James Scott Connors is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 weeks. By virtue of his long and prolific career, Connors still holds three prominent Open Era men's singles records: 109 titles, 1,557 matches played, and 1,274 match wins. His titles include eight major singles titles, three year-end championships, and 17 Grand Prix Super Series titles. In 1974, he became the second man in the Open Era to win three major titles in a calendar year, and was not permitted to participate in the fourth, the French Open. Connors finished year end number one in the ATP rankings from 1974 to 1978. In 1982, he won both Wimbledon and the US Open and was ATP Player of the Year and ITF World Champion. He retired in 1996 at the age of 43.
Kenneth Robert Rosewall is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 tennis Majors in singles, including 8 Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record 15 Pro Slam titles; overall, he reached a record 35 Major finals. He won the Pro Grand Slam in 1963. Rosewall won a record 24 major men's doubles titles. He won 9 grand slam titles in men's doubles with a career men's doubles grand slam and also won 15 Pro Slam men's doubles titles.
The 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.
Raúl Ramírez is a Mexican retired professional tennis player. He was active during the 1970s and 1980s. Ramírez was the first player to finish first in both singles and doubles Grand Prix point standings, accomplishing the feat in 1976. He attended and played tennis at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
The Rotterdam Open 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 the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sport with more complex rules. Most rules of (lawn) tennis derive from this precursor and it is reasonable to see both sports as variations of the same game. Most historians believe that tennis was originated in the monastic cloisters in northern France in the 12th century, but the ball was then struck with the palm of the hand; hence, the name jeu de paume. It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called "tennis." It was popular in England and France, and Henry VIII of England was a big fan of the game, now referred to as real tennis.
The Richmond WCT, also known by its sponsored names Fidelity Bankers Invitational and United Virginia Bank Tennis Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played in Richmond, Virginia in the United States from 1966 through 1984. The first six editions, from 1966 through 1971, were invitational tournaments and were held at the Richmond Arena. In 1972 the event became part of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) Tour and moved to the Richmond Coliseum. All editions were held on indoor carpet courts.
The South African Open – formerly known as the South African Championships, and for sponsorship reasons the Altech NCR South African Open and the Panasonic South African Open – is a defunct Grand Prix Tennis Tour, World Championship Series, ATP Tour and Virginia Slims Circuit affiliated tennis tournament played from 1891 to 2011 in South Africa. It was part of the pre-open era international seasonal tours from 1891 to 1967 from 1968 to 1971, part of the open era independent events tour from 1972, when it became part the men's Grand Prix Tour until 1989. The women's side of the competition was only briefly part of Virginia Slims tour (1970–74) before it returned to the independent circuit.
The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. The tournament is played on clay courts and is held every year in the April–May period.
The Carolinas International Tennis Tournament, also known by its sponsored name North Carolina National Bank Tennis Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played at the Julian J. Clark Tennis Stadium on the grounds of the Olde Providence Racquet Club in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1971 through 1977. The inaugural edition was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit while the following editions were part of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit. The event was held on outdoor hard courts in 1971, and on outdoor clay courts from 1972 through 1977.
The 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year. It consisted of four Grand Slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments and the Nations Cup, a team event. In addition eight World Championship Tennis (WCT) tournaments, a separate professional tennis circuit held from 1971 through 1977, were incorporated into the Grand Prix circuit. The 28 tournaments with prize money of $175,000 or more formed the Super Series category. Jimmy Connors won 10 of the 84 tournaments which secured him the first place in the Grand Prix points ranking. However he did not play enough tournaments (13) to qualify for largest share ($300,000) of the bonus pool, which instead went to third–ranked Eddie Dibbs.
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, France for the seven highest point scoring players. Stan Smith was the winner of the circuit with 187 ranking points and four tournament victories.
The Grand Prix Super Series of men's tennis tournaments formed part of the Grand Prix and World Championship Tennis tours between 1970 and 1989 and were held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. After the Majors and Season ending Championships these tournaments were the most prestigious and highest level events of the Grand Prix Tour, they had six name changes from 1970 through to 1977, Group One, Group B, Group A, Group AA, 5 Star and 6 Star before settling on a consistent naming format called "Super Series" from 1978 until 1989.
The Open Era is the current era of professional tennis. It began in 1968 when the Grand Slam tournaments allowed professional players to compete with amateurs, ending the division that had persisted since the dawn of the sport in the 19th century. The first open event was the 1968 British Hard Court Championships held in April, followed by the inaugural open Grand Slam event, the 1968 French Open, a month later. Unless otherwise sourced, all records are based on data from the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the official websites of the four Grand Slam tournaments. All rankings-related records are based on ATP Rankings, which began in 1973. The names of active players appear in boldface.
The 1977 season of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit was one of the two rival professional male tennis circuits of 1977. It was organized by World Championship Tennis (WCT) and consisted of a preliminary series of twelve tournaments leading up to a singles play-off in Dallas and doubles play-off in Kansas City in May. 23 players participated and the season final was played by the eight best performers. It was won by American Jimmy Connors who defeated compatriot Dick Stockton in four sets. The total prize money for the 1977 WCT circuit was $2,400,000.
The 1978 Monte Carlo Open 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 WCT Tour, which was incorporated into the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit. It was the 72nd edition of the event and was held from 10 April through 16 April 1978. Raúl Ramírez, the no. 5 seed, won the singles title.
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. from July 12 through July 18, 1971. Ken Rosewall won the singles title and earned a $10,000 first prize.
The 1979 WCT Tournament of Champions was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Cerromar Beach Hotel in Dorado, Puerto Rico. It was a six men round-robin tournament followed by a final between the two best performing players. The event was part of the 1979 World Championship Tennis (WCT) tour, which in turn was part of the 1979 Grand Prix circuit, but was classified as a special event and as such did not count towards the Grand Prix rankings. It was the third edition of the tournament and was held from February 19 through February 25, 1979. Jimmy Connors won the singles title and the accompanying $100,000 first prize money.
The 1974 Monte Carlo Open 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 Red Group of the 1974 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 69th edition of the event and was held from 8 April through 14 April 1974. Unseeded Andrew Pattison won the singles title.
Butch Buchholz 
Tony Roche 
Cliff Drysdale 
Raúl Ramírez 
Ilie Năstase 
Tom Okker 
