Thoughts about Tennis Tradition...

[don_budge]

Great Thread...stroke!

Forgive me if I get a bit carried away. Wooden racquets are a passion of mine. It's strange how a person wants to plant a flag in a certain spot. Napoleon at Waterloo. Remember the Alamo. I'm like some modern day version of Don Quixote...waving a wooden racquet at the behemoth of history. A voice in the wilderness. As if I am a warning to others. You've been not only patient. I think the "bottle analogy" misses its mark but if you feel good about that...it is yours. Own it.

But anyways...thanks for the thread stroke. I went back and liked every comment by you for the past couple of weeks. I liked those of your PIC buddies too. Hatred is not one of my faults. I could never muster that kind of passion. It's true, I get annoyed too easily. Even with tennis there is some weird sort of a love/hate thing going. I don't expect anyone to understand. I don't even care if anyone dislikes me for it. It is what it is. A part of my imperfect condition. Part of my own personal dysfunction. I own it. Although...I have made a pretty much air tight case for the game of tennis. Although...nobody wants to admit it. The implications are too much to bear. What if similar aspects of our existence are just as fragile in terms of truth. In terms of ethics and justice. How weak we must be in our belief systems. What is left? Jesus is left. There is Him. On this, I have learned to rely. Clarity in a sea of madness.

It's only my dream, stroke. You've been patient. Much more than that. Patience is a virtue, you know. There is so little virtue in the world. True virtue. You have to be true to yourself. It's best to be sure of what you are being true to. A tough ask these days. The line of demarcation between reality and virtual reality becoming more and more blurred. Morality and virtual morality is my focus. Discerning from what is real and what is fake is almost down to an act of God. Well...make of it what you will. I have retreated to my thread called..."Thoughts about Tennis Tradition." It is a spot in my mind like perhaps bottle thought of his "A New Years Serve". I don't expect anyone else to truly understand. I certainly don't expect anyone to agree with me. Last of all...I know that nobody would actually like me. I don't care. Be that as it may...it is Christmas. All over the world people are bowing down in faith. A special day in history for all of us sinners.

I appreciate your words here DB. I have always said you are a great writer, and I have enjoyed reading a lot of your posts on tennis(and other thoughts). I certainly cannot write like that. I think we do have a lot in common about our thoughts on tennis. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family!!!☃️❄️❤️❄️☃️

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BezrrCjoe/

Such is life...and death. Dad invented a game...he called it the two word game. He would ask...what are the two most important words in language? My answer...life and death. I said I won. He said there were no winners. In the end...he was right.

A week ago Jon Fausett aka stroke passed away. We'd gone back and forth through the years on the forum. He would just love it when 10splayer would mop the floor with me. He and bottle had a thing. There used to be so many of us on the forum.

Jon and I had this exchange above. He said that he was losing patience with me. I can't say I blame him and I told him as much. He took it all in the right way. He was a man about it. Thank God that I immediately reacted to his comments. We settled the score right quick. As usual. He was the right kind of guy. I told his wife he was a good man. She said he was getting even better. I believe her. I'm so glad we had this exchange and wished each other Merry Christmas. He sent me a picture of Vilas and Borg. No words. Such was his way. When Pam told me he had passed...it took a little time to hit and it hit me in the gut. I've been quite a few times in the past year. John's passing started it. Now Jon.

Life and death. Make good on every day. Mean what you say and say what you mean. In this way we are true to each other. My friend Jon. Our friendship must have meant something, judging from the tears on my cheeks. He was a good man. He was getting better.

[don_budge]

It's been four weeks now since Jon Faucett passed away. We miss him. We miss John Yandell who passed away about a year ago. Rest in Peace...Brothers. Brothers in Tennis. We miss you both.

The earth spins and travels in orbit around the sun. Each orbit spells out a year. Leaving the past behind. Let's take a moment and give a nod to the past. Tradition. Ways gone by. In 1968, the sport of tennis took a big right turn off course and opened the Grand Slam tournaments to professionals. Were they called Grand Slam tournaments then? Or was it just Majors? In 1968, The Who, a great British rock band came up with the song "Substitute". Listen to the lyrics. Any carry overs? Your life? Life in general? Tennis substituted. In 1968...then and now. "Substitute"...AWESOME song. Music is no longer evolving...as it too, is engineering. "Substitue your lies for facts...the simple things you see are all really complicated".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eswQl-hcvU0&list=RDeswQl-hcvU0&index=1

[don_budge]

The American Flag...

