Lawn Tennis for Ladies - Mrs. Lambert Chambers
[Illustration: Mrs. Lambert Chambers]
LAWN TENNIS FOR LADIES
BY
MRS. LAMBERT CHAMBERS
WITH TWENTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS
First published in 1910, London
TO MY FATHER WHOSE KEENNESS AND ENCOURAGEMENT HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SUCH A
GREAT HELP TO ME DURING MY LAWN TENNIS CAREER
PREFACE
As a rule an author writes a preface to explain or to apologize for a
book. I shall do neither: I have tried to explain my meaning simply and
clearly in the book itself, and I am optimistic enough to think that my
favourite game is too popular to require an apology for increasing its
literature, however unpretentious the attempt may be. Moreover, I am
still too much affected by the "brilliant and feverish glow" of
enthusiasm to dream of offering one.
Two things only I wish to say. First, that I am writing with no academic
pride, but only with a passionate fondness for what I consider a great
sport, and with a keen desire to make others equally devoted. Secondly,
I should like to thank all those who have assisted me with suggestions
and the loan of photographs, especially my "arena colleagues" who have
rallied round me so graphically in the last chapter.
DOROTHEA LAMBERT CHAMBERS
CONTENTS
I. ATHLETICS FOR GIRLS
II. PRACTICE, AND HOW TO IMPROVE
III. MATCH AND TOURNAMENT PLAY
IV. RACKETS, COURTS, DRESS, AND TRAINING
V. TOURNAMENT AND CLUB MANAGEMENT
VI. SOME PERSONAL REMINISCENCES
VII. MY MOST MEMORABLE MATCH (BY LEADING PLAYERS)
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
MRS. LAMBERT CHAMBERS
WIMBLEDON, 1905: MISS MAY SUTTON WINNING THE
LADIES' CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE FIRST TIME
From a photograph by Bowden Brothers.
THE FORE-HAND DRIVE
THE BACK-HAND DRIVE
SERVICE
From photographs by Dexter.
MRS. G.W. HILLYARD AND MR. NORMAN BROOKES
MISS PINCKNEY AND MR. G.W. HILLYARD
MISS D.K. DOUGLASS AND MR. A.F. WILDING
MISS EASTLAKE SMITH AND MR. R.F. DOHERTY
MISS MAY SUTTON, WHO WON THE LADIES' CHAMPIONSHIP
AT WIMBLEDON, 1905, 1907
From a photograph by Bowden Brothers.
ON TOUR: THE LATE MISS C. MEYER, MISS PINCKNEY,
AND MISS E.W. THOMSON (MRS. LARCOMBE)
GROUP PLAYERS AT THE NEWCASTLE TOURNAMENT, 1902
AFTER THE LADIES' FINAL AT WIMBLEDON: TEA ON THE LAWNS
From a photograph by Bowden Brothers.
A TOURNAMENT HOUSE-PARTY AT NEWCASTLE
"MY SISTERS AND MYSELF"
A picture-postcard sent to Mrs. Lambert Chambers by Miss May Sutton
from her home in California.
AUTOGRAPHS FROM MY ALBUM
SOME OF THE FRUITS OF VICTORY
THE CHALLENGE ROUND AT WIMBLEDON, 1905: MISS
SUTTON (AMERICA) _v_. MISS D.K. DOUGLASS
From a photograph by Bowden Brothers.
MOTOR-CARS WAITING OUTSIDE THE ALL ENGLAND GROUND
AT WIMBLEDON DURING THE LADIES' CHALLENGE ROUND, 1906
WIMBLEDON, 1906: MISS DOUGLASS (now MRS. LAMBERT CHAMBERS)
WRESTING THE CHAMPIONSHIP FROM MISS SUTTON, THE HOLDER
MRS. HILLYARD
MRS. STERRY
MISS V.M. PINCKNEY
MISS D. BOOTHBY
From a photograph by G. & R. Lavis, Eastbourne.
MRS. LARCOMBE
MRS. LAMPLOUGH
MISS A.M. MORTON
MISS A.N.G. GREENE
From a photograph by G. & R. Lavis, Eastbourne.
LAWN TENNIS FOR LADIES
CHAPTER I
ATHLETICS FOR GIRLS
I hope and believe there are comparatively few people who will deny that
athletics have done much for the health and mind of the modern girl.
