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 Majors. 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 also major pro events, where the world's top professional male players often played. These tournaments held with a certain tradition and longevity. According to Ellsworth Vines, "the Wembley tournament in London..., the U.S. professional championship, and to some extent the tournament in Paris were the major professional tournaments prior to 1968."[2]

The oldest of these three Professional Majors,[3] or "Pro Slams",[4][5] 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. The Wembley Championship, played between 1934 and 1990 at the Wembley Arena in the United Kingdom, was played on a wood surface through 1967. The third professional major was the French Pro Championship, where between 1930 and 1968 it was played on both clay and wood courts.

Jack Kramer designated the four major professional tournaments for the 1958/1959 seasons as follows; Forest Hills, Kooyong, L.A. Masters, Sydney.[6]

U.S. Pro Tennis Championships
Main article: 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
Main article: 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) on June 18–22, 1930.[7] 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 to 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.[8]

List of Professional Majors champions
Year US Pro Wembley Pro French Pro
1927 Vinnie Richardsno competitionno competition
1928 Vinnie Richardsno competitionno competition
1929 Karel Koželuhno competitionno competition
1930 Vinnie Richardsno competition Karel Koželuh
1931 Bill Tildenno competition Martin Plaa
1932 Karel Koželuhno competition Robert Ramillon
1933 Vinnie Richardsno competitionno competition
1934 Hans Nüsslein Ellsworth Vines Bill Tilden
1935 Bill Tilden Ellsworth Vines Ellsworth Vines
1936 Joe Whalenno competition[lower-alpha 1] Henri Cochet
1937 Karel Koželuh[lower-alpha 2] Hans Nüsslein Hans Nüsslein
1938 Fred Perryno competition[lower-alpha 1] Hans Nüsslein
1939 Ellsworth Vines Don Budge Don Budge
1940 Don Budgeno competitionno competition
1941 Fred Perryno competitionno competition
1942 Don Budgeno competitionno competition
1943 Bruce Barnesno competitionno competition
1944no competitionno competitionno competition
1945 Welby Van Hornno competitionno competition
1946 Bobby Riggsno competitionno competition
1947 Bobby Riggsno competitionno competition
1948 Jack Kramerno competitionno competition
1949 Bobby Riggs Jack Kramerno competition
1950 Pancho Segura Pancho Gonzalesno competition[lower-alpha 3]
1951[lower-alpha 4] Pancho Segura Pancho Gonzalesno competition
1952 Pancho Segura Pancho Gonzalesno competition
1953 Pancho Gonzales Frank Sedgmanno competition[lower-alpha 3]
1954 Pancho Gonzalesno competitionno competition
1955 Pancho Gonzalesno competitionno competition
1956 Pancho Gonzales Pancho Gonzales Tony Trabert
1957 Pancho Gonzales Ken Rosewallno competition
1958 Pancho Gonzales Frank Sedgman Ken Rosewall
1959 Pancho Gonzales Mal Anderson Tony Trabert
1960 Alex Olmedo Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall
1961 Pancho Gonzales Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall
1962 Butch Buchholz Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall
1963 Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall
1964 Rod Laver Rod Laver Ken Rosewall
1965 Ken Rosewall Rod Laver Ken Rosewall
1966 Rod Laver Rod Laver Ken Rosewall
1967 Rod Laver Rod Laver Rod Laver

Notes:

  1. The Wembley Championships of 1936 and 1938 did not take place. The London Daily Mail of August 24th 1936 contained an article stating that the 1936 Wembley event would not take place due to Tilden and Vines being unavailable. Ray Bowers, in his History of professional tennis, says that 1936 and 1938 Wembley tournaments never occurred and offers substantiating evidence for his assertion.[9][10]
  2. 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.
  3. 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. Same for the 1950 "French Pro" that was held in the same location as the 1953 tournament listed, different from the regular location at the Roland Garros.[11]
  4. The championship events from 1951–1962, were billed as the International Pro or World Pro Championship. In 1951, a U.S. Pro was held at Forest Hills authorized by the USPLTA, and an International Pro was held at Cleveland. There was no USPLTA U. S. Pro event held in 1952 or 1953, but the International Pro was held at Cleveland in those years and was regarded as the U. S. Pro.[12][13][14][15][16] In 1954, the USPLTA authorized Kramer to hold the U.S. Pro at L.A. Tennis Club in Los Angeles (this was the successor tournament to the 1951 U.S. Pro at Forest Hills and Segura was the defending champion).[17] The International Pro and World Pro events at Cleveland from 1951-62 were not authorized by the USPLTA to be the U.S. Pro, and were not billed as such.[18] The USPLTA were an organisation of teaching professionals and the touring professionals did enter U. S. Pro events in this period.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] In some interviews in the 1950s, Gonzales and Segura referred to the Cleveland World Pro as "the National" or the "U. S. National Professional Championships".[27] There were many newspaper and magazine articles in the 1950s that also referred to Cleveland events as U. S. Pro.[28][20][29][30][31][32][33][34]

