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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: LAP-LEO |
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LAWN , a very thin fabric made from level linen or cotton
Breton
LAWN-TENNIS, a game played with racquet and ball on a court traversed by a net, but without enclosing walls. It is a modern adaptation of the ancient game of tennis (q.v.), with which it is identical as regards the ,scoring of the game and " set." Lawn-tennis is essentially a summer game, played in the open air, either on courts marked with whitewash on close-cut grass like a cricket pitch, or on asphalt, cinders, gravel, wood, earth or other substance which can be so prepared as to afford a firm, level and smooth surface. In winter, however, the game is often played on the floor of gymnasiums, drill sheds or other buildings, when it-is called " covered-court lawn-tennis"; but there is no difference in the game itself corresponding to these varieties of court. The lawn-tennis court for the single-handed game, one player against one (" singles "), is shown in fig. 1, and that fox the four-handed game (" doubles ") in fig. 2. The net stretched across the middle of the court is attached to the tops of two posts which stand 3 ft. outside the court on each side. The height of the net is 3 ft. 6 in. at the posts and 3 ft. at the centre. The court is bisected longitudinally by the half-court-line, which, however, is marked only between the two service-lines and at the points of junction with the base-lines. The divisions of the court on each side of the halfcourt-line are called respectively the right-hand and left-hand courts; and the portion of these divisions between the service-lines and the net are the right-hand service-court and left-hand service-court respectively. The balls, which are made of hollow india-rubber, tightly covered with white flannel, are 22 in. in diameter, and from i8 to 2 OZ. in weight. The racquets (fig. 3), for which there are no regulation dimensions, are broader and lighter than those used in tennis. Before play begins, a racquet is spun as in tennis, and the winner of the spin elects either to take first service or to take choice of courts. If he takes choice of courts, he and his partner (if the game be doubles) take their position on the selected side of the net, one stationing himself in the right- hand court and the other in the left, which positions are retained throughout the set. If the winner of the spin takes choice of courts, his opponent has first service; and vice versa. The players change sides of the net at the end of the first, third and every subsequent alter- nate game, and at the end of each set; but they may agree not to change during any set except the last. Service is de- livered by each player in turn, who retains it for one game irrespective of the win- ning or losing of points. In doubles the partner of the sever in the first game serves in the third, and the partner of the server in the second game serves in the fourth; the same order being pre- served till the end of the set; but each pair of partners decide for themselves before their first turn of service which of the two shall serve first. The server delivers the service from the right- and left-hand courts alternately, begin- ning in each of his service games from the right-hand court, even though odds be given or owed; he must stand behind (i.e. farther from the net than) the base-line, and must serve the ball so that it drops in the opponent's service-court diagon- ally opposite to the court served from, or upon one of the lines enclosing that service-court. If in a serve, otherwise good, the ball touches the net, it is a " let " whether the serve be " taken " or not by striker-out; a " let " does not annul a previous " fault." (For the meaning of " let," " rest," " striker-out " and other technical terms used in the game, see TENNIS and RACQUETS.) The serve is a fault (I) if it be not delivered by the server from the proper court, and from behind the base-line; (2) if the ball drops into the net or out-of-court, or into any part of the court other than the proper service-court. The striker-out cannot, as in racquets, " take," and thereby condone, a fault. When a fault has been served, the server must serve again from the same court, unless it was a fault because served from the wrong court, in which case the server crosses to the proper court before serving again. Two consecutive faults score a point against the side of the server. Lawn-tennis differs from tennis and racquets in that the service may not be taken on the volley by striker-out. After the serve has been returned the play proceeds until the " rest " (or " rally ") ends by one side or the other failing to make a " good return "; a good return in lawn-tennis meaning a stroke by which the ball, having been hit with the racquet before its second bound, is sent over the net, even if it touches the net, so as to fall within the limits of the court on the