And now for a few remarks on dress.  There has been a great improvement during the last few years in the costumes worn by those who take part in tournaments held all over the country.  First-class players know from experience how to dress to be most comfortable and least hampered by their clothing.  But the less experienced are wont to appear in a “garden-party” trailing skirt, trimmed hat and dressy blouse—­a most unbusiness-like costume for the game.  It is essential to remember that you want, above everything else, free use of all your limbs; physical action must not be impeded in any way by your clothing.  An overhead ball which may require your arm to be extended as far as it will go, a low volley at the net where you must bend down, a run across the court or up to the net—­all these strokes you must be able to perform with freedom and facility.

[Illustration:  ON TOUR:  THE LATE MISS C. MEYER, MISS PINCKNEY AND MISS E.W.  THOMPSON (MRS. LARCOMBE)]

I advise a plain gored skirt—­not pleated; I think these most unsuitable on court—­about four or five inches from the ground.  It should just clear your ankles and have plenty of fullness round the hem.  Always be careful that the hem is quite level all round; nothing is more untidy than a skirt that dips down at the back or sides—­dropping at the back is a little trick a cotton skirt cultivates when it comes home from the laundry.  A plain shirt without “frills or furbelows”—­if any trimming at all, tucks are the neatest—­a collar, tie, and waistband, go to make an outfit as comfortable and suitable as you could possibly desire.

The material that this plain shirt and skirt is made of does not so much matter, and must be according to the taste of the wearer.  Serge, flannel, and cotton are the most popular, and the last predominates.  White is undoubtedly the best colour to wear.  It washes well and does not fade, and looks very much neater on the court than a coloured material.  I prefer white shoes and stockings, for I think it looks nicer to be in one uniform colour.  But this is a matter of taste.  Some people urge that white shoes make your feet appear much bigger than black or brown.  I do not agree.  If you are wearing a white skirt, the black or brown shoe must show up more distinctly against it than a shoe of the same colour.

I have also heard it decided that when girls are compelled to play in the rain or on dreadfully muddy courts, as unfortunately they often are, it is better for them to don a dark skirt of thicker material.  This seems to me a great mistake.  A white skirt will wash well, and it does not matter how dirty it gets; so long as you do not have it trailing in the mud it cannot come to much harm.  It looks as neat as anything can look that is surrounded by rain and mud.  A dark stuff skirt, on the other hand, which many players use in wet weather, does not wash, and is absolutely ruined after a soaking.  Moreover, it is twice as heavy to drag about the court.