U.S. Pro Tennis Championships

The U.S. Pro Tennis Championships (also for a period known as the World Pro Championships) was the oldest professional tennis tournament played until its final year of 1999 and is considered as a part of the professional Grand Slam from 1927–1967 until the advent of Open Era. Pancho Gonzales holds the record for most wins with eight.[1] In 1960, the Cleveland World Pro had a women's draw, with Althea Gibson defeating Pauline Betz in the women's final.[2]

U.S. Pro Tennis Championships
Defunct tennis tournament
TourUSA Pro Tour (1927–69)
Grand Prix Circuit (1970–89)
ATP World Tour (1990–99)
Founded1927
Abolished1999
LocationUnited States
VenueMultiple
SurfaceGrass, Clay, Wood, Hard

American's first prominent professional player, Vinny Richards, arranged what became the first U.S. Professionals by negotiating with Doc Kelton to have a tournament played at the Notlek Tennis Club, located at 119th Street and Riverside Drive in Manhattan, New York, on September 23–25, 1927.[3][1] Richards, tour pro Howard Kinsey and teaching pros from the eastern U.S. comprised the field, with Richards defeating Kinsey in the final in straight sets, a victory which earned him $1,000 first-prize money.[1]

The tournament was subsequently held annually at various locations including the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York City, the South Shore Tennis Club in Chicago, in Rye, New York, at the Terrace Club in Brooklyn, the Chicago Town and Tennis Club in Chicago, at the L.A. Tennis Club in Los Angeles, at various clubs around Cleveland, Ohio, and Cleveland Arena in Cleveland. In 1954, the USPLTA authorized Kramer to hold the U.S. Pro Championships at the L.A. Tennis Club in California, Gonzales winning the event, and the Benrus Cup (emblematic of the U.S. Pro) was awarded to Gonzales.[4] Its final permanent home was the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, where it was held from 1964 to 1999. It became part of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour shortly after the advent of open tennis in 1968. Between 1970 and 1977 it was a prominent tournament of the Grand Prix Super Series. It then became a tennis event within the ATP Tour with reorganization of the top tier of pro tour tennis.

The tournament was later played on Har-Tru clay courts and was initially an important tune-up event for the US Open. But when this Grand Slam tournament moved to hardcourts in 1978, the U.S. Professionals did not follow suit, electing instead to hold its tournament during the US clay court season in early summer instead of during its hitherto pre-Open era (late summer) time slot. Remaining a clay event into the 1990s, the U.S. Professionals was a non-ATP exhibition event during the early 1990s. It was only in its final three years that the tournament was once again an ATP event and played on hardcourts.

