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The Proper Crip for
Forehand Stroke. .
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The 8trt otfr
Backhand
Drive.
Finish of
Backhand Drive.
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Mist Bjurttedt's
Way of Holding
the Racket for
'Service and
Forehand Stroke.
On the Left the
FinUh of the
Forehand Drive.
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The Correct Crip for Backhand Stroke.
IS3 MOLLA BJURSTEDT (pro
nounced Bunted) Is the phenomenal
Norwegian tennte plarer who arrived
In th!a country lait December, and has
since carried everything before her la the
way of tennis laurels.
No tennis player, man or woman, ever
Improved his or her game without heeding
the advice of more experienced and skilful
players. Every girl may profit, therefore,
by. the valuable suggestions here given by
one of the greatest woman tennis players
ever developed.
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A backhand Stroke for Low Vol!
1 JrWil
A Lesson from
Every One Can Learn, By
Miss Molla Bjurstedt, the
World's
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.... : :
Finish of Service.
By Miss Molla Bjurstedt,
National and Metropolitan Champion In
Singles, Olymplo Champion, ete.
-rENNIS Is Juet a game
of
catting
9 I the ball over the net,1
said a
girl, very confidently to me, the
other day.
"Getting the ball over the net" may be
one kind of tennis, but It Is not the kind
I play, and It Is not the kind of tennis that
wins matches.
"Putting the ball over the net ont of the
reach of your opponent," Is my definition
of tennis. For to win points In lawn tennis.
It Is necessary not only to clear the net but
to so place the ball that the other side will
have trouble In reaching it.
I win my tennis matches because I alwaye
try to send the ball Into that part of the
court where my opponent Is not. I may
not outplay but I do outguess my foe.
I do not care how finely a player may
execute her stroke she may have wonder
ful form but she will never be a champion
unless she uses her brain. The stroke Is
pnly one-half the battle.
That Is why I like the game so much
It Is a matching of strategy as well as a trial
f strength and skill. The head must always
control the racquet; every stroke ought to
mean as much as a move in chess.
Therefore control the ball; do not let the
ball control you.
"But," asks someone, "how am I to con
trol the ball and think where I am going
to send It when I hold myself lucky even
to hit the ball, let alone know where it is
eventually going to land?"
At first blush It does seem as though the
advice, "control the ball," was like telling
a man falling out of a building to pick a soft
spot But there Is no such dilemma. It one
starts tennis with the Idea that a stroke Is
not complete unless the ball Is given a
definite direction and goes to the Intended
place, then control will be as much In mind
as mere hitting and haphazard whacks will
become fewer and fewer as the player gains
In experience.
Luck Is an element of every game, but I
try to reduce my "luck" to rules, and 1 think
every player will be the more formidable
for Investigating the streaks of good fortune
which, running against her, result In lot
matches. I confess to a large degree of
superstition, but I do not leave my tennis
playing to fate; I find that the following
code shifts most of the accidents to the op
ponent. These are my rules for winning
matches:
(1) flay your adversary: do not let her
play you. That Is "get the Jump" on her
and force the Issue. .
(1) Find your opponent's weaknesses and
take advantage of thsm. Send her the
kind or balls she least likes.
(S) Make your opponent run for every
ball you return so that she will get out of
position and off balance.
(4) Play one or two strokes ahead; that
Is. play so that you have a good Idea of the
part of the court where the next ball must
come.
(8) Make your returns quickly, buV do
not sacrifice accuracy.
(I) lilt the ball as hard as you can with
out losing your control
I emphasise control rather than speed be
auae speed Is a later development, but both
speed and control depend on hitting the
ball la the right way. Plays which are
ridiculously easy wlih the correct stroke be
come very difficult when the style 1 bun
gled. Copyright HIS, by th
am:
Which
Woman
Champion
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J 'm-0VA . ; ' Molla
A ' .njjr A ,' . s . ' ' J BjWedt,
Ready . ' the Remarks
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1.-Vjw Jl r ; hard as I can. nuttine ' .4 Tenni
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In the Middle of Service.
