pins were dragged from her hair. The result was that the
player, who might easily have left the court and fixed up her hair again
firmly, adjusted it as best she could, her hair blowing about in all
directions. In between every stroke she had to clutch wildly at stray
portions that blew across her face and into her eyes. This diversion
naturally upset her game, and I think that was the last time she wore a
bracelet in court.

_Training for match play_ is rather a difficult subject for me to write
about, for I have never gone in for proper "training." The great secret
is to keep perennially fit. Remember that an important match is a great
strain, a challenging test of stamina. To come through the ordeal
successfully you must be in a good condition of health. If you are not,
you ought not to be playing. Personally I know what it means to play an
important match when feeling really ill. Honestly it is not worth it. It
is no enjoyment to yourself, and it is no pleasure to your opponent to
beat you when she knows you are unfit. Besides, it is very injurious to
your own health. On the other hand, if you are in good condition, and
leading a healthy outdoor life, a well-contested match cannot harm you;
it is most beneficial in every way. Therefore I think the best training
for an important match is to be always in "training"; not to have to
alter your habits before a match is the secret. To change your diet and
mode of living suddenly, as some players do, is more calculated to
upset you than to make you fitter for the ordeal. Common sense must of
course be used. For instance, you should not eat a heavy meal just
before playing. I generally prefer bread-and-cheese, a milk pudding of
some sort, and perhaps a little fruit for lunch if I have a match, in
the afternoon. I find this diet very satisfying and sustaining, and of
course much lighter than meat. Bananas or apples go very well with the
cheese. As I like this sort of lunch at any time, I do not have to
change my diet materially before a match. After the day's play is over,
I make absolutely no difference, eating for dinner in the evening
whatever is going. Lunch is the chief meal over which care should be
exercised, for important matches generally begin about two o'clock. A
heavy meal would make me slow and sleepy. I know of one well-known
player who never has any breakfast at all. She may play hard matches all
the morning, and when the luncheon interval arrives she has only