New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1927-08-12
MISS BROWNE SEES
Helen Wills PLAY
Calls Her Game Woman's Most
Powerful
(By MARY X. BROWNE)
United Press Special Staff
CORRESPONDENTS,

correspondent.
Copyright 1927, by United Press)
New York, Aug. IL (UP)-Yester-
day in the Forest Hills stadium
had my first actual contact with the
most powerful game Of lawn tennis
ever played by a woman. Helen
Wills produced that game in our one
set practice.
For four months l played against
the cleverest, most finished player in
the world of lawn tennis, Suzanne
Lenglen.
In my early days of tennis I play
ed against one of the most tenacious
and hard hitter but only from one
wing, May Sutton Bundy.
These three women are certainly
the outstanding feminine tennis
players of the world. All three have
held the championship of all Eng
land, virtually the championship of
the world. 1t makes me feel very,
very old indeed to think that / have
literally campaigned with all three
Of them.
But, never in all my long career
have | been up aaginst such hard
hitting from the racket of any wom-
an as Helen Wills swept across the
net to me yesterday. She literally
blew my court to pieces. Many. many
of her shots l never laid my racket
on. She was hitting as hard from
one side as the other Her service,
was equally strong. We played only
one set and ! never scored a game,
Chat confession is unique from d
professionally but ] am a greater
lover of the game than one might
suppose, for l freely admit Helen
smeared me.
We played but one set and it has
been proven in a number of Helen's
matches that she cannot keep up
this terrific attack throughout
match. Many of us thought that
Helen slows up her game because
she believed that change of pace
was good tactics, but her methods
carried little finesse for she would
soften her entire game for several
rallys rather than combining speed
and softness within a rally, which
when subtley employed is a fine
weapon.
We are all now convinced that
when Helen slackens her game she
is temporarily winded and she takes
a rest period. 1t is quite obvious that
only the strongest Amazon in the
world could hit with such power
throughout a match. For Helen, it
is a physical impossibility.
But boy, when she hits them, she
literally bowls one over. l never
once in my entire tour received one
ball from Suzanne's racket which
felt as hard. But I received many,
many more cleverly placed balls
from Suzanne.
Helen Wills is undoubtedly playing
the finest tennis of her life and for
the first time l believe she would
have chance against Suzanne.
Helen is not only hitting so per
cent harder, she is also playing at
closer quarters. She has more
imagination and even a touch of
humor in her game, l not a decided
broadening.
l asked Helen how she accounted
for her sudden Improvement and she
said, 1T has come as a result of nv
three years abroad in competing
against the best players in the world
and because have practiced a great
!
from my operation"
Helen agreed with me that VIM
bledon is the greatest tennis school
in the world. 1t is what Vienna is
to the opera, Paris is to the well
dressed one. London is to the fog.
Helen Wills has always been ex-
tremely reticent and self contained.
She concentrated SO thoroughly upon
the task at hand she scarcely cared
TO be distracted even by casual con-
vcrsation.
Helen's concentration, her big
forte upon the tennis court reminds
me Of a story Mary Pickford told
me In Paris last year about her act
ing and why she things Norma Tai
ihadge is a better actress than she
is
Mary Piclford claims that when
she is working on picture she must
I've and be her particular character,
she does not like even to see mem
hers OF her own family, who bring
her back to the realization that she
IS herself and not the fictitious char
acter. Mary Pickford believes that
while she is entirely absorbed in her
character that any GESTURE she makes
'nconsciously will be the right nes-
ture.
AS contrast to this method
Norma Talmadge lives her own life
right up to the moment she steps in