Racquet

“ Do not start children playing tennis with an under-sized racquet. It weakens the wrist and does not aid the child in learning strokes. Start a child, boy or girl, with a full-sized racquet of at least 13 ounces.
After you have acquired your racquet, make a firm resolve to use good tennis balls, as a regular bounce is a great aid to advancement, while a "dead" ball is no practice at all.
If you really desire to succeed at the game and advance rapidly, I strongly urge you to see all the good tennis you can. Study the play of the leading players and strive to copy their strokes. ”

“ This is a good light Racquet, very suitable for the boys and girls. It is well made, with maple or sweet gum throat, and redwood handle. The handle is finished with round corners.
Lawn tennis is fast becoming the most popular game in this country, as it provides pleasant and healthful outdoor exercise for both boys and girls. Price of the Racquet, $1.75. Postage and packing 15 cents when sent as a premium. More expensive Racquets will be furnished at proportionate rates.
D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, Publishers, Franklin and Hawley Streets, Boston. ”

“ Where it lacks the endurance and subtlety that Squash Racquets calls for, it offers the exhilaration inherent in powerfully hit strokes, split-second racquet work, and graceful, seemingly unhurried footwork. The ball "comes to you" more often, but the challenge is to figure out the wider angles and exactly where the lightning fast green ball will eventually end up after rebounding off of as many as five walls. ”

“ It is a rare player, indeed, who does not quickly become discouraged the first few times and decides the game just isn't for him after all. And what a pity it is! For he is missing out on playing a sport that offers him many years of wonderful, exhilarating exercise, good camaraderie, and a beautiful, matchless rhythm displayed in harmonious coordination of racquet and graceful footwork. ”

“ The average player should use a racquet that weighs between 13 1/2 and 14 1/2 ounces inclusive. I think that the best results may be obtained by a balance that is almost even or slightly heavy on the head. Decide your handle from the individual choice. Pick the one that fits comfortably in the hand. Do not use too small a handle or too light a racquet, as it is apt to turn in the hand. I recommend a handle of 5 1/4 to 5 3/8 inches at the grip. Do not use a racquet you do not like merely because your best friend advises it. ”

“ There is no time and no reason to employ a long, high follow-through.
The head of the racquet at the moment of impact with the ball should be slightly "open" and you should feel the gut "biting" the side of the ball. This slight side-spin cut, with the racquet head tilting back and hit like a short, chip shot, will tend to keep the ball low and inexorably "grabbing" for the floor. The spin will produce many "nicks," which are shots that hit a side wall and floor practically simultaneously and die. ”

“ As almost the only self-made Racquet player and Tennis player who knows every single step of his own slow journey out of a hopelessly dark jungle of hampering errors into a comparatively clear and light country, a journey elaborated during a very busy life of reading, writing, and teaching, I can speak with weight. I can honestly say that all my thousands of Racquet and Tennis foot-exercises, shoulder-jerks, body-swings, and so on, in bedrooms and elsewhere, have been well worth while ”

“ That’s a trick of expert tennis players to learn whether a racquet is properly balanced. You needn’t tell me you don’t know anything about the game. Sam, bring a ball here. You fellows are going to get a surprise in about a minute and a half. Harriet, you and Hazel take your places. No, not in the middle of the court—diagonally in those squares. ”

“ It is the Big Bertha of tennis. It is the long range terror that should always score. The rules of footwork, position, and direction that govern the volley will suffice for the overhead. The swing alone is different. The swing should be closely allied to the slice service, the racquet and arm swinging freely from the shoulder, the wrist flexible and the racquet imparting a slight twist to the ball to hold it in court. The overhead is mainly a point winner through speed, since its bounce is so high that a slow placement often allows time for a recovery. ”