Russian tennis players have been playing professional tennis for the last couple of years without having their flag representing them. As if they do not represent their country. Because...supposedly Russia invaded Ukraine without any provocation. If all things were consistent and unbiased, wouldn't it stand for reason that American players will no longer be allowed to represent their country or have the American flag associated with their name. Is there any kind of precedent for this unique situation?

[don_budge]

Well Don...I thought nobody would ever ask. Let's see where this leads us.

You are a little late there, Don. Where were you when the Prince was making her debut? I remember going to war with every player that used it against me in tournaments. I was on my way up. The racquets derailed me. I was livid. I thought they were cheating...not only me but the game herself. And she was my great love. I loved her with all my heart and soul. I wanted to kill them. All of them. In defense of her Tradition. There were too many. There was only me...but it made no difference, I didn't care. I stood up. To the machine!

Tradition? Forget about it. You are too late to be concerned with such trivia. In fact if you speak of such things you will have people calling you a "prisoner of your generation" and looking at you cross eyed. I hear the snickering. To which I say...phooey.

One of my last memories in competitive tennis was going three sets with three opponents with Princess racquets in one day, me and my Kramers...lost the third. I tried to scrape myself off the bed the next day. I lost toenails. I went down fighting. I realized a long time ago...the gig was up. Nobody cared. Not like I do...to this very day. They still don't. That was the day the music died. That was the day that Don Quixote died...again.

15,000 views on a thread that I started with this post some fifteen years ago. My questions have only gotten deeper regarding tradition versus the modern. We see it in society. We have seen it in our beloved game of tennis. Is it a good thing? I maintain that it is the end of reality. Technology has replaced the real world and the one we live in is becoming if it isn't already a simulation.

A note of curiosity...someone has added approximately 500 views to this thread recently. I am curious as to who it is and what do you think of the thread. At any thanks...thank you for taking the time to read what I took the time to write. Every single viewer. I am closing in on 7,000 total posts on tennisplayer.net which makes me a Hall of Famer here on the website. Self-proclaimed without any self endorsement. I just had the idea to write about my experience of tennis. Rooted in classic tennis as it was taught to me by my dear old tennis coach...Sherm Collins. Also a couple of summers at the Don Budge Tennis Camp back in 1972 and 1973 cemented my deep love for the game and its traditions.

So...here is a wonderful video of a wonderful tennis match between the two favorite tennis players of mine when I was growing up in the game. I hope that you enjoy it and love it just as much as I do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2W8Fs49_Yk&t=121s

[joeldrucker]

That's a great clip. Two superb stylists. Intriguing also to see the late stage Nastase and the teenaged McEnroe. To think that a year later they'd have quite the match at the US Open, highly flavored by Nastase's antics.

[don_budge]

Well Don...I thought nobody would ever ask. Let's see where this leads us.

You are a little late there, Don. Where were you when the Prince was making her debut? I remember going to war with every player that used it against me in tournaments. I was on my way up. The racquets derailed me. I was livid. I thought they were cheating...not only me but the game herself. And she was my great love. I loved her with all my heart and soul. I wanted to kill them. All of them. In defense of her Tradition. There were too many. There was only me...but it made no difference, I didn't care. I stood up. To the machine!

Tradition? Forget about it. You are too late to be concerned with such trivia. In fact if you speak of such things you will have people calling you a "prisoner of your generation" and looking at you cross eyed. I hear the snickering. To which I say...phooey.

One of my last memories in competitive tennis was going three sets with three opponents with Princess racquets in one day, me and my Kramers...lost the third. I tried to scrape myself off the bed the next day. I lost toenails. I went down fighting. I realized a long time ago...the gig was up. Nobody cared. Not like I do...to this very day. They still don't. That was the day the music died. That was the day that Don Quixote died...again.

I wrote the above on May 20, 2011 as my opening post on this thread..."Thoughts about Tennis Tradition". Little did I know that fifteen years later I would still be writing additional posts to this thread. Somehow I have the idea that the question of ethics and thoughts about the traditional aspects of tennis are intertwined. Although, many would argue that it is sacrilegious to question the traditional versus the modern. Fifteen years ago...I was ahead of the curve. Actually forty years ago I was ahead of the curve.

