Tennis pro tours and tournament ranking series explained

For many years before the Open Era of tennis in 1968, the usual format for the handful of touring tennis professionals was a series of two-man one-night stands across the United States and often in other countries as well. The most notable of these tours were the "World Series"^{[1] [2]} or "World Professional Championships",^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} in which the reigning world champion went head-to-head against a challenger, most often the leading amateur of the previous year who had just turned pro. Promoters would attempt to sign the leading amateur to a contract with a minimum guarantee against a percentage of gate receipts, making a similar type of deal with the reigning professional champion and sometimes giving smaller percentages to undercard players. The winners of the tours were described as being the "world champion".

After World War II, with an increasing number of prominent professional players, there were occasionally tournament series with point systems which created official rankings for the complete field of pros. The tournament ranking series were held in 1946, 1959 and 1960 and there were also World Championship tours in these same three years involving only a few pros. The last World Championship two-man tour was held in 1963, featuring a final set of matches of Ken Rosewall against Rod Laver. From 1964 until 1967, a tournament series with a point system determined the pro No. 1 player. Some shorter two-man or four-man tours continued to be held from 1964 onward, as there had been since the late 1920s, but without a world title at stake.

World Championship tours

Date	Pro tour	Standings	Head-to-head results		Ref.
1928 Aug 25–Dec 7	World tour	Principals: Karel Koželuh Vincent Richards Secondaries: Howard Kinsey Harvey Snodgrass	Koželuh–Richards	15–4	^[7]
1931 Feb 18–Aug 16	North America tour	Principals: Bill Tilden Karel Koželuh Secondaries: Francis Hunter Emmett Paré Albert Burke Bobby Seller Bruce Barnes	Tilden–Koželuh	50–17	^[8]
1932 Jan 4–Jul 10	U.S. tour	Principals: Bill Tilden Hans Nüsslein Secondaries: Francis Hunter Vincent Richards Albert Burke Roman Najuch Bruce Barnes Emmett Paré Karel Koželuh	Tilden–Nüsslein	100–50	^[9]
1933 Jan–May	North America tour	Principals: Bill Tilden Hans Nüsslein Secondaries: Francis Hunter Bruce Barnes Emmett Paré	Tilden–Nüsslein	56–22^[10]
1934 Jan 10–May 13	U.S. tour	Principals: Ellsworth Vines Bill Tilden Secondaries: Bruce Barnes Vincent Richards Keith Gledhill Alfred Chapin	Vines–Tilden	38–19^[11]	^[12]
1935 Jan 9–Apr 29	North America tour	Ellsworth Vines Hans Nüsslein Bill Tilden or George Lott or Les Stoefen	Vines–Stoefen	25–1	^[13]
			Vines–Nüsslein	75%–25+%*
			Vines–Tilden	9–3^[14]
			Vines–Lott	2–0^[15]
			Tilden–Lott	35–6*^[16]
			Vines/Tilden–Lott/Stoefen	20–10
1936 Jan 11–Jun 7	North America tour	Principals: Ellsworth Vines Les Stoefen Secondaries: George Lott Berkeley Bell	Vines–Stoefen	33–5*	^[17]
1937 Jan 6–May 12	North America tour	Principals: Ellsworth Vines Fred Perry Secondaries: George Lott Bruce Barnes	Vines–Perry	32–29	^[18]
			Tilden–Perry	2–0
			Barnes–Lott	25-19*
			Perry/Vines–Barnes/Lott	25–16*
1938 Jan 11–May 30	North America tour	Principals: Ellsworth Vines Fred Perry Secondaries: Walter Senior Berkeley Bell	Vines–Perry	49–35	^[19]
			Senior–Bell	25–12*
			Senior/Vines–Bell/Perry	33–21*
1939 Jan 3–Mar 6	North America tour	Principals: Don Budge Ellsworth Vines Secondaries: Dick Skeen Bruce Barnes Alfred Chapin	Budge–Vines	22–17	^[20]
			Skeen–Chapin	13–2*
1939 Mar 10–May 8	North America tour	Principals: Don Budge Fred Perry Secondaries: Ben Gorchakoff Walter Senior	Budge–Perry	28–8
1941 Jan 6–May 10	North America tour	Don Budge Bill Tilden	Budge–Tilden	47–6^[21]	^[22]
1941 Dec 26–Apr 5	U.S. tour	Don Budge (52–18) Bobby Riggs (36–36) Frank Kovacs (25–26) Fred Perry (23–30) Lester Stoefen (3–31)	Budge–Riggs	15–10	^[23] ^[24]
			Budge–Kovacs	12–5
			Budge–Perry	15–3
			Budge–Stoefen	10–0
1946 Mar 9–Jun 2	North America tour	Principals: Bobby Riggs Don Budge Secondaries: Wayne Sabin John Faunce	Riggs–Budge	24–22	^[25]
1947 Dec 26–1948 May 27	North America tour	Principals: Jack Kramer Bobby Riggs Secondaries: Dinny Pails Pancho Segura	Kramer–Riggs	69–20
1949 Oct 25–1950 May 21	World tour	Principals: Jack Kramer Pancho Gonzales Secondaries: Frank Parker Pancho Segura Bobby Riggs	Kramer–Gonzales	94–29	^[26]
1950 Oct 28–1951 Mar	North America tour	Jack Kramer Pancho Segura	Kramer–Segura	64–28	^[27]
1953 Jan 6–Jun 1	North America tour	Principals: Jack Kramer Frank Sedgman Secondaries: Pancho Segura Ken McGregor	Kramer–Sedgman	54–41
			Segura–McGregor	71–25
1954 Jan 3–May 30	North America tour	Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura Frank Sedgman Don Budge	Gonzales–Sedgman	30–21
			Gonzales–Segura	30–21
			Segura–Sedgman	23–22
1955 Dec 9–1956 Jun 3	North America tour	Principals: Pancho Gonzales Tony Trabert Secondaries: Pancho Segura Rex Hartwig Jack Kramer	Gonzales–Trabert	74–27
1957 Jan–May	World tour	Principals: Pancho Gonzales Ken Rosewall Secondaries: Dinny Pails Pancho Segura	Gonzales–Rosewall	50–26
1958 Jan–May	World tour	Principals: Pancho Gonzales Lew Hoad Secondaries: Tony Trabert Pancho Segura Ken Rosewall Frank Sedgman	Gonzales–Hoad	51–36
1959 Feb 20–May 31	North America tour	Pancho Gonzales (47–15) Lew Hoad (42–20) Ashley Cooper (21–40) Mal Anderson (13–48)	Gonzales–Cooper	14–0
			Gonzales–Anderson	20–0
			Hoad-Gonzales	15–13
			Hoad–Cooper	18–2
			Hoad–Anderson	9–5
			Cooper–Anderson	19–8
1960 Jan–Jun	World tour	Pancho Gonzales (49–8) Ken Rosewall (32–25) Pancho Segura (22–28) Alex Olmedo (11–44)	Gonzales–Rosewall	20–4
1960 Dec 30–1961 May 28	World tour		—	—
		Finals: Pancho Gonzales Andrés Gimeno Frank Sedgman Barry MacKay	Gonzales–Gimeno(final)	21–7
			Sedgman–MacKay(3rd place)	15–13
1963 Feb–May 30	North America tour	Ken Rosewall (31–10) Rod Laver (26–16) Butch Buchholz (23–18) Andrés Gimeno (21–20) Barry MacKay (12–29) Luis Ayala (11–30)	Rosewall–Laver	5–3
		Finals: Ken Rosewall Rod Laver Andrés Gimeno Butch Buchholz	Rosewall–Laver(final)	14–4
			Gimeno–Buchholz(3rd place)	11–7

