America's Don Budge and the First Grand Slam in Tennis
Explore Don Budge's journey to being the first person to achieve the true Grand Slam in tennis.
“But I always had it in the back of my mind to try to do something that no one else had ever done. So I thought it would be marvelous if I could be the first person to win the four major championships.” - Don Budge
Top American champion
In 1938, Don Budge, admired for his backhand and gentlemanly demeanor, was at the top of his game. His 1937 season included titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships and leading the United States to the Davis Cup title for the first time since 1926.
Don BudgeInternational Tennis Hall of Fame
Budge had his eyes on something bigger
1938 saw Budge focus on a challenge that had yet to be achieved. Traveling by boat, it took 23 days to reach Australia, and when he arrived, he had laryngitis. Despite only being able to converse by pencil and notebook, Budge dominated, not dropping a set on his way to victory.
The Australian Championships
First-seeded Don Budge defeated fourth-seeded John Bromwich 6–4, 6–2, 6–1 in the final to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1938 Australian Championships.
Next stop on this quest was Paris.
The French Championships
At the French Championships, Budge survived a fourth round scare against Yugoslavian Franjo Kukuljević (who took him to five sets) to make it to the finals. To win the title, Don Budge defeated Czechoslovakia’s Roderich Menzel 6–3, 6–2, 6–4.
Wimbledon
In a match that did not last an hour Don Budge defeated United Kingdom’s Bunny Austin, 6–1, 6–0, 6–3 to win the singles final. He also achieved the Triple Crown by winning all three events that he was eligible for, the men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles titles.
The U.S. National Championships
When he arrived at Forest Hills, Budge tried to do what Jack Crawford did not in 1933, win the U.S. Championships to complete the Grand Slam. Budge did not drop a set until the finals when he faced his doubles partner Gene Mako winning the title in 6–3, 6–8, 6–2, 6–1.
One of only a handful to achieve the dream
With this win, he officially became the first player in tennis history to complete the Grand Slam by winning all four major tournaments in one calendar year. Completing the Grand Slam has become the pinnacle of success that every other elite tennis player aspires to achieve.
1938 Don Budge Davis CupInternational Tennis Hall of Fame
Davis Cup
In addition to winning the Grand Slam, he also helped the United States defend the Davis Cup by defeating Australia in the Challenge Round at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia.
"Nobody Came Close"
As his doubles partner Gene Mako said, “I saw all his matches and nobody came close—including me in the last one at Forest Hills, although I won one of the four sets he lost.”
For more on Don Budge's 1938 Grand Slam year, check out Etched in History, a digital exhibit featuring several trophies from the collection of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which highlights several of Don Budge's Grand Slam trophies at trophies.tennisfame.com.
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