Exercise in some form or other is essential, and although I am quite
ready to admit that games of the strenuous type, such as hockey and lawn
tennis, can be and sometimes are overdone, yet the girl of to-day, who
enters into and enjoys her game with scarcely less zest than her
brother, is, I am convinced, better in health and happier in herself
than the girl of the past generation. What are the objections to games
for girls? It seems to me the chief arguments against them are (1) that
they are injurious to health; (2) that they impair the womanliness of
woman; (3) that they mar her appearance. There may be something to be
said for these contentions, but to my mind the _pros_ materially
outweigh the _cons_.
As to the injury to health, I deny that the case is proved. Indeed,
evidence is rarely forthcoming. A delicate girl would probably become
more delicate if she did not play games in moderation and take exercise.
A friend of mine, an old doctor, told me the other day that in his youth
the great plague of his life was the hysterical female. She would put in
an appearance obtrusively at critical moments, and the anticipation of a
scene always shadowed his arrangements. We rarely see this type now.
Games have driven her away. The woman of the present generation is calm,
collected, and free from emotional outbursts, and I believe that
invigorating outdoor exercise is the chief cause. As to the second
objection, the injury to the womanliness of woman, the answer depends on
what is meant by the essential feature of "womanliness." I am afraid
most people, including most men, say with Hamlet, "Frailty, thy name is
woman." Womanliness to most men implies just frailty. They may perhaps
call it "delicacy," and refer to the "weaker sex," but they mean that
just as a man's glory is his strength, so a woman's glory is her
weakness. They argue that you must impair this "weakness" by strenuous
games. Is this true? Is the essential feature of a woman her weakness,
just as the essential feature of a man is his strength, not merely
physical, but mental and moral strength? I do not think so. Woman is a
second edition of man, if you will; therefore, like most second
editions, an improvement on the first! As Lessing puts it, "Nature
meant to make woman its masterpiece." I well remember reading in a
stirring narrative of the Indian Mutiny how a small party of English men
and women were besieged in their quarters by a body of rebels, and while
the men fought at the windows and doors the women were busy preparing
ammunition, loading guns, bandaging wounds, and zealously cheering their
war-worn defenders. When victory was at length achieved, the men asked
themselves what would have happened but for the women. That, to my mind,
was a picture of true "womanliness." Inferior in neither moral strength
nor brain-power, the true woman is a helpmeet, or man's complement,
giving him just the special form of strength in body and soul that he
needs for the special experience.
If this, then, be "womanliness," can athletic games injure it? Do they
spoil woman's usefulness as a woman? Do they damage her specific
excellence? Do they tend to give her less endurance and nerve at
critical times? I do not think so. Certainly lawn tennis does not. It is
undoubtedly a strenuous game. There is more energy of physical frame,
more brain-tax and will-discipline demanded in one hardly contested
match than would suffice for a whole day's devotion to many other games.
These requirements must help a woman, and in the possession of the
qualities that games bestow athletic girls have a great pull over their
sisters. If you are skilled and well drilled in discipline and
sportsmanship, you are bound to benefit in the strife of the world. You
are the better able to face disappointments and sorrows. For what do
these strenuous games mean? Exercise in the open air, and exercise of a
thorough and engrossing character, carried out with cheerful and
stimulating surroundings, with scientific methods, rational aims, and
absorbing chances. Surely that is the foundation of health culture.
The truth is, games have done for women what the dervish's subtle
prescription did for the sick sultan. You perhaps remember the story.
The sultan, having very bad health from over-feeding, sedentary habits,
and luxurious ease, consulted the clever dervish. The dervish knew that
it would be useless to recommend the sultan simply to take exercise. He
therefore said to him, "Here is a ball, which I have stuffed with
certain rare and costly medicinal herbs, and here is a bat, the handle
of which I have also stuffed with similar herbs. Your highness must take
this bat and with it beat about this ball until you perspire freely. You
must do this every day." His highness acquiesced, and in a short time
the exercise of playing bat and ball with the dervish greatly improved
his health, and by degrees cured him of his ailment. Now, the tennis
ball, to my mind, is stuffed with medicinal herbs which impart vigour
and health to the player. The racket is possessed with a magic handle
that has the power of quickening all the pulses of life in the plenitude
of healthy vigour and wholesome excitement. In a medical book now before
me the subject is put tersely thus: "Health and strength depend on rapid
disorganisation, and rapid disorganisation depends on rapid exertion."
