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.
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.
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 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, 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 1973 Swedish Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 2nd and final edition of Swedish Pro Tennis Championships, and was part of the 1973 World Championship Tennis circuit. It took place at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 23 April through 29 April 1973. First-seeded Stan Smith won the singles title.
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.".
The 1974 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 4th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1974 World Championship Tennis circuit. The tournament was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from May 8 through May 12, 1974. Fourth-seeded John Newcombe won the singles title.
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 1977 World Championship Tennis Finals was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 7th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1977 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from May 10 through May 15, 1977.
The 1978 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 8th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix, as the World Championship Tennis and the Grand Prix circuits were now combined. It was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from May 9 through May 14, 1978. Third-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis won the title and $100,000 first-prize money.
The 1981 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 11th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix. The tournament was played at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from April 27 through May 3, 1981. The winners of the eight WCT tournaments that were part of the 1981 Grand Prix circuit qualified for the tournament augmented by the next best performers in the WCT points standings. Guillermo Vilas qualified by winning the last tournament held just before the WCT Finals, the River Oaks Tournament in Houston, but was unavailable to play. Jimmy Connors withdrew before the tournament due to gastroenteritis and Yannick Noah could not participate due to a shoulder injury. They were replaced by Sandy Mayer and Sam Giammalva respectively. First-seeded John McEnroe won the title and $100,000 prize money.
The 1983 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 13th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1983 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was played at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from April 26 through May 1, 1983. Second-seeded John McEnroe won the title, his third at the tournament, and the accompanying $150,000 first-prize money after defeating defending champion Ivan Lendl in a five-set final that lasted 4 hours and 16 minutes.
The 1984 World Championship Tennis Finals, also known by its sponsored name Buick WCT Finals, was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 14th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1984 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was played at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from April 24 through April 30, 1984. First-seeded and defending champion John McEnroe won the title and the accompanying $150,000 first-prize money. It was his fourth WCT Finals title, a record, and his sixth successive final.
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 1973 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 1973 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 inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from May 3 through May 7, 1973. The third-seeded team of Robert Lutz and Stan Smith won the title and earned $40,000 first-prize money.
The 1973 Munich WCT, also known as the German Professional Championships, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Munich, West Germany. The tournament was part of Group A of the 1973 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the event and was held from 2 April until 8 April 1973. First-seeded Stan Smith 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 1973 Peachtree Corners Classic, also known as the Atlanta WCT, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States that was part of Group A of the 1973 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from March 19 through March 25, 1973. Second-seeded Stan Smith won the singles title and the accompanying $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.
Stan Smith [1]