opposite side. A point is scored by the player, or side, whose opponent fails to return the serve or to make a good return in the rest. A player also loses a point if the ball when in play touches him or his partner, or their clothes; or if he or his racquet touches the net or any of its supports while the ball is in play; or if he leaps over the net to avoid touching it; or if he volley the ball before it has passed the net. For him who would excel in lawn-tennis a strong fast service is hardly less necessary than a heavily " cut " service to the tennis player and the racquet player. High overhand service, by which alone any great pace can be obtained, was first perfected by the brothers Renshaw between 188o and 189o, and is now universal even among players far below the first rank. The service in vogue among the best players in America, and from this circumstance known as the " American service," has less pace than the English but is " cut " in such a way that it swerves in the air and " drags " off the ground, the advantage being that it gives the server more time to " run in " after his serve, so as to volley his opponent's return from a position within a yard or two of the net. Both in singles and- doubles the best players often make it their aim to get up comparatively near the net as soon as possible, whether they are serving or receiving the serve, the object being to volley the ball whenever possible before it begins to fall. The server's partner, in doubles, stands about a yard and a half from the net, and rather nearer the side-line than the half-court-line; the receiver of the service, not being allowed to volley the serve, must take his stand according to the nature of the service, which, if very fast, will require him to stand outside the base-line; the receiver's partner usually stands between the net and the service-line. All four players, if the rest lasts beyond a stroke or two, are generally found nearer to the net than the service-lines; and the game, assuming the players to be of the championship class, consists chiefly of rapid low volleying, varied by attempts on one side or the other to place the ball out of the opponents' reach by " lobbing " it over their heads into the back part of the court. Good " lobbing " demands great skill, to avoid on the one hand sending the ball out of court beyond the base-line, and on the other allowing it to drop short enough for the adversary to kill it with a " smashing " volley. Of " lobbing " it has been laid down by the brothers Doherty that " the higher it is the better, so long as the length is good and as regards returning lobs the same authorities say, " you must get them if you can before they drop, for it is usually fatal to let them drop when playing against a good pair." The reason for this is that if thelob be allowed to drop before being returned, so much time is given to the striker of it to gain position that he is almost certain to be able to kill the return, unless the lob be returned by an equally good and very high lob, dropping within a foot or so of the base-line in the opposite court, a stroke that requires the utmost accuracy of strength to accomplish safely. The game in the hands of first-class players consists largely In manoeuvring for favourable position in the court while driving the opponent into a less favourable position on his side of the net; the player who gains the advantage of position in this way being generally able to finish the rest by a smashing volley impossible to return. Ability to play this " smash " stroke is essential to strong lawn-tennis. " To be good overhead," say the Dohertys, " is the sign of a first-class player, even if a few have managed to get on without it." The smash stroke is played very much in the same way as the over-hand service, except that it is not from a defined position of known distance from the net; and therefore when making it the player must realize almost instinctively what his precise position is in relation to the net and the side-lines, for it is of the last importance that he should not take his eye off the ball " even for the hundredth part of a second." By drawing the racquet across the ball at the moment of impact spin may be imparted to it as in tennis, or as " side " is imparted to a billiard ball, and the direction of this spin F ----27 feet-- _- 4. -88ffeeL --- N aIS feet A and the consequent behaviour of the ball after the stroke may be greatly varied by a skilful player. Perhaps the most generally useful form of spin, though by no means the only one commonly used, is that known as " top " or " lift," a vertical rotatory motion of the ball in the same direction as its flight, which is imparted to it by an upward draw of the racquet at the moment of making the stroke, and the effect of which is to make it drop more suddenly than it would ordinarily do, and in an unexpected curve. A drive made with plenty of " top " can be hit much harder than would otherwise be possible without sending the ball out of