Now take golf for instance. The sport of golf has undergone a transformation as well. I would say that tradition in golf is perhaps a bit deeper ingrained into the sport than tradition in tennis. There is perhaps no place more representative to the traditions of golf than August Golf Club. The home of "The Masters".

https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/2026-masters-augusta-national-chairman-fred-ridley-golf-ball-rollback?utm_campaign=2025-GP_Social_GolfPass_Social_ENG_FBEditorial2025&utm_source=Social&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawREbUBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA0ZkZrWnpzM0k2amdoM2doc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHs8lLV3piQWI9rFlRiZEmNwiRGrmdwEo_Kkd83iTHlTQ4eyTFmSuoHTdmduT_aem_YhNenQl6R7THuhLjB8nNSg

"Until recent years golf has been a game of imagination, creativity and variety. The game has become much more one-dimensional," Ridley said. "As players drive the ball prodigious distances and routinely hit short irons into par-4s and even some par-5s, this issue goes beyond competitive impacts. "

"This issue goes beyond competitive impacts". It certainly does. It crosses the border of ethics. The game of golf has recognized that it has crossed these boundaries. They talk about the integrity of the game. The gentlemen at Augusta Golf Club are a bunch of old-fashioned white guys. A bunch of traditionalists. Hmmm...they represent a conservative element. Where is that conservative element in tennis. It doesn't and hasn't existed for quite some time. I would say that right about the time that Ilie Nastase and John McEnroe were facing off on the clay courts at the traditional Forest Hills tennis club that things were already in the works. 1978 or so. There was some banter in the commentary by the late Howard Cosell regarding Nastase being suspended from playing in some sanctioned tournaments yet he was playing in the event against McEnroe. Tennis was beginning to fray at the seams. It was becoming unraveled.

Golf looks to be taking a stand and turning back the specs on the golf ball. Fascinating stuff if you ask me. In the world of golf there is really nothing to compare The Masters event to. It's great to see that someone is paying attention and standing up for the ethics of the game. Tennis should pay attention. Before it is too late. It probably is...too late. What a pity.

[don_budge]

Thoughts about Tennis Tradition...and how it relates to life by connecting the dots and other thoughts.

Well, there you have it. The 2026 French Open has come and gone. Singularly the most boring display ever in its entirety for a "Grand Slam" tennis tournament. The two "saviours" of the game disappeared from the final for the first time in how many tournaments and what was left? Yesterday's leftovers. Zverev and who. Good luck with that. The game is guarenteed another final missing at least one of these two...Alcarez out indefinitely. For years I harped on the game going down the tube when Roger Federer retired. Roger, being the last link to the traditional game. Complete with the attitude about rejecting a bigger racquet that would have greatly improved his numbers against his rivals. A decision that cost him and one has to ask the question why? Was it a question of ethics? Doubtful. Perhaps something subliminal. A yearning for the traditional game. Pete Sampras always lamented not playing in the wooden racquet era. Roger may have had similar thoughts. Traditional thoughts. It's a dangerous game. To talk of tradition these days. At risk of any number of allegations. Some are sprinkled throughout this thread. Me...a blast from the past. Serving as a warning to others. The messenger.

Update on my golf experiments. I have a golf studio set up in my stable since we no longer have horses on the property. We have a couple of mares for breeding at the trainers down in the south of Sweden. A curious note regarding the breeding. Last year we sold a six month old filly for one hundred and fifty thousand euros. A lottery pick. This stuff doesn't happen. A complete shocker. We split the earnings with the trainer. We own the mare together. I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination. For years we made it hand to mouth. A layer of security going down the stretch. It's the wife's thing. She is delirious with happiness with the horses. More or less lukewarm about me. Married for twenty-one years now. Married twice now...divorced seventeen or eighteen times. Go figure. But anyways...the golf studio.

I bought a net and most recently an excellent mat to hit off of. I injured my shoulder hitting off the previous mat. A much too thin version that did nothing to alleviate the shock of the underlying cement. The new one is a luxury at the cost of three hundred dollars or so. That included one hundred dollars for shipping out here in the middle of nowhere. The net and mat the best investment I have ever made. At least with regard to my golf endeavour. Which greatly contributes to my mental health and physical well-being. Do what you have to do to keep your head in the game. So here's the deal. At seventy-two I would be road kill if I attempted to be competitive in tennis. Surely I would hurt myself trying to hurl myself around the court trying to play the modern game of shock and awe. It used to be that seniors could maintain a level of respectability by being clever. Being wise. No longer. Seniors are road kill.

