ENGLISH TENNIS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22399, 21 April 1936, Page 16

ENGLISH TENNIS

LADY PLAYER'S DECISION ABSENCE FROM WIMBLEDON Lawn tonnis followers and players will be sorry to hear that Mrs. Eileen Bennett Whittingstall, now officially ranked third among Britain's girl players, is unlikely to play much competitive tennis this year, says an English writer. She has already informed her prospective Wimbledon partners, Adrian Qmst, the Australian champion, and Miss Mary Hardwick, now on tour in South Africa with the English team, that she will not compete in the championships. The absence, even temporarily, of Mrs. Whittingstall, whom many people regard as very nearly the best girl player in the country, although she is scarcely endowed with the physique of her rivals, is n big loss to the game. With every effort being made to win back the Wightman Cup at Wimbledon in June, Mrs. Whittingstall's services would have been very welcome. When the cup match was played at Wimbledon in 1932 Mrs. Whittingstall beat Miss Jacobs after a splendid match in which the English girl won the final set by 6—l. Mrs. Whittingstall, who was our rso. 1 girl plaver in ISMI, looked to have recovered all her old form last season. She was the first English girl to beat Senorita Lizana, the Chilean champion who made such a wonderful debut on English courts last spring and won many tournaments. This occurred after a terrific finish on the centre court at Bournemouth during the hard court championships. Later in the season Mrs. Whittingstall beat Miss Peggy Scriven in the championships at Wimbledon. Win or lose, Mrs. Whittingstall, who popularised shorts on the courts, is always a beautiful player to watch. It is difficult to imagine her making an ugly stroke, and when in form her timing' is so perfect that the ball, which comes over the net at a great pace from her top-spin drive, is hard to cope with. And she has always been one of the best volleyers in the country. In every sense of the word Mrs. Whittingstall is a picture player.