1971 USLTA Indoor Circuit explained

1971 USLTA Indoor Circuit
Duration:	January 25 – March 11
Edition:	1st
Tournaments:	6
Most Tournament Titles:	Ilie Năstase (3)
Most Tournament Finals:	Ilie Năstase (4)
Previous:	1970
Next:	1972

The 1971 USLTA Indoor Circuit, also known as the U.S. Indoor Winter Circuit, was a professional tennis circuit held in the United States that year. It consisted of six tournaments and was organized by Bill Riordan and sanctioned by the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA).^[1] ^[2] A $40,000 bonus pool was made available via the circuit sponsor Gillette for the top 10 points finishers.^[3] Total prize money for the tour, including the bonus, was $220,000.^[4]

Schedule

January

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
25 Jan	Midlands International Omaha, Nebraska, US $15,000 - Carpet (i) – 16S/8D	Ilie Năstase 6–4, 6–3, 6–1	Cliff Richey	Thomaz Koch Jim McManus	Tom Gorman Frank Froehling Haroon Rahim Dick Stockton
25 Jan		Clark Graebner Thomaz Koch 6–4, 4–6, 6–4	Jim McManus Jim Osborne	Thomaz Koch Jim McManus	Tom Gorman Frank Froehling Haroon Rahim Dick Stockton

February

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
4 Feb	Pontiac International Washington D.C., US $6,500 – carpet (i) – 16S	Jaime Fillol 6–1, 3–6, 6–4, 6–7, 6–4	Thomaz Koch	Cliff Richey Manuel Orantes	Richard Russell Steve Fiske Patricio Cornejo Haroon Rahim
9 Feb	Clean Air Classic Hawthorne, New Jersey, US New York City, New York, US $30,000 – carpet (i) – 32S/16D	Željko Franulović 6–2, 5–7, 6–4, 7–5	Clark Graebner	Thomaz Koch Ilie Năstase	Jim Osborne Haroon Rahim Tom Gorman Cliff Richey
9 Feb		Juan Gisbert, Sr. Manuel Orantes 7–6, 6–2	Jimmy Connors Haroon Rahim	Thomaz Koch Ilie Năstase	Jim Osborne Haroon Rahim Tom Gorman Cliff Richey
20 Feb	U.S. National Indoor Championships Salisbury, Maryland, US $50,000 – hard – 64S/32D	Clark Graebner 2–6, 7–6, 1–6, 7–6, 6–0	Cliff Richey	Haroon Rahim Gerald Battrick	Jaime Fillol Clark Graebner Manuel Orantes Tom Gorman
20 Feb		Juan Gisbert, Sr. Manuel Orantes 7–6, 6–2	Clark Graebner Thomaz Koch	Haroon Rahim Gerald Battrick	Jaime Fillol Clark Graebner Manuel Orantes Tom Gorman
25 Feb	Macon International Macon, Georgia, US $25,000 – carpet (i) – 42S/22D	Željko Franulović 6–4, 7–5, 5–7, 3–6, 7–6^(5–4)	Ilie Năstase	Clark Graebner Jaime Fillol	Edison Mandarino Tom Edlefsen Juan Gisbert, Sr. Tom Gorman
25 Feb		Clark Graebner Thomaz Koch 6–3, 6–3	Željko Franulović Jan Kodeš	Clark Graebner Jaime Fillol	Edison Mandarino Tom Edlefsen Juan Gisbert, Sr. Tom Gorman

March

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
1 Mar	National Indoor Championships Hampton, Virginia, US $35,000 – carpet (i) – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles	Ilie Năstase 7–5, 6–4, 7–6^(5–0)	Clark Graebner	Željko Franulović Ion Țiriac	Frank Froehling Jaime Fillol Jan Kodeš Thomaz Koch
1 Mar		Ilie Năstase Ion Țiriac 6–4, 4–6, 7–5	Clark Graebner Thomaz Koch	Željko Franulović Ion Țiriac	Frank Froehling Jaime Fillol Jan Kodeš Thomaz Koch

Bonus pool

class=unsortable	Rank	Player	Bonus
1.	Clark Graebner	$10,000
2.		$7,500
3.		$5,000

Notes and References

News: Don Lee . Midlands tennis tourney here will remain 'men only' event . Omaha World-Herald . October 14, 1970 . 51 . Newspapers.com . limited.
Book: Happer, Marshall. Pioneers of the Game. 2021. New Chapter Press. New York. 83–93. 9781937559953.
News: Tom Foster . Nastase tops Graebner for Coliseum tennis title . Daily Press . March 8, 1971 . 11–12 . Newspapers.com . limited.
News: Fine edge helps out. . The Province . AP . January 28, 1971 . 19 . A $40,000 bonus by the Gillette Company Wednesday boosted to $220,000 the total prize money for the U.S. Indoor Winter Tennis Circuit. . Newspapers.com . limited.