I do not believe In the "fancy" stroVee
which put queer twists on the ball that
make it bound In all sorts of-directions.
These are of use but usually they become a
mania with the player and the elementary
strokes are forgotten in the desire to make
the ball do tricks.
I use only the simple strokes and depend
solely on placement and speed to gain
points. In the long run I think my game Is
the best game for all girls. Therefore I
will give my way of playing tennis.
The selection of a suitable racquet and
the proper holding of the racquet are the
primary matters In which a girl often makes
mistakes that ruin her chances of playing
even a fair game.
Select a well-balanced racquet of about
thirteen ounces with a handle of a size that
Just permits the hand to comfortably close
about It The size of the grip is important,
and If one cannot be found of the correct
and proper diameter, then select a larger
size and have it shaved down. I use a 13V-,
ounce racquet, heavy in the head, but my
right forearm Is stronger than that of the
average girl; too heavy a racquet quickly
tires the player. ,
I use two grips; the one for service and
all forehand strokes, and the second for
backhand strokes. In both grips the rac
quet handle Is grasped at the very end with
the butt resting against the base of the
palm. In the forehand grip the fist Is sim
ply closed about the handle with the thumb
across. This Is the normal grip in which
the racquet Is always held except for the
backhand strokes. For the backhand play,
the thumb is shifted so that It Is parallel
with and pressing against the wood In or
der to prevent the racquet from turning.
The racquet should be grasped firmly a
the beginning of every stroke, bnt between
strokes, the grip hsd best be relaxed or the
hand and forearm will become cramped.
The service of the ball Is Important, but
It Is governed by the general rules of play
which I haVe above noted. Many players
base their all on their service and spend
many hours trying to evolve a delivery
which will make the service ball vnreturn-'
able.
I, on the contrary, consider the service
only as the opening stroke of the game, and
I think It a mistake to waste great energy
In attempting to deliver an unreturnabla
service. A girl can never develop a service
which Is too swift for a good player to han
dle, and she only wears herself out In the
effort; and then a great number of points
are lost through double faults for the "can
non ball" Is never under the best of con
trol. I use and favor a service of moderste
speed that may be placed as the server
wills.
I stand behind the backllne In the middle
of the court One must be In the middle of
the court for the return, and it la best to
start there In the first place and thus save
steps. I rest the weight of my body on my
right foot, observe where I want to place
the ball, throw the ball Into the air with
the left hand and swing my racquet back
over my head and down on the ball. I hit
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as hard as I
tho weight of my body In
to the stroke, but I do not
make a supreme effort
The ball la met by the
middle of the racquet
face, which Is at that
moment Inclining slightly V
downward. I do not at- V
tempt to "cut" the service
. by slicing the racquet
; across the ball. The rac-
quet Is carried through .
the complete swing and I
ends parallel with my
body. This Is known as '
the "follow through" and
,mutu . uegieciea. in
tennis as well as In golf,
the ball la given better
- direction and pace by the
"following through."
I direct my service with,
a view of taking ad van-"
tage of the weakness of
my opponent If she Is
weak In the backhand, as
most girls are I serve
always to her backhand;
that Is, If she Is In her
right-hand court, I serve
down the middle line anil
If In the left-hand court,
I try to cut the side line.
?na -vff ferv,Ce ,n certa,n Plac
ilL T e" I.trj ano"er spot. I aim to
keep her guessing and running: then she
i? lVSld nbie t0.pIace ner "turn.
If my first ball is a fault I take no chances
Si Jh .rfli8k. throwm 7 Point for the
slight advantage of a little additional speed.
The service delivered. I am forward on
my left foot, behind the base line and ready
to take the return wherever it may come.
Many players rush to the net as they serve,
but that Is notthe game for girls. The ob
ject of gettingto the net Is to meet the re
turning ball In mid-air and quickly smash
It out of the reach of the opponent or to
, such a place that she will get it back feebly.
If at all, and thus enable you to do What you
like with the next stroke.
