Court Tennis

Pierre Etchebaster, a Basque from St. Jean de Luz and the Jeu de Paume of Paris, beat the best court tennis players in the U. S. last week in Philadelphia. Jock Soutar, Britisher, met him in the finals for the national championship in the Racquet Club of Philadelphia.

Etchebaster wears a Basque cap, a Basque mustache, a Basque smile. He moves around the court very little. He plays his floor shots with a delicate, excessive turn of the wrist that cuts the ball down sharply over the low looping net. Jay Gould called his floor shots "invincible." Soutar, running around, breathing hard, scored his points to the dedans and grille, made his best fight in the seventh game, then lost three games in succession, the match, and the title.

American professionals had thought it was ridiculous for Etchebaster, with his limited experience, to play the great Soutar. When they saw him practice they admitted that his shoulder stroke was the prettiest they had seen since Mr. Gould was at his best. After the match Soutar went to the dressing room and poked Etchebaster in the ribs. Mr. Joseph Widener went to the dressing room and gave him a two thousand dollar side-bet. Etchebaster (pronounced--bastaire) retained his calm.

Court tennis is one of the most complicated games in the world. It has changed very little since two kings imprisoned in a palace courtyard invented it and other kings in other courtyards played it in hose and doublet. In the gallery of the Racquet and Tennis Club of New York is a king's throne copied from one the Bourbons used to sit on to watch their sons and relatives.

Court tennis is still played with a lopsided racquet, a low net, a court with a sloping roof. Each point is played twice. The spot where a player loses a point is marked and then the other player tries to beat this mark. On the net line sit individuals chanting in a monotonous voice. "Four--better than three--worse than three. . . ." The ball, harder and almost as heavy as a baseball, makes bulletlike noises as it hits the walls. Extra racquets are piled at the side of the court. Breaking one, a player grabs another, finishes the point. Sometimes in a hard game a champion breaks five or six racquets in succession. They cost fourteen dollars apiece. Court tennis players hold their racquets toward the middle, near where the rivet would be on a tennis racquet. Jay Gould was famous for his "Railroad service" which climbs along the penthouse, dropping almost dead. Etchebaster has a service like Gould's.