“ Instead of using a racquet, it is played with a curved wicker basket strapped on to the right wrist. This basket is not unlike in shape to those wicker-work covers which in pre-taxi days were placed by London hotel porters over the wheels of hansom-cabs to protect ladies' dresses in getting in or out of them. When a back-handed stroke is necessary, the player grasps his right wrist with his left hand, using his wicker-encased right hand as a racquet. The court is nearly three times the length of a racquet-court, and is always open to the air. ”

“ The motion of the ship and the noise of its machinery were scarcely discernible on deck or in the saloons, either day or night. But when Sunday morning came, I considered it high time to begin my customary exercises, and determined for the rest of the voyage to patronize the squash racquet court, the gymnasium, the swimming pool, etc. I was up early before breakfast and met the professional racquet player in a half hour’s warming up, preparatory for a swim in the six-foot deep tank of salt water, heated to a refreshing temperature. ”

“ A good return means (1) that the ball is struck by the racquet before its second bound on the floor, and without its having touched any part of the clothes or person of the striker or his partner; (2) that it is hit against the front wall above the board without first touching the floor or going out of court; and (3) that it returns off the front wall into play (i.e. to the floor of the court or to an adversary’s racquet) without going out of court. If hand-in be the one to fail in making a good return, he loses his “hand,” or innings, and (in singles) handout goes in and proceeds to serve ”

“ Organized play and competition were established at service bases, colleges, schools and YMCAs. A new breed of young, active Americans became enamored with Squash Racquets and the pendulum swung away from Squash Tennis. After all, what is a racquet game without an appropriate ball? ”

“ A well hit three-way fadeaway, which can be made either off the backhand or the forehand, is practically irretrievable since your opponent, even when he comes to realize how the ball is going to skid out straight at him, will still have great difficulty in getting his racquet head behind the ball (and in front of the back wall) to make a return. ”

“ Squash Tennis is one of the few racquet and ball indoor sports that can be termed honestly and strictly "American" in origin, whereas Squash Racquets has its roots in England going as far back as the 1850s. ”

“ So, we invite all racquets men, young and old alike, to accept the challenges of the fastest indoor racquet and ball game in the world. As a matter of fact, because of the speed of the ball and, consequently, the less running involved, Squash Tennis would be an excellent game for the more active distaffers.
If you are looking for a sport that you can "master" in one or two seasons then don't take up Squash Tennis. But if you are looking for an intriguing and invigorating game which you can play practically all your life, we strongly urge you to try Squash Tennis. ”

“ First.—Take every opportunity of bowling at imitation cricket with a racquet or fives ball, or any other sort of ball. This teaches you by practical experience the difference in the spins of the ball and what constitutes a good ball. Small cricket with a fives ball and a fives bat is splendid fun, and has initiated many a youngster into the mysteries of break-backs and breaks from leg. ”

“ A tennis racquet is a letter of introduction in any town. The brotherhood of the game is universal, for none but a good sportsman can succeed in the game for any lengthy period. Tennis provides relaxation, excitement, exercise, and pure enjoyment to the man who is tied hard and fast to his business until late afternoon. Age is not a drawback. Vincent Richards held the National Doubles Championship of America at fifteen, while William A. Larned won the singles at past forty. Men of sixty are seen daily on the clubs' courts of England and America enjoying their game as keenly as any boy. ”

“ Once at the net hit from the point at the first opportunity given to get the racquet squarely on the ball. All the laws of footwork explained for the drive are theoretically the same in volleying. In practice you seldom have time to change your feet to a set position, so you obviate trouble by throwing the weight on the foot nearest to the ball and pushing it in the shot. ”

“ Modern racquet courts have four walls and a roof, though in India they are sometimes left unroofed for the sake of coolness. The floor, which must be perfectly level and smooth, should be made of cement; but is sometimes paved, with less perfect results. The floor cannot be too hard since the faster the ball travels the better the game ”

