The New York herald., 1921-12-18
FINAL MEETING HERE ACCEPTS DRAFT
TENNIS OFFICIALS APPROVE AMENDMENT TO EXISTING AMATEUR
No ChangeASked in Award
of Tennis PIun1S for 1922
Executive Committee Recommends Repetition of Last
Years Program-Amateur Rule Amended
and Seeded Draw Approved
BY SAMUEL j. BROoKMAN

If the recommendations of the ex-
ecutive committee of the United States
Lawn Tennis Association are approved
and there is every indication that
they will be-there will be practically
no change in the award OF the national
and international tennis events in this
country next season. West Side Ten
mis- Club OF Forest Hills again will
have the custody of the Davis cup
challenge round and the women's ma
tional championship, and Philadelphia
will again conduct the mems national
singles and Boston the mems national
doubles And the other title tourna-
ments will also be assigned to the clubs
under whose auspices they were held
in 1921.
There were other recommendations
too. of decided interest reported by the
standing committees and approved by
the executive committee at its annual
December meeting at the Vanderbilt
Hotel yesterday. One concerned an
amendment 20 the amateur rule that will
bar players from reporting tennis tour
naments for the daily papers. Another
will alter the system of drawing entries
In tournaments by the introduction of
the seeded" draw. to insure an equal
distribution of tennis strength so far as
the top ranking players are concerned.
All these suggestions as intimated
above do not become laws when the
executive committee passes on them.
They must be referred as recommenda-
tons to the delegates of the association
at the annual tennis convention for Anal
approval. AS a general thing. however.
these recommendations have won the
support of the delegates without trouble
the association usually recognizing the
fact that the various committees en-
powered to delve into the tennis prob
lens are in position to know their
subjects thoroughly.
Amateur Rule Made Clear.
Before reading it's amendment to the
amateur rule the committee made II
clear that there Is no objection whatever
to tennis player writing books or
articles on tennis strategy. technique o.
history. What they are opposed TO is
the practice of players telesraphing re-
ports to the papers of tournaments in
il often happens that they are not I'm
position to witness matches which they
proceed to describe in detail. Accord
| ingly. the rule will read that a player
shall cease to be an amateur by per
| mittng his name TO be advertised or
published as author of daily reports of
tennis tournaments or matches, or as
author of any articles or books on tennis
of which he Is not actually the author"
The method of seeding the draw-to
apply. by the way. to all tournaments
whether championships or otherwlse--is
quite a complicated affair at first read
ing. but will be understood readily after
| 1t Is put into practice. In the first
place the number OF players to be
seeded" into the draw will be eight or
less for entries up to 81, and one addi-
tional for every eight entries more than
81. The tournament committee will pro-
ceed at its discretion to pick out the
eight Cor more) leading players based
on their showing during the current
season. No. ! will then be placed
at the top Of the first quarter OF the
draw and No. at the top of the third
quarter. Nos. and 4 will then be
placed in the second and fourth quar-
tcrs, a draw by lot determining whether
No. 3 or No. shall be the player in the
second quarter.
The procedure Is then repeated for
Nos. 5. 9. z and 8 and they are
placed in the respective quarters of the
draw, and so on for Nos. 8. 10, IL
and ~. Should foreigners be included
in the entry the system governing their
place in the draw will be the same with
the exception that the No. / foreigner
will be In the opposite half to the No. /
American and the No. 2 foreigner In the
opposite half 10 the No. 2 American. r.
Norris Williams I'd. who was chairman
of the draw seeding" committee, re-
ported that a canvass OF the sixty lead
ing players of the country. men and
women. disclosed the fact that fifty-two
were in favor of a seeded draw, seven
against and one non-committaL