U.S. Pro Tennis Championships
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U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was the oldest professional tennis tournament played until its final year of 1999.
American's first prominent professional player, Vinny Richards, arranged what became the first U.S. Pro by negoiating with Doc Kelton to have a tournament played on the Notlek courts, located at 119th Street and Riverside Drive in Brooklyn, New York, on September 23-25, 1927. Richards, fellow C.C. Pyle 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, 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 was a Grand Prix tournament with the advent of open tennis in 1968. It then became a tournament on the ATP Tour with reorganization of the top tier pro tour.
At Longwood the tournament was played first played on a hardcourt. It was later played on Har-Tru clay courts and was an important tune-up event for the U.S. Open. When the Open moved to hardcourts in Flushing Meadows 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 (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.
[edit] Past winners
[edit] Singles
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score | Site | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 |  Vinny Richards |
Howard Kinsey |
11-9, 6-4, 6-3 | Notlek courts, Brooklyn | ? |
| 1928 | Vinny Richards |
 Karel Kozeluh |
8-6, 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 | West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, Queens | grass |
| 1929 | Karel Kozeluh |
Vinny Richards |
6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 7-5 | West Side Tennis Club | grass |
| 1930 | Vinny Richards |
Karel Kozeluh |
?, 10-8, ?, ? | West Side Tennis Club | grass |
| 1931 | Bill Tilden |
Vinny Richards |
7-5, 6-2, 6-1 | West Side Tennis Club | grass |
| 1932 | Karel Kozeluh |
 Hans Nusslein |
6-2, 6-3, 7-5 | South Shore Country Club, Chicago | clay |
| 1933 | Vinny Richards |
Frank Hunter |
? | ?, Rye, New York | grass |
| 1934 |  Hans Nusslein |
Karel Kozeluh |
? (four sets) | South Shore Country Club | clay |
| 1935 | Bill Tilden |
Karel Kozeluh |
?, ?, ?, ?, 7-5 | Terrace Club, Brooklyn | ? |
| 1936 | Joe Whalen |
Charles Wood |
? | Tudor city courts, New York | ? |
| *1937 | Karel Kozeluh |
Bruce Barnes |
?, ?, ?, ?, 6-1 | Greenbrier Golf and Tennis Club, White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia | Har-Tru |
| 1938 | Bruce Barnes |
Karel Kozeluh |
5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 | Chicago Arena, Chicago | (indoor) canvas |
| 1939 | Ellsworth Vines |
 Fred Perry |
8-6, 6-1, 20-18 | Beverly Hills Tennis Club, Los Angeles | Hard (cement) |
| 1940 | Don Budge |
Bruce Barnes |
6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 | Chicago Town and Tennis Club, Chicago | clay |
| 1941 | Fred Perry |
Dick Skeen |
? (4 sets, with Skeen winning the second) | Chicago Town and Tennis Club | ? clay |
| 1942 | Don Budge |
Bobby Riggs |
West Side Tennis Club | grass | |
| 1943 | Bruce Barnes |
John Nogrady |
|||
| 1944 | not held | ||||
| 1945 | Welby Van Horn |
John Nogrady |
|||
| 1946 | Bobby Riggs |
Don Budge |
West Side Tennis Club | grass | |
| 1947 | Bobby Riggs |
Don Budge |
West Side Tennis Club | grass | |
| 1948 | Jack Kramer |
Bobby Riggs |
West Side Tennis Club | grass | |
| 1949 | Bobby Riggs |
