COMMON ACCIDENTS IN LAWN TENNIS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 85, 16 May 1914, Page 11

COMMON ACCIDENTS IN LAWN TENNIS.

For a game played with what is, techa soft ball, • lawn-tennis can show a fairly high percentage of casualties. Few of these are due to the ball itself, but the compression of tho air within the rubber sphere makes it : quite hard enough to inflict serious I injury upon delicate organs. Relatively j (for instance, to an inundated ball), I it is certainly hard, and the most dangerous accident in the game is being struck in the eye by a ball. For the ball is small enough to give the temporal bone little chance to protect the eye, as it might in the case of a cricket ball. In rapid volleying a ball may be just touched by the edge of the racquet frame, and thus be deflected on the eye. The injury may be serious; the lens may be damaged. I have known cases where sight was-not properly restored for a year. The most notable incident of this accident is quite recent, the famous young French player, Mr W. H. Laurentz) being the victim. A common result is that the nervous tone of the whole system is'impaired, and the i player may not regain confidence and "* form for years. It is worth while warning players to look out when near the net during intervals. A ball slogged ; across by way of being '' sent up,'' | or a careless knock-up, may hit a man j rn the face. The racquets player \s habit of covering his face with the racquet , when turning towards the danger zone | is very useful. | A FREQUENT ACCIDENT. A quite frequent accident*is to hit tho temple, usually on the line with tho eyebrow, with the racquet. This may occur from a mishit in the top-spin drive, or from a slip of the foot checking and altering the angle of the foliowthrough of any upward stroke. On one court I have seen the accident occur on consecutive days. The cut always reaches the bone, and is often .an inch long, requiring one or more stitches. Sometimes a mishit results in the racquet hitting the nose. It is. curious that those who play in spectacles very -rarely ggt hit in'the ocular region, either by ball or racquet. Possibly the mere fact of wearing glasses intensifies a player's instinct of ' self-preservation. It is worth noting that the, quick and continuous work of match play involves considerable strain upon the eyes. The sense of sight being the organic general of the body, it is important to husband its strength. Most probably it is eye strain that causes- many an accident of the tyjte' we have mentioned. Glare is a danger- ' ous thing; a light surface, such as,"is found on the Riviera, may have similar to snow-blindness. Coloured glasses may be recommended. Even English sunshine produces a glare, sometimes of blinding force, though only momentary, on the inner side of the glasses. Caps with a peak or brim are not to be recommended, for after all the best principle is to accommodate one's eyes to the light. If the eyes are tired, bathing with cold tea is good. MISTAKES IN FOOTWORK. A mistake in footwork is probably less often the cause of accident than j is an error of vision. But such an accident as hitting the shin with the racquet, often causing an ugly cut, generally occurs at the very end of a —-e.g., in the service. Such accidents may be rather due to fatigue of the foot muscles. When fatigue of the whole body is excessive .'the-player can make little effort; he is accordingly unlikely to make .slips. It is when fniigae is not yet absolute that over-reaching, or any form of trying too much, is dangerous. ♦An equally dangerous - ondition is over-effort when the body js uot yet warmed up, and especially when hard play is undertake]" without previous I practice. In the latter case muscle' fibres are apt to snap, being not yet habituated to strain. This accident is not uncommon in the case of the tendon Achilles. Mr E.-B. Allen was jiu-apaei-. tated for a year in this way. 1 once witnessed a similar happening: Miss A. N. Greene ruptured a fibre in-the act of running. The crack could-be [distinctly heard. ■ ■■>*-- • THH ART OF FALLING. ." Twisting the ankle is usually due to stepping on the edge of the foot r a result facilitated by wearing too :." easy ' ' shoes/ If a fall is necessary [ in this or in any other contingency, tlie I player should fall instead of trying'to recover. The art of falling properly is instinctive; some have it, others have not. A man falling on his face instinctively ■„protects himself with his hands; but there is a curious case of a player who is utterly incapable of breaking such, a fall in this way. He has more than once fallen straight on his face, and ouee he fell on his chin, veritably knocking himself --tout! ' The, "small, bone" of the ankle =is often broken ■ the body weight comes on the joint.in a fall. Mr.Nathan once twist- ' l ed his ankle, as. he: thought, and .went on playing. At the end of the match .it was found that this bone was broken. A fall of any sort may result in most serious accidents if the fall is not '' managed." A'' sit-down "or '' shoulder fall" is a useful method. One of j the most important things to avoid is having the hand or arm under the body. I have seen a man fall, quite,siriiply and apparently softly, an ordinary tumble, but his hand was underneath, and both bones of the wrist' were fractured. The umpire's chair, the stopnetting posts, casual seats, are obstacles icasily avoided by not going for impossibilities in their neighbourhood. Stepping on a "casual" ball may sprain an ankle #r cause a nasty fall. the leg with the racquet is a form or self-punishment for a bad stroke that may cause a nasty bruise or. worse. Umpires' seats should be tested before use. They have been known to break down. A. E. CRAWLEY.