This Is a splendid game If it may be
played, but it is not the game for a glrL
She cannot get about so quickly as a clever
man and the next game requires activity. It
is more than likely. If you run at once to
the net position, that your opponent will catch
you helplessly In mid-court running forward
and off balance or she will shoot the ball
across the net quickly and so far away
from you that you will be passed. I have
yet to find a girl I cannot pass at the net
Therefore, I say from my experience to the
girl player:
(1) Walt at the baseline for your oppo
nent's play.
(2) Go to the net only wnen you see a
chance to win the point by a single hard
"smash."
(3) Do not start for the net unless yon
see that you can get close to It before the
ball comes over; the only effective place to
"volley" Is right up at the net
(4) Avoid a position midway between the
baseline and the net as you would poison;
It Is a fatal point where you can neither
volley nor play a ground stroke.
If your service has been well placed, so
that your opponent has not been able to
return It as she wills, but has only suc
ceeded In getting it back, then you are in a
position to take advantage of her return by
sending your next ball to the point in the
court moat inconvenient to her.
If sho has been receiving in her right
hand court and your service has been down
the centre line and she has had to run
across court to reach It on her backhand,
put your return to the backhand corner of
the court If her run has carried her off her
balance, try the opposite corner of the
court: she may not-be able to recover her
self sufficiently to reach the ball at all and
may just pop it back; then 'you can run to
the net for a smash. Or again. If her mo
mentum has brought her up to the middle of
the court. It Is often well to aim the ball
directly at her feet, hitting as hard as you
can.
11 ktrokes on a ball before It touches the
ground are known as volleys and the im
portant thing to bear la mind is that this
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V I tennis as well as In golf, A i a Cham-
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, Player,
t As She
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stroke must generally be downward or the
racquet slightly Inclined at time of Impact
to give a top spin. Volley strokes become
more and more difficult and uncertain the
artier one is from the net, but if you are
close to the net the main trouble .is not so
much with the stroke but In reaching the
ball at all. I save these strokes for the easy
returns made by my opponent when she la
out of position. I do not play a volley game.
Keep your eye on the ball and you will
not often be caught unawares. Follow the
ball every moment; if your eye Is keen, you
will be able to Judge the part of the court
In your court in which it is going to land
the moment It leaves the racquet Be at
that place ready to receive and return it
Experience will teach you where a ball Is
going. Sometimes you will be fooled, but
not often.
If you play mostly from a position ai the
back of the court you will use "ground
strokes," that Is, strokes taken after the
ball has bounced on the ground :as distln-,
gulshed from the "volley" strokes which are
made on the ball before it reaches the
ground.
Your usual ground strokes will be the
"forehand drive" and the "backhand drlTe.?
These are the dependable strokes and their
proper execution is more important than all
the other strokes of the game, including
service, combined.
The significant points of these drives are:
(1) Take your position in time, being
caraful of your feet and body balance.
(2) Rest in position a fraction of a sec
ond before swinging the racquet
(3) Try to hit the ball as It is rising from
the bounce and not at the top of the bounce
or as it begins to fall.
(4) Tske a full stroke, swinging freely.
(5) Follow through. I
I have said that the best time to hit tha
ball Is when It is rising from the bounce;
the average player waits until the ball be
gins to descend, but it is self-evident that
valuable time will be gained by hitting tha ,
rising ball. It is a more difficult play put
the secret of fast play.
The backhand drive is made in exactly
the same manner as the forehand drive, ex
cepting that the weight is poised on the
left instead of on the right fopt and the grip
upon the racquet changes. ,
Every player likes to rattle her opponent
by any fair means and thus win the wit
battle. It certainly is trying upon the tem
per to have an opponent continually fooling
you in strokes or lobbing the ball over your
bead. If you happen to run to the net; a ball
hit to one's feet Is also most disconcerting.
But never lose your temper. The moment
you become angry you lose your Judgment
rnd the other aide will win.
My three cardinal points of tennis are:
(1) Uae wit
(!) Send the ball out of the reech of youi
Opponent
(3) Hit the tall hard