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 tournaments 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. A player who won all three in a calendar year was considered in retrospect by later tennis writers to achieve a "Professional Grand Slam", or "Pro Slam".^[3]^[4]

In some years, professional tournaments other than the pro majors had stronger fields and offered more prize money. Jack Kramer designated the four major professional tournaments for the 1958/1959 seasons as follows; Forest Hills, Kooyong, L.A. Masters, Sydney.^[5]

U.S. Pro Tennis Championships

The U.S. Pro Tennis Championship, also known as the US Pro, and officially known as the Cleveland International Pro or Cleveland World Pro Tennis Championships between 1951 and 1962,^[6] was an annual tournament, later known as MFS Pro Championships. It was first organized by player Vincent 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] In both 1951 and 1954 there are two U.S. Pro tournaments listed here for each year.

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

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 major champions

Singles

Year	U.S. Pro	French Pro	Wembley Pro
1927	Vincent Richards (1/4)	no competition	no competition
1928	Vincent Richards (2/4)	no competition	no competition
1929	Karel Koželuh (1/4)	no competition	no competition
1930	Vincent Richards (3/4)	Karel Koželuh (2/4)	no competition
1931	Bill Tilden (1/3)	Martin Plaa (1/1)	no competition
1932	Karel Koželuh (3/4)	Robert Ramillon (1/1)	no competition
1933	Vincent Richards (4/4)	no competition	no competition
1934	Hans Nüsslein (1/4)	Bill Tilden (2/3)	Ellsworth Vines (1/4)
1935	Bill Tilden (3/3)	Ellsworth Vines (2/4)	Ellsworth Vines (3/4)
1936	Joe Whalen (1/1)	Henri Cochet (1/1)	no competition^[a]
1937	Karel Koželuh (4/4) ^[b]	Hans Nüsslein (2/4)	Hans Nüsslein (3/4)
1938	Fred Perry (1/2)	Hans Nüsslein (4/4)	no competition^[a]
1939	Ellsworth Vines (4/4)	Don Budge (2/4)	Don Budge (1/4)
1940	Don Budge (3/4)	no competition	no competition
1941	Fred Perry (2/2)	no competition	no competition
1942	Don Budge (4/4)	no competition	no competition
1943	Bruce Barnes (1/1)	no competition	no competition
1944	no competition	no competition	no competition
1945	Welby Van Horn (1/1)	no competition	no competition
1946	Bobby Riggs (1/3)	no competition	no competition
1947	Bobby Riggs (2/3)	no competition	no competition
1948	Jack Kramer (1/2)	no competition	no competition
1949	Bobby Riggs (3/3)	no competition	Jack Kramer (2/2)
1950	Pancho Segura (1/3)	no competition^[c]	Pancho Gonzales (1/13)
1951^[d]	Frank Kovacs (1/1) (Cleveland) Pancho Segura (2/3) (Forest Hills)	no competition	Pancho Gonzales (2/13)
1952	Pancho Segura (3/3)	no competition^[c]	Pancho Gonzales (3/13)
1953	Pancho Gonzales (4/13)	no competition^[c]	Frank Sedgman (1/2)
1954	Pancho Gonzales (5/13) (Cleveland) Pancho Gonzales (6/13) (Los Angeles)	no competition	no competition
1955	Pancho Gonzales (7/13)	no competition	no competition
1956	Pancho Gonzales (8/13)	Tony Trabert (1/2)	Pancho Gonzales (9/13)
1957	Pancho Gonzales (10/13)	no competition	Ken Rosewall (1/15)
1958	Pancho Gonzales (11/13)	Ken Rosewall (2/15)	Frank Sedgman (2/2)
1959	Pancho Gonzales (12/13)	Tony Trabert (2/2)	Mal Anderson (1/1)
1960	Alex Olmedo (1/1)	Ken Rosewall (3/15)	Ken Rosewall (4/15)
1961	Pancho Gonzales (13/13)	Ken Rosewall (5/15)	Ken Rosewall (6/15)
1962	Butch Buchholz (1/1)	Ken Rosewall (7/15)	Ken Rosewall (8/15)
1963	Ken Rosewall (9/15)	Ken Rosewall (10/15)	Ken Rosewall (11/15)
1964	Rod Laver (1/8)	Ken Rosewall (12/15)	Rod Laver (2/8)
1965	Ken Rosewall (13/15)	Ken Rosewall (14/15)	Rod Laver (3/8)
1966	Rod Laver (4/8)	Ken Rosewall (15/15)	Rod Laver (5/8)
1967	Rod Laver (6/8)	Rod Laver (7/8)	Rod Laver (8/8)

