The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1922-01-03
HOW TO
PLAY TENNIS
BY WILLIAM T. TILDEN
Worlds Grass and Hard Court
Lawn Tennis Champion
Copyright 1921. by Public Ledger Co.
Describes Method to Make
%Forehand DriVe

- lAINA-Nb up lut StCOllu part vi
this series of articles, namely, the
different strokes, it would posi-.
bly,, be well to sum up the Uses the
different strokes should be put to.
They car be divided into two general
classes, although certain defensive or
safe strokes may come under the
head of offensive, or Jointly both.
First. The offensive or attacking
stroke. CD The volley. (2) The over
head. 60 The service. ca Usually
the drive or ground stroke. either fore
hand or backhand. (5) Occasionally
The chop stroke.
Second. The defensive. () The lob.
GU Usually the chop stroke. (3) Oc-
casionally the drive.
Never use your net game defensive
ly; it must always be the attacking
point.
With this classification of strokes
in mind, we will turn to the forehand
drive, or ground stroke. This is the
shot which is so often miscalled
"Lawford." 1t is not the Lawford
stroke and should be developed along
totally different lines.
We will consider this first from the
attacking or offensive attitude. This
stroke should be The foundation of ev-
cry b%ack-court game. 1t must have:
CD Direction. (2) Length distance in
to the opponents court. (3) Pace
(tennis slang for speed). ca Top
(the spin which causes the ball to
drop holds it in court.)
Direction zones from footwork;
length, from experience; pace, from
the swing of the arm in relation to
tootwork; top is pure racquet work.
Repeating from a previous article,
every ground stroke is made up of
three parts in n swing. Cd Speed
or pace, that part of the swing made
behind your body. (2) Direction and
length combined made even with
your body, the middle of your swing.
(3)Top, mad just in front of your
body, the end of your swing.
The racquet should swing with very
nearly a fiat face-that is, no cut on
the ball-and should meet the ball
just about the top of the bound, and
as the ball starts TO fall. The shot
should be made with the weight
swinging into IL at moment of meet
ing the ball, from The right Cor back)
foot on TO the lett Tor 'front.' foot.
Just as the bail leaves the face of
the racquet let the racquet lean over
he ball, thus imparting the top. Do
not try to put drop on a tennis ball
by either underwriting it, which will
cause it to rise, or by IN excessive
drop impaired by swingly sharply up
on it and hitting it a glancing blow.
Meet the ball fair with the full face
of the racquet and put your top on
at the end of the shot by laying
over the ball, as the expression goes.
Thus your whole weight is back of
the shot, yet it loses no direction,
since you can hit either side by chang
ing the position of your feet.
Relations between footwork, rae
quet and direction of shot will be
much more closely understood if n
looks on their feet as the rudder
which directs the shot and the shot
travels along a line determined by
the feet.
To drive down the line from the
first, or right-hand court, the feet
should be parallel to the line with
inches ahead of the right. The rae
quet travels with fiat face into the
ball at the crest of its bounce and as
II littNS II lhC MtlSlll ollillo lloll lilO
right foot, into the shot, unto the left
and the top is put on the drive.
For the cross-court stroke the same
rules hold equally true, except the
left foot is advanced nearer the side
line and across the right, and there
is more pull" to your shot and not
quite so much speed. From the sec
ond or left court the rules for hitting
- IL ill., hold avnaf1v. n. thnNr
do for the right court as regards foot
work, weight and racquet, but to hit
cross-court from the left imagine a
line drawn from your backhand base
line corner to his backhand baseline
corner ~diagonally across the court
and then apply the rules for footwork
given, namely feet should be parallel
to it, while the toes should make
right angle with it.
Do not try and change the style of
your forehand stroke to hit to differ
ent parts of the court. Keep the
stroke the same, but vary your court
work length and pace.
All this has been in the light of the
forehand drive as an offensive stroke.
Thus to sum up:
First. Regulate footwork to deter
mine direction.
Second. Use consistently even, fast
pace.
Third. Do not change style of
stroke as direction changes.
AS a defensive stroke, the drive
needs comparatively little eXplana-
ton, since ii should not often be used
in that manner.
When so using it, lessen your pace
and in general merely play it as deep
as possible and to your opponents
bad hand. That policy, if carried out
consistently, amounts at times al
most to an attack, since a deep shot
is always hard to do much with.
My next article will be IN ''The
Backhand Stroke is the Weakness of
Most Players"
starters whistle will blow at 1880 p.
m.
The next games in the West Maui
Leagues will be played in the Lahai-
ma aTmOry Friday night, Kan. III VS..
Lahainaluna and the l.. A. A. VS..