Past finals

Singles
Year Champions Runners-up Score Venue Surface
Professional era
1927 Vinny Richards Howard Kinsey11–9, 6–4, 6–3Notlek Tennis Club, ManhattanGrass
1928 Vinny Richards Karel Koželuh8–6, 6–3, 0–6, 6–2West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1929 Karel Koželuh Vinny Richards6–4, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6, 7–5West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1930 Vinny Richards Karel Koželuh2–6, 10–8, 6–3, 6–4West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1931 Bill Tilden Vinny Richards7–5, 6–2, 6–1West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1932 Karel Koželuh Hans Nüsslein6–2, 6–2, 7–5South Shore Country ClubClay
1933 Vinny Richards Frank Hunter6–3, 6–0, 6–2Westchester Country ClubGrass
1934 Hans Nüsslein Karel Koželuh6–4, 6–2, 1–6, 7–5South Shore Country ClubClay
1935 Bill Tilden Karel Koželuh0–6, 6–1, 6–4, 0–6, 6–4Terrace Club, BrooklynClay
1936 Joe Whalen Charles Wood4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–3Tudor City Tennis Club, New YorkClay
1937a Karel Koželuh Bruce Barnes6–2, 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 6–1GreenbrierClay
1938 Fred Perry Bruce Barnes6–3, 6–2, 6–4Chicago ArenaCanvas (i)
1939 Ellsworth Vines Fred Perry8–6, 6–8, 6–1, 20–18Beverly Hills Tennis ClubHard
1940 Don Budge Fred Perry6–3, 5–7, 6–4, 6–3Chicago Town and Tennis ClubClay
1941 Fred Perry Dick Skeen6–4, 6–8, 6–2, 6–3Chicago Town and Tennis ClubClay
1942 Don Budge Bobby Riggs6–2, 6–2, 6–2West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1943 Bruce Barnes John Nogrady6–1, 7–9, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3Fort KnoxClay
1944Not held
1945 Welby Van Horn John Nogrady6–4, 6–2, 6–2Rips Tennis Courts, ManhattanClay
1946 Bobby Riggs Don Budge6–3, 6–1, 6–1West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1947 Bobby Riggs Don Budge3–6, 6–3, 10–8, 4–6, 6–3West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1948 Jack Kramer Bobby Riggs14–12, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1949 Bobby Riggs Don Budge9–7, 3–6, 6–3, 7–5West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1950b Pancho Segura Frank Kovacs6–1, 1–6, 8–6, 4–4 ret.Skating Club, ClevelandClay (i)
1951 Pancho Segura Pancho Gonzales6–3, 6–4, 6–2r[5]West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1952 Pancho Segura Pancho Gonzales3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, 6–0Lakewood, ClevelandHard (i)
1953 Pancho Gonzales Don Budge4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–2Lakewood, ClevelandHard (i)
1954 Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura6–4, 4–6, 2–6, 6–2, 6–4[6]Los Angeles Tennis Club Cement
1955 Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura21–16, 19–21, 21–8, 20–22, 21–19vCleveland ArenaHard (i)
1956 Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura21–15, 13–21, 21–14, 22–20vCleveland ArenaHard (i)
1957 Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura6–3, 3–6, 7–5, 6–1Cleveland ArenaHard (i)
1958 Pancho Gonzales Lew Hoad3–6, 4–6, 14–12, 6–1, 6–4Cleveland ArenaHard (i)
1959 Pancho Gonzales Lew Hoad6–4, 6–2, 6–4Cleveland ArenaHard (i)
1960 Alex Olmedo Tony Trabert7–5, 6–4Cleveland ArenaHard (i)
*1960 Althea Gibson Pauline BetzCleveland Arena (Women's event)Hard (i)
1961 Pancho Gonzales Frank Sedgman6–3, 7–5Cleveland ArenaHard (i)
1962 Butch Buchholz Pancho Segura6–4, 6–3, 6–4Cleveland ArenaHard (i)
1963 Ken Rosewall Rod Laver6–4, 6–2, 6–2West Side Tennis ClubGrass
1964 Rod Laver Pancho Gonzales4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4Longwood Cricket ClubGrass
1965 Ken Rosewall Rod Laver6–4, 6–3, 6–3Longwood Cricket ClubGrass
1966 Rod Laver Ken Rosewall6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 8–10, 6–3Longwood Cricket ClubGrass
1967 Rod Laver Andrés Gimeno4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–5Longwood Cricket ClubGrass
Open era
1968 Rod Laver John Newcombe6–4, 6–4, 9–7Longwood Cricket ClubGrass
1969 Rod Laver John Newcombe7–5, 6–2, 4–6, 6–1Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1970 Tony Roche Rod Laver3–6, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–2Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1971 Ken Rosewall Cliff Drysdale6–4, 6–3, 6–0Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1972 Bob Lutz Tom Okker6–4, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1973 Jimmy Connors Arthur Ashe6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1974 Björn Borg Tom Okker7–6, 6–1, 6–1Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1975 Björn Borg Guillermo Vilas6–3, 6–4, 6–2Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1976 Björn Borg Harold Solomon6–7, 6–4, 6–1, 6–2Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1977 Manuel Orantes Eddie Dibbs7–6, 7–5, 6–4Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1978 Manuel Orantes Harold Solomon6–4, 6–3Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1979 José Higueras Hans Gildemeister6–3, 6–1Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1980 Eddie Dibbs José Luis Clerc6–2, 6–1Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1981 José Luis Clerc Hans Gildemeister0–6, 6–2, 6–2Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1982 Guillermo Vilas Mel Purcell6–4, 6–0Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1983 José Luis Clerc Jimmy Arias6–3, 3–6, 6–0Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1984 Aaron Krickstein José Luis Clerc7–6, 3–6, 6–4Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1985 Mats Wilander Martín Jaite6–2, 6–4Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1986 Andrés Gómez Martín Jaite7–5, 6–4Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1987 Mats Wilander Kent Carlsson7–6, 6–1Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1988 Thomas Muster Lawson Duncan6–2, 6–2Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1989 Andrés Gómez Mats Wilander6–1, 6–4Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1990c Martín Jaite Libor Němeček7–5, 6–3Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1991 Andrés Gómez Andrei Cherkasov7–5, 6–4Longwood Cricket ClubClay
1992 Ivan Lendl Richey Reneberg6–3, 6–3Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1993 Ivan Lendl Todd Martin5–7, 6–3, 7–6Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1994 Ivan Lendl MaliVai Washington7–5, 7–6Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1995Not completed due to rain
1996Not held
1997 Sjeng Schalken Marcelo Ríos7–5, 6–3Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1998 Michael Chang Paul Haarhuis6–3, 6–4Longwood Cricket ClubHard
1999 Marat Safin Greg Rusedski6–4, 7–6(13–11)Longwood Cricket ClubHard

