John Donald ("Don" or "Donnie") Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis champion who was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional. He is most famous as the first man to win in a single year the four tournaments that comprise the Grand Slam of tennis. Budge was considered to have the best backhand in the history of tennis, at least until the emergence of Ken Rosewall in the 1950s a...
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John Donald ("Don" or "Donnie") Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis champion who was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional. He is most famous as the first man to win in a single year the four tournaments that comprise the Grand Slam of tennis. Budge was considered to have the best backhand in the history of tennis, at least until the emergence of Ken Rosewall in the 1950s and 1960s.
Born in Oakland, California, Budge was the son of a Scottish immigrant and former football player - his father had played several matches for the Rangers reserve team before emigrating to the United States. Growing up, he played a variety of sports before taking up tennis. He was tall and slim and his height would later help what is still considered one of the most powerful serves of all time. Budge studied at the University of California, Berkeley in late 1933 but left to play tennis with the U.S. Davis Cup auxiliary team....
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