The Racket
- The choice of a racket is a very important matter. For a man the racket should, generally speaking, weigh from 14 oz. to 14 oz. For a lady it should be about an ounce lighter. Some ladies who are very strong in the wrist like a 14-oz. racket, but a heavy racket always has a tendency to make the player using it slow, particularly in volleying. Care must be taken not to get too weighty an implement.
It was formerly usual to test the balance of a racket by resting it on the forefinger at the screw. This is in many cases a useless test. There is only one way to test the balance of a racket, and that is by swinging it. The racket should be tightly strung, but not so tightly as to make it "boardy." The handle should not be too large. A large handle stiffens the wrist.
It should be of such a size that it fills the hand comfortably. On no account have anything to do with a racket which has double stringing in the centre. It is a silly and harmful fad, for it takes the "life" out of a racket from exactly the place where it is wanted most. a The Grip of the Racket. This is matter of the utmost importance to the beginner, and, indeed, to the game. It is mainly owing to the defective grip of the II2 racket that England has had to take a back seat in the world of lawn tennis, and will have to retain it until her methods are altered.
Dr. Dwight's advice as to taking the grip is as follows: "Lay the racket on a table [LAWN TENNIS thing from wood-chopping to lawn tennis.
Plates D, E, F show the grip of the backhand strokes. It will be noticed that the flat of the top of the wrist is nearly parallel with with the smooth side up. Open the hand with the thumb nearly at right angles with the fingers, and then clasp the handle in such a way as to make its upper right edge (or what would be its right edge if it were cut square) fit into the hollow of the joint between the thumb and forefinger." Anyone following this advice will find that he has his forearm and the handle of the racket in the same straight line. This is the important point in all grips, as will be seen later. Plates A and B show clearly the the upper side of the racket handle. This is the secret of the great power in this backhand grip; the force of the blow falls on the wrist in such a way that it cannot give to the shock. The result is that the ball goes away when well struck with tremendous speed. An example of an English back-hand hold is given in Plate G. Here again will be seen the angle that prevents accuracy or strength. The word English is used to distinguish the strokes used by players who have followed the methods of Messrs. R. F. and H. L. Doherty as dis- ) proper forehand grips with forearm and racket in line, so that all the strength is concentrated in one line. Plate C shows an English forehand grip with the angle between the arm and the racket handle.
This is fatal to power and direction in any- HANDLE.
A fine firm grip, suitable for nearly every shot in the game, except forehand strokes below the shoulder. Front view. tinguished from what are now known as Colonial or American methods, but which are, in truth, nothing but the genuine old English strokes that prevailed before the present hiatus, and that will ere long prevail again. With the ordinary unchanged English grip some of the finest strokes in LAWN TENNIS] the game are absolutely cut out from a player's repertory. Even players like the Dohertys are unable to serve the American HANDLE. services, the chief development of modern lawn tennis. It may also be noticed here that no first-class player in the world except the Dohertys uses their grip, the grip that is quite a wonderful instance of a personal hold that has proved useless for anyone else in first-class lawn tennis. Before Doherty régime lawn tennis players held the leather of the racket in the hand. They will in course of time return to this grip.
It is undoubtedly the best for the backhand stroke, and is probably so for the forehand as well. the