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] The tournament only had a men's draw.

American's first prominent professional player, Vinny Richards, arranged what became the first U.S. Pro by negotiating with Doc Kelton to have a tournament played on the Notlek courts, located at 119th Street and Riverside Drive in Manhattan, New York, on September 23–25, 1927. 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.

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 various clubs around Cleveland, Ohio, and Cleveland Arena in Cleveland. 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 major 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 U.S. Open. But when this Grand Slam tournament moved to hardcourts in 1978, the U.S. Pro did not follow suit, electing instead to hold its tournament during the U.S. 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. Pro 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 winners

Singles

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Site	Surface
Professional Era
1927	Vinny Richards	Howard Kinsey	11–9, 6–4, 6–3	Notlek courts, Brooklyn	Grass
1928	Vinny Richards	Karel Koželuh	8–6, 6–3, 0–6, 6–2	West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, Queens	Grass
1929	Karel Koželuh	Vinny Richards	6–4, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6, 7–5	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1930	Vinny Richards	Karel Koželuh	2–6, 10–8, 6–3, 6–4	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1931	Bill Tilden	Vinny Richards	7–5, 6–2, 6–1	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1932	Karel Koželuh	Hans Nüsslein	6–2, 6–3, 7–5	South Shore Country Club, Chicago	Clay
1933	Vinny Richards	Frank Hunter	6–3, 6–0, 6–2	Westchester Country Club, Rye, New York	Grass
1934	Hans Nüsslein	Karel Koželuh	6–4, 6–2, 1–6, 7–5	South Shore Country Club	Clay
1935	Bill Tilden	Karel Koželuh	0–6, 6–1, 6–4, 0–6, 6–4	Terrace Club, Brooklyn	Clay
1936	Joe Whalen	Charles Wood	4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–3	Tudor City Tennis Club, New York	Clay
1937^a	Karel Koželuh	Bruce Barnes	6–2, 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 6–1	Greenbrier, White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia	Clay
1938	Fred Perry	Bruce Barnes	6–3, 6–2, 6–4	Chicago Arena, Chicago	Canvas (indoor)
1939	Ellsworth Vines	Fred Perry	8–6, 6–8, 6–1, 20–18	Beverly Hills Tennis Club, Los Angeles	Hard
1940	Don Budge	Fred Perry	6–3, 5–7, 6–4, 6–3	Chicago Town and Tennis Club, Chicago	Clay
1941	Fred Perry	Dick Skeen	6–4, 6–8, 6–2, 6–3	Chicago Town and Tennis Club	Clay
1942	Don Budge	Bobby Riggs	6–2, 6–2, 6–2	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1943	Bruce Barnes	John Nogrady	6–1, 7–9, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3	Fort Knox	Clay
1944	Not held
1945	Welby Van Horn	John Nogrady	6–4, 6–2, 6–2	Rips Tennis Courts, Manhattan	Clay
1946	Bobby Riggs	Don Budge	6–3, 6–1, 6–1	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1947	Bobby Riggs	Don Budge	3–6, 6–3, 10–8, 4–6, 6–3	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1948	Jack Kramer	Bobby Riggs	14–12, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1949	Bobby Riggs	Don Budge	9–7, 3–6, 6–3, 7–5	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1950^b	Pancho Segura	Frank Kovacs	6–1, 1–6, 8–6, 4–4 rtd	Skating Club, Cleveland	Clay (indoor)
1951	Pancho Segura	Pancho Gonzales	6–0, 8–6, 6–1	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1952	Pancho Segura	Pancho Gonzales	3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, 6–0	Lakewood, Cleveland	Hard (indoor)
1953	Pancho Gonzales	Don Budge	4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–2	Lakewood, Cleveland	Hard (indoor)
1954	Pancho Gonzales	Frank Sedgman	6–3, 9–7, 3–6, 6–2	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland	Hard (indoor)
1955	Pancho Gonzales	Pancho Segura	21–16, 19–21, 21–8, 20–22, 21–19^v	Cleveland Arena	Hard (indoor)
1956	Pancho Gonzales	Pancho Segura	21–15, 13–21, 21–14, 22–20^v	Cleveland Arena	Hard (indoor)
1957	Pancho Gonzales	Pancho Segura	6–3, 3–6, 7–5, 6–1	Cleveland Arena	Hard (indoor)
1958	Pancho Gonzales	Lew Hoad	3–6, 4–6, 14–12, 6–1, 6–4	Cleveland Arena	Hard (indoor)
1959	Pancho Gonzales	Lew Hoad	6–4, 6–2, 6–4	Cleveland Arena	Hard (indoor)
1960	Alex Olmedo	Tony Trabert	7–5, 6–4	Cleveland Arena	Hard (indoor)
1961	Pancho Gonzales	Frank Sedgman	6–3, 7–5	Cleveland Arena	Hard (indoor)
