Unfortunately illness prevented Mile. Lenglen from sailing at her appointed time. She arrived in America but one day before the tournament was to start. The officials of the United States Lawn Tennis a.s.sociation wisely granted Mile. Lenglen another day"s grace by holding her match with Miss Goss until Tuesday. Mrs.
Mallory, playing brilliantly, crushed Mrs. Jessop on Monday.
Then came the deluge! Miss Goss, taken suddenly ill, was forced to default to Mlle. Lenglen on Tuesday and Mrs. Mallory was called upon to meet the great French player in Mlle. Lenglen"s first American appearance.
There is no question but what it was a terribly hard position for Mlle. Lenglen. Mrs. Mallory was physically and mentally on the crest. She had lived for this chance ever since Mlle. Lenglen had defeated her at St. Cloud in June. Now it was hers and she determined to make the most of it.
The two women stepped on the court together. Mlle. Lenglen was obviously and naturally nervous. Mrs. Mallory was quietly, grimly confident. Her whole att.i.tude said "I won"t be beaten." Every one of the 10,000, spectators felt it and joined with her in her determination. It was an electric current between the gallery and the player. I felt it and am sure that Mlle. Lenglen must have done so too. It could not fail to impress her. The match opened with Mrs. Mallory serving. From the first ball, the American champion was supreme. Such tennis I have never seen and I verily believe it will never be seen again. The French girl was playing well. She was as good as when she defeated Mrs. Mallory in France or Miss Ryan in England, but this time she was playing a super-woman who would not miss. One cannot wonder her nerves, naturally overwrought, broke under the strain.
Mrs. Mallory, in an exhibition of faultless, flawless tennis, ran through the first set 6-2. It was at this point Mlle. Lenglen made her mistake.
She had trouble getting her breath and was obviously feeling the strain of her tremendous exertions. She defaulted the match! Mrs.
Mallory walked from the court conqueror, clearly the superior of the much vaunted world"s champion.
It is regrettable Mlle. Lenglen defaulted, for if she had played out the match, everyone would have made full allowance for her defeat, due, it would be said, to natural reaction from her recent sea journey. No one would have been quicker to make allowance for Mlle. Lenglen than Mrs. Mallory herself. The whole tennis public deeply regretted an incident that might well have been avoided.
Mrs. Mallory was the woman of the hour. She marched on to victory and successfully defended her t.i.tle by virtue of victories over Mrs. May Sutton Bundy in the semi-final and Miss Mary Browne in the final.
Marvellous Molla! World"s Champion in 1921 beyond shadow of dispute!
It is deplorable that the quite natural reaction and nervous upset, coupled with a return of her bronchial illness, forced Mlle. Lenglen to return to France before she was able to play her exhibition tour for the Committee for Devastated France. Possibly 1922 will find conditions more favorable and the G.o.ds of Fate will smile on the return of Mlle. Lenglen to America.
MRS. FRANKLIN I. MALLORY (Molla Bjurstedt)
One of the most remarkable personalities in the tennis world is Mrs. Molla Bjurstedt Mallory, the American Champion and actually Champion of the World, 1921.
Mrs. Mallory is a Norsewoman by birth. She came to America in 1915. In 1919 she married Franklin I. Mallory, and thus became an American citizen.
It is a remarkable game which Mrs. Mallory has developed. She has no service of real value. Her overhead is nil, her volleying is mediocre; but her marvellous forehand and backhand drives, coupled with the wonderful court-covering ability and fighting spirit that have made her world-famous, allow her to rise above the inherent weaknesses of those portions of her game and defeat in one season all the greatest players in the world, including Mlle. Suzanne Lenglen.
Mrs. Mallory, with delightful smile, never failing sportsmanship and generosity in victory or defeat, is one of the most popular figures in tennis.
MRS. THOMAS C. BUNDY (May Sutton)
It is said "they never come back," but Mrs. May Sutton Bundy has proved that at least one great athlete is an exception to the saying. Fifteen years ago, May Sutton ruled supreme among the women tennis stars of the world.
In 1921 Mrs. May Sutton Bundy, mother of four children, after a retirement of over a I decade, returned to the game when Mlle.
Lenglen announced her intention of invading America. If Mlle.
Lenglen"s visit to our sh.o.r.es did nothing more than bring Mrs.
Bundy and Miss Browne back to us, it was well worth while.
Mrs. Bundy in 1921 was still a great player. She has a peculiar reverse twist service, a wonderful forehand drive, but with excessive top spin, a queer backhand poke, a fine volley and a reliable overhead. Much of her old aggressiveness and speed of foot are still hers. She retains all of her famous fighting spirit and determination, while she is even more charming and delightful than of old. She is a remarkable woman, who stands for all that is best in the game.
MARY KENDALL BROWNE
The return of another former National Champion in 1921 in the person of Mary K. Browne, who held the t.i.tle in 1912, "13 and "14, brought us again a popular idol. The tennis public has missed Miss Browne since 1914 and her return was in the nature of a personal triumph.
Mary Browne has the best produced tennis game of any American woman. It is almost if not quite the equal in stroke technique of Suzanne Lenglen. She has a fast flat service. Her ground strokes are clean, flat drives forehand and backhand. She volleys exactly like Billy Johnston. No praise can be higher. Her overhead is decisive but erratic. She couples this beautiful game with a remarkable tennis head and a wonderful fighting spirit.
