CHANGE OF STATUS IS A RISK TO BUDGE

Southland Times, Issue 23610, 10 September 1938, Page 15

CHANGE OF STATUS IS A RISK TO BUDGE

If, as expected, Donald Budge turns tennis professional at the end of this season, he may regret it. America’s leading professional promoters are tired of his persistent winning. They declare that his ■ constant success has been too monotonous to excite the public. And Budge is unlikely, if he does turn, to collect the golden rewards of Ellsworth Vines and Fred Perry. “Budge was worth 75,000 dollars to me last year,” Frank Hunter, former world-ranking player, declared recently. “He was the lion of the hour and the hero of the Davis Cup victory. Today, I am not even interested. I doubt that I will approach him; and anybody offering him more than 50,000 dollars will be making a big mistake.” Huhter, with Howard Voshell, set Perry on the professional path. He ranks as one of the biggest promoters of professional tennis in the United States. If he spurns Budge, and if Jack Harris, present controller of Vines and Perry, also “gives the redhead a miss,” Budge may find his expected adventure considerably less glamorous than the harder-earned but just as attractive profits of amateur tennis.