ivery will not pitch just over the side-line or
service-line or hit the top of the net), do not be contented with a soft
and guileless second which has no length and which gives your opponent
an excellent chance of making a winning drive. Most players are weaker
on their backhand. Remember that fact and place your ball accordingly.
It is a good plan, when serving from the right-hand court, to aim for
the spot where the centre line bisects the service-line. Length and
direction will both be good, and in nine cases out of ten your opponent
will be required to move to make the return--always a point in your
favour.

Remember that variety in service, as in tactics and general play, is
essential. However fast your service may be, if its pace and placing are
stereotyped, a good deal of its efficacy is lost, since your adversary
knows what to expect, where to stand, and the kind of stroke suitable
for return. It is better to possess a variety of slow services, if they
have good length, than to own one fast service which has no particular
merit except speed. And, of course, the faster the ball comes off the
racket the more liable is it to go astray. Another reason why you should
temper zeal with discretion is that a vigorous service will tire you out
like nothing else, and in a long match stamina should be judiciously
preserved. You never know when an extra spurt may not be required to
turn the scale in your favour. I have often noticed the difference in
length and sting between the service of some players at the beginning of
the match and in the third set, and I am sure that one of the reasons
why so many matches are ultimately lost after a promising start is the
decline in the service, in its sustained vigour and in its length.

By the way, why do many lady players, even those who compete at open
tournaments, stand several feet behind the base-line when serving? Are
they aware that the length of their service is probably just so many
feet short of what it ought to be and that they voluntarily give
themselves an extra journey to recover short returns, even if they reach
them at all? You will never find expert players, who appreciate what I
may call the geometry of the court, penalise themselves in this manner.
Yet the habit, for some reason or other, would appear to be on the
increase.

_Low Volleys_.--For these strokes the head of your racket should be
above your wrist, your elbow low down, and your knees slightly bent. You