^ ^a ^b 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]
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c There were 4 man tournaments held in Paris in 1950, 1952 and 1953. The 1950 and 1953 tournaments were held indoors, whilst the 1952 tournament was held on clay at Roland Garros.^[11]
^ 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]

Doubles

Year	U.S. Pro	Wembley Pro	French Pro
1929	Karel Koželuh Vinny Richards	no competition	no competition
1930	Howard Kinsey Vincent Richards	no competition	Karel Koželuh Roman Najuch
1931	Howard Kinsey Vincent Richards	no competition
1932	Bruce Barnes Bill Tilden	no competition
1933	Vincent Richards Charles Wood	no competition	no competition
1934	Bruce Barnes Emmett Paré
1935	George Lott Lester Stoefen	Bill Tilden Ellsworth Vines	Bill Tilden Ellsworth Vines
1936	Harold Blauer Charles Wood	no competition	Henri Cochet Albert Burke
1937	George Lott Vincent Richards	Hans Nüsslein Martin Plaa	Lester Stoefen Bill Tilden
1938	Fred Perry Vincent Richards	no competition	Martin Plaa Robert Ramillon
1939	Bruce Barnes Keith Gledhill		Don Budge Ellsworth Vines
1940	Don Budge Fred Perry	no competition	no competition
1941	Don Budge Fred Perry	no competition	no competition
1942	Don Budge Bobby Riggs	no competition	no competition
1943	Bruce Barnes Gene Mako	no competition	no competition
1944	no competition	no competition	no competition
1945	Vincent Richards Bill Tilden	no competition	no competition
1946	Frank Kovacs Fred Perry	no competition	no competition
1947	Don Budge Bobby Riggs	no competition	no competition
1948	Jack Kramer Pancho Segura	no competition	no competition
1949	Don Budge Frank Kovacs	Jack Kramer Bobby Riggs	no competition
1950	Frank Kovacs Welby Van Horn	Don Budge Pancho Gonzales	no competition
1951	Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura (Forest Hills)	Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura	no competition
1952	no competition	Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura	no competition
1953	Don Budge Pancho Gonzales	Don Budge Frank Sedgman	no competition
1954	Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura (Cleveland) Frank Sedgman Jack Kramer (Los Angeles)	no competition	no competition
1955	Jack Kramer Pancho Segura	no competition	no competition
1956	Rex Hartwig Tony Trabert	Pancho Gonzales Tony Trabert	Pancho Gonzales Tony Trabert
1957	Pancho Gonzales Ken Rosewall	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	no competition
1958	Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura	Pancho Gonzales Ken Rosewall	Lew Hoad Tony Trabert
1959	no competition	Lew Hoad Tony Trabert	Lew Hoad Tony Trabert
1960	Ashley Cooper Alex Olmedo	Ken Rosewall Frank Sedgman	Lew Hoad Tony Trabert
1961	Andrés Gimeno Frank Sedgman	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall
1962	Butch Buchholz Barry MacKay	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall
1963	Rod Laver Ken Rosewall	Alex Olmedo Frank Sedgman	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall
1964	no competition	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall
1965	no competition	Butch Buchholz Rod Laver	Mal Anderson Ken Rosewall
1966	Butch Buchholz Rod Laver	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	Butch Buchholz Rod Laver
1967	Dennis Ralston Ken Rosewall	Rod Laver Fred Stolle	Pierre Barthès Andrés Gimeno

Source:^[35]

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 U.S. 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.^[36]

Professional Championship of the World: 1927–1928

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."^[36]

List of Queen's Club Pro winners:

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

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, the tournament at the time was regarded as the most prestigious professional tournament in the world.^[37]

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,^[38] but the French Tennis Association would not allow the event to be played at the stadium.^[39]^[40]

Year	Champions
1935	France
1936	United States
1937	France

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.^[39]

