WCT Finals

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.

WCT Finals
Tournament information
Founded1971
Abolished1989
Editions19
LocationDallas, Texas
United States
VenueMoody Coliseum (1971–1979)
Reunion Arena (1980–1989)
CategoryYear-end championships
SurfaceCarpet / Indoor

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 and 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.

Sponsorship

Between 1985 and 1986 this event was sponsored by Buick, a brand of General Motors, and was called the Buick WCT Finals

Records
  • Most titles: John McEnroe 5.
  • Most finals: John McEnroe 8.
  • Most consecutive titles John McEnroe and Ken Rosewall 2.
  • Most consecutive finals John McEnroe 6.

Finals
Year Champion Runner-up Score
1971 Ken Rosewall Rod Laver6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4)
1972 Ken Rosewall Rod Laver4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–5)
1973 Stan Smith Arthur Ashe6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
1974 John Newcombe Björn Borg4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–2
1975 Arthur Ashe Björn Borg3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–0
1976 Björn Borg Guillermo Vilas1–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–1
1977 Jimmy Connors Dick Stockton6–7(5–7), 6–1, 6–4, 6–3
1978 Vitas Gerulaitis Eddie Dibbs6–3, 6–2, 6–1
1979 John McEnroe Björn Borg7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
1980 Jimmy Connors John McEnroe2–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–1, 6–2
1981 John McEnroe Johan Kriek6–1, 6–2, 6–4
1982 Ivan Lendl John McEnroe6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
1983 John McEnroe Ivan Lendl6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–0)
1984 John McEnroe Jimmy Connors6–1, 6–2, 6–3
1985 Ivan Lendl Tim Mayotte7–6, 6–4, 6–1
1986 Anders Järryd Boris Becker6–7, 6–1, 6–1, 6–4
1987 Miloslav Mečíř John McEnroe6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
1988 Boris Becker Stefan Edberg6–4, 1–6, 7–5, 6–2
1989 John McEnroe Brad Gilbert6–3, 6–3, 7–6

Seasonal finals events
Year Champion Runner-up Score
1972 winter (Rome) Arthur Ashe Bob Lutz6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6
1982 fall (Naples) Ivan Lendl Wojciech Fibak6–4, 6–2, 6–1
1982 winter (Detroit)[5] Ivan Lendl Guillermo Vilas7–5, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4

See also

References
  1. Lamar Hunt (April 1986). "Lamar Hunt muses on 16 years of the WCT". D Magazine.
  2. George Hardie (March 1988). "George Hardie Remembers..." D Magazine.
  3. "1972: The Rod Laver vs. Ken Rosewall WCT Final in Dallas". tennis.com.
  4. Only one match has since had a larger U.S. TV audience: the legendary Battle of the Sexes the following year, signifying how popular tennis had become during this boom period.
  5. held in January, 24-30, 1983
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