Evening star., 1923-04-29

There are two methods Of holding
the racket for the forehand and back
hand ground strokes, the eastern. a
modification Of the European method.
and the western. Advocates Of the
former demand that the racket lie
held, in executing the forehand drive.
Just as one grasps the handle Of II
hand mirror. the fat part Of tho
handle resting on the palm of the
hand. The hackhand stroke is made
by turning the racket a quarter WAY
round. so that the kuurkleS come ON
top Of the handle. and the bail is
always struck on the opposit" face
of the racket than that used in the
forehand stroke
The Europeans believe that the
racket should he held at all times At
right angles TO the arm. with the
head of the racket held always above
the wrist. but the best opinion in
racket should be in one straight line.
They both agree. however, that dir
ferent faces Of the racket should i,-
used in making the forehand aud
backhand strokes
Western Grips Weak.
The western grips are entirely diff
ferent. That for the forChand is the
one | have alread! meHtioned-th"
natural method of holding the racket
approximately as one picks it up
and is the result Of the lack of pro-
fessional coaching on the Pacific
coast. The use Of this grip has forced
the Californian to adopt a iaCkhand
10 which he could easily shift from
the forehand position. and has re
suited in the taking of both the
forehand and the backhaI strokes
on the same face of the racket Both
these grips are really ideal for tg-
gressivc vp1leying and account for
tna nvtf f.r-fr e
this particular. hut they are not as
we'll suited for back court driving.
especially on grass, as tho eastern
grip.
1t has long been known that this
has been the weak spot in the
technique Of the California. cham
pions. their backhands being especial
ly weak in haseline play. Johnston
is the only Californian who has ever
had firSt-ClasS back court game.
and IL has only been in the last two
or three years that his backhand has
become powerful and aggressive. To
acquire this, ne has been forced l."
Shift his grip so that now il is not
typically western. MrLnughlin's poor
backhand is too well known to re-
Quire comment.
The eastern method of holding the
racket for serving and smashing is
universal and should he studied care
fully ly the beginner. The American
t"ISt service mas betblNe Ia NOUS All
over the world. This has it's special
racket hold. as have also the various
other serves that should be acquired.
While 7 decidedly advocate Sys-
tematic coaching Of the young. AS
] believe that a greater proportion
of thern will become proficient than
If left to shift for themselves. it
must not he forgotten that certain
tennis genuses have developed their
games almost unaided. Such men
have inherited either rcmarkab BILE
quickness of vision or natural ap-
titude for the game that has car
ried them to the front ranks of ten
mis-. when it was Obvious to the care
full observer that certain -laring de-
fects were apparent. McInUEhlin.
Richards and Brooks may br cited
as such examples. as all had defects
or deficiencies in their games which
required years to overcome.
TiIden Masters Them All.
1t is not the purpose Of this ar-
ticie to aralyza in detail the marv
and varied racket grips necessary
for an all-round game. It Is merely
my intention to point out their inn
rrrtenCe, for perfection of stroke dc
rends upon the use Of tho right grin.
No young player should limit himself
either To the eastern or tn" western
type of play. He should strive
earnestly to acquire all grips and
strokes necessary to championship
form Tho hold fo hc driN ,ruu,,