| 1968 Men's NTL League | |
| Duration: | 18 March – 2 November |
| Edition: | 1st |
| Tournaments: | 18 |
| Categories: | (Pro) |
| Most Tournament Titles: |  Rod Laver (7) |
| Most Tournament Finals: | Rod Laver (8) |
| Next: | 1969 |
The 1968 Men's National Tennis League (NTL) [1] was the inaugural series of professional tennis tournaments founded by George McCall, among others: Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, Andrés Gimeno, Pancho Gonzales and Fred Stolle.
In 1967 two new professional tennis organizations were formed: the National Tennis League,[2] organized by former U.S. Davis Cup captain George MacCall, and World Championship Tennis (WCT), which was founded by New Orleans promoter Dave Dixon and funded by Dallas oil and football tycoon Lamar Hunt. At the time the two professional tours signed a significant number of the world’s top players, professional and amateur.
In 1968 Men's National Tennis League offered prize money totaling $400,000 USD.[3] It began in March with the opening tournament held in São Paulo, Brazil that was won by Rod Laver and ended with the final tournament held in Lima, Peru in November that was won by Fred Stolle.
| Pro tour |
This is the complete schedule of events on the 1968 National Tennis League, with player progression partially documented until the quarterfinals stage.
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| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 March | São Paulo Pro Championships[4] São Paulo, Brazil Clay (i) Singles | Rod Laver 7–5, 5–7, 6–4 |  Pancho Gonzales | ||
| 23 March | Rod Laver 7–5, 5–7, 6–4 | Pancho Gonzales |  Andrés Gimeno Fred Stolle | ||
| 27 March | Andrés Gimeno 11–13, 6–3, 6–4 | Fred Stolle | |||
| Rod Laver Fred Stolle 10–5 | Andrés Gimeno Pancho Gonzales |
| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 April | NTL Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup[7] Hollywood, United States Clay Singles | Roy Emerson 6–1, 6–1 | Ken Rosewall | John Hammill Crawford Henry  Rey Garrido Peter Cawthorn | |
| 18 April [8] | BBC2 World Pro Invitation Championships Wembley, Great Britain Carpet (i) Singles | Rod Laver 6–3 10-8 | Ken Rosewall | ||
| 20 April | Ken Rosewall 6–3 6–4 | Andrés Gimeno | Pancho Gonzales Rod Laver | Fred Stolle Roy Emerson | |
| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 April-5 May [10] | Rod Laver 6–0, 6–1, 6–0 | ||||
| Rod Laver Roy Emerson 12-10 6–4 | Andrés Gimeno Pancho Gonzales | ||||
| 18 May | Rod Laver 4–6, 6–3, 9–7, 6–4 | Roy Emerson Andrés Gimeno | Lew Hoad Pancho Gonzales Alex Olmedo Fred Stolle | ||
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| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 August | Fred Stolle 7–5, 6–3 | ||||
| 11 August | Andrés Gimeno 6–4, 6–1 | ||||
| 18 August | Ken Rosewall 6–4, 6–2 | Andrés Gimeno | |||
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| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sep - 1 Oct | Pancho Gonzales 7–5, 6–3 | Roy Emerson | Pancho Segura Fred Stolle | ||
| 4 - 7 Oct | Rod Laver 6–2, 6–4 | Andrés Gimeno | Roy Emerson Fred Stolle | Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura | |
| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 November[19] | NTL Lima Pro Championships Lima, Peru Clay Singles | Fred Stolle 3-0 matches | |||
| 6 November[20] | NTL La Paz Pro Round Robin La Paz, Bolivia Clay Singles | Rod Laver 3-0 matches | |||
| 8 November[21] | São Paulo Round Robin Pro Championships São Paulo, Brazil Clay (i) Singles | Rod Laver 3-0 matches | |||
| 7 -10 Nov | Ken Rosewall (won Lyon event) Pancho Gonzales(won Marseille event) joint 1st | ||||
No events
| Player | $US | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rod Laver | 70,359 | |
| 2 | Ken Rosewall | 61,307 | |
| 3 | Pancho Gonzales | 38,987 | |
| 4 | Andrés Gimeno | 36,524 | |
| 5 | 35,188 | ||
| 6 | Fred Stolle | 34,335 |