bread-and-cheese and fruit. Of course this is a very exceptional case,
and I should not care to try it myself. I find a good breakfast a
necessity before a long and hard day at a tournament. But the
no-breakfast regime certainly suits the player in question. She is
always "fit," and has great stamina, coming through exhausting matches
without showing the slightest sign of distress. I need not add that
sleep is one of the chief factors for making you feel buoyant and well;
if you have not had your right measure of sleep the night before an
important contest, you are greatly handicapped. Remember, too, how
necessary it is to sleep in a well-ventilated room with the windows
open.

As to _Courts_, there are so many surfaces now used for the game, such
as grass, wood, asphalt, cement, gravel, and sand, that it is possible
to play the game all the year round, under cover or out in the open. I
think, however, most players will agree with me that a good grass court
is the ideal surface for lawn tennis. The sensation of playing a
genuinely hard match with evenly balanced players on a _good_ grass
court, under ideal weather conditions, has only to be experienced to be
appreciated. It is then you realize what great enjoyment this game gives
to any one who loves it. Alas! the really good grass court and ideal
weather are very hard to get in England. I suppose there was scarcely a
day in 1909 that could be described as perfect for lawn tennis; and our
good grass courts are few and far between.

The climate we cannot control, but I often wonder why there should be
such a dearth of true grass courts at open meetings. Of course
maintenance involves a certain amount of expense, but surely many clubs
are quite well enough off to command at least one or two really good
courts. Can it be ignorance, or is it a want of necessary energy and
constant attention? Lawn tennis seems to suffer in this respect more
than most games. There are hundreds of splendid golf greens and cricket
pitches all over the country, but for some inexplicable reason a good
grass lawn tennis court is, as Mr. G.W. Hillyard has remarked, "almost
as rare a sight as a dead donkey." Happily we get this rare spectacle at
Wimbledon under Mr. Hillyard's able care and management.

[Illustration: GROUP OF PLAYERS AT THE NEWCASTLE TOURNAMENT, 1902]

What a difference a general improvement in surface would mean! I am
convinced that if courts were better the standard of play wo