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                              DEDICATION.


To WILLIAM RENSHAW, Esq., Champion of England,
this book is dedicated by his friend and pupil
the Author.




                             LAWN-TENNIS.

                                  BY

                             JAMES DWIGHT.

[Illustration]

                             PUBLISHED BY

                  WRIGHT & DITSON, BOSTON, U. S. A.,

                                  AND

                 “PASTIME” OFFICE, 28 PATERNOSTER ROW,
                             LONDON, E. C.




                               COPYRIGHT

                                 1886,

                       By JAMES DWIGHT.




PREFACE.


There is at present no work on Lawn-Tennis written by any of the
well-known players or judges of the game, and it is with great
diffidence that I offer this book to fill the gap until something
better comes.

It is intended for beginners, and for those who have not had the
opportunity of seeing the best players and of playing against them.

To the better players it would be presumption for me to offer advice.
I should not, indeed, have ventured to write at all had I not had
unusual opportunities of studying the game against the best players,
and especially against the Champion, Mr. W. Renshaw, and his brother.




CONTENTS.


                       PART I.

  CHAP.                                        PAGE

        PREFACE                                 vii
  I.    HOW TO LEARN TO PLAY                      1
  II.   THE COURT AND IMPLEMENTS OF THE GAME      6
  III.  THE SERVICE                              12
  IV.   THE FIRST STROKE                         18
  V.    THE STROKE                               21
  VI.   THE VOLLEY                               23
  VII.  THE HALF-VOLLEY                          28
  VIII. THE LOB                                  30


                       PART II.

  I.    THE GAME                                 32
  II.   MATCH PLAY                               46
  III.  THE DOUBLE GAME                          56
  IV.   LADIES’ AND GENTLEMEN’S DOUBLES          64
  V.    UMPIRES AND UMPIRING                     68
  VI.   ODDS                                     71
  VII.  BISQUE                                   73
  VIII. CASES AND DECISIONS                      80
  IX.   LIST OF WINNERS                          88




LAWN-TENNIS.

PART I.




CHAPTER I.

HOW TO LEARN TO PLAY.


One is often asked the best method of learning to play. I fancy that
the best way, could one often adopt it, would be to let a marker, as
in a tennis-court, hit the balls gently to the beginner, pointing out
to him his mistakes, so that he might not acquire a bad style. If he
begins by going on to the lawn and playing a game, his only object
will be to get the balls over the net, and he will be almost sure to
fall into bad habits of play. This is, however, the most amusing way
to learn, and will probably always be the one in general use. If the
novice does adopt it, let him at least watch good players whenever he
can, not with any idea of trying their severe volleys, &c., but in
order to see the position of the feet and of the racket in play. When
he has learned to play fairly well, he should still watch good players
at every opportunity; but what he then needs to study is the position
in the court where they stand; when they go forward and when back,
and what balls they volley instead of playing off the ground. He will,
in this way, get some idea of the form which he should try to acquire.
Mr. E. L. Williams, in a recent article in the _Lawn-Tennis Magazine_,
advises playing against a wall, and I believe in the benefit obtained
from this sort of practice. In fact, I have often advised players to
try it. Any sort of a wall will do; the wall of a room, if there is
nothing better. Hit the ball quietly up against the wall, wait till it
has bounded and is just beginning to fall, then hit it as nearly as
possible in the same place. Always make a short step forward as you
hit, with the left foot in a forehanded stroke, and with the right in a
backhanded one. Try to hold the racket properly (see page 10), and do
not hit with a stiff arm. The shoulder, elbow, and wrist ought all to
be left free, and not held rigid. As soon as you can hit the ball up a
few times forehanded, try the same thing backhanded, and when you are
reasonably sure of your stroke, take every ball alternately fore and
backhanded. This will give you equal practice in both strokes, and will
also force you to place the ball each time. Add now a line over which
the ball must go; in a room a table or bureau will do very well, and,
if possible, mark out a small square in which the ball shall strike.
This may sound very childish to a beginner, but I am sure that very
valuable practice can be got in this way, and I have spent a great many
hours in a room at this occupation. After a time you should volley
every ball, first on one side and then on the other. Then half-volley,
and after that try all the different combinations: volley forehanded,
and half-volley backhanded, &c. Always stick to some definite plan, as
in that way you get practice in placing. There is another stroke that
can well be learned in this way. Hit the ball up against the wall so
that it will strike the ground on your left and go completely by you,
then step across and backward with your right foot, swing on the left
foot till your back is towards the wall, and try to return the ball by
a snap of your wrist. With practice, you will manage to return a ball
that has bounded five or six feet beyond you. Try also the same stroke
on the forehand side. You can get in this way alone more practice in
handling a racket, and in making the eye and hand work together, than
you are likely to get in ten times the length of time out of doors.
Ask some friend, who really knows, to tell you if you hold your racket
in the right way, and to point out to you any faults of style that you
may have. It is of the greatest importance not to handicap yourself
at the start by acquiring bad form. Good form is simply the making of
the stroke in the best way, so as to get the greatest effect with the
least exertion. While nothing can be more graceful than good form, no
one should make it his chief object to play gracefully; the result will
only be to make him look absurd.

When you begin to play games, do not try all the strokes that you see
made. Begin by playing quietly in the back of the court. Try simply to
get the ball over the net, and to place to one side or the other, and
to do this in good form, _i.e._, to hold the racket properly, and to
carry yourself in the right way. As you improve you can increase the
speed of your strokes, and can play closer to the side-lines. Remember
that a volleying game is harder to play, and you should learn to play
well off the ground before trying anything else. Above all things,
never half-volley. If you can return the ball in no other way, let it
go and lose the stroke. This may sound absurd, but I feel sure that
most young players lose more by habitually trying to take half-volleys
when there is no need of it, than they gain by any that they may make.
It is a stroke that should never be used if it is possible to avoid it.
If you make up your mind to let the ball go unless you can play it in
some other way, you will thus learn to avoid wanting to half-volley.
When you become a really good player, you can add this stroke to your
others, and you will not have got into the habit of using it too often.
It is a mistake to play long at a time. For real practice three sets
a day are quite enough. When practising for matches, you can play the
best of five sets three times a week. Almost all players play too much,
and by the middle of the season many of them are stale. Always try to
play with some one better than yourself, and take enough odds to make
him work to win. In the same way give all the odds that you can.

Remember, while playing, certain general principles. Don’t “fix”
yourself. Keep the knees a little bent, and your weight thrown forward
and on both feet, so that you can start in any direction. If the feet
are parallel it is impossible to start quickly. Always keep moving,
even if you do not intend to go anywhere. Play quietly and steadily
without any flourish, and try to win every stroke. A great many players
seem unable to keep steadily at work, and play a careless or slashing
stroke every now and then. This is a great mistake, and one often loses
a great deal by it. Try to acquire a habit of playing hard all the
time. The racket should be carried in both hands, for, if you let it
hang down, more time will be needed to get it across your body. Never
cut nor twist a ball except in service; it tends to make the ball
travel more slowly, and will deceive nobody. The underhand stroke puts
a little twist on the ball, but it is an over twist and not a side one.
Try to meet the ball fairly, _i.e._, to bring the racket against it in
the line of its flight; or, in other words, don’t hit across the ball.

Watch carefully your own weak points. Any good player ought to be able
to show them to you, and you should then try to improve your game where
it is weak. If you practise carefully and your only object is to learn,
there is no reason why you should not get into the second class. To be
among the very best players requires physical advantages, as well as
a stout heart and great interest in the game. One is often advised to
pretend to put a ball in one place and then to put it in another. I
can assure you that it does not pay. Too many strokes are lost by it