See main article: article and Challenge of Champions.
The Chicago Challenge of Champions tennis exhibition tournament was held on January 4–9, 1983 at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois.[1] The promoter was Andrzej Kepinski, and this was the first year of sponsorship by Miller Lite. This was the third year of the Challenge.
Ivan Lendl won in the final 4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–4 against Jimmy Connors.
Match play began at 6:30 p.m. each evening from Tuesday, January 4, 1982 through Friday, January 7, 1982. The semi-finals were held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 8, 1982, and the finals were held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 9, 1982.
| Date | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 4 | Jimmy Connors vs. Henri Leconte | Bjorn Borg vs. Vitas Gerulaitis | Ivan Lendl vs Sandy Mayer | |
| January 5 | Vitas Gerulaitis vs. Henri Leconte | John Mc Enroe vs Sandy Mayer | Ivan Lendl vs. Eliot Teltscher | |
| January 6 | Vitas Gerulaitis vs. Jimmy Connors | Bjorn Borg vs. Henri Leconte | John Mc Enroe vs. Eliot Teltscher | |
| January 7 | Sandy Mayer vs Eliot Teltscher | Ivan Lendl vs. John Mc Enroe | Bjorn Borg vs. Jimmy Connors |
The attendance for Friday's matches was approximately 15,000.[2] Attendance at Saturday's semi-finals was 15,820, and according to the promoter this was a sell-out of the stadium when configured for tennis.[3] [4] Attendance at Sunday's finals was 11,416 [5]
The total purse was $250,000. The winner received $100,00, the runner-up $50,000, third and fourth-place finishers received $30,000 each, fifth and sixth-place finishers received $12,500, and the seventh and eighth-place finishers received $7,500. Individual players also received undisclosed amounts for appearing at the event from the sponsors/promoters.[6]