What is the best way to learn something as complicated and simple at the same time as a golf swing? Even a tennis serve? Recently I caught a rear view of a Tommy Fleetwood golf swing and something resonated with me. White light and a swoosh simultaneously inspiring an idea. Everything starts with an idea. Like when I bought the net and mat. That was an idea. The image of Fleetwood's swing enabled me to understand something that had been elusive to me. A piece of the puzzle. Tilden and Hogan were like versions of Sherlock Holmes as they used detective like skills to narrow it down in their approach to their respective sports. In addition to the mat and net I have a little device of a lauch monitor. It is called a PBGR. It's accuracy is comparable to very expensive devices. For each swing I get instant feedback on swing speed, ball speed, smash factor and distance. Perhaps a similar process for serve practice. Against the wall.

Progress in tennis and golf is not always uphill. There are periods where there is improvement with work and practice. These trends are inevitably followed by plateaus where you must work through the flat lining to achieve further postitive results. By having this "practice facility" on the premises it enables me to go out and test out any idea or feeling I might have immediately. I can go out there as many times as I like. Generally I must average three a day. Shorter practice sessions. More of them. Sometimes I go out and just work up the swing to full speed for several clubs and call it a session. Other times I go out and grind. Knock myself out. A lot depends on the energy level. You have to know your limits. My Dad and I used to have this conversation a lot. Knowing your limits. Get older...get wiser.

After viewing Tommy Fleetwood's swing from behind my performance spiked and these were the results:

Club Distance Swing Speed. Ball Speed Smash Factor

8 iron 151 yards 76 mph 107 mph 1.40
7 iron 165 yards 78 mph 113 mph 1.45
6 iron 178 yards 81 mph 117 mph 1.45
5 iron 192 yards 82 mph 119 mph 1.44

These distance represent personal best. Generally speaking my stock distance will be around five yards less...on a good day. It can vary on the circumstances of course. Golf shots are situational...as are tennis shots. When I began this process when winter thawed and it was warm enough in the stable my stock yardage goals for an eight iron was 135, seven iron 150, six iron 160 and five iron 170. As my own personal performance analyst I have come to the conclusion, objectively speaking, I have exceeded expectations. Golf is a strange endeavour. Ask anyone who plays. I speak of the greed factor in performance. We are never satisfied. It is never enought. When I broke into the 150's with my eight iron I start to think of 160. When I broke into the 160's with my seven iron I began to think of 170. I'm halfway there. When I broke 170 with my six iron my sights were on 180. Almost there. Now I broke into the 190's with my five iron. Am I insane to dream of two hundred yards? You have to know your limits. At seventy-two years old...you cannot risk injury for superfluous goals. For ego. For vanity. At some point enough is enough.

What is the goal? The goal is this...to shoot my age. To get around the course in even par. My handicap is 4.2 now. I believe I can do it if given enough rounds on the course this summer. I can do it. With practice...belief is forged. Will is reinforced. With the grace of God. The Lord's will. Amen.

[don_budge]

Today's Results...upward tick. don_budge performance analyst self analysis with the mid and long irons.

"Tennis is golf on the run." ...don_budge. Working a new idea from a video image. Tommy Fleetwood in the down swing.

8 iron 151 yards 76 mph 107 mph 1.40
7 iron 165 yards 78 mph 113 mph 1.45
6 iron 178 yards 81 mph 117 mph 1.45
5 iron 192 yards 82 mph 119 mph 1.44

8 iron 153 yards 76 mph 108 mph 1.41
7 iron 165 yards 79 mph 113 mph 1.42 (3 times)
6 iron 181 yards 80 mph 119 mph 1.48
5 iron 196 yards 83 mph 121 mph 1.46

Baby steps. Improved performance in three irons in personal best. Tied the seven iron three times. Distance in golf is comparable to mph in tennis. It is one factor of power. What is power? Control is power...the three elements of control are speed, spin and placement. The same holds true in both endeavours. Today's improvement was unexpected. Six iron crossed the 180 red line for the first time. The five iron jumped over the halfway marker from 190 to 200. The image of the Tommy Fleetwood swing in transition has taken a firmer hold in my mind's eye. Much of this is a question of sustainability at the age of 72. How much room for improvement is there? How much more potential can be farmed out of a body that is well past its prime? This is all an experiment. Perhaps much like our old friend bottle's trip down the path of "The New Year's Serve". His documentation of his experiments in his tennis strokes. As age caught up with bottle he perhaps lost the energy, interest and motivation. There are limits. I will know when it is time to hang it up.