Winners

Tours	Player	Years
7	Pancho Gonzales	1954, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61
5	Ellsworth Vines	1934, 35, 36, 37, 38
4	Don Budge	1939, 39, 41, 42
	Jack Kramer	1948, 50, 51, 53
3	Bill Tilden	1931, 32, 33
1	Karel Koželuh	1928
	Bobby Riggs	1946
	Ken Rosewall	1963

Tournament ranking series

There were occasionally important professional tournament series which were referred to as establishing full field rankings, necessitated by the increasing number of prominent professional players in the post-World War II period. In 1946, there was a professional tournament series of 18 events in the U.S. under the organization of the P.P.A.T. (Professional Players Association of Tennis) linked by a points system won by Bobby Riggs, which he relied upon as evidence of his mastery of the entire pro field. In 1959, Jack Kramer established a series of 15 tournaments in Australia, North America, and Europe linked by a points system which provided a full field ranking of all the contract professionals, plus a substantial money prize for the top finisher, with Lew Hoad emerging as world No. 1. The 1959 tournament series was officially named the "Ampol Open Trophy", after the principal sponsor of the tournaments, the Ampol oil company, and the trophy awarded to the winner.^[28] The 1959 tournament series was referred to as "the world series" in Kramer's brochure and a newspaper report.^{[29] [30]} In 1960, Kramer again established a tournament series with a points system, but both Gonzales and Hoad withdrew from the field and the final results are unknown. In 1964, under Kramer's advice, the I.P.T.P.A. (International Professional Tennis Players Association) established a series of 17 tournaments in U.S. and Europe with a points system, and a world No. 1 and world champion was named as a result, Ken Rosewall. This system continued in subsequent years, with Rod Laver attaining the No. 1 ranking position for the 1965, 1966, and 1967 pro tournament series. The final results of these later tournament series were not published. In 1968–69, the two pro tennis tours, the NTL and the WCT, each had a tournament series ranking list which contributed four players from each tour to a combined final tournament at the Madison Square Garden. Tony Roche won the 1968 event, and Rod Laver won the 1969 event.^[31] Beginning in 1970, the ILTF authorized Kramer to arrange a year-end championship in which the pros with the highest tournament series points competed for the title of Grand Prix champion. This event was held in various locations and finally remained at Madison Square Garden from 1977 to 1989. In 1990, the ATP took over running the event and started awarding ranking points for the 8 qualifiers based on their results in the tournament. Currently, the championship is known as the "ATP Finals".^[32]