Notes:

a This tournament, the first pro event open to amateur players, is considered by some as both the U.S. Pro Tennis Championship and first "U.S. Open" event (then the U.S. Open was again held from 1938 to 1941 at Greenbrier but as a separate event from the U.S. Pro held in Chicago or in L.A).

b These tournaments from 1951–1962, were billed as the International Pro or World Pro Championship. In 1951, a U.S. Pro was held at Forest Hills authorized by the USPLTA, and an International Pro was held at Cleveland. There was no USPLTA U. S. Pro event held in 1952 or 1953, but the International Pro was held at Cleveland in those years and was regarded as the U. S. Pro.[7][8][9][10][11] In 1954, the USPLTA authorized Kramer to hold the U.S. Pro at L.A. Tennis Club in Los Angeles (this was the successor tournament to the 1951 U.S. Pro at Forest Hills and Segura was the defending champion).[12] The International Pro and World Pro events at Cleveland from 1951-62 were not authorized by the USPLTA to be the U.S. Pro, and were not billed as such.[13] The USPLTA were an organisation of teaching professionals and the touring professionals did enter U. S. Pro events in this period.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] In some interviews in the 1950s, Gonzales and Segura referred to the Cleveland World Pro as "the National" or the "U. S. National Professional Championships".[22] There were many newspaper and magazine articles in the 1950s that also referred to Cleveland events as U. S. Pro.[23][15][24][25][26][27][28][29]

r For 1951, the tournament was played under Round Robin format with Segura 4–0 and Gonzalez 3–1 as final standings.

x In 1954, the USPLTA authorized Kramer to hold the U.S. Pro Championship at the Los Angeles Tennis Club, Gonzales winning the final over Segura in five sets.[12] The Benrus Cup was awarded to Gonzales. This tournament was the successor event to the 1951 Forest Hills U.S. Pro, and Segura was deemed to be defending champion of this version of the U.S. Pro,[12] but there were U. S. Pro events held at Cleveland in 1952 and 1953.[30][31][32][33][34]

v For 1955–56, the matches were played under Van Alen scoring system.

c From 1990 to 1995, the U.S. Pro was an exhibition event and not part of the ATP tour.

