Vic Braden
| Full name | Victor Kenneth Braden |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |
 United States
|
| Born |
August 2, 1929 Monroe, Michigan |
| Died | October 6, 2014 (aged 85) Trabuco Canyon, California |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Turned pro | 1952 |
| Retired | 1955 |
Victor Kenneth Braden, Jr. (August 2, 1929 – October 6, 2014) was an American tennis player, instructor and television broadcaster for the sport.
Braden was one of eight children born to Victor (1904-1973) and Mildred (née Mayes) Braden (1906-1968), both natives of Claiborne County, Tennessee.
Introduced to tennis at age 12, he became good enough to earn invites to play in River Forest, Illinois and in Milwaukee. He told Sports Illustrated in a 1976 interview that he once hitchhiked to Detroit to watch Don Budge play Bobby Riggs because he wanted to learn how Budge hit his backhand.
Braden attended Kalamazoo College, where he was captain of the tennis team, and won the league title in singles. He was awarded an honorary degree by his alma mater in 2008.
Vic Braden died of a heart attack on October 6, 2014 at the age of 85.
Braden became a tennis professional after graduating from Kalamazoo College in 1951. While serving as assistant basketball coach at the University of Toledo. Harold Tenney hired him to become the tennis pro at the Toledo Tennis Club. Besides teaching, he joined the pro tour and played against Jimmy Evert (father of Chris Evert) and George Richey (father of Cliff and Nancy Richey). He moved to California and obtained a master's degree in psychology at UCLA and Cal State, Braden joined Jack Kramer on Kramer's pro tour. He and Kramer later founded The Jack Kramer Club, where Braden served as the head tennis pro, started Tracy Austin in tennis, and developed the "Tennis College" concept. In 1986, Kramer said, "One Vic Braden is worth a lot of champions in helping the sport. The McEnroes, Borgs, Connors, they've been great. But I don't think any one of them has created the interest in the sport Vic has." Braden was a friend and patient of Dr. Toby Freedman, who was prominent in space and sports medicine, and an avid tennis player.
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