Date	Tournament series	Standings	Points results	Ref.
1946 June 11 – Nov 17	P.P.A.T. 18 tournaments	Bobby Riggs Don Budge Frank Kovacs Welby Van Horn Carl Earn Wayne Sabin John Faunce Jack Jossi Fred Perry Bill Tilden	278 164 149 143 94 74 68 60 50 36
1959 Jan 8–1960 Jan 2	Ampol Open Trophy 15 tournaments		51 43 41 32 25 14 14 8 1 1	^[33]
1964 May 19–Oct 31	I.P.T.P.A. 17 tournaments		—	^[34] ^[35]

Winners

Series	Player	Years
4	Rod Laver	1965, 1966, 1967, 1969
1	Bobby Riggs	1946
1	Lew Hoad	1959
1	Ken Rosewall	1964
1	Tony Roche	1968

Other professional tours

Women

Date	Pro Tour	Standings	Head-to-head results		Ref.
1926 Oct 9–1927 Feb	North America tour	Suzanne Lenglen Mary K. Browne	Lenglen–Browne	38–0	^[36]
1927 Jul 5–Jul	U.K. tour	Suzanne Lenglen Dorothea Köring Evelyn Dewhurst	—	incomplete results	^[37]
1936 Jan 11–Apr	U.S. tour	Ethel Burkhardt Arnold Jane Sharp	Arnold–Sharp	—	^[38]
1936 Oct 9–	Asia tour	Jane Sharp Sanae Okada	Marble–Hardwick	incomplete results
1941 Jan 6–May 10	North America tour	Alice Marble Mary Hardwick	Marble–Hardwick	58–3	^[39]
1942 Jun 6–	U.S. tour	Principals: Dorothy Round Mary Hardwick Secondaries: Bobby Riggs Wayne Sabin	Round–Hardwick	—	^[40]
1943 Jun 9–	U.S. tour (military posts)	Principals: Alice Marble Mary Hardwick Secondaries: Charles Hare	Marble–Hardwick	—
1943	U.S. tour (Women's Army Corps bases)	Eveleen Donelley Lezlie Harrington	Donelley-Harrington	—
1943 Sep–	U.S. Tour (colleges)	Alice Marble Mary Hardwick	Marble–Hardwick	—
1944	Canal Zone and Caribbean tour	Alice Marble Mary Hardwick	Marble–Hardwick	—
1947 Jun 8–	U.S. & Europe tour	Pauline Betz Sarah Palfrey Cooke	Betz–Palfrey Cooke	—	^[41]
1951	U.S. tour	Pauline Betz Gussie Moran	Betz–Moran	—	^[42]
1959 Dec 28–1960	U.S. tour	Althea Gibson Karol Fageros	Gibson–Fageros	114–4	^[43]

