Evening star., 1926-06-13


full and conSerVeS tremendous
amount Of energy. / never permit
ted Suzanne To indulge in exaggerated
preparatory gestures. They are use
less, fatiguin@ and unnatural, and she
was always put on her guard against
them. He" racket has always been
the best | could find, well balanced,
and about = to l3i2 ounces in weight.
\ too heavy racket plays havoc
with the forearm the wrist and the
elbow.
The tension Of the strinsing is Of
the utmost importance and some
players cannot play with racket
that is not very tightly strung.
Suzanne is one Of these and she will
abandon racket the minute that
1t shows the slightest signs of loosen
ing it's tension. Before an important
match we devote many minutes 10
picking out a racket whose tension
answers all the requirements. her
racket handles are of the exact size
10 fit her hand. We have found that
a handle which does not fit the hand
tires it and is very inefficient for
yolleying or rapid strOhing.
Uses Light Racket.
Until she was Is Suzanne used a
13-ounce racket but after that age
she preferred q slightly heavier one.
The handles are Nat and permit her
20 hold the racket well in hand and
with firm and we'll controlled grip.
The choice OF tennis shoes IS also OF
great Importance. ] have always rec
commended for her shoes in which she
IS always at ease. shoes Of light
weight. and with thin rubber soles.
IL oh INN iY- "a
speed. make The feet feel heavy, and
soon tire the player.
SHOES that are too light wear out
too quickly and do not afford sufficient
protection to the feet. We have found
the hemp-Soled shoes TO be Of some
service, but they usually require the
insertion of a lambskin sole to pre-
vent the foot from rubbing against
the hemp and blistering. Suzanne
wears canvas shoes with rubber soles
of light weight. After trying all kinds
wesshave found these TO be the most
I satisfactory.
! AT the Wimbledon tournament.
which is played on. grass courts, she
wears rubber slippers, like the ones
4 Worn for sea bathing. which help TO
/ keep her from slipping.
Keeps Eye on Ball.
/ Once the hall is IN play. Suzanne
! has been taught never to take her eye
. off the ball, especially ut the time oe
hitting it. She holds her racket nat
urally, and swings il gracefully and
easily. She follows each ball through
in the direction which she wishes it
to follow and pays particular attCn-
ton TO the finish Of the stroke. 1t
is important that the last contact Of
the racket he precise. Her grip tight
ems as the racket hits the ball and
then lCosens and She again holds the
racket in a free and easy manner.
The ball takes its direction from the
angle of the racket at the last contact.
and will either go out of bounds or
into the net # this angle is too open
or too close. The hest drive is the one
tthat comes nearest 10 the net without
going into it. Miss J. Tripp, who some
10 years ago was one of the best Eng
lish players, had such q drive, and I
was so impressed by it that / made
Suzanne try TO initiate it. She is one
of the few woman players that have
furnished an example for Suzanne.
Retains Own Style
Much of our time was spent reading
and studying the different books writ
ten by tennis experts. from which
there is much to be learned. Although
Suzanne carefully watched the cham
pions of her Younger days. and did her
best To initiate them and copy their
strokes, If ] thought that they We're
OF value. l was always careful to see
that she retained all the while her
own manner of play.
Thus we studied the forehand of one
and the baCkhand Of another. A third
had a fine service and the fourth Il
spirited volley. all of which without
further ado Suzanne set out to initiate
and appropriate. The selection OF these
strokes was of supreme Importance,
and we always Kept in mind their COM
patibility with SuZanue's personal
aptitudes.
We avoided trick strokes and intri-
cate acrobaticS. These are frequently
undependable, and of little value in
tournament competition. ] made her
spend almost as much time in watch
ing other players as in playing herself.
There is more benefit 10 be gained out
of watching a good player than play
ing against a poor one.
Each player has his own individual
style, which is more or less a matter
of self expression. This il is impos-
sible to initiate, and we never attempt
ed it, because | was quite satisfied
with the graceful style of my daugh-
ter.
Copyright. 1926
(NeXt-The Value of the T.obJ