1962	Butch Buchholz	Pancho Segura	6–4, 6–3, 6–4	Cleveland Arena	Hard (indoor)
1963	Ken Rosewall	Rod Laver	6–4, 6–2, 6–2	West Side Tennis Club	Grass
1964	Rod Laver	Pancho Gonzales	4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4	Longwood Cricket Club	Grass
1965	Ken Rosewall	Rod Laver	6–4, 6–3, 6–3	Longwood Cricket Club	Grass
1966	Rod Laver	Ken Rosewall	6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 8–10, 6–3	Longwood Cricket Club	Grass
1967	Rod Laver	Andrés Gimeno	4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–5	Longwood Cricket Club	Grass
Open Era
1968	Rod Laver	John Newcombe	6–4, 6–4, 9–7	Longwood Cricket Club	Grass
1969	Rod Laver	John Newcombe	7–5, 6–2, 4–6, 6–1	Longwood Cricket Club	Hard
1970	Tony Roche	Rod Laver	3–6, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–2	Longwood Cricket Club	Hard
1971	Ken Rosewall	Cliff Drysdale	6–4, 6–3, 6–0	Longwood Cricket Club	Hard
1972	Bob Lutz	Tom Okker	6–4, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4	Longwood Cricket Club	Hard
1973	Jimmy Connors	Arthur Ashe	6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2	Longwood Cricket Club	Hard
1974	Björn Borg	Tom Okker	7–6, 6–1, 6–1	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1975	Björn Borg	Guillermo Vilas	6–3, 6–4, 6–2	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1976	Björn Borg	Harold Solomon	6–7, 6–4, 6–1, 6–2	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1977	Manuel Orantes	Eddie Dibbs	7–6, 7–5, 6–4	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1978	Manuel Orantes	Harold Solomon	6–4, 6–3	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1979	José Higueras	Hans Gildemeister	6–3, 6–1	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1980	Eddie Dibbs	José Luis Clerc	6–2, 6–1	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1981	José Luis Clerc	Hans Gildemeister	0–6, 6–2, 6–2	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1982	Guillermo Vilas	Mel Purcell	6–4, 6–0	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1983	José Luis Clerc	Jimmy Arias	6–3, 3–6, 6–0	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1984	Aaron Krickstein	José Luis Clerc	7–6, 3–6, 6–4	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1985	Mats Wilander	Martín Jaite	6–2, 6–4	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1986	Andrés Gómez	Martín Jaite	7–5, 6–4	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1987	Mats Wilander	Kent Carlsson	7–6, 6–1	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1988	Thomas Muster	Lawson Duncan	6–2, 6–2	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1989	Andrés Gómez	Mats Wilander	6–1, 6–4	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1990^c	Martín Jaite	Libor Němeček	7–5, 6–3	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1991	Andrés Gómez	Andrei Cherkasov	7–5, 6–4	Longwood Cricket Club	Har-Tru
1992	Ivan Lendl	Richey Reneberg	6–3, 6–3	Longwood Cricket Club	DecoTurf
1993	Ivan Lendl	Todd Martin	5–7, 6–3, 7–6	Longwood Cricket Club	DecoTurf
1994	Ivan Lendl	MaliVai Washington	7–5, 7–6	Longwood Cricket Club	DecoTurf
1995	Not completed due to rain
1996	Not held
1997	Sjeng Schalken	Marcelo Ríos	7–5, 6–3	Longwood Cricket Club	DecoTurf
1998	Michael Chang	Paul Haarhuis	6–3, 6–4	Longwood Cricket Club	DecoTurf
1999	Marat Safin	Greg Rusedski	6–4, 7–6(11)	Longwood Cricket Club	DecoTurf

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 1950–1962, considered as the U.S. Pro for the season, were billed the World Pro Championship with the exception of 1951, where a separate U.S. Pro and World Pro in Cleveland were held.

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

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

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

Doubles

Year	Champion	Runner-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 Robert Lutz	6–3, 1–6, 7–6
1973[2]	Stan Smith Erik Van Dillen	Ismail El Shafei Marty Riessen	4–6, 6–4, 7–5
1974	Robert 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	Robert 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
1990–96	Not 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

• U.S. Pro Tennis Championships draws, 1927–1945
• U.S. Pro Tennis Championships draws, 1946–1967
• French Pro Championship
• Wembley Championships

References

1. Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. p. 752. ISBN 978-0942257700.
2. "Connors Upsets Ashe". The Logansport Press (Logansport, IN.). United Press Int. 1973-07-24. Retrieved 2015-10-11.