In the beginning a player, whether she wants to go into tournament play
later or not, should spend her time learning to swing properly and
to follow through; to keep her eye on the ball, and time her stroke
correctly, trying always to hit the ball at the top of its bound, thus
saving time; to get her footwork right, that is, always be in such a
position that the weight of the body can go into the stroke. She should
try in practising always to put the ball into some definite part of the
court, in order to acquire “control” of the ball. Just hitting it hard,
with very little idea of where it is going, is of no use in playing.
Let her learn to place her ball well and get good length, that is, keep
the ball well back in her opponent’s court, and she will soon find that
she can get the desired speed when she wants it.
Most beginners try to make a point out of every shot--“ace” every ball.
This is, of course, impossible and results in a wildly erratic game,
of no interest to the opponent and little advantage to the player,
for all idea of _how_ the ball should be played is lost in the desire
to _hit it hard_. Rather play with the idea of keeping the ball in
court, placing it where it seems most difficult for the other side to
return it. By watching the result of these efforts the beginner will
soon gain a knowledge of court positions, where to put the ball and
where she should be herself for the return. This, however, comes under
the heading of science of lawn tennis, on which subject a number of
interesting books have been written. It is better for the beginner
not to bother too much about that, but rather to develop her strokes,
learning to be on her toes every minute, eye on the ball, every bit of
her concentrated on the work in hand. As less attention is required by
the actual making of the strokes, more can be given to the tactics of
the game.
It is a good plan, where possible, to watch experienced players on
the court, see how they plan their shots, keeping their opponents in
trouble and themselves out of it. A girl cannot, of course, gain much
from studying those boys who rush the net on all occasion, for she has
neither the speed nor the endurance necessary for this style of play.
But let her watch those men who play a good all around game, see what
their general style of play is, what balls they go in on, what they do
when they get to the net, when they stay back, etc., and adapt what she
sees to her own style of play. There is no reason why she should not
develop a similar all around game, enabling her to make a good showing
against the best of the players, provided always that she is well
grounded in the fundamentals of the game, keeps her eye on the ball and
is alert mentally and physically all the time. Even in doubles there is
no reason why, with practise, girls cannot develop a good game, taking
the net as the men do and so putting an end to the interminable rallies
which mostly constitute “girls’ doubles.” The net position in doubles
is more tenable than in singles, for the passing shots are much fewer
and more easily guarded against; and as for the lob, which seems to be
the deterrent factor in most cases, there is no reason why girls cannot
go back under a lob, provided they will go sideways and not try to run
backwards, a very difficult feat. There are a few teams of girls who
take the net position and hold it successfully, thus proving that there
is no real reason why other teams may not try the same tactics and so
gradually do away with the present deadly monotonous form of women’s
doubles.