MANY YOUNG PLAYERS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20508, 9 January 1935, Page 11

MANY YOUNG PLAYERS.

High Standard of Tennis in Australia. The unusual number of promising players under twenty years of age who would prove more than a match for Canterbury ranking players made a great impression upon members of the New Zealand University tennis team during their tour of Australia. Mr R. A. Young, Canterbury captain of the team, who returned to Christchurch yesterday, said that there were twelve or thirteen young players in New South Wales capable of beating leading Canterbury players. The secret of their ability was intensive coaching by old international players. Many of these young' players worked for tennis firms, and were allowed a lot of time off to play the game. They were coached from the age of ten years in most cases and gained a thorough knowledge of correct stroke production very early. Tennis prodigies like V. M’Giath aiid J. Bromwich, who play double-handed backhand strokes, are not really freakish, according to Mr Young. “At least 50 per cent of the young players in New South Wales use that stroke,” he said. “ The reason is that their wrists are not strong enough for the orthodox stroke, and naturally they use two hands to the racquet.” University Tennis. „ Mr Young said that as a result of the New Zealand University team’s visit, a team consisting of the four best Australian University players would probably visit the Dominion in December. Th© visit depended upon the agreement of the New Zealand Dawn Tennis Association and the Australian University sports Union. King and Derham would probably be members of the team.