Men

Date	Pro tour	Standings	Head-to-head results		Ref.
1926 Oct 9–1927 Feb	North America tour	Vincent Richards Paul Féret Howard Kinsey Harvey Snodgrass	—	incomplete results
1927 Jul 5–Jul	U.K. tour	Karel Koželuh Howard Kinsey	Koželuh–Kinsey	incomplete results	^[44]
1929 Sep–Oct 27	U.S. tour	Karel Koželuh Vincent Richards	Koželuh–Richards	5–2	^[45]
1930	U.S. tour	Principals: Karel Koželuh Vincent Richards Secondaries: Dan Maskell Allen Behr Roman Najuch Charles Wood	Koželuh–Richards	4–2
1931 May 9–17	North America tour	Bill Tilden Vincent Richards	Tilden–Richards	4–0*	^[46]
1931 Oct 21–Nov 9	Europe tour	Bill Tilden Albert Burke Karel Koželuh Martin Plaa Francis Hunter Hans Nüsslein Roman Najuch	—	incomplete results
1932 Sep 17–Nov 27	Europe tour	Bill Tilden Hans Nüsslein Roman Najuch Bruce Barnes Various local playeres	—	incomplete results	^[47]
1933	Europe tour	Bill Tilden Bruce Barnes Hans Nüsslein Roman Najuch Various local players	—	incomplete results
1933	U.S. tour	Bill Tilden Francis Hunter Bruce Barnes Vincent Richards Theodore Rericha Emmett Paré	—	incomplete results
1933	South America tour	Hans Nüsslein Karel Koželuh Various local players	Nüsslein–Koželuh	incomplete results
1933–1934	South America tour	Henri Cochet Martin Plaa Various local players	—	incomplete results
1934 Feb 19–Mar 19	North America tour	United States (10) Bill Tilden Ellsworth Vines France (0) Henri Cochet Martin Plaa	Vines–Cochet	10–0	^[48]
			Vines–Plaa	8–2
			Tilden–Cochet	8–2
			Tilden–Plaa	10–0
1934 April 2–May	U.S. tour	Vincent Richards Bruce Barnes Henri Cochet Martin Plaa	—	incomplete results
1934 Aug–Sep	Europe tour	Bill Tilden Martin Plaa Keith Gledhill Alfred Estrabeau Henri Cochet Robert Ramillon	—	incomplete results
1935	World tour	Henri Cochet R. O. Cummings James Willard James Anderson Various other local players	—	incomplete results	^[49]
1936 Jan–Jun	U.S. tour	Principals:^[50] Bill Tilden Bruce Barnes Secondaries: Jimmy McClure^[51]	Tilden–Barnes	—	^[52]
1936 Oct 9–Nov	Asian tour	Ellsworth Vines Bill Tilden	Vines–Tilden	—
1937 Jan–Apr	North America tour	Bill Tilden Martin Plaa Hytaro Satoh Alfred Chapin	—	incomplete results	^[53]
1937 Mar 24–Apr 10	U.S. tour	Principals: Fred Perry Bill Tilden Secondaries: Vincent Richards George Lott Bruce Barnes	Perry–Tilden	4–1*
			Perry/Vines–Richards/Tilden	5–0
1937 May–Jun 15	Europe Tour	Principals: Fred Perry Ellsworth Vines Secondaries: Hans Nüsslein Bill Tilden Martin Plaa Lester Stoefen Alfred Estrabeau Henri Cochet Various local players	Perry–Vines	6–3
1937 Oct	Italy tour	Henri Cochet Bill Tilden Robert Ramillon Hans Nüsslein	—	incomplete results
1937 Nov 20–1938 Mar 24	Egypt & Asia tour	Henri Cochet Bill Tilden Robert Ramillon Albert Burke Various local players	Cochet–Tilden	incomplete results	^[54]
			Ramillon–Burke
1938	U.S. tour	Vincent Richards Fred Perry Karel Koželuh Berkeley Bell Bruce Barnes	—	incomplete results
1938 Nov 15–Nov 29	Caribbean tour	Ellsworth Vines Fred Perry	Vines–Perry	4–4
1939 May 25–Aug 30	Europe tour	Don Budge Ellsworth Vines Bill Tilden or Lester Stoefen	Budge–Vines	15–5	^[55]
			Budge–Tilden	—
			Budge–Stoefen	—
1939 Oct–1940 Jan	U.S. & Mexico tour	Fred Perry Bill Tilden Lester Stoefen Ben Gorchakoff Bruce Barnes	—	incomplete results	^[56] ^[57]