Don Budge |
West Side Tennis Club | grass | |
| **1950 | Pancho Segura |
Frank Kovacs |
?, Cleveland | clay | |
| 1951 | Pancho Segura |
Pancho Gonzalez |
West Side Tennis Club | grass | |
| ***1952 | Pancho Segura |
Pancho Gonzalez |
?, Cleveland | ||
| ***1953 | Pancho Gonzalez |
Don Budge |
?, Cleveland | ||
| ***1954 | Pancho Gonzalez |
 Frank Sedgman |
Cleveland Arena, Cleveland | (indoor) | |
| ***1955 | Pancho Gonzalez |
Pancho Segura |
Cleveland Arena | (indoor) | |
| ***1956 | Pancho Gonzalez |
Pancho Segura |
Cleveland Arena | (indoor) | |
| ***1957 | Pancho Gonzalez |
Pancho Segura |
Cleveland Arena | (indoor) | |
| ***1958 | Pancho Gonzalez |
Lew Hoad |
Cleveland Arena | (indoor) | |
| ***1959 | Pancho Gonzalez |
Lew Hoad |
Cleveland Arena | (indoor) | |
| ***1960 |  Alex Olmedo |
 Tony Trabert |
Cleveland Arena | (indoor) | |
| ***1961 | Pancho Gonzalez |
Frank Sedgman |
Cleveland Arena | (indoor) | |
| ***1962 | Butch Buchholz |
Pancho Segura |
Cleveland Arena | (indoor) | |
| 1963 | Ken Rosewall |
Rod Laver |
West Side Tennis Club | grass | |
| 1964 | Rod Laver |
Pancho Gonzalez |
Longwood Cricket Club, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | grass | |
| 1965 | Ken Rosewall |
Rod Laver |
Longwood Cricket Club | grass | |
| 1966 | Rod Laver |
Ken Rosewall |
Longwood Cricket Club | grass | |
| 1967 | Rod Laver |
 Andres Gimeno |
Longwood Cricket Club | grass | |
| 1968 | Rod Laver |
John Newcombe |
Longwood Cricket Club | grass | |
| 1969 | Rod Laver |
John Newcombe |
Longwood Cricket Club | Uni-Turf ? | |
| 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 | Jose Higueras |
 Hans Gildemeister |
6-3, 6-1 | Longwood Cricket Club | Har-Tru |
| 1980 | Eddie Dibbs |
Jose-Luis Clerc |
6-2, 6-1 | Longwood Cricket Club | Har-Tru |
| 1981 | Jose-Luis Clerc |
Hans Gildemeister |
0-6, 6-2, 6-2 | Longwood Cricket Club | Har-Tru |
| 1982 | Mel Purcell |
Fernando Luna |
6-1, 4-6, 6-3 | ||
| 1983 | Jose-Luis Clerc |
Eliot Teltscher |
6-2, 6-2 | Longwood Cricket Club | Har-Tru |
| 1984 | Aaron Krickstein |
Jose-Luis Clerc |
7-6, 3-6, 6-4 | Longwood Cricket Club | Har-Tru |
| 1985 | Mats Wilander |
Martin Jaite |
6-2, 6-4 | Longwood Cricket Club | Har-Tru |
| 1986 |  Andres Gomez |
Martin 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 | Andres Gomez |
Mats Wilander |
6-1, 6-4 | Longwood Cricket Club | Har-Tru |
| ****1990 | Martin Jaite |
Libor Nemecek |
Longwood Cricket Club | Har-Tru | |
| ****1991 | Andres Gomez |
 Andrei Cherkasov |
Longwood Cricket Club | Har-Tru | |
| ****1992 | Ivan Lendl |
Richey Reneberg |
Longwood Tennis Club | ? | |
| ****1993 | Ivan Lendl |
Todd Martin |
Longwood Cricket Club | ? | |
| ****1994 | Ivan Lendl |
MaliVai Washington |
Longwood Cricket Club | ? | |
| ****1995 | not completed due to rain | ||||
| 1996 | not held | ||||
| 1997 | Sjeng Schalken |
 Marcelo Rios |
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:
*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).
**This tournament, considered the U.S. Pro for the season, was billed the World Pro Championship. In 1951 a separate U.S. Pro and World Pro in Cleveland were held.
*** As with the 1950, these tournaments were billed the World Pro tournament but are considered to be the U.S. Pro event
**** From 1990 to 1995, the U.S. Pro event appears to have been an exhibition and not part of the ATP tour.
