Spin and Its Effects

Never hit a shot without conscious spin. It is the love of study of tennis that has led me to the point where I never hit a shot without a conscious twist or spin, or the deliberate attempt to use none. I believe that only by doing so can the greatest results be obtained. I cannot too strongly urge that the spin used on every shot should be a deliberate thing. Do not hit a ball blindly, merely for the sake of hitting it somewhere. Have a clear cut idea of what will be the effect of that shot. Never await your opponent's return with mind a blank. Ask yourself what you would do in his place and pre-pare to meet that reply. Anticipation in tennis is nothing more or less than outguessing, or at least, "equi-guessing" your opponent. Seek always to place your opponent at a disadvantage by forcing him to guess your shot's spin and so make it more difficult to handle it. I think there are many great players whose games would be I materially improved if they gave a little more thought to the matter of spin and its effect. I do not believe there are...