To modern players and fans, Big Bill Tilden may be a vague figure lost in tennis history.
But in his own day, his fame exceeded Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones, and Jack Dempsey. No tennis player has
every dominated his era the way Tilden did, both in the major championships and in Davis Cup play.
Despite the limited world travel schedule common to all players of his era, Tilden still won
10 Grand Slam titles. His career also included an unbelievable 7 year winning streak in which
he did not lose a single high level competitive match. His classic book, Match Play and the
Spin of the Ball, remains one of the most penetrating and entertaining works ever written on
the game. These articles, excerpted exclusively on Tennisplayer, give players everywhere the
chance to experience his intelligence, wit, and brutally honest insights about how to win
tennis matches–in any era.
William T. Tilden II
Never hit a shot without conscious spin. It is the love of study of tennis that has led me to the point where I never hit a shot without a conscious twist or spin, or the deliberate attempt to use...
William A. Larned, the original baseliner. Modern tennis is the equilibrium of the pendulum after two long swings. It is the sound, sane, sensible combination of the best tennis of all periods. What is this all-court game? What does it...
Big Bill with his protege and future doubles partner Sandy Weiner. Accidents sometimes prove a blessing in disguise. One could hardly recommend the loss of a finger as a definite asset to a tennis player. Yet, strange as it sounds,...
An attacking backhand drive developed late in his career, through intensive practice. One becomes very weary of the cliches of one's youth that have been driven down one's throat. Take the old standby, "Practice makes perfect." Nothing, not even practice,...
Against a tennis player take the offense at the first moment. Unfortunately for defending title holders and aspiring champions, every man you play is not Old Jo Gettem or Young Pete Swattem, those examples of typical opponents we have previously...
The right shot at the right time has swung many a match. A chain is as strong as its weakest link--and no stronger. In these days of modern tennis a player is as strong as his weakest stroke. The old...
William Tatum Tilden II, the original tennis bug. There is no sensation in the sporting world so thoroughly enjoyable to me as that when I meet a tennis ball just right in the very middle of my racquet and smack...