Miss Browne is a trig and trim little figure on the court as she glides over its surface. It is no wonder that her public love her.
MRS. GEORGE WIGHTMAN (Hazel Hotchkiss)
The woman to whom American tennis owes its greatest debt in development is Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, National Champion 1909, "10, "11 and 1919. Mrs. Wightman has practically retired from singles play. Her decision cost the game a wonderful player. She has a well placed slice service, a ground game that is essentially a chop fore- and backhand, although at times she drives off her forehand. She volleys remarkably. She is the equal of Mary Browne in this department, while her overhead is the best of any woman in the game.
Hazel Wightman is as clever a court general and tactician, man or woman, as I have ever known. She has forgotten more tennis than most of us ever learn. She is the Norman Brookes of woman"s tennis.
It is not only in her game that Mrs. Wightman has stood for the best in tennis, but she has given freely of her time and ability to aid young players in the game. She made Marion Zinderstein Jessop the fine player she is. Mrs. Wrightman is always willing to offer sound advice to any player who desires it.
Mrs. Wightman and Miss Florence Ballin are the prime factors in the new organization of woman"s tennis that has resulted in the great growth of the game in the past two years.
MRS. JESSOP (Marion Zinderstein)
There is no player in tennis of greater promise than Marion Zinderstein Jessop. She has youth, a wonderful game, the result of a sound foundation given her by Hazel Wightman, and a remarkable amount of experience for so young a girl. She has a beautiful fast service, but erratic. Her ground- game is perfectly balanced, as she chops or drives from either side with equal facility. She volleys with great severity and certainty.
Her overhead is possibly her weakest point. She lacks the confidence that her game really deserves.
HELEN WILLS
The most remarkable figure that has appeared on the horizon of woman"s tennis since Suzanne Lenglen first flashed into the public eye, is little Helen Wills of California, Junior Champion of 1921. She is only fifteen. Stocky, almost ungainly, owing to poor footwork, her hair in pigtails down her back, she is a quaint little person who instantly walks into hearts of the gallery.
The tennis this child plays is phenomenal. She serves with the power and accuracy of a boy. She drives and chops forehand and backhand with reckless abandon. She rushes to the net and kills in a way that is reminiscent of Maurice McLoughlin. Suddenly she dubs the easiest sort of a shot and grins a happy grin. There is no doubt she is already a great player. She should become much greater. She is a miniature Hazel Wightman in her game. Above all, she is that remarkable combination, an unspoiled child and a personality.
There are many other players of real promise coming to the front.
Boston boasts of a group that contains Mrs. Benjamin E. Cole (Anne Sheafe) who has made a great record in the season of 1921; Miss Edith Sigourney, who accompanied Mrs. Mallory abroad, Miss Leslie Bancroft and Mrs. G.o.dfree. There are Miss Martha Bayard, Miss Helen Gilleandean, Mrs. Helene Pollak Folk, Miss Molly Thayer, Miss Phyllis Walsh and Miss Anne Townsend in New York and Philadelphia.
France
MLLE. SUZANNE LENGLEN
There is no more unique personality, nor more remarkable player among the women than Mademoiselle Suzanne Lenglen, the famous French girl who holds the World"s Championship t.i.tle. Mlle.
Lenglen is a remarkable figure in the sporting world. She has personality, individuality, and magnetism that hold the public interest. She is the biggest drawing card in the tennis world.
Mlle. Lenglen"s fame rests on her drive. Strange though it may seem, her drive is the least interesting part of her game. Mlle.
Lenglen uses a severe overhead service of good speed. It is a remarkable service for a woman, one which many men might do well to copy. Her famous forehand drive is a full arm swing from the shoulder. It meets the ball just as Mlle. Lenglen springs in the air. The result is pictorially unique, but not good tennis. She loses speed and power by this freak. Her backhand is beautifully played, from perfect footwork, with a free swing and topped drive. It is a remarkable stroke. Her volleying is perfect in execution and result. She hits her overhead smash freely with a "punch" that is as great as many men. It is as fine an overhead as that of Mrs. George Wightman, the American Champion.
Mlle. Lenglen"s speed of foot is marvellous. She runs fast and easily. She delights in acrobatic jumps, many of them unnecessary, at all times during her play. She is a wonderful gallery player, and wins the popularity that her dashing style deserves. She is a brilliant court general, conducting her attack with a keen eye on both the court and the gallery.
Mlle. Lenglen is not outstanding among the women players of the world, in my opinion. She is probably the best stroke player in the world to-day, yet Mrs. Lambert Chambers, Mrs. George Wightman, Miss Elizabeth Ryan, Mrs. Franklin L. Mallory (formerly Miss Molla Bjurstedt), Miss Mary Browne, and Mrs. May Sutton Bundy are all in her cla.s.s in match play. There is no woman playing tennis that has the powerful personality of Mlle.
Lenglen. Her acrobatic style and grace on the court form an appeal no gallery can resist. Her very mannerisms fool people into considering her far greater than she really is, even though she is a wonderful player.
MME. BILLOUTT (Mlle. Brocadies)