When I played tennis in 60s and 70s, I read every biography of the greats. Tilden's were fascinating. He ate steak before a game, so he started slow and came on as the match progressed. Although this is about club level now, at the time they were Gladiators.

I wish I could see some footage of this old beast. He holds many records.

Tilden's chapter "Courage" in Match Play and Spin of the Ball was a great mainstay to me and one of the great tennis chapter's ever written. Watching the videos available of him and it is amazing to see what is considered modern tennis. You see open stance backhands and forehands. You see transfer foot work and mogul footwork patterns as well as full shoulder rotation. There is no doubt of his genius. His concept of the all court player is the fore runner of the modern game.

Yes, the equipment is very important and a part of the improvement of the sport indeed. If the players of today would have to use equipment of Bill Tilden's prime, it definitely would take away a lot of the speed and accuracy, which is possible with modern equipment. Of course not only the equipment has improved, but also the „movement as such“ and the variety of shots. Would be interesting to see a top player in a game with a wooden racket, but I only found a few amateurs using them.

Hi Lincoln, Fair enough and I don't think your comments are disrespectful at all. However, I do wonder how well the players of today would hold up if they were to wear shoes, hit with wooden rackets without any grips, string their rackets with cat gut, wear sweaters and long pants. They would also have to keep their feet on the group when serving & not be able to sit down between games. Oh yes, no tiebreakers either. You've raised a good point. It's all very interesting. Thanks for writing

He would be destroyed by every current player. No doubt. That is a fact. I don't say that because I disrespect him. Nearly every sport improves with time. This video or other older Tennis videos are historically very interesting, but you can clearly can see the difference.

this footage video is actually well edited with much slow motion which is way better than those new tutorials I found in youtube nowadays!

Wow. Some things haven't changed but a lot has changed. The swing has changed along with the grip. Today, we see more of the same grip for a forehand and backhand grip.

Thanks Billy! I'm glad that you enjoyed the video. I've roughly translated your message to say "its rare to see such a good-engaging video" Best Wishes, Tom

Thank you for your comments. I sincerely apologize for the delay in approving your posting. Best Wishes!

the greatest !

Bill Tilden was one of the best in the business, maybe the best tennis player who ever lived. It's been said he could serve a ball at 150+ mph. I have doubts about that since serving a ball that fast and powerful with a wooden racket (all rackets in Tilden's era were made of wood) is very difficult.

this vid actually helped my kick serve. no joke. it's a really straight forward explanation. Thanks Bill.

Thanks a lot for your fantastic video how it was back then That really shows that it is a different world.

I can swear on my childrens head that with that technique its impossible to hit even 100 mph!

He is referring to the Tsonga smash when he says some players don t keep one foot on the ground. Should nt he also leave his left arm up longer when serving for more control and impact?

@aardvaark069 You are correct.Tilden was indeed a chain smoker.

I just found an article where the "kid" shared his memories of Bill Tilden. Art Anderson was a very talented young player and progressed further as an adult tennis player. I find it most frustrating that I might have had the chance to speak with him, had I only discovered his identity sooner. I'm having trouble posting that link but I have it up on the Indoor Tennis Court FaceBook Page. Sorry for the re-direction but at the moment it is the only way I can get you to the link.

I just found an article where the "kid" shared his memories of Bill Tilden. Art Anderson was a very talented young player and progressed further as an adult tennis player. I find it most frustrating that I might have had the chance to speak with him, had I only discovered his identity sooner. I'm having trouble posting that link but I have it up on the Indoor Tennis Court FaceBook Page. Sorry for the re-direction but at the moment it is the only way I can post the link.

Amazing footage! Thank you so much for posting this! I was six when I was given the exact same instruction. Now, I coach juniors and am constantly amazed by how much the game has changed, especially the use of the Western grip! Nevertheless, I caught myself saying,"keep your eye on the ball at all times" just yesterday. That's timeless!

@telekingkong Thank you for sharing your thoughts andopinions. Just so that everyone knows, I review all comments before approving them. Opinions are always welcomed but comments that are disrespectful will not be posted. Thank you again!

This is amazing FPS for '48. Incredible. Thanks for posting.

