The New York herald., 1922-12-10

court championships there and wind UP
with the Olympic title tournament in
Paris Tilden readily assented to make
the trip with his Davis cup teammate,
and Big Bill is hopeful that his calibef
of play will not cause any change in
the contemplated program. incidentally
Johnston has altered his mind about re-
naming out of the Eastern tournaments
next summer. Tilden has heard he is
coming on for the national championship
and the Davis cup matches next August
and September.
During his enforced idleness Tilden
had plenty of time to ponder over his
favorite subject of tennis for juniors and
the means of developing 1t. The cham
pion Is ever surrounded by so many
youthful proteges out near his home in
Germantown that he could not keep his
mind off the juniors If he wanted to.
Back of 1t all, OF course. is Tilden's
desire to have the youthful tennis
product encouraged as much as possible
for the future of the game in this
country as in any other country depends
on the progress Of the sport among the
youths Of the land.
Has Junior Tennis Plan.
He has planned a reform in the method
OF conducting the junior and boys ma
tional championships that he intends to
bring before the attention OF the United
States Lawn Tennis Association dele
gates at the annual convention here IN
February. His study OF the Junior ten
mis- situation has convinced him that
scores OF youngsters OF great capabilities
are permitted to drift out Of the game
every year through lack of sufficient
encouragement. He would have the
various sectional associations through
out the country hold sectional qualify
ing tournaments every summer. and
then he would have the national asso-
citation pay the expenses of the sectional
winners to the Junior championships.
BY far the majority OF the youths can
not be sent by parents or sectional asso-
oiations because they cannot afford the
expenditure. The national organization
can. And since the growth OF junior
tennis is a matter vital to the sport ma
tionally. the national association should
be the one to care for II.
Tilden would have the national Junior
and boys championship open not only
to those who qualified from different
sections but to all others who could af-
ford to pay their own expenses to the
tournament. And he would hold the
event not in conjunction with n mems
national singles or doubles but as
separate tournament the week preceding,
and permit the youngsters to have the
field to themselves. AS matters stand
now the boys and juniors play their
singles matches in the morning. doubles
in the afternoon and have little time TO
watch the country's ranking players in
action during the week. How much
better, argues the champion, to have the
youngsters complete their title tourna-
ments first. and then stay over and
watch the senior championship the week
following, with no further competition
to worry about
IL IL not generally known that Tilden
has been playing tennis for twenty-three
years. but such Is the case. He began
at the tender age of 5, being introduced
TO the game at the Onteora Club In the
Catslills, where he often played with
Dean Mathey. He was considered very
fast for a youngstcr up TO the age OF 1s
or II, when he began experimenting, and
for number OF years after that, he
says, his game was all shot 20 pieces.
Then all OF sudden all the shots he
had been working on began TO CONSOLE
date into an effective tennis entity and
nc made ieadway by leaps and bounds.
Ono OF his proteges. Arnold Jones OF
Providence. now member OF the Yale
University team, has had similar ten
mis- experience, according to Tilden.
Jones, after threatening TO blossom out
into a player OF championship possibili-
ties. finally made good his threat last
season. and Tilden Is asking tho tennis
public to watch young Jones from