Tennis for girls

First, the grip of the racket must be considered. If the player will realize that, as far as possible, she must have her racket, with face turned slightly up, parallel to the net when hitting the ball, she will probably hold the racket in the grip most suitable for herself. Lay the racket slanting across the palm, so that the butt rests at the base of the palm, a little to the left, and the handle crosses the first knuckle of the first finger. Close the fingers about the handle, and a comfortable, firm grip is obtained. A very slight shift is made by most players in taking a backhand shot, the thumb being slipped diagonally across the handle, giving a better control over the racket.

The racket, as mentioned above, should always be parallel to the net at the time that it meets the ball, direction being given to the ball by following through with the racket in the desired line of flight of the ball. The face of the racket should be slightly “open”; that is, turned upward a little, not tipped towards the ground, which position is called “closed,” and the racket itself should be almost parallel to the ground. It is well for the beginner to exaggerate this last and keep the head of her racket well up, to overcome a natural tendency to let it drop too low. If the position of the racket varies all the time, the player will have to consider whether the head is higher or lower than usual and make due allowance in her strokes. But if she always keeps it about the same, she will know from habit just where it is. The more instinctive a player can become as to the elemental parts of the game, the more attention she can pay to the finer points. Therefore, from the very start try to hold the racket correctly, both as to grip and general position, so that in time you need not think about your grip at all.