court, and it is therefore extensively employed by the best players. While the volleying game is almost universally the practice of first-class playersA. W. Gore, M. J. G. Ritchie and S. H. Smith being almost alone among those of championship rank in modern days to use the volley comparatively littleits difficulty places it beyond the reach of the less skilful. In lawn-tennis as played at the ordinary country house or local club the real " smash " of a Renshaw or a Doherty is seldom to be seen, and the high lob is almost equally rare. Players of moderate calibre are content to take the ball on the bound and to return it with some pace along the side-lines or across the court, with the aim of placing it as artfully as possible beyond the reach of the adversary; and if now and again they venture to imitate a stroke employed with killing effect at Wimbledon, they Walk t themselves fortunate if they occasionally succeed in making it without disaster to themselves. Before 1890 the method of handicapping at lawn-tennis was the same as in tennis so far as it was applicable to a game played in an open court. In 1890 bisques were abolished, and in 1894 an elaborate system was introduced by which fractional parts of " fifteen " could be conceded by way of handicap, in accordance with tables inserted in the laws of the game. The system is a development of the tennis handicapping by which a finer graduation of odds may be given. " One- sixth
History.Lawn-tennis cannot be said to have existed prior to the year 1874. It is, indeed, true that outdoor games based on tennis were from time to time improvised by lovers of that game who found themselves out of reach of a tennis-court. Lord Arthur Hervey, sometime bishop of Bath and Wells, had thus devised a game which he and his friends played on the lawn of his rectory in Suffolk; and even. so early as the end of the 18th century " field tennis " was mentioned by the Sporting Magazine as a game that rivalled the popularity of cricket. But, however much or little this game may have resembled lawn-tennis, it had long ceased to exist; and even to be remembered, when in 1874 Major Wingfield took out a patent for a game called Sphairistike, which the specification described as " a new and improved portable court for playing the ancient game of tennis." The court for this game was wider at the base-lines than at the net, giving the whole court the shape of an hour-glass; one side of the net only was divided into service-courts, service being always delivered from a fixed mark in the centre of the opposite court; and from the net-posts side-nets were fixed which tapered down to the ground at about the middle of the side-lines, thus enclosing nearly half the courts on each side of the net. The possibilities of Sphairistike were quickly perceived; and under the new name of lawn-tennis its popularity grew so quickly that in 1875 a meeting of those interested in the game was held at Lord's cricket-ground, where a committee of the Marylebone Club (M.C.C.) was appointed to draw up a code of rules. The hour-glass shape of the court was retained by this code (issued in May 1875), and the scoring of the game followed in the main the racquets instead of the tennis model. It was at the suggestion of J. M. Heathcote, the amateur tennis champion, that balls covered with white flannel were substituted for the uncovered balls used at first. In 1875, through the influence of Henry Jones (" Cavendish "), lawn-tennis was included in the programme of the All England Croquet Club, which in 1877 became the All England Croquet and Lawn-Tennis Club, on whose ground at Wimbledon the All England championships have been annually played since that date. In the same year, in anticipation of the first championship meeting, the club appointed a committee consisting of Henry Jones, Julian Marshall and C. G. Heathcote to revise 'the M.C.C. code of rules; the result of their labours being the introduction of the tennis in place. of the racquets scoring, the substitution of a rectangular for the " hour-glass " court, and the enactmentof the modern rule as regards the " fault." The height of the net, which under the M.C.C. rules had been 4 ft. in the centre, was reduced to 3 ft. 3 in.; and regulations as to the size and weight of the ball were also made. Some controversy had already taken place in the columns of the Field as to whether volleying the ball, at all events within a certain distance of the net, should not be prohibited. Spencer
