The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1922-01-13
HOW TO
PLAY TENNIS
BY WILLIAM T. TlLDEN
Worlds Grass and Hard Court
Lawn Tennis Champion
Copyright 1921. by Public Ledger Co.
Tilden Explains Methods of Hitting
the Overhead"
HEN one says Overhead" one
autnmotioonxy ~. unH-

XA f1EN one says overhead" one
wv automatically says "McLough-
lin. Yet this article says at
once do not attempt to acquire Nc
Loughlin's overhead unless you wish
TO sacrlhce your whole game to one
shot. Not that Mclaughlin was a
one-shot tennis player by any means,
but the man who tries to acquire his
smash will unquestionally kill the
rest of his game.
McLoughlin'e overhead was a freak
shot. Instead of hitting the ball as
any other human being would in front
of his head, where he can swing into
it, he allows the ball to pass over his
head, he bends backwards, then
sweeps into the ball with a hop, driv-
ing with his stomach muscles and
his back muscles, relying on the enor-
nous strength he gets from this snap
to put speed into his shot. This is
probably the reason of his slowing
down, since his muscles have prob
ably been stretched so far that they
lack the power to react with the same
speed that they formerly did. Nc
Loughlin may be muscle-bound from
his overhead. This is only a posi-
BILE explanation of this sudden lack
of speed on Macs" part and offered
as such.
Costs Engery
The fact remains, however, that any
shot which costs a terrific physical
strain is not a shot to develop as a
regular asset to ones game, since it
costs you far more in the end than
you gain.
The overhead should be developed
from the standpoint of greatest re-
suit from least effort. The shot
should be fast, and either straight or
angled equally easily to either side.
To do this careful attention must
be paid to footwork and the develop
ment of correct racquet technique.
The overhead should be made with
a fiat racquet face and direction de-
cided by the position of the feet and
swing of the arm not by angling off
the racquet. Thus learn to hit your
overhead by meeting the ball full and
driving it straight ahead of you.
The weight should rest on the right
foot, which is back and shift onto the
left as the shot is made. The left
foot may be raised to increase the
swim into the ball, but be sure to
bring it down with the weight on it
as the ball is hit. Above all things
do not jump into the air to make your
overhead unless absolutely necessary
since it takes your whole body out
of position and weakens the swing.
Method of Hitting
Hit all overheads as far as posi-
BILE with the forehand swing. This is
the only shot one should turn around
to take on the forehand, since you
should make or lose the point on your
overhead shot. Always shoot for the
point if the ball is hit overhead inside
the service line. Do not try to kill
shots overhead behind the service
line; play them back deep and wait
for the short lob to kill.
Rely about 60 per cent on speed
and 40 per cen placement for your
overhead shots, or, in other words,
count more on beating the man by
speed than by direction, since an
overhead bounces high and gives him
plenty of time to I'll after it; thus
direction loses its value as the length
of the bounce increases. Never pat"
a short lob, always hit it hard.
The greatest need in developing
the overhead is confidence. Expect to
make your shot and do not be afraid
to hit. Joe Carpenter, of the Philadel-
phla Cricket Club, made a monkey of
a man who is better than he was one
year at Mannheim in the city tourney,
simply because he lobbed so well his
opponent missed several overheads
and got afraid of them. The result
was he was driven back from the net
and had to play a long, hard match
from the baseline, which he barely
won instead of winning easily, as he
| Chn1tlh hoaat,aa b. l-.4 -.
head and was afraid to keep hitting.
1t was good generalship on Carpen-
ter's part and poor on his opponents.
He will never do it again.
When you begin missing overheads
II Is u TO one OF two things, either
your posture is faulty, or what is
more likely, you are taking your eye
off the ball through carelessness or
lack Of confidence. There is only one
thing to do to correct the latter. Quit
looking at the other mans court be-
fore making your shot, but keep your
eye so that ball and when it m
to you hit it a blow" a good, healthy
blow, and trust to beat the other man
by speed. If you miss, why Just keep
hitting the same fast pace until it
goes in.
A Point Winner
The overhead must be considered
purely as a shot to score points with
and the sooner o score off it the
better, since every man misses a lot
of overheads and to have to hit lob
after lob will result in a miss ooner
or later, so hit for the point quick.
This ends the series of offensive of
attacking shots, with the exception of
the occasional use of the chop stroke
That will be taken UP as the chop"
under defensive strokes.
The point that has been emphasized
in all these articles on offensive
stroke is when attacking force the
play at the time, shoot for the point
quickly, but always remember a shot
must win better than so per cent of
the time used TO be worth ANYTHING