THE RACQUET

NZ Truth, Issue 1045, 5 December 1925, Page 11

THE RACQUET

LOOK AFTER IT AN ABUSED IMPLEMENT (By ''Umpire.") Nbwj then, you tennis Jktis, What a'bbUt that racquet? There la no implement In any sport so abused a§ the brdinary tennis bat. Oh'tJiS cdUrt it i's Used indiscriminately £§ a.shbVil, "A Hammer, and dri; &XS-. The most careless golfer would be ashamed to treat even a reviled maSnie m the manner that the tennis player handles his racquet. No football Avould stand it, and ,a cricket bat would be m pieces m iio time. But anyhow m cricket this 1 is .dhe of the things that, are "not adndi" A dOBiJB POUNDS, Itbn have a i ; afequet for Which you R&.ye paid sfeverai good pOuhdSi \Vith Vi'hidh, pre§u«iably, you are Satismed, and WBifih i§ tb stand by ybti for at ieasfc a geasefli liQ.ek \o it! YGUr rftequet cieseyvgs cOnsidgratiori. It ffiust f§t feonsideratien if it is to last and iiOt let you dOWri. Give it what it needs. The makers didn't design it for you t6 scdbp up balls with on a nird court. They d.idn't think that you were sb la2ys Nor did they give it a reinforced steel ffamg for you tb employ when y6ii make last minute half-volleys becaUse of yo'Ur. iack of pep aiiQ slowness m moving up 'to a shot. They meant the racquet to be used, first and foremost, for hitting the ball m the air. See that it does. So much for" the navvies. But; candidly, the makers nowadays don't give us their best m t§hriis raCqUetS; You gbif ers know how hard it is to get properly seasoned wood m the shaft of a ''bought" club. Tennis players have just the sairie trouble. Most of the wood used for f rariies, etc., has a good deal of sap m it, arid will lose its Bhape on the slightest provocation. So be careful, WATCH FOR THE WAR]?. | Many racquets brought out from the Old Country Wafp oh the way. Mbst of the other's Will do so if y6u give them a chance; The thing is not tb. So the first thing you must do is to keep. your racquet m a press when it is riot m use* You need not take the press along With you When you go out to play a fSW sets. There is nothing to be j gained by this^-most of the dartiage is done tb a bat when it is left m a heated room With nothing to control its shape. The second thing is ,lo Watch the gUt. If you think you need a gut preserver, go for the gut preserver which dries quickly and leaves a varniah on the strings, if you must have one. Keep an eagle eye Oil the strings, too, and when you see one fraying unwind the tiny "whisker" produced and sever it with a razor blade or a sharp knife. This will help to arrest the movement. If you value the tension of your .racquet, examine it whenever you put it to bed and carefully work the cross strings or mains which may have moved back into place. You will find that 'the cross strings frequently move up or down, especially if you employ spin m your service or ground shots. Straighten them up; to leave them is only asking for trouble. If you favor a roll of plaster on the handle, change it as soon as it gets smooth, which it is sure to do inside a short time. The patent grips now made are much better, and do not wear out, so it will pay you to invest m one of these. But if you are of the kind that like plain Avood to grip, get a littlo bag of powdered resin and dust .the handle with it at intervals. You will need a wash afterwards, but your grip will not waver.