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 8 Grand Slam titles for a total 23 titles at pro and amateur majors. He also won 15 Pro Majors in doubles and 9 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.Rosewall had a renowned backhand and enjoyed a long career at the highest levels from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. Rosewall was ranked as the world No. 1 tennis player by multiple sources from 1961 to 1964, multiple sources in 1970 and Rino Tommasi in 1971 and 1972. Rosewall was first ranked in the top 20 in 1952 and last ranked in the top 20 in 1977. Rosewall is the only player to have simultaneously held Pro Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (1962–63). At the 1971 Australian Open, he became the first man during the Open Era to win a Grand Slam tournament without dropping a set. Rosewall won world professional championship tours in 1963, 1964, and the WCT titles in 1971 and 1972. A natural left-hander, Rosewall was taught by his father to play right-handed. He developed a powerful, effective backhand but never had anything more than an accurate but relatively soft serve. He was 1.70 m tall, weighed 67 kg (148 lb)and sarcastically was nicknamed "Muscles" by his fellow-players because of his lack of them. He was, however, fast, agile, and tireless, with a deadly volley. A father of two and grandfather of five, Rosewall lives in Sydney.
Robert Lutz is an American former amateur and a professional tennis player of the 1960s and 1970s. He and Stan Smith were one of the best doubles teams of all time. Bud Collins ranked Lutz as world No. 7 in singles in 1972. From 1967 to 1977, he was ranked amongst the top-10 American players eight times, with his highest ranking being No. 5 in both 1968 and 1970.
Stanley Roger Smith is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles champion, Smith also paired with Bob Lutz to create one of the most successful doubles teams of all-time. In 1970, Smith won the inaugural year-end championships title. In 1972, he was the year-end world No. 1 singles player. In 1973, he won his second and last year end championship title at the Dallas WCT Finals. In addition, he won four Grand Prix Championship Series titles. In his early years he improved his tennis game through lessons from Pancho Segura, the Pasadena Tennis Patrons, and the sponsorship of the Southern California Tennis Association headed by Perry T. Jones. Smith is a past President of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and an ITHF Life Trustee. Outside tennis circles, Smith is best known as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes.
Clark Graebner is a retired American professional tennis player.
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 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 1973 U.S. Professional Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States that was part of the 1973 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the sixth edition of the tournament and was held from February 6 through February 11, 1973. Third-seeded Stan Smith won the singles title.
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 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.
The 1974 WCT World Doubles, also known by its sponsored name Rothman's World Doubles Championship, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal, Canada that was part of the 1974 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the tour finals for the doubles season of the WCT Tour and featured the eight top-ranking teams. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from May 2 through May 5, 1974. The South African team of Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan won the title and earned $40,000 first-prize money.
The 1976 WCT World Doubles was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States that was part of the 1976 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the tour finals for the doubles season of the WCT Tour. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from April 28 through May 2, 1976. Wojciech Fibak and Karl Meiler won the title and earned $40,000.
The 1978 WCT World Doubles was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Kansas City, Missouri, United States that was part of the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix. It was the tour finals for the doubles season of the WCT Tour section. The tournament was held from May 3 through May 7, 1978. It was the first edition to operate a Round robin system.
This was the first edition of the WCT World Doubles tennis tournament. The eight highest ranking teams qualified for the event. Third seeds, Robert Lutz and Stan Smith won the tournament in straight sets in the final against Tom Okker and Marty Riessen
The 1978 ABN World Tennis Tournament was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at Rotterdam Ahoy in the Netherlands. It was a World Championship Tennis (WCT) event that was part of the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit. It was the sixth edition of the tournament and was held from 3 April through 9 April 1978. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the singles title.
The 1976 Barcelona WCT was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The tournament was part of the 1976 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the fourth and final edition of the event and was held from 2 February through 7 February 1976. Second-seeded Eddie Dibbs won the singles title.
The 1975 Tokyo WCT, also known by its sponsored name Kawasaki Tennis Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played on carpet courts in Tokyo, Japan. The event was part of the Red Group of the 1975 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the third and final edition of the tournament and was held from 14 April through 20 April 1975. Seventh-seeded Bob Lutz won the singles title.
The 1972 Rothmans International Quebec, also known as the Quebec International Open or Quebec WCT, was a men's professional tennis tournament that was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was held on indoor carpet courts at the Laval University sports centre in Quebec City, Quebec in Canada. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from 9 April through 16 April 1972. Seventh-seeded Marty Riessen won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1973 Holton Tennis Classic, also known as the St. Louis WCT, was a men's professional tennis tournament that was part of Group A of the 1973 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was held on indoor carpet courts at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States. It was the third edition of the tournament and was held from March 26 through April 1, 1973. Second-seeded Stan Smith won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
Robert Lutz / 