Tennis: Essence of tennis pure and simple

John Roberts samples County Week, where 800 competitors play for fun

It was on a glorious day such as yesterday here at Eastbourne that the 15-year-old Fred Perry became smitten with tennis. Taking a stroll while on a family holiday in 1924, young Fred wandered into Devonshire Park and savoured the scene of "people running around in smart white togs". He also noticed rows of expensive cars.

After a scolding for being late back for lunch, Perry asked his father if the cars belonged to the people watching or the people playing. Most of them, he was informed, belonged to the people playing. "Perry Junior formed a most promising impression of the game," Fred recounted in his autobiography, adding that his father invested five shillings in an old racket to facilitate the transition from table tennis.

Those cars Perry admired were acquired by acumen or legacy rather than skills on the court, although many a business career evolved from a doubles partnership.

Having won all four Grand Slam singles titles, including three consecutive Wimbledon championships, Perry turned professional and left for America to seek his fortune. Happily, the essence of what he experienced 73 years ago - tennis, pure and simple - remains and, weather permitting, can be sampled annually during County Week.

"Pride, character and guts all play a part in this event," said Sir Geoffrey Cass, the president of the Lawn Tennis Association, his tone redolent of his other role, chairman of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Note the deliberate omission of the word money. Cash rewards play no part in County Week, which involves the participation of 800 players competing in seven divisions, at Eastbourne and 12 other venues around the country. They are, as the tennis chronicler Lance Tingay once phrased it, "happy to pay for the pleasure of playing themselves into the ground".

The men's and women's teams contest three rubbers each day without umpires or line judges, ballboys or ballgirls. There is not a chair to be seen during the changeovers, and any player who requires to towel down between points has to fetch it for himself. Oh, yes, and admission is free. With 19 courts in use, it must be the best value in British sport.

One half expects the day to commence with wooden weapons being removed from racket presses. Once play begins, however, the ball is struck with all the vigour associated with the modern power game, alleviated by the net skills and rallying expertise demanded of doubles.

"This event is about stamina and team spirit," emphasised Jane FitzGibbon, the tournament director. "People ring up and ask for someone, and I tell them they're playing a match. So they ask when they will be finished playing. And I tell them, `On all day'.''

The youthfulness of many of the competitors belies the image of ageing social doubles players blocking the progress of promising youngsters. "There are fewer of the older working guys," said Cliff Bloxham, Surrey's non-playing captain. "There are more students in the teams nowadays. This is partly because you need to take a week's holiday, but also because the county's are picking their best young players.''

Bloxham, a representative of the sports management company Advantage International, does not underestimate the value of County Week. "It's a freak event, jointly funded by the LTA and the County Associations, who have different priorities," he said. "The LTA are trying to produce players good enough for Wimbledon and the other major championships. The counties are trying to produce County Cup players. That's their incentive, and if the players turn out to be better than that, all well and good.''

We all need to be reminded from time to time that there is more to sport than meets the entrepreneur's eye. The LTA, however, having been accused for decades of failing to keep pace with the modern professional game, might find it ironic to be nudged about its obligation to the sport as a recreation.

President Cass is well aware of County Week's status as "one of the cornerstones of British tennis". After all, his own County Cup career spanned 31 years.

Incidentally, when your correspondent met with Bloxham, the man was soaked, though not with perspiration. Water had been poured over him by one of the Surrey team as he was being interviewed by Meridian Television.

High spirits have always been part of County Week, although work commitments nowadays necessitate journeys home as soon as possible. This often precludes the tradition of the victorious men's team marching to the lawn opposite the Grand Hotel and crowning the Duke of Devonshire's statue with a chamber pot.