Tennis for girls

With these shots well in hand, the beginner has all she needs to start in playing. But there are still the lob and the volley to take up. If she is starting to learn with some friend, it is well to spend a little while each day practising lobbing, the one to the other.

Because girls formerly spent most of their time lobbing the ball, now they have gone to the other extreme and consider it beneath their dignity to lob at all, that “lobbing is not playing the game.” However, a good lob at the right time is often a “lifesaver.” It gives the player time to get back into position if she has been drawn far out of court returning the ball, and also it gives her a chance to get her breath if she is being hard pressed. In doubles, and against a net player in singles, it is indispensable, as will be shown later.

A lob is merely a ball knocked up into the air, with a slight forward movement. It should be high enough to be out of reach of the net player and deep enough to force her to run away back for it. If it is too short—that is, too close to the net—the opponent will “kill” it, smash it back so hard that it is almost impossible to handle, or else put it close to the side lines near the net, where it is hard to reach.

Lobbing is an art which comes only with practise. The player should again and again hit the ball firmly upwards, watching the result of the shots, seeing whether they are deep enough, etc.,—gaining through this constant practise the necessary touch.

While one player is practising lobbing, the other will be learning how to return the ball. To smash it, stand sideways to the net, left foot forward, and swing at the ball as it drops, just as in serving. It is best to be directly under the ball for a smash. Do not try to hit it too hard at first, and be careful to keep your eye on the ball. This practise is splendid training, both for learning to keep the eye on the ball and for timing it so that it is struck at just the right second.

There remain the various volley shots to consider. Volleying is a branch of tennis which girls are apt to neglect, but which is really very important and not at all beyond the powers of a girl to conquer. In doubles, net play is indispensable, if half hour rallies are to be avoided, and in singles it is a great aid as a point winner. A girl cannot rush the net continuously, for she has not the necessary endurance or speed. But many times she has a chance to finish a point at the net or else is drawn in by her opponent with a short ball. Here, with no time to get back, it is necessary that she be able to handle her volley shots properly. It requires a quick eye, level head and ready muscular response to make a good net player. Practise at the net, therefore, helps one’s other strokes, through the deftness and agility acquired.

But the ground strokes must be in good working order before a player can develop a net game, for she must be able to place the ball deep, with sufficient speed, and in the right place, in order to give herself a fair chance to run in. Two beginners can, however, get splendid all around training if the one practises volley shots while the other is driving from the back court. In volleying, more than in any other stroke, the player must concentrate; keep her eye on the ball, try to anticipate her opponent’s shot—foresee where it is going to cross the net, and think and act quickly but deliberately.

In volleying there is very little preliminary swing, the racket being raised and drawn back only a little, then forward and slightly down across the face of the ball. Never hit up in volleying. If the ball has fallen below the level of the net—a predicament to be avoided where possible by stepping up and hitting the ball before it drops—the racket is drawn more sharply under and across the ball. Direction is given by drawing the racket through in the desired line. The wrist should be firm, and the shot made with precision. A loosely held racket and loose wrist result in the stop-volley-shot, one a beginner should leave alone, for it requires a great deal of practise and a very keen touch.

Cut may be used in any stroke in tennis. It consists merely in hitting across the surface of the ball one way or another, during the follow through, according to the cut desired. The chop stroke is one in which there is practically no preliminary swing, a sharp cut being given the ball at the moment of striking it; the shot is very similar to the ordinary volley shot. It is advisable, however, for the beginner to leave the cut game alone and develop a good drive and service.

Once the fundamentals of the game become instinctive she can experiment with different shots, and study the science of the actual play. But until she can consistently place the ball where she wants it, with the desired speed, there is no use learning what tactics to use.