
within the past decade and tennis fans
, who form the gallery know the game
| in all its phases and the ability and
ranking of every player of prominence
in the country. They can and do dis
cuss the probability of one player de-
feating another and back their opin-
| ions with facts in just the same man
i ner as baseball fan uses batting and
| fielding verages to prove that mem
Der of one big league club is better
player than another on a different
| team.
Attitude Change.
| "The attitude and action of the fan
has also undergone a change. In the
early days of really large tennis gal
leries. enthusiasm frequently caused
| the spectators to break into applause
and even encouraging cries in the
| midst of most important rallies. To
day it is customary to wait until the
point has been won and lost before
giving vent to applause. So well is
| this etiquette of tennis understood
that | have frequently heard, while
referring a match, a whole section OF
the stand cautioning a novice against
applauding in the middle of a rally
Each person spoke almost in a whis
per but when four or five hundred
whispers at once the result is very
audible to officials, players and the
person who caused the reprimand
Loud voiced protests against suppos
edly erroneous calling of in and out
balls has also passed. The spectators
have grown to realize that the lines
men are in a better position to see
correctly and while slips will always
be made owing to the human equa
ton, batting of umpires is not habit
of the tennis gallery.
From the players standpoint the
gallery is a matter of personal atti
tude. Some play their best game be
fore large and wildly applaudins
crowds. Others are disconnected BY
the same conditions and this is some
thing that the younger tournamen
player should get use to for tennis il
growing more popular in all parts o
the country, every season. No officia
of the game will venture to say how
large the grand stands will have to b,
built to accommodate the tennis in tht
years to come.