what does Don Budge's backhand grip look like?

[1171]

The story goes, when Sampras was a little teenager, his coach Fisher took him to visit Don Budge and model his backhand grip.

What exactly does Don Budges backhand grip look like?

[Jet Rink]

The story goes, when Sampras was a little teenager, his coach Fisher took him to visit Don Budge and model his backhand grip.

What exactly does Don Budges backhand grip look like?

I've not heard the Sampras tale, but golly, my initial guess (guess!) is that it would be a Continental.

Gnosis - weigh in here?!?

Cut to a scene of Gnosis feverishly ripping pages, throwing books, blowing off clients...;)

Jet

[1171]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Don_Budge_Time_Cover.jpg

[1171]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backhand

[Bagumbawalla]

Budge played in the 30's, possibly early 40's. Sampras would have had to have seen him play in the 70's, I would think-- this does not sound quite right???

[1171]

His thumb is extended on the handle.

His thumb pressing down or holding on with the side of the thumb (like the proper handshake grip of a table tennis grip)?

[Bagumbawalla]

After actually reading the article, I found that Budge played a sort of "Ledgends" match in 1968 (at Wimbledon) that Sampras could possibly have seen.

[jackcrawford]

The story goes, when Sampras was a little teenager, his coach Fisher took him to visit Don Budge and model his backhand grip.

What exactly does Don Budges backhand grip look like?
Budge lived until 2000, and you don't say Sampras saw him play in competition, so that would have presented no problem. Tennis Styles and Stylists by Paul Metzler is the standard reference on pre-open tennis and lists Budge as having a full eastern backhand, an extreme eastern verging on semi-western forehand, and a strong continental toward an eastern backhand grip on the serve.

[rhaber]

Sampras was born in 1971

[Bagumbawalla]

Well, there goes my theory.

Thanks, Rhaber.

[The Gorilla]

his coach got all the tapes of laver, not budge, he could and taught sampras to emulate him in every way.

[Tennisplayer92]

my coach told me to emulate his backhand. with the thumb running sideways along the handle to privide stability. its an interesting grip but what i noticed great about it is it helps GREATLY to tackle those high hackhand shots.

[rosewell4ever]

I read an article i got in the library in which the Don explains his backhand...He writes its a 1/8 turn counterclockwise from an eastern = continental...His backhand is modeled like a baseball batter...very simple:)

[FiveO]

Don Budge's bh grip was the old definition of pure eastern with the thumb placed flat and diagonally across panel 7.

This is scanned from the Game of Singles in Tennis, by William F. Talbert and Bruce S. Old (drawings by Ed Vebell and Kartharine D. Old), J.B. Lippincott, 1962:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1339/1027925955_eace418063.jpghttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1385/1027926085_2c043d873e.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/1027925759_4dd46996e8.jpghttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1149/1027926115_953f899e39.jpg

...and it does not remotely resemble the unique Lansdorp version of the bh grip Sampras eventually adopted for flat and topspin drives. Sampras also employed a continental for slice, chips, blocks, etc.

5

[FiveO]

Sampras used/uses a very conventional continental on slice, chips, blocks, volleys on the bh side:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1302/1029099544_442db803d9.jpg

...for flat and topspin his grip is very different, more of a hammer style with fingers bunched rather than spread and the thumb wrapped above the index finger. I used to believe that this was just Sampras's own unique interpretation of an eastern-ish to extreme eastern bh grip, until I saw Lansdorp demonstating bh's hitting with the identical, unique bh grip. Lansdorp's influence on the Sampras bh is unmistakeable...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1362/1029099552_16234b976c.jpghttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1040/1029099618_a5fa74c891.jpghttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1302/1029099640_17154297aa.jpg

[Tennisplayer92]

WOO thank you :D now my coach cannot yell at me for holding hammer :D

[FiveO]

^^^if trying to sell your argument, this guy's probably a better example:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1416/1029380880_a387675412.jpghttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1250/1029380822_4a9025bbd5.jpg

Kuerten's grip is more extreme than Sampras, and you'll still need a continental, "hammered" (fingers bunched) or not, for slice, et al.

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