More or Less Tennis?

President Holcombe Ward of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association last week proposed night tennis for day workers. Said he: "We estimate that there are approximately 11,000 public courts in the country. We believe that most of these could be made available for night play. . . ."

To the 5,000,000 tennis players in the U.S., this sounded like a pipe dream. Given lights, what would they use for balls? Weeks ago, the Government's production bosses had cracked down on rubber for all sporting goods.

It takes 90 tons of rubber to make some 7,000,000* tennis balls, a thousand-odd tons to make some 34,000,000 golf balls.

This amount of rubber could furnish tires for at least 5,500 Army trucks (2 1/2-ton capacity).

But U.S. Physical Fitness Director John B. Kelly has called golf and tennis essential to keep the nation fit. And since the U.S. is still adding--for the time being anyway--to its 650,000-ton rubber stock pile, sporting-goods manufacturers hoped they might be allowed some rubber after all--provided they can stretch it.

Manufacturers of tennis balls have already experimented with a combination of crude and reclaimed rubber, produced a ball that approximates the standard specifications even in resiliency (a 53-to-58-inch bounce from a 100-inch drop on to concrete). Now, if the War Production Board will permit them to use the crude rubber they have on hand and grant them 30 additional tons, tennis can do its share in the national keep-fit program--even with the 3,000,000 additional tennis bugs U.S.L.T.A. hopes to attract with arc-light tennis this summer.

Meanwhile, U.S.L.T.A. officials suggest that keep-fit players use a ball to its last feeble bounce, that tournament players make three balls last for at least three sets.

*1939 Census figures.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.