List of International Pro Championship of Britain winners:

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
1935	Ellsworth Vines	Bill Tilden	6–1, 6–8, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2^[41]
1936	Hans Nüsslein	Henri Cochet	(Round Robin)^[42]
1937	Hans Nüsslein	Robert Ramillon	6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 6–4^[43]
1938	Hans Nüsslein	Bill Tilden	(Round Robin)^[44]
1939	Hans Nüsslein	Bill Tilden	6–2, 7–5, 6–4 ^[45]

	Doubles 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, although missing Frank Kovacs and Welby Van Horn.^{[citation needed]}

Year	Champion
1945	Bobby Riggs
1946	Bobby Riggs

Philadelphia U.S. Pro Indoor: 1950–1952

Year	Champion^{[citation needed]}
1950	Pancho Gonzales
1951	Jack Kramer
1952	Pancho Gonzales

Australian Pro: 1954

The Australian Pro was a men's professional tournament held in 1954 and it was billed as the Australian Professional Championships.^[46]

Tournament of Champions: 1957–1959

The Tournament of Champions was a prominent professional tennis tournament series 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 1957 Forest Hills Tournament of Champions was broadcast live nationally in the U.S.A. on the CBS television network in its entirety, the only known professional tennis tournament in the U.S.A. to achieve this status before the Open Era. (The CBS Dallas pro tennis tournament in 1965 was filmed and broadcast one match at a time in a weekly series.) The 1959 Forest Hills Tournament of Champions offered the largest winners' cheques of the year. The current designation by the West Side Tennis Club of the 1957–59 Forest Hills TOC is "WCT Tournament of Champions".^[47] Kramer's contemporary brochures described the Ampol series, of which the 1959 Forest Hills TOC was a part, with the term "World Championship Tennis".^[48]

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

List of Tournament of Champions winners:
Forest Hills (New York)

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
1957	Pancho Gonzales^[49]	Frank Sedgman	(Round Robin)
1958	Pancho Gonzales^[50]	Ken Rosewall	(Round Robin)
1959	Lew Hoad^[51]	Pancho Gonzales	6–1, 5–7, 6–2, 6–1

White City (Sydney) and Kooyong (Melbourne)

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
1957	Pancho Segura	Frank Sedgman	7–5, 6–0, 6–4
1958	Lew Hoad^[52]	Frank Sedgman	(Round Robin)
1959	Pancho Gonzales	Lew Hoad	11–9, 6–1, 6–1

Masters Pro: 1956–1965

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 (L.A. Tennis Club)	Pancho Gonzales	(Round Robin)
1958	Frank Sedgman (Sydney White City)	Tony Trabert	3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–4
1959	Pancho Gonzales	Lew Hoad	(Round Robin)
1960	Ken Rosewall
1964	Ken Rosewall	Frank Sedgman	6–2, 6–4
1965	Rod Laver	Pancho Gonzales	3–6, 6–3, 7–5

Kramer Cup: 1961–1963

A team format tournament.^[53]

Year	Champions
1961	Australia
1962	Australia
1963	Australia

Madison Square Garden Pro: 1966–1967

Madison Square Garden Pro winners:

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
1954	Pancho Gonzales	Pancho Segura	7–9, 6–4, 6–4
1966	Ken Rosewall	Rod Laver	6–3, 6–3
1967	Rod Laver	Ken Rosewall	6–4, 6–4
1968	Tony Roche	Pancho Gonzales	6–3, 6–4
1969	Rod Laver	Roy Emerson	6–2, 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.^{[citation needed]}

Forest Hills Pro winner:

Year	Champion
1966	Rod Laver

Wimbledon Pro: 1967

The Wimbledon World Professional Championship, also known as the Wimbledon Pro, was held in August 1967. It was first time that professional tennis players played on Centre Court at Wimbledon.^[54] The tournament was sponsored and broadcast by the BBC to mark the invention of colour television.^[55]

Wimbledon Pro winner:

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

References

^ ^a ^b Robertson, Max (1974). Encyclopedia of Tennis. New York, Viking Press. pp. 60–71. ISBN 9780670294084.
^ Tennis Myth and Method (1978), Ellsworth Vines and Gene Vier (ISBN 9780670696659), page 43
^ Geist, Robert (1999). Ken Rosewall: Der Grosse Meister. Austria. p. 137.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Lee, Raymond (September 2007). "Greatest Player of All Time: A Statistical Analysis". Tennis Week Magazine.
^ World Tennis, November, 1958
^ Sports Illustrated, 22 April 1957, "...officially known as the World Pro Tennis Championships." https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/04/22/a-class-reunion
^ Chevallier, Jean-Pierre (2007). le Tennis en France 1875-1955. Alan Sutton. ISBN 978-2849106266.
^ "Forgotten Victories". Retrieved September 26, 2012.
^ "History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter VII". Retrieved September 25, 2012.
^ "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX". Retrieved September 25, 2012.
^ McCauley (2000)
^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". 20 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". 12 March 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". 4 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". 11 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". 27 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ The Los Angeles Times, 11 May 1954
^ "Renowned players grace USPTA Championships". USPTA. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". 20 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Harold E. Donohue (July 1956). "Pancho Gonzales: Mixed-Up Champion". Pageant. p. 112.
^ "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". 12 March 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". 4 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". 11 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". 27 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Times (Shreveport), 16 February 1956". 16 February 1956 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Star Press (Muncie), 18 March 1957". 18 March 1957 – via newspapers.com.
^ Man with a racket: The autobiography of Pancho Gonzales (1959), p.111
^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". 20 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". 12 March 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". 4 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". 11 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". 27 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.
^ "The Times (Shreveport), 16 February 1956". 16 February 1956 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Star Press (Muncie), 18 March 1957". 18 March 1957 – via newspapers.com.
^ McCauley (2000), pp. 256–257.
^ ^a ^b Bowers, Ray. "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter 2, part 1: 1927-1928". tennisserver.com.
^ Bowers, Ray. "History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter IV: Tilden and Nusslein, 1932-1933". tennisserver.com.
^ "Professional Davis Cup Is Created; 9 Countries to Compete for Trophy". The Tribune. Vol. IX, no. 220. International, Australia. 15 December 1933. p. 7. Retrieved 25 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b Bowers, Ray. "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VI: Vines's Second Year: 1935". tennisserver.com.
^ "Professional Tennis Ban". Barrier Miner. 1935. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
^ "Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VI: Vines's Second Year: 1935". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
^ "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VII: Awaiting Perry, 1936". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
^ "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VIII: Perry and Vines, 1937". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
^ "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX: Readying for Budge, 1938". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
^ "Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars 1926-1945, Chapter X: Budge's Great Pro Year, 1939". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
^ "Pro. title goes to Sedgman". The Sun-Herald. 28 November 1954. p. 40 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "History Timeline".
^ Kramer 1959 tour fall brochure. https://douglasstewart.com.au/product/jack-kramer-presents-world-championship-tennis/
^ McCauley (2000), pp. 75–77, 206
^ McCauley (2000), pp. 84, 209
^ McCauley (2000), pp. 93, 212–213
^ "Hoad defeats Sedgman to take Tourney". Canberra Times. 31 January 1958. p. 16. Retrieved 28 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "The Kramer Cup Runneth All Over The Court". Sports Illustrated. Nov 20, 1961.
^ Barrett, John (2014). Wimbledon: The Official History (4th ed.). Vision Sports Publishing. p. 122. ISBN 9-781909-534230.
^ "First regular colour television programme". BBC. 22 June 2013.

Bibliography

McCauley, Joe (2000). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor: The Short Run Book Company Limited.

External links

History of the Pro Tennis Wars

[_1936_1938_Wembley-11] 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]

[_1937_US-12] 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.

[_1950_1953_French-14] There were 4 man tournaments held in Paris in 1950, 1952 and 1953. The 1950 and 1953 tournaments were held indoors, whilst the 1952 tournament was held on clay at Roland Garros.^[11]

[_1951-38] 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]

[eot1974-1] Robertson, Max (1974). Encyclopedia of Tennis. New York, Viking Press. pp. 60–71. ISBN 9780670294084.

