Major professional tennis tournaments before the Open Era

Before the advent of the Open era of tennis competitions in April 1968, only amateurs were allowed to compete in established tournaments, including the four Grand Slams. There was no prize money and players were compensated for travel expenses only. However many top tennis players turned professional to play legally for prize money in the years before the open era. They played in separate professional events, mostly on tours involving head-to-head competition, but also in professional tournaments as the biggest events on the pro tour.[1] Professional tournaments, in particular the professional Majors, usually only had a men's draw.

Professional Majors

In addition to the head-to-head tours, there were the annual professional tournaments called Championship tournaments, where the world's top professional male players played. These tournaments held with a certain tradition and longevity.

The oldest of these three Professional Majors, or "Professional Grand Slams",[2][3] was the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, played at a variety of different venues and on a variety of different surfaces, between 1927 and 1999. Between 1954 and 1962, the US Pro was played indoors in Cleveland and was called the World Professional Championships. The most prestigious of the three was generally the Wembley Championship. Played between 1934 and 1990, at the Wembley Arena in England, it was unofficially usually considered the world's championship until 1967. The third professional major was the French Pro Championship, played between 1934 and 1968, on the clay-courts of Roland Garros, apart from 1963–1967, when it was played on the indoor wood courts of Stade Coubertin.

U.S. Pro Tennis Championships

The U.S. Pro Tennis Championship, also known as the US Pro, was an annual tournament, later known as MFS Pro Championships. It was first organized by player Vinnie Richards when promoter C. C. Pyle withdrew interest in the project. It was first played on the Notlek courts located at 119th Street and Riverside Drive, Manhattan. The tournament was held at various locations in several states until 1964, when it moved to the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.[1]

French Pro Championship

The French Pro Championship was first held in 1930, held by the "Association Française des Professeurs de Tennis (AFPT)", entitled "Championnat International de France Professionnel" (French Pro Championships) in June, 18-22, 1930.[4] From 1930 the French Pro Championship was always played at Paris, on outdoor clay at Roland Garros except from 1963 to 1967 where it was held at Stade Pierre de Coubertin on indoor wood.

Wembley Championship

Main article: Wembley Championship

The Wembley Championship, also known as the Wembley Pro, was held at the Wembley Arena, in London. This professional event ran from 1934–1967 and was originally played on a wood surface placed over the top of a drained pool. It was officially known as the "London Indoor Professional Championships" from 1951 through 1967.[5]

List of Professional Majors champions

Year US Pro Wembley Pro French Pro
1927 United States Vinnie Richards no competition no competition
1928 United States Vinnie Richards no competition no competition
1929 Czechoslovakia Karel Koželuh no competition no competition
1930 United States Vinnie Richards no competition Czechoslovakia Karel Koželuh
1931 United States Bill Tilden no competition France Martin Plaa
1932 Czechoslovakia Karel Koželuh no competition France Robert Ramillon
1933 United States Vinnie Richards no competition United States Bill Tilden
1934 Germany Hans Nüsslein United States Ellsworth Vines United States Bill Tilden
1935 United States Bill Tilden United States Ellsworth Vines United States Ellsworth Vines
1936 United States Joe Whalen United States Ellsworth Vines France Henri Cochet
1937 Czechoslovakia Karel Koželuh Germany Hans Nüsslein Germany Hans Nüsslein
1938 United Kingdom Fred Perry Germany Hans Nüsslein Germany Hans Nüsslein
1939 United States Ellsworth Vines United States Don Budge United States Don Budge
1940 United States Don Budge no competition no competition
1941 United Kingdom Fred Perry no competition no competition
1942 United States Don Budge no competition no competition
1943 United States Bruce Barnes no competition no competition
1944 no competition no competition no competition
1945 United States Welby Van Horn no competition no competition
1946 United States Bobby Riggs no competition no competition
1947 United States Bobby Riggs no competition no competition
1948 United States Jack Kramer no competition no competition
1949 United States Bobby Riggs United States Jack Kramer no competition
1950 United States Pancho Gonzales United States Pancho Gonzales United States Pancho Segura
1951 United States Pancho Segura United States Pancho Gonzales no competition
1952 United States Pancho Segura United States Pancho Gonzales no competition
1953 United States Pancho Gonzales Australia Frank Sedgman Australia Frank Sedgman
1954 United States Pancho Gonzales no competition no competition
1955 United States Pancho Gonzales no competition no competition
1956 United States Pancho Gonzales United States Pancho Gonzales United States Tony Trabert
1957 United States Pancho Gonzales Australia Ken Rosewall no competition
1958 United States Pancho Gonzales Australia Frank Sedgman Australia Ken Rosewall
1959 United States Pancho Gonzales Australia Mal Anderson United States Tony Trabert
1960 United States Alex Olmedo Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Ken Rosewall
1961 United States Pancho Gonzales Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Ken Rosewall
1962 United States Butch Buchholz Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Ken Rosewall
1963 Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Ken Rosewall
1964 Australia Rod Laver Australia Rod Laver Australia Ken Rosewall
1965 Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Rod Laver Australia Ken Rosewall
1966 Australia Rod Laver Australia Rod Laver Australia Ken Rosewall
1967 Australia Rod Laver Australia Rod Laver Australia Rod Laver
1968 Australia Rod Laver Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Rod Laver
1969 Australia Rod Laver Australia Rod Laver Australia Rod Laver

Notes:

  1. The status of the 1933 French Pro is unclear. In History of the Pro Tennis Wars, by Ray Bowers, there is no mention of a French Pro tournament in 1933. The only professional competition played that year at Roland Garros was a USA-France meeting, September 22–24, in the Davis Cup format. Many sources probably wrongly considered the Tilden-Cochet match as a final of a supposed French Pro.
  2. The status of the Wembley Championships of 1936 and 1938 is unclear. Two of the three major sources for the professional championships list the results as shown. Ray Bowers' History of professional tennis says that neither of these tournaments ever occurred and offers substantiating evidence for his assertion.[6][7]
  3. The 1937 US Pro was the first pro event open to amateur players and is considered as both the U.S. Pro Tennis Championship and first "true" U.S. Open event.
  4. The US Pro events from 1950–1962, were billed the World Pro Championship with the exception of 1951, where a separate US Pro (at Forest Hills) and World Pro (in Cleveland) were held.
  5. The status of 1953 "French Pro" is unclear. Joe McCauley included this tournament in his list of French Pro tournaments but he prefaced in his book "History of Professional Tennis" that it may not have been considered at the time as an official French Pro.[8]

Other important tournaments

The Championships at Wimbledon, the US Championships, the French Championships, and the Australian Championships were typically the top events, where amateur players could compete for the title, albeit without prize money. Since the professional circuit was less organized and somewhat less popular than the amateur circuit, the professional events hierarchy changed each year. In 1934 the US Pro was a high-class tournament with all top ranked pro players whereas in 1936 it was a meeting between pro teachers without any leading pro players. A tournament could even be canceled at any time due to poor attendance.

Consequently, for a given year a pro tournament was important when it attracted the best pro players and then another year this same tournament could be a second-rank tournament because few or no leading players came. Before the open era in addition to numerous small tournaments and head-to-head tours between the leading professionals, there were some major tournaments which stood out at different periods. Some survived sporadically because of financial collapses while others temporarily rose to the highest levels of competition when other tournaments weren't held. These include:

Bristol Cup: 1920–1932

Main article: Bristol Cup

Sometimes labelled "Professional Championships of France" this tournament was held on the French Riviera at Menton, at Cannes.

List of Bristol Cup winners:

Professional Championship of the World: 1927–1928

Main article: Queen's Club Pro

This event was held in October on Clay courts, at the Queen's Club in London. In 1928 Myers of the Daily Telegraph wrote that "this was the best pro tournament ever held in England."

List of Queen's Club Pro winners:

World Pro Championship: 1932–1933

The World Pro Championship were held in 1932 and 1933 in Berlin at the Rot-Weiss club, on clay. It had a very large participation (over 80 players). According to Ray Bowers in the History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter IV (cited lower down), this tournament at the time was regarded as the most prestigious professional tournament in the world.

List of World Pro winners:

Bonnardel Cup: 1935–1937

This was a team tournament created by Bill Tilden and modeled on the Davis Cup format. In 1935, early rounds in France were hoped to be played at Roland Garros, but the French Tennis Association would not allow the event to be played at the stadium.[9]

International Pro Championship of Britain: 1935–1939

The International Pro Championship of Britain (also known as the Southport Pro, as well as the Southport Dunlop Cup for sponsorship purposes) was a professional tennis tournament held at Victoria Park in Southport between 1935 and 1939. It was open to professional players only, amateurs were not allowed to compete. The tournament was held on outdoor En-tout-cas, "all-weather" artificial clay.

List of International Pro Championship of Britain winners:

U.S Pro Hard Courts: 1945–1946

In LA; the only significant pro tournament of the last year of World War II.

Philadelphia Indoor Pro: 1950–1952

Australian Pro: 1954–1966

Main article: Australian Pro

This had multiple venues from the east and west coasts of Australia and was not played in 1955, 1956, 1961 and 1963.

List of Australian Pro winners:

Tournament of Champions: 1956–1959

The Tournament of Champions was a professional tennis tournament between 1956 and 1959. The tournament was held on the indoor hardcourts at Los Angeles in 1956, and on the grass-courts of Forest Hills, New York, between 1957 and 1959. The 1956, 1957, and 1958 tournaments all had a round robin format. In 1968, the tournament was picked up again for a one off tournament during the open era and called Jack Kramer's Tournament of Champions held at Wembley Arena.

List of Tournament of Champions winners:

Masters Pro: 1957–1965

Main article: Masters Pro

Round Robin in Los Angeles, held from 1957 to 1959, and again in 1964 and 1965.

Masters Pro winners:

Kramer Cup: 1961–1963

A team format tournament.

Madison Square Garden Pro: 1966–1967

Madison Square Garden Pro winners:

Forest Hills Pro: 1966

The Forest Hills Pro was held in June 1966 on the grass courts of the West Side Tennis Club using the VASSS Scoring System

Forest Hills Pro winner:

Wimbledon Pro: 1967

Main article: Wimbledon Pro

The Wimbledon World Professional Championship, also known as the Wimbledon Pro, was held in August 1967. The tournament was sponsored and broadcast by the BBC to mark the invention of colour television. It was first time that professional tennis players played at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon Pro winner:

References

  1. 1 2 Robertson, Max (1974). Encyclopedia of Tennis. pp. 60–71.
  2. ↑ Geist, Robert (1999). Ken Rosewall: Der Grosse Meister. Austria. p. 137.
  3. ↑ Lee, Raymond (September 2007). "Greatest Player of All Time: A Statistical Analysis". Tennis Week Magazine.
  4. ↑ Chevallier, Jean-Pierre (2007). le Tennis en France 1875-1955. Alan Sutton. ISBN 978-2849106266.
  5. ↑ "Forgotten Victories". Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  6. ↑ "History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter VII". Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  7. ↑ "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX:". Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  8. ↑ McCauley, Joe. History of Professional Tennis.
  9. ↑ "Professional Tennis Ban". Barrier Miner. 1935. Retrieved September 26, 2012.

External links

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