Now, if this is true, what better and more interesting method of rapid
exertion could be devised than a game of lawn tennis? Body and mind
alike are wholly absorbed with the utmost rapidity, and there is no
doubt the sense of refreshment is largely due to the rapid exertion
demanded for the proper playing of the game. The medical book goes on to
say, "During exertion we drink, as it were, oxygen from the air." This
oxygen is the only stimulating drink we can take with lasting advantage
to ourselves for the purpose of invigorating our strength. It is the
wine and spirit of life, an abundance of which Nature has supplied us
with ready-made. If you are low-spirited, drink oxygen. Take active
exercise in the open air and inhale it. When next you see a lawn tennis
player hard at a strenuous game, remember he or she is not necessarily
overstraining or injuring health, but taking long, deep draughts of
oxygen, imbibing the wine and spirit of life and laying up a store of
vigour in readiness for the varied experiences of life.
Of all games lawn tennis is the one most suited to girls. Its claims are
many and potent. It is strenuous and very hard work, but if not overdone
it is not too taxing for the average girl. The exercise depends
naturally upon the nature of the game played and the players engaged,
from the championships to the garden-party patball game. The greater the
knowledge of the game the greater the enjoyment and benefit derived from
it, and there is really no reason why a girl should not excel at the
game and therefore thoroughly appreciate and enjoy it. It is not
physical and brute strength that is wanted so much as scientific
application--finesse, skill, and delicacy of touch, all of which women
are just as capable of exercising as men.
I am well aware that if you compare the lady champion of any year with
any first-class man of the same year you will find a great disparity
between their actual play. That is to say, the first-class man would be
able to give the lady champion thirty or even more in order to have a
close struggle. I have often played Mr. R.F. Doherty at the tremendous
odds of receive half-forty, and have not always been returned the winner
at that! I wonder sometimes why there is this pronounced discrepancy.
Garments may make a little difference, but they do not account for it
all. I think perhaps that man's stronger physique, naturally greater
activity, and severer strokes prevent the girl from playing her own
game. She has to be nearly always on the defensive, and thus plays with
less accuracy and power.
Another claim lawn tennis has for girls is that it is not an expensive
game. It is more or less within the reach of all, rich or poor. It can
be played on one's own lawn or at any of the numerous clubs situated all
over the world, or even nowadays in some of the public parks. The time
required to play a game is not excessive. The implements, rackets,
balls, nets, etc., are neither numerous nor prohibitive in price. The
club subscriptions are moderate, and the actual expenses of pursuing the
game are small as compared with golf.
[Illustration: WIMBLEDON, 1905: MISS MAY SUTTON WINNING THE LADIES'
CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE FIRST TIME. SHE BEAT MISS DOUGLASS IN THE CHALLENGE
ROUND.]
Then, again, lawn tennis is not difficult to learn, although of course
by this I do not mean that it is an easy game to play well--far from it.
But a rudimentary idea of it suffices to give any one a good deal of
healthy exercise and enjoyment, and provided that one is keen and wishes
to improve, and possesses what is known as a good games' eye, there is
no reason why advance should not be rapid. It is also a pastime in which
women can combine with and compete against men without in any way
spoiling the game; and mixed doubles, to which I refer, are perhaps the
most popular department with the average spectator. I think I am not
wrong in saying that there is no other game at the present time in which
this combination of the sexes does not tend to minimize the enjoyment of
the player and the interest of the spectator. A mixed foursome at golf
is poor sort of fun for the man, unless the ladies are quite
first-class; the game is rather spoilt for him. Mixed hockey is an
abomination; splendid sport absolutely spoiled for both sexes. But a
mixed double at lawn tennis seems like a distinct game, so different is
it to the other forms of lawn tennis and so well adapted to the
combination of both sexes.
Then it is asserted that strenuous games mar the appearance of girls.
This charge was very deliberately brought against hockey for women some
little time ago in an influential London journal, and was rightly and
promptly answered by a spirited article with illustrations of some
well-known lady hockey players--proof positive of the fallacy that
hockey damaged their appearance. I am afraid most of these contortions
are the product of the snapshot camera. It must be remembered that
instantaneous photographs show players of games as they are really never
seen. Girls are doubtless in the ungraceful position represented for a
fraction of a second; but the time is too short for the eye to see,
although the camera, worse luck, catches the view, and what is more,
registers it for ever! Though a girl should always try to be as neat and
look as nice as she possibly can, even when playing a strenuous game, it
is hardly possible or natural to be "just so" every second of a long
struggle. In fact, I think it is more interesting to see a girl not
absolutely immobile. I prefer that she should show some signs of
excitement, that her muscles should be strained and her face set. This
has a very real pleasure of its own, and I do not think it unsightly.
