Bill Tilden facts for kids
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| Full name | William Tatem Tilden Jr. |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Born | February 10, 1893 Philadelphia, PA, U.S. |
| Died | June 5, 1953 (aged 60) Los Angeles, CA, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (1.87 m) |
| Turned pro | 1931 (amateur tour from 1912) |
| Retired | 1946 |
| Plays | Right-handed (1-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1959 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 1425–372 (79.3%) |
| Career titles | 138 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (1920, A. Wallis Myers) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| French Open | F (1927, 1930) |
| Wimbledon | W (1920, 1921, 1930) |
| US Open | W (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929) |
| Other tournaments | |
| WHCC | W (1921) |
| Professional majors | |
| US Pro | W (1931, 1935) |
| Wembley Pro | F (1935, 1937) |
| French Pro | W (1933, 1934) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | W (1927) |
| US Open | W (1918, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1927) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| US Open | W (1913, 1914, 1922, 1923) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | W (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926) |
William Tatem Tilden II (born February 10, 1893 – died June 5, 1953), known as "Big Bill," was a famous American tennis player. Many people think he was one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Tilden was ranked the World No. 1 for six years, from 1920 to 1925. He won 15 major singles titles. These included ten Grand Slam events, one World Hard Court Championships, and four professional major tournaments. In 1920, he became the first American man to win Wimbledon. He also won a record seven U.S. Championships titles. He shares this record with Richard Sears and Bill Larned.
Bill Tilden was a dominant force in international tennis during the early 1920s. From 1912 to 1929, he played as an amateur and won 138 out of 192 tournaments. He holds many all-time tennis records. These include a career match winning record and a high winning percentage at the U.S. National Championships.
At the 1929 U.S. National Championships, Tilden was the first player to reach 10 finals at a single Grand Slam event. This record stood until 2017, when Roger Federer reached his eleventh Wimbledon final. Tilden sometimes had disagreements with the United States Lawn Tennis Association about rules for amateur players. He won his last major title at Wimbledon in 1930 when he was 37 years old. He became a professional player at the end of that year.
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Early Tennis Career
Bill Tilden went to Germantown Academy for prep school. He wasn't known for his tennis skills there. He also wasn't good enough to play on his college team at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1910, he started practicing his game against a backboard. He also became a very dedicated student of tennis.
The next year, he won his first tournaments. These were the junior singles and doubles titles of Germantown. He later studied at the Peirce School of Business. In just three years, he quickly improved his tennis ranking. His first national title was winning the mixed doubles championships with Mary Browne in 1913. They won the title again in 1914.
From 1914 to 1917, Tilden won the Philadelphia championship. Before 1920, he had won several Canadian doubles titles. However, at the U.S. National Championships, he lost the singles final in 1918 and 1919. He lost to Robert Lindley Murray and "Little Bill" Johnston.
Tilden won six U.S. singles championships in a row from 1920 to 1925. He won seven in total, sharing the record with Richard Sears and Bill Larned. In the winter of 1919–20, he moved to Rhode Island. There, on an indoor court, he worked hard to improve his backhand shot. This change helped him become the world's No. 1 tennis player. He was also the first American man to win the Wimbledon singles championship.
In the late 1920s, a group of great French players, known as the "Four Musketeers," became very strong. They took the Davis Cup away from Tilden and the United States. They also started to win the singles titles at Wimbledon and Forest Hills. Tilden won his last major championship at Wimbledon in 1930. He was 37 years old at the time.
Professional Tennis Career
On December 31, 1930, Bill Tilden became a professional tennis player. He needed money and joined the new professional tour, which had started in 1927. For the next 15 years, he traveled across the United States and Europe. He played matches with other professionals like Hans Nüsslein and Karel Koželuh. Tilden was still the main player people paid to see.
Even when he played against younger stars like Ellsworth Vines, Fred Perry, and Don Budge, Tilden was still a big draw. These opponents were all current or recent world No. 1 players. Tilden could still play very well against them, often winning a set or even a match.
Tilden believed he played his best tennis in 1934, when he was 41 years old. However, that year, Ellsworth Vines often beat him in professional matches. American Lawn Tennis reported that Vines won more matches than Tilden during their tours.
In 1945, when he was 52, Tilden and his long-time doubles partner Vinnie Richards won the professional doubles championship. They had won the United States amateur title 27 years earlier in 1918.
Davis Cup Coach
Tilden coached Germany's tennis team in the 1937 Davis Cup. In the final rounds, the U.S. team won. This was after a very famous match between Gottfried von Cramm and Don Budge. This match is often called "The Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played."
Later Life and Legacy
Bill Tilden was born into a wealthy family and earned a lot of money during his career. He spent it freely. He died in his apartment in Los Angeles, California. He was getting ready to go to a tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1953. He died from heart problems at age 60. Tilden is buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Tilden was honored for his amazing career. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1959.
Images for kids
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Tilden (left) with James Anderson at the 1922 International Lawn Tennis Challenge
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See also
In Spanish: Bill Tilden para niños