[2] Tennis Myth and Method (1978), Ellsworth Vines and Gene Vier (ISBN 9780670696659), page 43

[RGeist-3] Geist, Robert (1999). Ken Rosewall: Der Grosse Meister. Austria. p. 137.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[RLee-4] Lee, Raymond (September 2007). "Greatest Player of All Time: A Statistical Analysis". Tennis Week Magazine.

[5] World Tennis, November, 1958

[6] Sports Illustrated, 22 April 1957, "...officially known as the World Pro Tennis Championships." https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/04/22/a-class-reunion

[Ltef-7] Chevallier, Jean-Pierre (2007). le Tennis en France 1875-1955. Alan Sutton. ISBN 978-2849106266.

[FV-8] "Forgotten Victories". Retrieved September 26, 2012.

[ptw7-9] "History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter VII". Retrieved September 25, 2012.

[ptw9-10] "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX". Retrieved September 25, 2012.

[FOOTNOTEMcCauley2000-13] McCauley (2000)

[15] "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". 20 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[16] "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". 12 March 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[17] "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". 4 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[18] "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". 11 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[19] "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". 27 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[20] The Los Angeles Times, 11 May 1954

[21] "Renowned players grace USPTA Championships". USPTA. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.

[22] "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". 20 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[Harold_E._Donohue_112-23] Harold E. Donohue (July 1956). "Pancho Gonzales: Mixed-Up Champion". Pageant. p. 112.

[24] "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". 12 March 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[25] "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". 4 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[26] "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". 11 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[27] "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". 27 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[28] "The Times (Shreveport), 16 February 1956". 16 February 1956 – via newspapers.com.

[29] "Star Press (Muncie), 18 March 1957". 18 March 1957 – via newspapers.com.

[30] Man with a racket: The autobiography of Pancho Gonzales (1959), p.111

[31] "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". 20 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[32] "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". 12 March 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[33] "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". 4 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[34] "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". 11 April 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[35] "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". 27 December 1953 – via newspapers.com.

[36] "The Times (Shreveport), 16 February 1956". 16 February 1956 – via newspapers.com.

[37] "Star Press (Muncie), 18 March 1957". 18 March 1957 – via newspapers.com.

[FOOTNOTEMcCauley2000256–257-39] McCauley (2000), pp. 256–257.

[chapter2-40] Bowers, Ray. "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter 2, part 1: 1927-1928". tennisserver.com.

[chapter4-41] Bowers, Ray. "History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter IV: Tilden and Nusslein, 1932-1933". tennisserver.com.

[42] "Professional Davis Cup Is Created; 9 Countries to Compete for Trophy". The Tribune. Vol. IX, no. 220. International, Australia. 15 December 1933. p. 7. Retrieved 25 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.

[chapter6-43] Bowers, Ray. "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VI: Vines's Second Year: 1935". tennisserver.com.

[44] "Professional Tennis Ban". Barrier Miner. 1935. Retrieved September 26, 2012.

[45] "Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VI: Vines's Second Year: 1935". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.

[46] "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VII: Awaiting Perry, 1936". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.

[47] "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VIII: Perry and Vines, 1937". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.

[48] "History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX: Readying for Budge, 1938". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.

[49] "Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars 1926-1945, Chapter X: Budge's Great Pro Year, 1939". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 2011-08-07.

[50] "Pro. title goes to Sedgman". The Sun-Herald. 28 November 1954. p. 40 – via National Library of Australia.

[51] "History Timeline".

[52] Kramer 1959 tour fall brochure. https://douglasstewart.com.au/product/jack-kramer-presents-world-championship-tennis/

[FOOTNOTEMcCauley200075–77,_206-53] McCauley (2000), pp. 75–77, 206

[FOOTNOTEMcCauley200084,_209-54] McCauley (2000), pp. 84, 209

[FOOTNOTEMcCauley200093,_212–213-55] McCauley (2000), pp. 93, 212–213

[56] "Hoad defeats Sedgman to take Tourney". Canberra Times. 31 January 1958. p. 16. Retrieved 28 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[57] "The Kramer Cup Runneth All Over The Court". Sports Illustrated. Nov 20, 1961.

[58] Barrett, John (2014). Wimbledon: The Official History (4th ed.). Vision Sports Publishing. p. 122. ISBN 9-781909-534230.

[59] "First regular colour television programme". BBC. 22 June 2013.

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