Public speaking and singing may distort the mouth and disturb the facial
muscles to a most ludicrous extent and give the eyes quite an unnatural
appearance; but I have never yet heard it said that a man or woman
should give up either because of its effect upon the appearance. Why,
then, should women abandon athletic exercises, which they enjoy so much,
and which do them so much good, merely because, just for a moment or two
perhaps, their appearance is distorted?
CHAPTER II
PRACTICE, AND HOW TO IMPROVE
Players, even tournament players, often ask how they can improve. "I
have been at the same stage so long; what can I do to play a better
game?" That is not infrequently the question. Now I think many who are
very anxious to advance go to work in the wrong way. To my mind, the
great point to remember when you are practising is not that the match
must be won, but that all your weak strokes must be improved. We all
know our special failures; if not, some kind friend will soon point them
out to us. Tackle these doggedly in practice. Strokes naturally avoided
in a match should be given as much experience as possible in a knock-up
game. It is the only way. Many players make the cardinal mistake of
playing day after day in the same way; they starve all their weak
strokes and overdo all their best ones; in fact, they play in precisely
the same manner as if the occasion were an important match. If you do
this, you must always preserve those weak strokes; they are not even
given a chance to develop. I once asked a girl whom I noticed
continually running round her back-hand in a practice game, why she did
this. The characteristic answer came back: "I cannot take a back hand. I
should be hopelessly beaten if I didn't run round the ball." But what
does it matter if you are beaten fifty times in a practice game if you
are improving your strokes? That girl's back-hand could never improve;
she made absolutely no distinction between a practice game and a match.
In fact, it was very little of a _practice_ game to her. How can your
game improve, or move forward, if you make no effort to strengthen what
is feeble?
Practise, then, conscientiously, and with infinite patience; never mind
who beats you. Take each weak stroke in turn, and determine to master
it, and I think you will find that you will be amply rewarded for all
your painstaking work by a vast improvement and keener enjoyment in your
game. What greater delight than to feel a stroke you have always dreaded
becoming easier and less embarrassing each time you use it, to know that
you are genuinely advancing instead of making no progress and playing
the same old bad shots time after time? I am sure you will say such a
sense of achievement is worth all the trouble which must be faced and
all the patience which must be exercised.
Of course in match play it is quite different. You avoid your weak
strokes as much as you can; your object then is to win the game. But
after discriminate practice you will find, probably to your surprise,
that there are not so many weak spots after all to remove, that your
game is opening out and steadily advancing. Do not get easily
disheartened if you find improvement slow; for a game that is worth
playing at all is worth playing well, and to play lawn tennis well you
must go through a stiff apprenticeship. You must school yourself to meet
disappointments and failures; you must cultivate a philosophic spirit,
or you will never reach the goal of perfection. I need not say that if
you wish to go forward enthusiasm is essential. Lawn tennis players
never seem to me to be nearly so keen on their game as golfers. So many
of them appear quite satisfied to remain at a fixed stage. They will
certainly not get their handicap reduced unless there is an ardent
desire to become better acquainted with the science of the game. A
struggling golfer is never tired of learning talking about his
pastime--often, I admit, to the annoyance of people who are not so
obsessed. Nevertheless, he is on the right track; and being so
thoroughly absorbed and in earnest, he ought to improve. You will find
him buying every new book that comes out and poring over its pages. He
may play in a few competitions, but his time is more seriously occupied
with practice and improvement. He wisely deprecates the continuous
strain of match play. He prefers to acquire a working knowledge of the
game, to make the various strokes with some degree of accuracy, before
he pits his skill against others.
I think this lack of adequate practice is one of the reasons why there
is such a dearth of rising talent among lawn tennis players. Some of the
competitors one meets at tournaments have been for years at exactly the
same stage. They never pause to take stock of their game. They never
advance or cultivate a new stroke. They go from one tournament to
another, struggling to win by hook or by crook. Assisted by a generous
handicap, they may win a prize, and, apparently, they are satisfied. Let
me say, in regard to tournaments, that when you are taking your strokes
correctly and are really adding to your knowledge of the game, open
competitions are admirable, and are essential if the highest honours are
to be achieved. But tournaments can very easily be overdone, especially
by young players who have not completed what I may call
stroke-education.
