Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team, and the only black man ever to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. He retired in 1980.
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.
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 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 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.".
The 1972 World Championship Tennis Winter Finals was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet court. It was the inaugural edition of the WCT Winter Finals and was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was played at the Palazzo dello Sport in the EUR district of Rome in Italy from 22 November until 26 November 1972.
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. The tournament 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 1979 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's professional tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 9th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1979 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix. It was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from May 1 through May 6, 1979. Third-seeded John McEnroe won the title.
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 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 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 Richmond WCT, also known as the Fidelity Tournament for sponsorship reasons, was a men's professional tennis tournament. It was held on indoor carpet courts at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia in the United States. It was the tenth edition of the tournament and was held from January 27 through February 2, 1975. The tournament was part of the Green Group of the 1975 World Championship Tennis circuit. First-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title and the accompanying $12,000 first prize.
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 1975 Munich WCT was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Munich, West Germany. The tournament was part of Green Group of the 1975 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the third edition of the event and was held from 10 March through 16 March 1975. First-seeded Arthur Ashe won the singles title.
The 1974 Barcelona WCT was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Barcelona, Spain. The tournament was part of Green Group of the 1974 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the second edition of the event and was held from 25 February through 3 March 1974. First-seeded Arthur Ashe won the singles title.
The 1975 Barcelona WCT was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Barcelona, Spain. The tournament was part of Green Group of the 1975 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the third edition of the event and was held from 17 February through 23 February 1975. Second-seeded Arthur Ashe won the singles title.
The 1975 WCT International, also known as the Bologna Open or Bologna WCT, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts that was part of the Green Group of the 1975 World Championship Tennis circuit and took place in Bologna, Italy. It was the third edition of the tournament and was held from 6 February through 12 February 1975. Second-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title and earned $12,000 first prize money.
The 1974 São Paulo WCT, also known as the São Paulo Tennis Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in São Paulo, Brazil. The tournament was part of Green Group of the 1974 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the event and was held from 11 March through 17 March 1974. Second-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
Arthur Ashe [1] 