The kid in this film is a young man by the name of Arthur Anderson. Mr. Anderson was a tennis instructor in CA. Sadly Mr. Anderson passed away in the Summer of 2011.

Was there slow mo back in 1948?

this is almost comical now

@tom47usa he was a smoker. They finally made it a rule that smoking on court wasn't allowed because of bastian Brashh. A chain smoking german who played during the 90's

Hello, The date on the film's container stated 1948. I hope that helps to answer your question. Thank you for viewing. @angelodellabrughiera

That kid has some sweet strokes, especially for that time. nice FH and kick serve.

That's a very good question. I have no idea who the kid is but I hope that someday we will find out. All I know is that this was filmed in CA. Thanks for your question.

who is the kid? did he also become a star?:D

That's a good question. Back then many were unaware of the dangers of smoking. Strange how people didn't know this, seems rather obvious when you think about it. I'm not sure if Tilden was a smoker, I'll have to look that one up. Regardless, you can clearly find him and many famous people in such ads from years ago.

All that and a chain-smoker too

I thought Tilden was a lefty.

Hi, Thank you for your posting and information. I will have to be sure to pick up a copy. It sounds very interesting. @PigeonFeathers

I'm happy to know that you finally had a chance to view these films. Thank you for your positive thoughts. @tom47usa

I heard about these instructional videos a while back and was hoping someone would post them some day. Thanks so much!

@lobextomy Bill Tilden's serve was once clocked at 163 miles an hour. You can read about it in the book, A Terrible Splendor.

Hi Everyone, just an update here to let you know that the date listed on the film's container indicates 1948. Thank you!

I've added the second film that I have of Bill Tilden. It also runs for 10 minutes. It is titled "Bill Tilden's Advanced Tennis." I hope you enjoy it.

tom47usa: Took tennis from Jan Kozeluh, Karel's brother, in 1950s ("Teeldin best!!!!"). In "Lolita," "Ned Litam" should be spelled backwards. Lo takes lessons from grizzled veteran, Ned. Nabokov also calls Tilden's game "the divine delicacy of absolute power." I've sen them all play in person except Tilden, Vines, the Muskateers (though Toto belongs in Oz). Tilden's game sublime to see, like Ali, Sugar Ray R, Willie Mays, Dimag.

Took tennis lessons in 50s from Jan Kozeluh, Karel's brother. ("Teeldin best!!!!) Have read DeFord, Riggs, others. Have seen them all play in person except Tilden, Vines, the Musketeers (tho I think Toto went to Oz). Probably know that "Ned Litam" in Nabokv's "Lolita" should be spelled backwards; Nabokov says Tilden's game "the divine delicacy of absolute power." Lolita takes lessons from Ned when he's a "grizzled veteran." Tilden's sublime style... great regret just missed seeing him play.

Thank you for your thoughts and information of Bill Tilden. I promise to do a bit of work today regarding another film that I have of "Big" Bill. In the meantime you might enjoy this Website: Indoor tennis court .com. (w/o spaces) The Indoor Court is where Bill Tilden spent the Winter of 1919-20 working on his backhand. You probably already know this but I'm not sure if you found my website. Stop by sometime if you are in the area, but let me know so that I can meet you.

An old-timer, I've been looking for videos of Tilden playing tennis for a long time. Thanks so much for uploading this one. He may well have been the best of the wooden-racket era. Around the time of your video, he'd recently beaten twenty-something Ted Schroeder, US Nat'l Champ, in a match for military servicemen. Score: 6-2, 6-3. Tilden was about 49 years old. He was legendary for such matches in his very late playing years.

@johndcullum Glad you enjoyed it! I'm working on another Tilden film that is very similar in format. I hope to have it uploaded to this site in the near future. Thank you for your taking the time to post your kind comments.

Thank you for posting this. The sight of that amazing Tilden serve is priceless.

Hey Tooobah, The only idiots are the player's with bad behavior of which you you are not capable of. Try to keep your grip(s) correct and be sure to keep your eye on the ball and you'll be fine. Next time you are in town we should play a few games. Maybe we could play mixed doubles along with our spouses.