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THE ART OF LAWN TENNIS
by
WILLIAM T. TILDEN, 2D
To
R. D. K.
AND
M. W. J.
MY "BUDDIES"
W. T. T. 2D
Tennis is at once an art and a science. The game as played bysuch men as Norman E. Brookes, the late Anthony Wilding, WilliamM. Johnston, and R. N. Williams is art. Yet like all true art, ithas its basis in scientific methods that must be learned andlearned thoroughly for a foundation before the artistic structureof a great tennis game can be constructed.
Every player who helps to attain a high degree of efficiencyshould have a clearly defined method of development and adhere toit. He should be certain that it is based on sound principlesand, once assured of that, follow it, even though his progressseems slow and discouraging.
I began tennis wrong. My strokes were wrong and my viewpointclouded. I had no early training such as many of our Americanboys have at the present time. No one told me the importance ofthe fundamentals of the game, such as keeping the eye on the ballor correct body position and footwork. I was given a racquet andallowed to hit the ball. Naturally, like all beginners, Iacquired many very serious faults. I worried along with moderatesuccess until I had been graduated from school, beating somefairly good players, but losing some matches to men below myclass. The year following my graduation the new Captain of myAlma Mater's team asked me if I would aid him in developing thesquad for next year. Well, "Fools rush in where angels fear totread," so I said Yes.
At that point my tennis education began.
The youngsters comprising our tennis squad all knew me well andfelt at perfect liberty to ask me as many questions as they couldthink up. I was besieged with requests to explain why Jonesmissed a forehand drive down the side-line, or Smith couldn'tserve well, or Brown failed to hit the ball at all. Frankly, Idid not know, but I answered them something at the moment andsaid to myself it was time I learned some fundamentals of tennis.So I began to study the reasons why certain shots are missed andothers made. Why certain balls are hit so much faster though withless effort than others, and why some players are great whilemost are only good. I am still studying, but my results to datehave resulted in a definite system to be learned, and it is thiswhich I hope to explain to you in my book.
Tennis has a language all its own. The idioms of the game shouldbe learned, as all books on the game are written in tennisparlance. The technical terms and their counterpart in slang needto be understood to thoroughly grasp the idea in any writtentennis account.
I do not believe in using a great deal of space carefullydefining each blade of grass on a court, or each rule of thegame. It gets nowhere. I do advocate teaching the terms of thegame.
The Baseline=The back line.
The Service-line=The back line of the service court, extendingfrom side-line to side-line at a point 21 feet from the net.
The Alleys=The space on each side of the court between the sideservice-line and the outside sideline of a doubles court. Theyare used only when playing doubles and are not marked on a singlecourt.
The Net=The barrier that stretches across the court in the exactcentre. It is 3 feet high at the centre and 3 feet 6 inches highat the posts which stand 3 feet out