1940	U.S. tour	Fred Perry Bill Tilden Vincent Richards Ben Gorchakoff	Perry–Tilden	incomplete results
1941 Jun–Sep 1	U.S. tour	Principals: Fred Perry Bill Tilden Secondaries: Vincent Richards Karel Koželuh	Perry–Tilden	incomplete results
			Koželuh–Richards*	incomplete results
1946 Feb–Aug	U.S. tour	Fred Perry Bill Tilden		incomplete results
1946 Dec–1947 Jan	South African tour	Don Budge Bobby Riggs	Budge–Riggs	incomplete results
1947 Feb	Europe tour	Don Budge Bobby Riggs	Budge–Riggs	incomplete results
1947 Apr–Sep	USA Pro Challenge Tour	Frank Kovacs (6–5) Bobby Riggs (5–6)	Kovacs–Riggs	—
1948 Jun–Jul	South America tour	Jack Kramer Pancho Segura Dinny Pails Bobby Riggs	—	incomplete results	^[58]
1948 Sep–Nov	Australia tour	Jack Kramer Pancho Segura Dinny Pails Bobby Riggs	—	incomplete results
1950 Nov–Dec	New Zealand tour	Dinny Pails Pancho Gonzales Don Budge Frank Parker	—	incomplete results
1951 Jan–Feb	Australia tour	Pancho Gonzales (36–6) Dinny Pails (27–15) Frank Parker (14–28) Don Budge (9–33)	—	—
1951 Oct–Nov	South America tour	Pancho Segura Pancho Gonzales	Segura–Gonzales	incomplete results	^[59]
1953 Aug–Sep	Europe tour	Dinny Pails Ken McGregor Pancho Segura Frank Sedgman	—	incomplete results
1954 Sep–Oct	Asia tour	Frank Sedgman (10–7–1) Pancho Gonzales (10–8) Pancho Segura (10–8) Jack Kramer (5–12–1)	—	—	^[60]
1954 Nov–Dec	Australia tour		Gonzales–Sedgman	16–9
			Gonzales–Segura	4–2
			Gonzales–McGregor	15–0
1955 Jan–Feb	Australia tour	Frank Sedgman Pancho Gonzales Ian Ayre Pancho Segura	—	incomplete results
1955 Jul–Sep	Europe tour	Ken McGregor Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura Frank Sedgman Fred Perry	—	incomplete results
1956 Jun–Jul	South America tour	Pancho Gonzales Tony Trabert Frank Sedgman Jack Kramer	—	incomplete results
1956 Aug–Oct	Europe tour	Pancho Gonzales Tony Trabert Frank Sedgman Rex Hartwig	—	incomplete results
1956 Oct–Nov	South Africa tour	Pancho Gonzales (9–4) Frank Sedgman (7–6) Tony Trabert (6–7) Rex Hartwig (4–9)	—
1957 Jun–Jul	South America tour	Pancho Segura Dinny Pails Ken Rosewall Jack Kramer	—	incomplete results	^[61]
1957 Aug–Oct	Europe tour	Ken Rosewall Pancho Segura Lew Hoad Jack Kramer	—	incomplete results
1957 Oct–Nov	South Africa tour	Ken Rosewall Pancho Segura Lew Hoad Jack Kramer	—	incomplete results	^[62]
1957 Nov	Asia tour	Ken Rosewall Pancho Segura Lew Hoad Jack Kramer	—	incomplete results
1957 Nov–Dec	Australian tour	Ken Rosewall Lew Hoad Frank Sedgman Pancho Segura	—	incomplete results	^[63] ^[64]
1958 Jul–Oct	Europe tour	Ken Rosewall Lew Hoad Tony Trabert Pancho Segura	—	incomplete results
1958 2 Aug–25 Oct	Perrier Trophy tour	Ken Rosewall Lew Hoad or Tony Trabert or Pancho Segura	—	incomplete results
1958 Nov–Dec	Asia tour	Ken Rosewall Frank Sedgman Tony Trabert Pancho Segura	—	incomplete results	^[65]
1959 Jan–Feb	Australia tour	Ken Rosewall Lew Hoad Tony Trabert Pancho Segura Mal Anderson Ashley Cooper Pancho Gonzales Frank Sedgman Ken McGregor Mervyn Rose	—	incomplete results	^[66]
1959 Feb–Mar	New Zealand tour	Ken Rosewall Tony Trabert Frank Sedgman Mervyn Rose	—	incomplete results
1959 Jul–Oct	Grand Prix de Europe	Frank Sedgman (18) Ken Rosewall (17) Lew Hoad (11) Tony Trabert (8)	—	—
1959 Nov	South African tour	Ken Rosewall (12–2) Pancho Segura (9–5) Ashley Cooper (7–7) Mal Anderson (4–10) Mervyn Rose (3–11)	—	—
