Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-04-10
Ioigt Wins Noro Sveeber InfabJe With Aashi
WOMEN nv SPORT
by CORINNE FRAZIER

Of California stands alone In this
cl9ss, with possibly Penelope Ander-
s4n OF Richmond. Va. and Margaret
Blake Of Boston on their way to join
her. and neither Of the latter two Are
I'm the junior class.
Viewing the recent feat of Mrs.
| Hazel .Hotchkiss Wightman, who, Is
years after reaching the peak OF her
career as national champion, walked
/ out on the Longwood courts at Boston
| this Winter and proceeded to make a
clean sweep Of national indoor titles,
/ Fred Hawthorne, tennis critic, oh
serves that Uncle Sam is sadly in
need of some promising material from
which may be cut out the future
stars OF tennisdom
Are there none among the thou
sands OF girls now engaged I'm tourna.
ment competition throughout the
country who have developed Sufficient
| ly to win over the stars Of two decades
past?" asks Mr.. Hawthorne And
well might he ask the question De.
spite the fact that there are many
times the number Of girls competing
Tor tennis crowns today that were
| playing when Mrs. Wightmau and
Mrs. Mae sutton Bundy appeared as
/ iuminarieS on the horizon. there are
fewer who seem to be FIRST ten" ma
terial Since Helen Wills established
| herself vt the top Of the card. only
two or three youthful racketers have
even threatened the stronghold OF ting
! veterans, most OF whom still are safe
~ seated in the choice positions on
our national ranking list
| Hawthorne ventures to prophesy
| that Miss Jacobs is the only young
! ster now competing who promises TO
reach the first FIVE
He sees possibilities Of both Miss
/ Anderson and Miss Blake rising one
or two rungs above their present pO-
sitions. s and respectively. but he
does not consider them as strong
! enough to unseat the best of the vet.
| Grams
Is it possible that the players who
were hampered in developing their
games by long skirts, voluminouS
/ petticoats. uncomfortable hats and
long hair are actually better and
1 more versatile 'erformers than our
new generation, which has had the
/ advantages OF loose, comfortable
clothes, short skirts and bobbed hair
all designed TO giye them the great
| est freedom OF movement and 10
lesson the natural handicaps of femI.
! ninity?
Is 1t not rather that the new gen.
| GRAFTON OF players is occupied with de-
| veloping a variety Of strokes unknown
to its predecessors and which will
carry II far beyond the present stand
| ards once this new form is perfected?
i Could II not be that the development
OF the sort of game desired and striv.
EN- for today by our girls takes so
much more time, and is so completely
revolutionary. that the opponents are
in the state OF transition at present
and hence are lot showing up bril-
liantly at any one department Of the
game?
Let us hope that this is the case.
That the apparent lull in advance
ment of tennis among the women of
the United States during the past few
years Is but the quiet before the storm
Of new stars breaks over us, and
| women's tennis scales new sheights
| led by a group of graceful, boyish
racketers whose all.around game will
! be far superior to the old style, where
one powerful stroke and a steady
service produced a champion.
support for this theory is given US
in the tact that the few girls who
have perfected the new style Of game
Suzanne Lenglen, Helen Wills, Joan
Ffye and Senprita D,Alverez-havs
reached heights undreaned of 20
years ago by women contenders for
the world net laurels.