| WCT Finals | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Abolished | 1989 |
| Editions | 19 |
| Location | Dallas, Texas United States |
| Venue | Moody Coliseum (1971–1979) Reunion Arena (1980–1989) |
| Category | Year-end championships |
| Surface | Carpet / Indoor |
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. [1] The 1972–1979 editions were played at Moody Coliseum, and the 1980–1989 tournaments at Reunion Arena in Dallas. [2] 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. [3] [4] 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 January 1983) in Detroit. The tournament was sponsored by Buick between 1985 and 1986, a brand of General Motors, and was called the "Buick WCT Finals".
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 winter (Rome) |  Arthur Ashe | Bob Lutz | 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6 |
| 1982 fall (Naples) |  Ivan Lendl |  Wojciech Fibak | 6–4, 6–2, 6–1 |
| 1982 winter (Detroit) [5] | Ivan Lendl |  Guillermo Vilas | 7–5, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4 |
| # | Titles |
|---|---|
| 5 | John McEnroe |
| 2 |  Ken Rosewall |
| Jimmy Connors | |
| Ivan Lendl |
| # | Finals |
|---|---|
| 8 | John McEnroe |
| 4 |  Björn Borg |
| 3 | Jimmy Connors |
| Ivan Lendl | |
| 2 | Ken Rosewall |
| Rod Laver | |
| Arthur Ashe | |
 Boris Becker |
| # | Appearances |
|---|---|
| 9 | John McEnroe |
| 6 | Arthur Ashe |
| 5 | Rod Laver |
| Björn Borg | |
| Vitas Gerulaitis | |
| Jimmy Connors | |
| Ivan Lendl |
| # | Match wins |
|---|---|
| 21 | John McEnroe |
| 10 | Björn Borg |
| Jimmy Connors | |
| Ivan Lendl | |
| 7 | Ken Rosewall |
| Arthur Ashe | |
| Vitas Gerulaitis |
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.
The ILTF Grand Prix tennis circuit was a professional tennis tour for male players that existed from 1970 to 1989. The Grand Prix and World Championship Tennis (WCT) were the two predecessors to the current tour for male players, the ATP Tour, with the Grand Prix being more prominent.
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 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.
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The 1971 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor Sportface carpet courts. It was the first edition of the WCT Finals and the concluding event of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. The eight top players in ranking points after the initial 20 tournaments of the circuit qualified for the play-off event. The quarterfinals and semifinals were played at the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas from November 19 through November 21 while the final, watched by 8,200 spectators, was played at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas, United States on November 26. Ken Rosewall win the event and the accompanying $50,000 first-prize money. Neil Armstrong presented the prizes.
Ken Rosewall won the singles title of the 1971 World Championship Tennis Finals with a 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4) victory in the final against Rod Laver.
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.".
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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.
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The 1971 Washington Star International was a men's tennis tournament and was played on outdoor clay courts. The event was the third edition of the tournament and was part of both the 1971 Grand Prix circuit and 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was held in Washington, D.C., United States from July 12 through July 18, 1971. Ken Rosewall won the singles title and earned a $10,000 first prize.
The 1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in the United States and was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 44th edition of the tournament and was held from August 2 through August 8, 1971. Sixth-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title, his third U.S. Pro title, and the accompanying $10,000 first-prize money. The final was watched by 5,500 spectators.
The 1971 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 second edition of the tournament and was held from July 19 through July 25, 1971. The tournament was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit and offered total prize money of $50,000. The singles final was won by Tom Okker who earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1971 Rothmans International Vancouver, also known as the Vancouver WCT, was a men's professional tennis tournament that was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was held on indoor carpet courts at the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from 3 October through 11 October 1971. Fourth-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1970 Rawlings Tennis Classic, also known as the St. Louis WCT, was a men's professional tennis tournament that was part of the 1970 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was held on outdoor hard courts at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was scheduled from May 25 through June 1, 1970 but both finals were delayed due to a power outage on the day before the finals and rain on the day of the finals. The singles finalists then had to travel to New York to compete in the Tennis Champions Classic before returning. Due to persistent bad weather the singles final was played indoor at the Washington University Field House on June 4, 1970. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title and earned $8,000 first-prize money. The doubles finalists Andrés Gimeno and John Newcombe had to travel to Casablanca, Morocco for the Moroccan Pro Championships and their final was rescheduled and played on August 24, 1970. This was followed by a Rawlings Challenge Cup match between tournament winner Rod Laver and Wimbledon champion John Newcombe which was won by Laver 6–3, 8–6.
The 1971 Rothmans Open, also known as the Italian International Open and Bologna WCT, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts that was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit and took place in Bologna, Italy. It was the first edition of the tournament and was held from 8 November through 14 November 1971. Rod Laver won the singles title and earned $10,000 first prize money.