When you are practising, remember to practise head-work as well as
strokes. Cultivate thinking about the game. Never mind asking an
experienced player for advice. Most people who play the game well are
anxious that every one should improve; they want them to get more
enjoyment out of the game, and they want the general standard of play to
advance. As a rule they never mind giving a helpful hint. Do not
hesitate, therefore, to ask for that help. Discuss the game with your
friends and find out all you can about it. Read all the excellent books
that have been written on the game from time to time. I have often
noticed that beginners will willingly pay their entrance fees for open
events at tournaments, when they know very well that nothing but a
miracle will take them through the first round. Yet the same players
grumble at the expense of purchasing books dealing with the game. The
book would most probably help them a great deal, whereas the one
solitary match does them no good. It is over so quickly, the difference
in the class of play is so great, that the beginner hardly hits the ball
at all.
A good way of practising is to play up against a brick wall. In my own
case I found the method very useful. It helps one to keep the eye on the
ball, to time well, and place with accuracy. Another good way of
practising is not to score, but to get some friend to hit or even throw
the ball where you want it. Systematic stroke-play like this for half an
hour a day, finishing up with a game which brings into play the stroke
you have been developing, is bound to improve your game. I know of one
champion of England who always practised in this way. Any new stroke
that had to be mastered was passed through the mill and assiduously
exercised until perfection came. If no friend were available for the
purpose, the butler had to devote an hour a day to throwing the ball in
the given direction.
To come to the various strokes, I do not mean to enter into these
elaborately. There are now so many good books in the market that deal
exhaustively with this subject, such as "The Complete Lawn-Tennis
Player," by A. Wallis Myers, that I shall not aim at covering old
ground.
The first and foremost stroke to be learnt is _The Fore-hand Drive_. A
good fore-hand is one of the chief assets of the game; a good length
must be one of the first things to cultivate. The ball must be sent as
near the base line as possible. Do not at first try to get a severe
shot, but practise getting a good-length slow ball until you are very
accurate at that. You will find that pace and direction will come
afterwards. When making a fore-hand drive stand sideways to the net.
Your left shoulder should face the net, your left foot should be in
front of your right. Wait as long as possible, for the ball. By this I
mean, do not rush in to it; wait for it to come to you. Stand well away
from it, sideways and lengthways. Swing your racket slowly back to about
the level of your shoulder, then bring it slowly forward, and
simultaneously transfer your weight from your right foot to your left.
This transference of weight, let me add, is most important, and can
only be achieved by careful practice. If it is transferred too soon or
too late, the whole power of the stroke is lost.
[Illustration: THE FORE-HAND DRIVE BEGINNING MIDDLE FINISH]
The ball must be hit firmly and cleanly with the centre of the racket.
Feel as if you were literally sweeping it along--your movement must be
so perfectly timed--to the place you wish it to go, not forgetting to
follow well through with your arm and shoulder in a line with the flight
of the ball. Great muscular strength is not needed to play well. _Timing
your stroke, transferring your weight at the right moment, and following
well through at the finish_--these are the chief secrets of good and
powerful strokes. Do not be content merely to watch the ball, but keep
your eye fixed on it until the last possible moment, following it right
on to the centre of your racket. Until you have tried this you cannot
realize how difficult it is, or how greatly it will improve your stroke;
and it helps to complete concentration, which to my mind is one of the
chief attributes of success.
_The Back-hand Drive_ is taken in the same way as the fore-hand, only
with your position reversed. Here, too, you must not face the net, but
stand sideways. This time your right shoulder must face the net. The
position of your feet for a back-hand stroke is most important; it is
where so many beginners go wrong. Take a step towards the ball with your
right foot in front of your left, and with your weight at the start of
the stroke on the ball of your left foot. Swing your racket well back,
with its head raised above your wrist, and hit the ball firmly with the
centre of your racket. Be transferring your weight all the time from
your left foot to your right, and follow well through in the direction
of the flight of the ball. When playing a back-hand across the court,
from corner to corner, let your arm and shoulder on the follow through
be extended as far as they will go, and your body brought round to face
the net.
[Illustration: THE BACK-HAND DRIVE BEGINNING MIDDLE FINISH]