Page 76 - REALLY What A time Book IX

REALLY SO WHAT
What A Time

TENNIS

when wet, and had a soft reddish brown dusty color. Most
public courts were clay, only a few were hard surfaced like
asphalt or concrete, and only a very few country clubs had the
luxury of grass. It would be years before plastic compositions,
with a uniform bounce would replace most courts.

The difference in courts was the wear and tear on your shoes
and long term on your knees. I wore US Keds, and despite the
soft clay was able to wear them out pretty quickly.
Clay is the slowest of games. The ball regardless of how hard
it’s hit slows down when it lands and pops up. It tends to pop
up straight which makes it easier to get to and hit. Making clay
the slowest of all surfaces.

Other surfaces are between clay and grass in the speed that the
ball travels. Grass, whether it’s wet or not is like the busted
bike episode. The ball always slides on the grass, bounces
lower and speeds up. Sliding on the grass makes the ball move
faster.
In the beginning my racket was my mothers, about 3 feet long
with a funny handle. The handle wasn’t oval or round, rather
it was octagonal and thicker than any I’ve ever seen. It was
hard for me to hold, although two handed swatting would
have helped.

The small oval at the other end was strung with catgut. Yes,
but gut was the intestines of any animal except a cat. Maybe
’Cat’ actually stands for ‘Cattle’ but almost every string
instrument used it, Guitars, violins, you name it.

76