Mlle.Lenglen's fame rests on her drive.Strange though it may seem, her drive is the least interesting part of her game.Mlle.Lenglen uses a severe overhead service of good speed.It is a remarkable service for a woman, one which many men might do well to copy.Her famous forehand drive is a full arm swing from the shoulder.It meets the ball just as Mlle.Lenglen springs in the air.The result is pictorially unique, but not good tennis.She loses speed and power by this freak.Her backhand is beautifully played, from perfect footwork, with a free swing and topped drive.It is a remarkable stroke.Her volleying is perfect in execution and result.She hits her overhead smash freely with a "punch" that is as great as many men.It is as fine an overhead as that of Mrs.George Wightman, the American Champion.
Mlle.Lenglen's speed of foot is marvellous.She runs fast and easily.She delights in acrobatic jumps, many of them unnecessary, at all times during her play.She is a wonderful gallery player, and wins the popularitythat her dashing style deserves.She is a brilliant court general, conducting her attack with a keen eye on both the court and the gallery.
Mlle.Lenglen is not outstanding among the women players of the world, in my opinion.She is probably the best stroke player in the world to-day, yet Mrs.Lambert Chambers, Mrs.George Wightman, Miss Elizabeth Ryan, Mrs.Franklin L.Mallory (formerly Miss Molla Bjurstedt), Miss Mary Browne, and Mrs.May Sutton Bundy are all in her class in match play.There is no woman playing tennis that has the powerful personality of Mlle.Lenglen.Her acrobatic style and grace on the court form an appeal no gallery can resist.Her very mannerisms fool people into considering her far greater than she really is, even though she is a wonderful player.
MME.BILLOUTT (Mlle.Brocadies)
Second only to Suzanne Lenglen in France is Mme.Billoutt, formerly Mlle.Brocadies, once the idol of the Paris tennis public.This remarkable player has as perfectly developed a game as I have seen.Her actual stroking is the equal of Mlle.Lenglen.Her strokes are all orthodox, flat racquet ones.Her ground game is based wholly on the drive, fore- or backhand.She has grown rather heavier in the last few years and consequently slowed up, but she is still one of the great players of the world.
England
In marked contrast to the eccentricities of Mlle.Lenglen one finds the delightfully polished style of Mrs.Lambert Chambers.Mrs.Chambers has a purely orthodox game of careful execution that any student of the game should recognize as the highest form of tennis strokes.
Mrs.Chambers serves an overhead delivery of no particular movement.She slices or "spoons" her ground strokes, forehand or backhand.She seldom volleys or smashes.Her only excursions to the net are when she is drawn to the net.
It is not Mrs.Chambers' game itself so much as what she does with it, that I commend so highly.Her change of pace and distance is wonderfully controlled.Her accuracy marvellous.Her judgment is remarkable, and the way in which she saves undue exertion is an art in itself.She gets awonderful return for her outlay of effort.
Hers is a personality of negation.Her manner on the court is negative, her shots alone are positive.She is never flustered, and rarely shows emotion.
Mrs.Chambers is the "Mavro" of women as regards her recovering ability.Her errors are reduced to a minimum at all times.To err is human; but at times there is something very nearly inhuman about Mrs.Chambers' tennis.
ELIZABETH RYAN
The English-American star Elizabeth Ryan is another player of marked individuality.Born in California, Miss Ryan migrated to England while quite young.For the past decade "Bunny," as she is called, has been a prominent figure in English and Continental tournaments.
Miss Ryan has a queer push-reverse twist service that is well placed but carries little speed.She chops viciously forehand and backhand off the ground and storms the net at every opening.Her volleying is crisp and decisive.Overhead she is severe but erratic.She is a dogged fighter, never so dangerous as when behind.Her tactics are aggressive attack at all times, and if this fails she is lost.
Although Miss Ryan is an American by birth she must be considered as an English player, for her development is due to her play in England.
MRS.BEAMISH
This English player is an exponent of the famous baseline game of the country.She drives, long deep shots fore- and backhand, corner to corner, chasing her opponent around the court almost impossible distances.Her service volleying and overhead are fair but not noteworthy.Another player of almost identical game and of almost equal class is Mrs.Peacock, Champion of India.Her whole game is a little better rounded than Mrs.Beamish, but she lacks the latter's experience.
Among the other women in England who are delightfully original in their games are Mrs.Larcombe, the wonderful chop-stroke player, whose clever generalship and tactics place her in the front rank, and Mrs.M'Nair, with her volleying attack.
Women's tennis in England is on a slightly higher plane at this timethan in America; but the standard of play in America is rapidly coming up.International competition between women on the lines of the Davis Cup, for which a trophy has previously been offered by Lady Wavertree in England, and in 1919 by Mrs.Wightman in America, and twice refused by the International Federation, would do more than any other factor to place women's tennis on the high plane desired.This plan has succeeded for the men, why should it not do as well for the women?