The Renshaws had already developed the volleying game at the net, and had shown what could be done with the " smash " stroke (which became known by their name as the " Renshaw smash "), but their service had not as yet become very severe. In 1881 the distinctive features of their style were more marked, and the brothers first established firmly the supremacy which they maintained almost without interruption for the next eight years. In the doubles they discarded the older tactics of one partner standing back and the other near the net; the two Renshaws stood about the same level, just inside the service-line, and from there volleyed with relentless severity and with an accuracy never before equalled, and seldom if ever since; while their service also acquired an immense increase of pace. Their chief rival, and the leading exponent of the non-volleying game for several years, was H. F. Lawford. After a year or two it became evident that neither the volleying tactics of Renshaw nor the strong back play of Lawford would be adopted to the exclusion of the other, and both players began to combine the two styles. Thus the permanent features of lawn-tennis may be said to have been firmly established by about the year 1885; and the players who have since then come to the front have for the most part followed the principles laid down by the Renshaws and Lawford. One of the greatest performances at lawn-tennis was in the championship competition in 1886 when W. Renshaw beat Lawford a love set in 91 minutes. The longest rest in first-class lawn-tennis occurred in a match between Lawford and E. Lubbock in 188o, when eighty-one strokes were played. Among players in the first class who were contemporaries of the Renshaws, mention should be made of E. de S. Browne, a powerful imitator of the Renshaw style: C. W. Grinstead, R. T. Richardson, V. Goold (who played under the nom de plume St Leger "), J. T. Hartley, E. W. Lewis, E L. Williams, H. Grove and W. J. Hamilton; while among the most prominent lady players of the period were Miss M. Langrishe, Miss Bradley, Miss Maud Watson, Miss L. Dod, Miss Martin and Miss Bingley (afterwards Mrs Hillyard). In 1888 the Lawn-Tennis Association was established; and the All England Mixed Doubles Champion-ship (four-handed matches for ladies and gentlemen in partner-ship) was added to the existing annual competitions. Since 1881 lawn-tennis matches between Oxford and Cambridge universities have been played annually; and almost every county in England, besides Scotland, Wales and districts such as " Midland Counties," " South of England," &c., have their own champion-snip meetings. Tournaments are also played in winter at Nice, Monte Carlo and other Mediterranean resorts where most of the competitors are English visitors.The results of the All England championships have been as follows Year. Gentlemen's Singles. 1877 S. W. Gore 1878 P. F. Hadow 1879 J. T. Hartley 188o J. T. Hartley 1881 W. Renshaw 1882 W. Renshaw 1883 W. Renshaw 1884 W. Renshaw 1885 W. Renshaw 1886 W. Renshaw 1887 H. F. Lawford 1888 E. Renshaw 1889 W. Renshaw 1890 W. J. Hamilton 1891 W. Baddeley 1892 W. Baddeley 1893 J. Pim Year. Gentlemen's Doubles. 1879 L. R. Erskine and H. F. Lawford 188o W. Renshaw E. Renshaw 1881 W. Renshaw E. Renshaw 1882 J. T. Hartley R. T. Richardson 1883 C. W. Grinstead C. E. Welldon 1884 W. Renshaw E. Renshaw 1885 W. Renshaw E. Renshaw 1886 W. Renshaw E. Renshaw 1887 P. B. Lyon H. W. W. Wilberforce 1888 W. Renshaw E. Renshaw 1889 W. Renshaw E. Renshaw 1890 J. Pim F. O. Stoker 1891 W. Baddeley H. Baddeley 1892 H. S. Barlcw E. W. Lewis 1893 J. Pim F. O. Stoker 1894 W. Baddeley H. Baddeley 1895 W. Baddeley H. Baddeley 1896 W. Baddeley H. Baddeley 1897 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1898 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1899 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1900 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1901 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1902 S. H. Smith F. L. Riseiey 1903 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1904 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1905 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1906 S. H. Smith F. L. Riseley 1907 N. E. Brookes A. F. Wilding 1908 M. J. G. Ritchie A. F. Wilding 1909 A. W. Gore H. Roper Barrett 1910 M. J. G. Ritchie A. F. Wilding Year. Ladies' Singles. 1898 Miss C. Cooper 1899 Mrs Hillyard 1900 Mrs Hillyard 1901 Mrs Sterry (Miss C. Cooper) 1902 Miss M. E. Robb 1903 Miss D. K. Douglass 1904 Miss D. K. Douglass 1905 Miss M. Sutton 1906 Miss D. K. Douglass 1907 Miss M. Sutton 1908 Mrs Sterry 1909 Miss D. Boothby 1910 Mrs Lambert Chambers (Miss Douglass) Year. Ladies' and Gentlemen's Doubles. Miss C. Cooper Miss C. Cooper Miss C. Cooper Miss C. Cooper Miss Robb Miss C. Cooper Miss Martin Miss Martin Miss D. K. Douglass Miss E. W. Thompson Miss E. W. Thompson Miss D. K. Douglass Mrs Hillyard Mrs Lambert Chambers (Miss D. K. Douglass) Miss Morton Mrs Lambert Chambers In the United States lawn-tennis was played at Nahant, near Boston, within a year of its invention in England, Dr James Dwight and the brothers F. R. and R. D. Sears being mainly instrumental in making it known to their countrymen. In 1881 at a meeting in New York
