In May 1941, their daughter Deirdre married famed tennis pro Don Budge.
Don Quixote | Don Giovanni | Don Cherry | Don | Don (honorific) | Don Cheadle | Rostov-on-Don | Don Williams | Don Juan | Don Knotts | Don Imus | Don Carlos | Don Rickles | Don Omar | Don Henley | Salesians of Don Bosco | Don Johnson | Don Drysdale | Don Pasquale | Don Messick | Don Bluth | Don King (boxing promoter) | Don King | Don Shula | Don LaFontaine | Don Cherry (jazz) | Don Burrows | Don't Look Now | Don Siegel | Don McLean |
Don Budge defeated Gene Mako 6–3, 6–8, 6–2, 6–1 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 1938 U.S. National Championships to become the first player in history to complete the Grand Slam.
In December 1941 - April 1942 the Pro tour consisted of round-robin matches between Don Budge, Bobby Riggs, Fred Perry, and Kovacs (with Gene Mako, Lester Stoefen and even Bill Tilden, for one match, as replacements).
Many notable athletes played cameo roles or play themselves in the film, including golfers Babe Zaharias, Betty Hicks, and Helen Dettweiler, and tennis champions Don Budge, Gussie Moran and Alice Marble.
He told Sports Illustrated in a 1976 interview that he once hitch hiked to Detroit to watch Don Budge play Bobby Riggs because he wanted to learn how Budge hit his backhand.