PERRY'S STATEMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22437, 5 June 1936, Page 11

PERRY'S STATEMENT

INTEREST IN TENNIS LOST AMERICAN OFFICIAL'S VIEWS LONDON, Juno 3 "It is extraordinary for Perry to say that," Btates Mr. A. C. Cushman, manager of the American Wightman Cup tennis team, which is shortly to meet England, in referring to an interview on Monday with the English tennis player, F. J. Perry, by a representative of the Dailv Mail. » Mr. Cushman added: "Marriage in the majority of cases provides a champion athlete with an additional impetus to win. I do not know of any marriage which is detrimental to a champion. Crawford and von Cramm are both married, and their command of the game has never been greater. Allison has been married for some years, but his high standard of tennis has not altered." The secretary of a prominent athletic club said that most managers regard marriage as beneficial, as the home life of athletes is better regulated by means of expert and supervised wifely care. These are more valuable in training a champion than mere nagging by managers.

After Perry's defeat by von Cramm in the final of the French tennis championships, he was reported to have said that since his marriage he had other interests, and that tennis was only a part of them. He had lost keenness and enthusiasm and could not concentrate.

Perry was married on September 12, 1935, and his wife is Miss Helen Vinson, formerly a film actress.