1960 April	New Zealand tour	Lew Hoad (7–3) Mal Anderson (7–3) Frank Sedgman (4–6) Ashley Cooper (2–8)	Hoad–Anderson	1–0
1960 Jun–Aug	Grand Prix de Europe	Ashley Cooper (72%) Andrés Gimeno (66%) Pancho Segura (43%) Mal Anderson (43%) Alex Olmedo (37%)	—	—
1960 Oct–Dec	Asia tour	Ken Rosewall Tony Trabert Ashley Cooper Lew Hoad Andrés Gimeno Pancho Segura Mal Anderson Alex Olmedo	—	incomplete results
1961 Feb	Europe tour	Tony Trabert Mike Davies Robert Haillet Kurt Nielsen	—	incomplete results
1961 Apr	South America tour	Pancho Segura (18–5) Alex Olmedo (13–11) Ashley Cooper (12–12) Butch Buchholz (5–20)	—	—
1961 July	Soviet Union tour	Tony Trabert Butch Buchholz Pancho Segura Lew Hoad	—	—
1961 Aug–Sep	British Isles tour	Lew Hoad (6–4) Pancho Gonzales (4–6)	Hoad–Gonzales	6–4	^[67] ^[68]
1962 Mar	New Zealand tour	Ken Rosewall Andrés Gimeno Frank Sedgman Luis Ayala	Rosewall–Ayala	4–1	^[69]
			Gimeno–Sedgman	3–2
1962 Jul–Oct	Facis trophy	Lew Hoad Pancho Segura Mal Anderson Tony Trabert Ashley Cooper Ken Rosewall Alex Olmedo Butch Buchholz Andrés Gimeno Mike Davies Barry MacKay	Winner: Hoad	—
1962	European Cup	Ashley Cooper Andrés Gimeno	Winner: Cooper	^[70]
1962 Aug–Sep	Europe Tour	Ashley Cooper Andrés Gimeno Lew Hoad Tony Trabert Mal Anderson Luis Ayala Butch Buchholz Mike Davies Robert Haillet Barry MacKay Kurt Nielsen Alex Olmedo Ken Rosewall Pancho Segura		^[71]
1963 Jan	Australasia tour	Lew Hoad Rod Laver Ken Rosewall	Rosewall–Laver	11–2	^[72] ^[73]
			Hoad–Laver	8–0
1963 Jan–Feb	New Zealand tour	Ken Rosewall (7–0) Rod Laver (0–7) Andrés Gimeno (5–2) Luis Ayala (2–5)	—	incomplete results
1963 Jul–Sep	Europe Tour	Lew Hoad Luis Ayala Mike Davies Andrés Gimeno Robert Haillet Rod Laver Kurt Nielsen Alex Olmedo Ken Rosewall Frank Sedgman	—	incomplete results	^[74]
1963	European Cup
1963 Jul–Sep	Facis trophy	Rod Laver Ken Rosewall Andrés Gimeno Frank Sedgman Lew Hoad Robert Haillet Luis Ayala Alex Olmedo Mike Davies Kurt Nielsen	Winner: Laver	incomplete results
1964 Jan	Australia tour	Rod Laver Lew Hoad Mal Anderson Ashley Cooper	—	incomplete results	^[75]
1964 Feb–Mar	New Zealand tour	Lew Hoad (7–5) Rod Laver (7–5) Ken Rosewall (6–6) Mal Anderson (4–8)	Hoad–Laver	3–1	^[76]
1964 Jul–Sep	Europe Tour	Rod Laver Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall Frank Sedgman Alex Olmedo Pancho Gonzales Andrés Gimeno Butch Buchholz Luis Ayala	—	incomplete results	^[77]
1964 Jul–Oct	Facis trophy	Ken Rosewall Andrés Gimeno Frank Sedgman Lew Hoad Butch Buchholz Luis Ayala Alex Olmedo Pancho Gonzales	Winner: Rosewall	incomplete results
1964 Nov	France tour	Rod Laver Robert Haillet Andrés Gimeno Butch Buchholz	—	incomplete results	^[78]
1965 Jul–Oct	Europe Tour	Rod Laver Robert Haillet Andrés Gimeno Butch Buchholz Mal Anderson Luis Ayala Mike Davies Ken Rosewall Pancho Segura Frank Sedgman	—	incomplete results	^[79]
1966 Apr	Europe tour	Rod Laver Pierre Barthès Andrés Gimeno Lew Hoad	—	incomplete results	^[80]
1966 Aug–Sep	Europe Tour	Rod Laver Pierre Barthès Mal Anderson Butch Buchholz	—	incomplete results	^[81]
1967 Jan–Feb	Australasia tour	Rod Laver Dennis Ralston Fred Stolle Pancho Gonzales Ken Rosewall	—	incomplete results
1967 Apr	France tour	Rod Laver Dennis Ralston Fred Stolle Pierre Barthès	—	incomplete results

