Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team, and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. He retired in 1980.
John David Newcombe AO OBE is an Australian former professional tennis player. He is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles, a former record 17 men's doubles titles, and two mixed doubles titles. He also contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the majors. Tennis magazine rated him the 10th best male player of the period 1965–2005.
Kenneth Robert Rosewall is an Australian former world top-ranking professional tennis player. Rosewall won 147 singles titles, including a record 15 Pro Majors and eight Grand Slam titles for a total 23 titles at pro and amateur majors. He also won 15 Pro Majors in doubles and nine Grand Slam doubles titles. Rosewall achieved a Pro Slam in singles in 1963 by winning the three Pro Majors in one year and he completed the Career Grand Slam in doubles.
World Championship Tennis (WCT) was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990. A number of tennis tournaments around the world were affiliated with WCT and players were ranked in a special WCT ranking according to their results in those tournaments.
The ABN AMRO Open, also known as the Rotterdam Open, and formerly known as: ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (1991-2021), is a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the ATP Tour and has been held annually at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The WCT Finals was a men's tennis tournament that served as the season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis circuit. From 1971–1989 the event was held annually in Texas on indoor carpet courts. The 1971 quarterfinals and semifinals were played in Houston, and final played at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. The 1972–1979 editions were played at Moody Coliseum, and the 1980–1989 tournaments at Reunion Arena in Dallas. The 1974 edition was the first tennis tournament to experiment with electronic line calling. The first edition of the WCT Finals was in November 1971, just a few days before the equivalent event of the rival Grand Prix circuit. But the second edition occurred just six months later to accommodate NBC's new tennis coverage; the tournament final between Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver is credited as "the match that made tennis in the United States" because its unprecedented domestic television audience of 23 million fueled a massive increase in the sport's popularity. The ensuing editions were also held in the spring. John McEnroe had the most overall success, winning a record five titles. Because of the popularity of the 1972 final, another edition, less important and with half the prize money, was held in November in Rome. The prize money offered to the winner, Arthur Ashe, was US$25,000 compared to the US$50,000 won by Ken Rosewall for the main edition in May. A decade later there were three editions of the WCT Finals; the most important one in Dallas, and the others in autumn in Naples, Italy, and in winter in Detroit. The tournament was sponsored by Buick between 1985 and 1986, a brand of General Motors, and was called the "Buick WCT Finals".
The 1972 Rotterdam Indoors was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the inaugural edition of the event known that year as the Rotterdam Indoors, and was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It took place at the Rotterdam Ahoy indoor sporting arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from 12 November through 18 November 1972. Second-seeded Arthur Ashe won the singles title.
The 1972 Swedish Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 1st edition of Swedish Pro Tennis Championships, and was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It took place at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 30 October until 5 November 1972.
The 1972 U.S. Professional Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States that was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from February 8 through February 13, 1972. Total attendance for the tournament was 57,282. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title, his third at the event after 1969 and 1970.
The 1972 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 2nd edition of the WCT Finals and was the season-ending tournament of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. The top eight points winners of the circuit qualified for the tournament which was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and ran from May 8 through May 14, 1972. Ken Rosewall won the singles title and the $50,000 first prize. The final was broadcast live in the United States by NBC and watched by an estimated 21.3 million viewers. In his book, The Education of a Tennis Player, finalist Rod Laver commented "I think if one match can be said to have made tennis in the United States, this was it.".
Arthur Ashe won in the final of the 1972 World Championship Tennis Winter Finals 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6 against Robert Lutz.
The 1973 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 3rd edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1973 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from May 7 through May 13, 1973. First-seeded Stan Smith won the singles title and earned $50,000 first-prize money.
The 1975 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 5th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1975 World Championship Tennis circuit. The event was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from May 7 through May 11, 1975. The draw consisted of the eight best performing players of the 1975 WCT season. First-seeded Arthur Ashe won the tournament and the accompanying $50,000 first-prize money.
The 1972 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year and organized by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). It consisted of 33 Grand Prix tournaments in different categories including three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and was followed by a season-ending Masters tournament. The circuit ran from February through November.
The 1971 Pepsi Cola Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year. It incorporated three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments. It was the second edition of the Grand Prix circuit and was run by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ITLF). In addition to regular tournament prize money a bonus prize money pool of £60,000 ($150,000) was available to be divided among the 20 highest ranking players after the last tournament. To be eligible for a share of the bonus pool a player had to compete in a minimum of nine tournaments. The circuit culminated in a Masters event in Paris for the seven highest point scoring players. Stan Smith was the winner of the circuit with 187 ranking points and four tournament victories.
Michael Grenfell "Mike" Davies was a Welsh professional tennis player, entrepreneur and administrator. He had a 60-year career in the tennis business, first as an amateur and professional tennis player, including a period as the number one ranked player in Great Britain and a member of the British Davis Cup team, then as an entrepreneur and one of the pioneers of the professional game.
The 1975 World Championship Tennis circuit was one of the two rival professional male tennis circuits of 1975. It was organized by World Championship Tennis (WCT). The 1975 circuit divided the players in three groups, Red, Blue and Green who played 24 tournaments in 12 countries. The first tournament, U.S. Professional Indoor Championships, was a combined event as was the season's final which was played in Dallas by the eight best performers and was won by American Arthur Ashe who defeated Björn Borg from Sweden in four sets.
The 1975 Monte Carlo WCT, also known by its sponsored name Marlboro Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. The tournament was part of the Green Group of the 1975 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 70th edition of the event and was held from 23 March through 30 March 1975. Manuel Orantes won the singles title.
The 1976 Lagos WCT, also known as the 1976 Lagos Tennis Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club in Lagos, Nigeria. The event was part of the 1976 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament, which was the first professional tennis tournament in Black Africa, and was held from February 9 to 15, 1976. Unseeded Dick Stockton won the singles title.
The 1972 First National Tennis Classic, also known as the Louisville WCT, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Louisville Tennis Center in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It was the third edition of the tournament and was held from July 24 through July 30, 1972. The tournament was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit and offered total prize money of $50,000. The singles final was won by ninth-seeded Arthur Ashe who earned $10,000 first-prize money.
Arthur Ashe