Winners of United States Championships. Gentlemen's Singles. R. D. Wrenn R. D. Wrenn M. D. Whitman M. D. Whitman M. D. Whitman W. A. Larned W. A. Larned H. L. Doherty H. Ward B. C. Wright W. J. Clothier W. A. Larned W. A. Larned W. A. Larned \V. A. Lamed Gentlemen's Singles. J. Pim W. Baddeley H. S. Mahony R. F. Doherty R. F. Doherty R. F. Doherty R. F. Doherty A. W. Gore H. L. Doherty H. L. Doherty H. L. Doherty H. L. Doherty H. L. Doherty N. E. Brookes A. W. Gore A. W. Gore A. F. Wilding Year. 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 190I 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 Year. Ladies' Singles. 1884 Miss M. Watson 1885 Miss M. Watson 1886 Miss Bingley 1887 Miss Dod 1888 Miss Dod 1889 Mrs Hillyard (Miss Bingley) 1890 Miss Rice 1891 Miss Dod 1892 Miss Dod 1893 Miss Dod 1894 Mrs Hillyard 1845 Miss C. Cooper 1896 Miss C. Cooper 1897 Mrs Hillyard Year. Ladies' and Gentlemen's Doubles. 1888 E. Renshaw and Mrs Hillyard 1889 J. C. Kay 1890 J. Baldwin 1891 J. C. Kay 1892 A. Dod 1893 W. Baddeley 1894 H. S. Mahony Miss Dod Miss K. Hill Miss Jackson Miss Dod Mrs Hillyard, Miss C. Cooper 1895 H. S. Mahony 1896 H. S. Mahony 1897 H. S. Mahony 1898 H. S. Mahony 1899 C. H. L. Cazelet 1900 H. L. Doherty 1901 S. H. Smith 1902 S. H. Smith 1903 F. L. Riseley 1904 S. H. Smith 1905 S. H. Smith 1906 F. L. Riseley 1907 N. E. Brookes 1908 A. F. Wilding 1909 H. Roper Barrett 1910 S. N. Doust and Year. Gentlemen's Singles. Year. 1881 R. D. Sears 1896 1882 R. D. Sears 1897 1883 R. D. Sears 1898 1884 R. D. Sears 1899 1885 R. D. Sears 1900 1886 R. D. Sears 1901 1887 R. D. Sears 1902 1888 H. W. Slocum 1903 1889 H. W. Slocum 1904 1890 O. S. Campbell 1905 1891 O. S. Campbell 1906 1892 O. S. Campbell 1907 1893 R. D. Wrenn 1908 1894 R. D. Wrenn 1909 1895 F. H. Hovey 1910 " Year. Gentlemen's Doubles. 1882 J. Dwight and R. D. Sears 1883 J. Dwight ,, R. D. Sears 1884 J Dwight R. D. Sears 1885 J. S. Clark R. D. Sears 1886 J. Dwight R. D. Sears 1887 J. Dwight R. D. Sears 1888 V. G. Hall
1889 H. W. Slocum H. A. Taylor 1890 V. G. Hall
1891 O. S. Campbell R. P. Huntingdon 1892 O. S. Campbell R. P. Huntingdon 1893 C. Hobart F. H. Hovey 1894 C. Hobart F. H. Hovey 1895 R. D. Wrenn M. G. Chase 1896 C. B. Neel S. R. Neel L. E. Ware G. P. Sheldon 1898 L. E. Ware G. P. Sheldon 1899 D. F. Davis H. Ward 1900 D. F. Davis H. Ward 1901 D. F. Davis H. Ward 1902 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1903 R. F. Doherty H. L. Doherty 1904 H. Ward B. C. Wright 1905 H. Ward B. C. Wright 1906 H. Ward B. C. Wright 1907 F. B. Alexander H. H. Hackett 1908 F. B. Alexander H. H. Hackett 1909 F. B. Alexander H. H Hackett 1910 F. B. Alexander H. H. Hackett Year. Ladies' Singles. 1900 Miss Myrtle McAteer 1890 Miss E. C. Roosevelt 1901 Miss Elizabeth H. Moore 1891 Miss Mabel E. Cahill 1902 Miss Marion Jones 1892 Miss Mabel E. Cahill 1903 MISS Elizabeth H. Moore 1893 Miss Aline M. Terry 1904 Miss May Sutton1894 Miss Helen R. Helwig 1905 Miss Elizabeth H. Moore 1895 Miss J. P. Atkinson 1906 Miss Helen H. Homans 1896 Miss Elizabeth H. Moore 1907 Miss Evelyn Sears 1897 Miss J. P. Atkinson 1908 Mrs Barger Wallach 1898 Miss J. P. Atkinson 1909 Miss Hazel Hotchkiss 1899 Miss Marion Jones 1910 Miss Hazel Hotchkiss In 1900 an international challenge cup was presented by the American D. F. Davis, tobe competed for in the country of the holders. In the summer of that year a British team, consisting of A. W. Gore, E. D. Black and H. R. Barrett, challenged for the cup but were defeated by the Americans, Whitman, Larned, Davis and Ward. In 1902 a more representative British team, the two Dohertys and Pim, were again defeated by the same representatives of the United States; but in the following year the Dohertys brought the Davis cup to England by beating Larned and the brothers Wrenn at Longwood. In 1904 the cup was played for at Wimbledon, when representatives of Belgium, Austria and France entered, but failed to defeat the Dohertys and F. L. Riseley, who represented Great Britain. In 1905 the entries included France, Austria, Australasia, Belgium and the United States; in 1906 the same countries, except Belgium, competed; nut in both years the British players withstood the attack. In 1907, however, when the contest was confined to England, the United States and Australasia, the latter was successful in winning the cup, which was then for the first time taken to the colonies, where it was retained in the following year when the Australians N. E. Brookes and A. F.Wilding defeated the representatives of the United States, who had previously beaten the English challengers in America. In 1909 Englandwas not represented in the competition, and the Australians again retained the cup, beating the Americans McLoughlin and Long both in singles and doubles. See " The Badminton Library," Tennis: Lawn-Tennis: Racquets: Fives, new and revised edition (1903) ; R. F. and H. L. Doherty, On Lawn-Tennis (1903); E. H. Miles, Lessons in Lawn-Tennis (1899); E. de Nanteuil, La Paume et le lawn-tennis (1898); J. Dwight, " Form in Lawn-Tennis," in Scribner's Magazine, vol. vi. ; A. Wallis Myers, The Complete Lawn-Tennis Player (1908). (R. J. M.) End of Article: LAWN If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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