See also

• Major professional tennis tournaments before the Open Era

• World number 1 ranked male tennis players

• Top ten ranked male tennis players (1912–1972)

Notes

Tournament series:

Bibliography

• Book: McCauley, Joe. The History of Professional Tennis. 2000. The Short Run Book Company Limited. Windsor.
• Book: Collins, Bud . The Bud Collins History of Tennis . New Chapter Press . 2010 . 978-0942257700 . 2nd . New York . Bud Collins . registration.
• Book: Jordan, Chris. The Professional Tennis Archive. 2019. B09FZKBBZQ.

External links

• History of the Pro Tennis Wars, by Ray Bowers:
  • Chapter I: Suzanne Lenglen and the First Pro Tour
  • Chapter II, Part 1: The eminence of Karel Kozeluh and Vincent Richards 1927–1928
  • Chapter II, Part 2: Deja vu 1929–1930
  • Chapter III: Tilden's Year of Triumph in 1931
  • Chapter IV: Tilden and Nusslein, 1932–1933
  • Chapter V: The Early Ascendancy of Vines, 1934
  • Chapter VI: Vines's Second Year: 1935
  • Chapter VII: Awaiting Perry, 1936
  • Chapter VIII: Perry and Vines, 1937
  • Chapter IX: Readying for Budge, 1938
  • Chapter X: Budge's Great Pro Year, 1939
  • Chapter XI: America, 1940–1941
  • Chapter XII: America, 1942
  • Chapter XIII: The high war years, 1943–1945