Doubles
Year Champions Runners-up Score
1970 Roy Emerson
Rod Laver		 Ismail El Shafei
Torben Ulrich		6–1, 7–6
1971 Roy Emerson
Rod Laver		 Tom Okker
Marty Riessen		6–4, 6–4
1972 John Newcombe
Tony Roche		 Arthur Ashe
Bob Lutz		6–3, 1–6, 7–6
1973[35] Stan Smith
Erik van Dillen		 Ismail El Shafei
Marty Riessen		4–6, 6–4, 7–5
1974 Bob Lutz
Stan Smith		 Hans-Jürgen Pohmann
Marty Riessen		3–6, 6–4, 6–3
1975 Brian Gottfried
Raúl Ramírez		 John Andrews
Mike Estep		4–6, 6–3, 7–6
1976 Ray Ruffels
Allan Stone		 Mike Cahill
John Whitlinger		3–6, 6–3, 7–6
1977 Bob Lutz
Stan Smith		 Brian Gottfried
Bob Hewitt		6–3, 6–4
1978 Víctor Pecci
Balázs Taróczy		 Heinz Günthardt
Van Winitsky		6–3, 3–6, 6–1
1979 Syd Ball
Kim Warwick		 Heinz Günthardt
Pavel Složil		Not played
1980 Gene Mayer
Sandy Mayer		 Hans Gildemeister
Andrés Gómez		1–6, 6–4, 6–4
1981 Raúl Ramírez
Pavel Složil		 Hans Gildemeister
Andrés Gómez		6–4, 7–6
1982 Craig Wittus
Steve Meister		 Freddie Sauer
Schalk van der Merwe		6–2, 6–3
1983 Mark Dickson
Cássio Motta		 Hans Gildemeister
Belus Prajoux		7–5, 6–3
1984 Ken Flach
Robert Seguso		 Gary Donnelly
Ernie Fernandez		6–4, 6–4
1985 Libor Pimek
Slobodan Živojinović		 Peter McNamara
Paul McNamee		2–6, 6–4, 7–6
1986 Hans Gildemeister
Andrés Gómez		 Dan Cassidy
Mel Purcell		4–6, 7–5, 6–0
1987 Hans Gildemeister
Andrés Gómez		 Mats Wilander
Joakim Nyström		7–6, 3–6, 6–1
1988 Jorge Lozano
Todd Witsken		 Bruno Orešar
Jaime Yzaga		6–2, 7–5
1989 Andrés Gómez
Alberto Mancini		 Todd Nelson
Phil Williamson		7–6, 6–2
1990–96Not held
1997 Jacco Eltingh
Paul Haarhuis		 Dave Randall
Jack Waite		6–3, 7–6(7–3)
1998 Jacco Eltingh
Paul Haarhuis		 Chris Haggard
Jack Waite		6–3, 6–2
1999 Guillermo Cañas
Martín García		 Marius Barnard
T. J. Middleton		5–7, 7–6(7–2), 6–3

See also

References
  1. Collins, Bud (2016). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (3rd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. pp. 793–795. ISBN 978-1-937559-38-0.
  2. McCauley, p. 100
  3. "24 Sep 1927, Page 7, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle". bklyn.newspapers.com.
  4. The Los Angeles Times, 14 June 1954
  5. "05 Jul 1951, Page 20, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle". bklyn.newspapers.com.
  6. "The Los Angeles Times, 14 June 1954". newspapers.com.
  7. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  8. "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". newspapers.com.
  9. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  10. "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  11. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  12. The Los Angeles Times, 11 May 1954
  13. "Renowned players grace USPTA Championships". USPTA. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  14. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  15. Harold E. Donohue (July 1956). "Pancho Gonzales: Mixed-Up Champion". Pageant. p. 112.
  16. "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". newspapers.com.
  17. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  18. "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  19. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  20. "The Times (Shreveport), 16 February 1956". newspapers.com.
  21. "Star Press (Muncie), 18 March 1957". newspapers.com.
  22. Man with a racket: The autobiography of Pancho Gonzales (1959), p.111
  23. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  24. "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". newspapers.com.
  25. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  26. "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  27. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  28. "The Times (Shreveport), 16 February 1956". newspapers.com.
  29. "Star Press (Muncie), 18 March 1957". newspapers.com.
  30. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  31. "Corpus Christi Caller Times, 12 March 1953". newspapers.com.
  32. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  33. "The Tampa Tribune, 11 April 1953". newspapers.com.
  34. "The Philadelphia Inquirer, 27 December 1953". newspapers.com.
  35. "Connors Upsets Ashe". The Logansport Press. Logansport, IN. United Press Int. 1973-07-24. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
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