Other important tournaments

The Championships at Wimbledon, the U.S. 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

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

List of Bristol Cup winners:

Year Champion Runner-up Score
1920 Romeo Acquarone Joseph Negro3–6, 7–5, 5–7, 6–2, 6–3[35]
1921 John C. S. Rendall A. Page6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 7–5[36]
1922 John C. S. Rendall Joseph Negro6–1, 0–6, 6–4, 6–2 (or 6–1, 0–6, 6–4, 6–1)
1923 John C. S. Rendall Joseph Negro6–2, 6–3, 7–5
1924 Albert Burke Roman Najuch7–5, 1–6, 6–4, 6–1
1925 Albert Burke Roman Najuch0–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–1
1926 Karel Koželuh Albert Burke3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–0
1927Not held
1928 Karel Koželuh Roman Najuch6–3, 6–2, 6–4
1929 Karel Koželuh Albert Burke6–3, 6–1, 6–0
1930 Karel Koželuh Roman Najuch6–3, 6–3, 6–4 (or 6–3, 6–4, 6–4)
1931 Karel Koželuh Albert Burke6–3, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
1932 Karel Koželuh Martin Plaa6–1, 6–4, 1–6, 6–0

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:

Year Champion Runner-up Score
1927 Dan Maskell Charles R Read6–3, 6–3, 6–4
1928 Robert Ramillon Edmund Burke6–1, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4

World Pro Championship: 1932–1933
Main article: World Pro Championships

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:

Year Champion Runner-up
1932 Martin Plaa Bill Tilden
1933 Hans Nüsslein Bill Tilden

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.[37]

Year Champions
1935 France
1936 United States
1937 France

International Pro Championship of Britain: 1935–1939
Main article: International Pro Championship of Britain

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:

Singles
Year Champion Runner-up Score
1935 Ellsworth Vines Bill Tilden6–1, 6–8, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 [38]
1936 Hans Nüsslein Henri Cochet(Round Robin) [39]
1937 Hans Nüsslein Robert Ramillon6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 [40]
1938 Hans Nüsslein Bill Tilden(Round Robin) [41]
1939 Hans Nüsslein Bill Tilden6–2, 7–5, 6–4 [42]
Doubles
Year Champions Runners-up Score
1935 Bill Tilden
Ellsworth Vines		 Martin Plaa
Robert Ramillon		7–5, 6–8, 5–7, 6–1, 6–3
1936 Henri Cochet
Robert Ramillon		 Lester Stoefen
Bill Tilden		(Round Robin)
1937 Lester Stoefen
Bill Tilden		 Martin Plaa
Robert Ramillon		8–6, 17–15, 8–6
1939 Don Budge
Ellsworth Vines		 Lester Stoefen
Bill Tilden		6–2, 7–9, 7–5, 8–6

U.S Pro Hard Courts: 1945–1946

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

Year Champion
1945 Bobby Riggs
1946 Bobby Riggs

Philadelphia Indoor Pro: 1950–1952
Year Champion
1950 Pancho Gonzales
1951 Jack Kramer
1952 Pancho Gonzales

Australian Pro: 1954–1958
Main article: Australian Pro


List of Australian Pro winners:

Year Champion Runner-up Score
1954 [43] Frank Sedgman Pancho Segura5–7, 6–3, 6–4 [44]

Tournament of Champions: 1957–1959
Main article: Tournament of Champions (tennis)

The Tournament of Champions was a professional tennis tournament between 1957 and 1959. The tournament was held on the grass-courts of Forest Hills, New York, between 1957 and 1959, and an Australian version of the Tournament of Champions was held on grass at White City, Sydney in 1957 and 1959, and at Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne in 1958. The 1957 and 1958 Forest Hills tournaments had a round robin format, while the 1959 Forest Hills was an elimination tournament with 10 players. The Sydney version was an elimination event, while the 1958 Kooyong event was a round robin format.

The Forest Hills Tournament of Champions was broadcast nationally in the U.S.A. on the CBS television network, the only professional tennis tournament in the U.S.A. to achieve this status.

The 1958 Kooyong Tournament of Champions was the richest tournament of the era, with a prize money of 10,000 Australian pounds (US$24,000).

