Donald Budge: An American Tennis Legend
John Donald Budge, the legendary American tennis player, was and is still considered one of the best players to ever play the game. He became the first player ever to enjoy an incredible career that involved winning all four Grand Slam singles titles in 1938. He passed away on January 26, 2000.
Donald Budge was born on June 13, 1915. In the tennis scene he started to make a splash while in his early twenties. To win the Wimbledon’s men’s doubles, men’s singles, and mixed doubles all in the very same year, he became the first male tennis player. He also led the U.S. team to win the Davis Cup, later in 1937.
Budge was awarded for being the nation’s outstanding amateur athlete and then was later named Athlete of the Year in both 1937 and 1938 by members of the Associated Press and was given the honor of being given the James E. Sullivan award in 1937. Don had won 14 different tournaments as well as 92 matches in a row.
In the early forties, to join the Air Force and serve in WWII, Budge took a leave from Tennis. His tennis game would never quite be the same again but in 1954 he would still go on to beat some of the world’s best tennis players in their prime including Pancho Gonzales.
The topic has been largely debated by tennis pros around the world, as far as where Donald Budge sits in terms of all-time tennis greats. To play the game, he is considered by many to be the greatest player. Only Jack Kramer and Ellsworth Vines could be considered better than Budge in his prime.
It is very apparent that Donald Budge was the most dominant tennis player of his generation, no matter where he stands on the all-time greatest list and has secured his place in tennis history. In Newport Rhode Island, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1964 and his legacy will continue to live on.
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