Remembering Don Budge's historic calendar Grand Slam in 1938
On September 24, 1938, Don Budge defeated Gene Mako in the US Nationals final to become the first player to win all four major singles titles in a calendar year. Budge also won the doubles and mixed doubles titles at that event. He turned professional later that year, ending his amateur Grand Slam career.
Budge, a Californian born in 1915, used his 6-foot-1 frame and powerful serve to reach tennis’s summit. He left Berkeley in 1933 for Davis Cup play and gradually adapted from hard courts to grass, winning Wimbledon in 1937 against Gottfried von Cramm.
In 1938 he took the Australian, French, and Wimbledon singles crowns, each final in straight sets. At the US Nationals he beat doubles partner Gene Mako 6-3, 6-8, 6-2, 6-1, adding doubles with Mako and mixed doubles with Alice Marble. He turned professional that year.
Budge’s achievement could have given tennis a lasting benchmark: the calendar Grand Slam. It may have inspired players and fans by showing a single-season sweep was possible, while media could use it to frame future contenders. His move to professionalism also hinted at tensions between amateur majors and paid play, possibly shaping how athletes’ careers and legacies were understood.