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:

Forest Hills
Year Champion Runner-up Score
1957 Pancho Gonzales [45] Frank Sedgman(Round Robin)
1958 Pancho Gonzales [46] Ken Rosewall(Round Robin)
1959 Lew Hoad [47] Pancho Gonzales6–1, 5–7, 6–2, 6–1
Sydney White City and Melbourne Kooyong
Year Champion Runner-up Score
1957 Pancho Segura Frank Sedgman7–5, 6–0, 6–4
1958 Lew Hoad [48] Frank Sedgman(Round Robin)
1959 Pancho Gonzales Lew Hoad11–9, 6–1, 6–1
London
Year Champion Runner-up Score
1968 Ken Rosewall John Newcombe6–4, 4–6, 7–5, 6–4

Masters Pro: 1956–1967
Main article: Masters Pro

Round Robin in Los Angeles, held from 1956 to 1960, and again in 1964, 1965, and 1967. The Ampol Masters Pro was held at White City in Sydney in 1958.

Masters Pro winners:

Year Champion Runner-up Score
1956 Pancho Gonzales Frank Sedgman(Round Robin)
1957 Pancho Gonzales Frank Sedgman(Round Robin)
1958 Pancho Segura Pancho Gonzales(Round Robin)
1958 Frank Sedgman Tony Trabert3-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
1959 Pancho Gonzales Lew Hoad(Round Robin)
1960 Ken Rosewall
1964 Ken Rosewall Frank Sedgman6–2, 6–4
1965 Rod Laver Pancho Gonzales3–6, 6–3, 7–5
1967 Ken Rosewall

Kramer Cup: 1961–1963

A team format tournament.

Year Champions
1961 Australia
1962 Australia
1963 Australia

Madison Square Garden Pro: 1966–1967
Main article: Madison Square Garden Pro

Madison Square Garden Pro winners:

Year Champion Runner-up Score
1954 Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura7–9, 6–4, 6–4
1966 Ken Rosewall Rod Laver6–3, 6–3
1967 Rod Laver Ken Rosewall6–4, 6–4
1968 Tony Roche Pancho Gonzales6–3, 6–4
1969 Rod Laver Roy Emerson6–2, 4–6, 6–1

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:

Year Champion
1966 Rod Laver

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:

Year Champion Runner-up Score
1967 Rod Laver Ken Rosewall6–2, 6–2, 12–10

References
  1. Robertson, Max (1974). Encyclopedia of Tennis. pp. 60–71.
  2. Tennis Myth and Method (1978), Ellsworth Vines and Gene Vier (ISBN 9780670696659), page 52
  3. Holder, James (2015). Sport's Great All-Rounders: A Biographical Dictionary. Bloomington, USA: AuthorHouse. p. 158. ISBN 9781504945691.
  4. Geist, Robert (1999). Ken Rosewall: Der Grosse Meister. Austria. p. 137.
  5. Lee, Raymond (September 2007). "Greatest Player of All Time: A Statistical Analysis". Tennis Week Magazine.
  6. World Tennis, November, 1958
  7. Chevallier, Jean-Pierre (2007). le Tennis en France 1875-1955. Alan Sutton. ISBN 978-2849106266.
  8. "Forgotten Victories". Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  9. "History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter VII". Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  10. "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX". Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  11. McCauley, Joe. History of Professional Tennis.
  12. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  13. "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". newspapers.com.
  14. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  15. "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  16. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  17. The Los Angeles Times, 11 May 1954
  18. "Renowned players grace USPTA Championships". USPTA. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  19. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  20. Harold E. Donohue (July 1956). "Pancho Gonzales: Mixed-Up Champion". Pageant. p. 112.
  21. "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". newspapers.com.
  22. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  23. "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  24. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  25. "The Times (Shreveport), 16 February 1956". newspapers.com.
  26. "Star Press (Muncie), 18 March 1957". newspapers.com.
  27. Man with a racket: The autobiography of Pancho Gonzales (1959), p.111
  28. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  29. "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". newspapers.com.
  30. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  31. "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  32. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  33. "The Times (Shreveport), 16 February 1956". newspapers.com.
  34. "Star Press (Muncie), 18 March 1957". newspapers.com.
  35. "Bristol Cup 1920". Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  36. "Bristol Cup 1921". Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  37. "Professional Tennis Ban". Barrier Miner. 1935. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  38. "Between The Lines - Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VI: Vines's Second Year: 1935". Tennis Server. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  39. "Between The Lines - History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VII: Awaiting Perry, 1936". Tennis Server. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  40. "Between The Lines - History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VIII: Perry and Vines, 1937". Tennis Server. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  41. "Between The Lines - History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX: Readying for Budge, 1938". Tennis Server. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  42. "Between The Lines - Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars 1926-1945, Chapter X: Budge's Great Pro Year, 1939". Tennis Server. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  43. "The West Australian (Perth), 25 November 1954". Trove.
  44. "Pro title goes to Sedgman". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 November 1954. p. 40.
  45. McCauley (2000), pp. 75–77, 206
  46. McCauley (2000), pp. 84, 209
  47. McCauley (2000), pp. 93, 212–213
  48. "Hoad defeats Sedgman to take Tourney". Canberra Times. 31 January 1958. p. 16. Retrieved 28 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
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