Lawn-tennis

by James Dwight

Don’t be afraid to hit a lob. There is really no half-way; if you don’t make a good stroke off it, your opponent will probably pass you.

In making these suggestions as to the strokes to play in special cases, I am going as far as I see my way to do in pure theory. For the rest, I can only call attention to a few general principles.

Don’t stand still anywhere in the court. Keep in motion all the time, for it is far easier to start quickly if you do not “fix” yourself. The best example is a marker in a tennis or racket court; he seldom is running, and yet he is almost always where the ball comes. A part of this is no doubt due to his judgment, but a great deal comes from never standing quite still.

Don’t slam at a ball. It is very common to see players “slog” at a fault or at a ball that has struck out of court. It is a great mistake and puts you off your stroke. A very common fault, if one is running for a hard ball that can only just be reached, is to hit at it as hard as one can. The chances are immensely against such a stroke going over the net, while if the racket were simply held in the way the ball would go back.

Don’t give up a rest till it is lost. Try to get the ball back even if it seems to be useless. There is always a chance that it may be missed.

Don’t be deceived by a ball coming over the net, or striking inside the court when you do not expect it. Take it for granted that every ball must be returned.

Never drop a ball short. It is a very tempting stroke, and at times very effective, but one loses a great many strokes in trying it. In almost every case the ball could be killed as well by a hard stroke, and the danger of putting it into the net would be much less. It is very difficult to hit a ball so slowly that it will just go over the net, and if it goes a little too far one’s opponent comes forward to meet it, and can, as a rule, place it wherever he pleases. I play the stroke at times, myself, and each time vow that I will never try it again.

A necessary part of a good player is decision, and the power of making up his mind quickly. Nowhere is this so necessary as in following up the service. If you mean to go up, don’t hesitate for an instant, take the chances and go, and don’t stop half-way. Don’t go up a little way and then wait to see what will happen; you will not be far enough forward to volley, nor far enough back to play off the ground. It puts you in a part of the court where you should never be, namely, somewhere between the base-line and the service-line. The exact position of this forbidden place depends on the speed of the ground. It is at such a distance from the net that the ball comes to you just above the ground, so that you are forced to make a difficult volley or a half-volley. You are not in position for volleying and would be better off farther back.

It is very hard to say exactly where one should stand to volley. The typical place seems to me to be a yard or so in front of the service-line, and, if anything, nearer still. The closer the player is to the net, the less ground he has to cover. Imagine a player standing on the base-line, and imagine a line drawn from him to each end of the opposite service-line. These two lines represent the two most widely-divergent strokes that he can make. If now you stand on the service-line you have to cover 27 ft.; on the base-line 35 ft.; half-way from the service-line to the net, 22 ft.; and at the net only 17 ft. In reality, the amount of space you will have to cover is less, as you cannot make a fast stroke without its going beyond the service-line. Thus the nearer a player is to the net the less space he leaves his opponent to place the ball in, but, on the other hand, the quicker he himself must be to judge and reach the ball. It is a great gain if you can volley the ball while it is still above the level of the net, as it can then be volleyed downward. If you allow the ball to drop much, you have got to volley upwards to get it over the net, and there can be little severity in your stroke, which moreover itself is a more difficult one to make. Again, the sooner you meet the ball, the less time you give your opponent to recover from his last stroke and to prepare himself for the return. For myself, I am always ready to take a good deal of risk in order to stand near enough to make a severe volley. If one’s opponent lobs much it is unsafe to go in close, as one may have to run back for the ball.

In a word, it seems to me that each player must judge for himself in what place he can return his adversary’s strokes to the greatest advantage, and this place will not be the same against different players. You can usually tell if your opponent means to lob, and I believe that it is right to go in closer whenever one is sure that he will not lob, and then fall back again to be ready for any stroke next time.