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Lawn Tennis for Ladies by Mrs. Lambert Chambers
page 32 of 82 (39%)
for this will make your hand shaky and unsteady.

To sum up, there are five golden rules which I have found very helpful
to me when playing an important match. I give them to you in the hope
that they may prove equally valuable. Always remember that constant
practice of these rules will make their pursuit natural in a match.

I. KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL

You have so often been told this, I know, and perhaps the familiar ring
about the advice may evoke contempt. Yet unless this rule is implicitly
obeyed you cannot expect much success at lawn tennis. Taking your eye
off the ball is the secret of every mis-hit and mis-timed stroke. You
must not be content merely to look at the ball, but follow it right on
to your racket; watch it up to the actual moment of striking. The court
and the position of your opponent must be mentally engraved at the same
time. How frequently attentive observation will reveal a player lifting
his or her eye from the ball a fraction too soon! Always be on your
guard against this inclination. It is at first done almost
unconsciously, but it soon becomes a habit.


II. KEEP YOUR MIND ON THE GAME

This is a most important rule. As I have remarked before, complete
concentration is absolutely necessary to success. If you are worried
about anything, business or home affairs, it is bound to affect your
game. Think of absolutely nothing but the game you are at the moment
playing. Your whole personality must be absorbed. To play the game well
demands the use not only of limb and muscle, but heart, eye, and brain.
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