“ Always dress in tennis clothes when engaging in tennis. White is the established colour. Soft shirt, white flannel trousers, heavy white socks, and rubber-soled shoes form the accepted dress for tennis. Do not appear on the courts in dark clothes, as they are apt to be heavy and hinder your speed of movement, and also they are a violation of the unwritten ethics of the game.
The question of choosing a racquet is a much more serious matter. I do not advocate forcing a certain racquet upon any player. All the standard makes are excellent. ”

“ There was a racquet court, a skittle ground and “forecorner” ground, all open to the strangers who came in constantly and were a source of great profit to the racquet masters, many of whom have been from time immemorial considered very eminent players. The post of racquet master was in great request. It was in the gift of the collegians (prisoners) who elected to it once a year at Christmas tide. ”

“ For forehand play the grip of the hand should be along the handle with the first finger separated from the others and extended an inch or two farther along the racquet. The finger nails when at rest on the handle should face the direction the ball is to go. ”

“ Now the tennis ball is your moving object while the court, gallery, net, and your opponent constitute your background. You desire to hit the ball cleanly, therefore do not look at the other factors concerned, but concentrate solely on focusing the eye firmly on the ball, and watching it until the moment of impact with your racquet face. ”

“ In 1427 we hear of a woman named Margot, who was a skilful player, both her fore handed and backhanded strokes being commended; hence we may infer that the racquet had now been introduced. Tennis was at this time frequently played in some crude form in the moats of castles, where Charles VIII. used to watch the game. Henri II. is described as the best player in France, and worthy of the silver ball given to the finest players. Later, Henri IV. and Louis XIV. (who kept a regular staff to look after his court) were patrons and players of tennis ”

“ The bat, or racquet, is a very pretty piece of workmanship, and I dare not venture to hope that the cleverest of my readers could make one, so we will assume that, even if everything else is home-made, the racquet must be bought. ”

“ A number of the queer "tennis racquets," as Alice called them, had been obtained through the good offices of Billy Jack, he having arranged for them in the lumber camp. Snowshoes, as you all know, consist of a thin strip of wood, bent around in a curve, and shaped not unlike a lawn tennis racquet, except that the handle or heel part is shorter. The shoes are laced with thongs, and the feet are placed in the centre of the criss-crossed thongs, and held there by other thongs or straps. ”

“ Stow-ball and Bandy-ball are both names for the game of golf which was played in Elizabethan times. Hand-ball was the great ball game to be played at Easter; a variety of which was called hand-tennis, which was also sometimes played under the name of fives. Tennis was a very popular game. It was played either out of doors, or indoors under the name of racquet. Tennis or racquet was a game for noblemen and princes as well as for the common people. The contemporary plays are redundant with technical allusions to the games ”

“ He was in flannels, with racquet in hand, on his way to the lawn-tennis ground, to which he offered to pilot me. In a minute or two we came upon an open space, marked, I see on the plans, “Cricket Ground,” in which rose a fine, strong paling, enclosing a square of 150 feet, the uprights being six feet high, and close enough to keep, not only boys out, but tennis-balls in. ”

“ I'm sure we're going to get on beautifully together."
"I suppose you've played a lot this summer?"
"No, not at all yet, but I'm feeling rather strong, and I've got a new racquet. One way and another, I expect to play a very powerful game."
Our male opponent served. He had what I should call a nasty swift service. The first ball rose very suddenly and took my partner on the side of the head. ("Sorry," she apologised. "It's all right," I said magnanimously.) I returned the next into the net; the third clean bowled my partner; and off the last I was caught in the slips. (One, love.) ”

“ He makes this declaration by calling “set-5!” or “set-3!” and it means that 5 aces, or 3 aces, as the case may be, shall be required to win the game.
In the confined space of a racquet court it is not always easy, especially in doubles, for the players to avoid obstructing each other. It is provided in the rules that “each player must get out of his opponents’ way as much as possible,” and that it shall be a “let” (an Old English word for impediment or hindrance) and “the service or rally shall count for nothing. ”