CHAPTER IV


RACKETS, COURTS, DRESS, AND TRAINING

A good lawn tennis racket is indispensable; indeed, to use a weapon of
inferior make is to court failure from the start. You cannot be too
particular to have a really well-made racket. Fortunately there are now
so many good makers that it is a player's own fault if she is not
suitably equipped. It may be a little more expensive to buy a really
first-class racket; but the few extra shillings are well worth while if
you mean to take up the game seriously, and to get out of it all the
enjoyment you can. Personally I always play with a "Slazenger" racket,
preferring their make to any other; but there are many other good
manufacturers.

The weight of your racket should vary according to your strength of
wrist, and should depend on whether you volley or play entirely from the
back of the court. I am inclined to think there is a tendency on the
part of lady players to use too light a racket. I have often seen them
with a 12-1/2-oz. or 13-oz. These are too light, and may be condemned.
If you use a racket that is too light, it means that the maker has not
been able to string it as tightly as it ought to be strung--the frame
would not stand the tension. I do not think a racket should be lighter
than 13-1/2 oz., which is the normal weight for ladies. Myself, I prefer
and always play with a 14-oz., and hold that unless there is a weakness
of the wrist, or some personal reason why the player should knock off