Notes and References

1. Web site: The News and Observer . . 28 April 1957 . 21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230408030940/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/652047433/ . Apr 8, 2023 . 4 June 2023 . live . subscription . . en.
2. Web site: The Courier-Journal . . January 5, 1958 . 32 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230408002650/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/107790093/ . April 8, 2023 . June 13, 2023 . live . subscription . . en.
3. Web site: Troy. Jack. 8 April 1934. Vines defeats Tilden in five sets. limited. The Atlanta Constitution. 1B. newspapers.com. Ellsworth Vines, tall, cool and resourceful had what is technically known as controlled speed as he defeated Big Bill Tilden, 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, in another match of the colorful series for the world's professional tennis championship [...]..
4. News: 11 May 1937. Perry to meet Vines in main singles battle. 14. The Evening News. Harrisburg. limited. newspapers.com.
5. Web site: 21 January 1938. Vines and Perry to battle here for World's Professional Tennis Championships. limited. The Desert Sun. 1. newspapers.com.
6. News: 3 February 1939. Tennis greats play tonight. 21. The Atlanta Constitution. limited. Don Budge, left, and Ellsworth Vines will continue their battle for the world's professional tennis championship [...].. newspapers.com.
7. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter 2, part 1: 1927-1928 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
8. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter 3: Tilden's Year of Triumph: 1931 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
9. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IV: Tilden and Nusslein, 1932-1933 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
10. Web site: 1933 World Tour. The Tennis Base . subscription.
11. Web site: 1934 World tour. The Tennis Base . subscription.
12. Web site: Bowers . Ray . Forgotten Victories: The Early Pro Tennis Wars . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
13. Web site: Bowers . Ray . Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VI: Vines's Second Year: 1935 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
14. News: Kieran . John . Apr 29, 1935 . Sports of the Times; Random Volleys Across the Net. . subscription . New York Times.
15. News: . Mar 20, 1935 . Some Highlights on Tilden Troupers . American Lawn Tennis.
16. News: Currie . George . Apr 15, 1935 . Tilden Troupe of Net Stars Due Here Soon . Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
17. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VII: Awaiting Perry, 1936 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
18. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VIII: Perry and Vines, 1937 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
19. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX: Readying for Budge, 1938 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
20. Web site: Bowers . Ray . FORGOTTEN VICTORIES: History of the Pro Tennis Wars 1926-1945, Chapter X: Budge's Great Pro Year, 1939 . 2022-04-13 . tennisserver.com.
21. Web site: 1941 World Tour. The Tennis Base . subscription.
22. Web site: Bowers . Ray . FORGOTTEN VICTORIES: A History of Pro Tennis 1926-1945 - Chapter XI: AMERICA, 1940-1941 . 2022-04-14 . tennisserver.com.
23. Web site: Bowers . Ray . FORGOTTEN VICTORIES: A History of Pro Tennis 1926-1945 - Chapter XI: AMERICA, 1940-1941 . 2022-04-14 . tennisserver.com.
24. Web site: Bowers . Ray . FORGOTTEN VICTORIES: A History of Pro Tennis 1926-1945 - Chapter XII: AMERICA, 1942 . 2022-04-14 . tennisserver.com.
25. Don Budge: A Tennis Memoir (1969), p.145
26. Web site: 1949–50 World Tour. The Tennis Base . subscription.
27. Web site: Newsday . . March 28, 1951 . 105 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220414152706/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/710888655/ . Apr 14, 2022 . 5 June 2023 . live . subscription . . en.
28. News: 'Little Pancho' Segura Eyes Repeat in Round Robin Tourney . The Los Angeles Times . 31 May 1959 . 83 . newspapers.com.
29. Kramer 1959 tour fall brochure. https://douglasstewart.com.au/product/jack-kramer-presents-world-championship-tennis/ "In each tournament conducted in the world series, the players are seeded according to their standings on points."
30. News: World Tennis Championship . . 23 September 1959 . 5 . Trove . "The world series will wind up at Kooyong, Melbourne...".
31. News: American tennis tilt set at Garden tonight. The Bryan Times. UPI. May 15, 1969. 11.
32. Web site: History of The ATP Finals . 3 May 2022 . Association of Tennis Professionals.
33. Kramer Fall Tour Brochure, 1959
34. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 27 April 1965.
35. World Tennis, December, 1964.
36. Web site: Bowers . Ray . Suzanne Lenglen and the First Pro Tour . 2022-03-17 . tennisserver.com.
37. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter 2, part 1: 1927-1928 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
38. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VII: Awaiting Perry, 1936 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
39. Web site: Bowers . Ray . FORGOTTEN VICTORIES: A History of Pro Tennis 1926-1945 - Chapter XI: AMERICA, 1940-1941 . 2022-04-14 . tennisserver.com.
40. Web site: Bowers . Ray . FORGOTTEN VICTORIES: A History of Pro Tennis 1926-1945 - CH XIII - THE HIGH WAR YEARS 1943-1945 . 2022-04-14 . tennisserver.com.
41. Book: Ruth, Greg . Tennis: A History from American Amateurs to Global Professionals . 2021-08-24 . University of Illinois Press . 978-0-252-05279-8 .
42. Web site: Perry . Douglas . 2012-02-15 . Giving 'Gorgeous Gussie' Moran her due . 2022-03-17 . oregonlive . The Oregonian/OregonLive .
43. Book: African American Sports Greats: A Biographical Dictionary . 1995 . Greenwood Press . 978-0313289873 . Porter . David L. . 1. . Westport, Conn. [u.a.] . 112 . registration.
44. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter 2, part 1: 1927-1928 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
45. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter 2, part 2: 1929-1930 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
46. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter 3: Tilden's Year of Triumph: 1931 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
47. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IV: Tilden and Nusslein, 1932-1933 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
48. Web site: History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter V by Ray Bowers . 11 Feb 2018 . The Tennis Server.
49. Web site: Bowers . Ray . Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VI: Vines's Second Year: 1935 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
50. Web site: Sioux City Journal . . April 4, 1936 . 11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230605232934/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/509330838/ . Jun 5, 2023 . June 11, 2023 . live . subscription . . en.
51. Web site: Chattanooga Daily Times . . May 2, 1936 . 9 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230604185645/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/604446381/ . Jun 4, 2023 . June 11, 2023 . live . subscription . . en.
52. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VII: Awaiting Perry, 1936 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
53. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VIII: Perry and Vines, 1937 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
54. Web site: Bowers . Ray . History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX: Readying for Budge, 1938 . April 12, 2022 . tennisserver.com.
55. Web site: Bowers . Ray . FORGOTTEN VICTORIES: History of the Pro Tennis Wars 1926-1945, Chapter X: Budge's Great Pro Year, 1939 . 2022-04-13 . tennisserver.com.
56. News: . Dec 5, 1939 . Tilden, Perry, Stoefen Slate Matches Here . Arizona Independent Republic . May 17, 2015.
57. News: . Jan 18, 1940 . Perry Beats Tilden in Five–Set Match . The Times. San Mateo, California . May 17, 2015.
58. Web site: 1948 South America Tour. The Tennis Base . subscription.
59. Web site: 1951 South America tour. The Tennis Base . subscription.
60. Manila Times, 19 October 1954.
61. Web site: South America tour 1957. The Tennis Base . subscription.
62. Web site: South Africa tour 1957. The Tennis Base . subscription.
63. Web site: The News Tribune . . 22 December 1957 . 23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220415100555/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/734200606/ . 2022-04-15 . 4 June 2023 . live . subscription . . en.
64. Web site: 1957 Australian Tour. The Tennis Base . subscription.
65. Web site: 1958 Asia tour. The Tennis Base . subscription.
66. Tennis Base, 1959 Australian tour
67. News: Vera McWeeny . Vera McWeeney on Tennis . Irish Independent . 16 September 1961 . 18. Irish Newspaper Archives.
68. News: Lew Hoad Wins at St Annes . Lytham Evening Gazette . 11 September 1961 .
69. Web site: 1962 New Zealand Tour. The Tennis Base . subscription.
70. La Vanguardia 31 August 1963. http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/1963/06/06/pagina-23/32667443/pdf.html?search=copa%20tenis%20profesional
71. Web site: Europe tour 1962. The Tennis Base . subscription.
72. Web site: Lew Hoad vs Rod Laver Head 2 Head. thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base. 14 June 2019.
73. World Tennis, The Amateurs and the Pros by Lew Hoad, August 1964
74. Web site: Europe tour 1963. The Tennis Base . subscription.
75. Web site: Australia tour 1964. The Tennis Base . subscription.
76. New Zealand Herald, 29 February, March 1964 / Christchurch Star, 16 March 1964
77. Web site: Europe tour 1964. The Tennis Base . subscription.
78. Web site: France tour 1964. The Tennis Base . subscription.
79. Web site: Europe tour 1965. The Tennis Base . subscription.
80. Web site: Europe tour 1966. The Tennis Base . subscription.
81. Web site: Europe tour 1966 2. The Tennis Base . subscription.