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" or "World Professional Championships", 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
DatePro tour StandingsHead-to-head results Ref.1928 Aug 25–Dec 7World tourPrincipals: Karel Koželuh Vincent Richards Secondaries: Howard Kinsey Harvey SnodgrassKoželuh–Richards15–41931 Feb 18–Aug 16North America tourPrincipals: Bill Tilden Karel Koželuh Secondaries: Francis Hunter Emmett Paré Albert Burke Bobby Seller Bruce BarnesTilden–Koželuh50–171932 Jan 4–Jul 10U.S. tourPrincipals: Bill Tilden Hans Nüsslein Secondaries: Francis Hunter Vincent Richards Albert Burke Roman Najuch Bruce Barnes Emmett Paré Karel KoželuhTilden–Nüsslein100–501933 Jan–MayNorth America tourPrincipals: Bill Tilden Hans Nüsslein Secondaries: Francis Hunter Bruce Barnes Emmett ParéTilden–Nüsslein56–221934 Jan 10–May 13U.S. tourPrincipals: Ellsworth Vines Bill Tilden Secondaries: Bruce Barnes Vincent Richards Keith Gledhill Alfred ChapinVines–Tilden38–191935 Jan 9–Apr 29North America tour Ellsworth Vines Hans Nüsslein Bill Tildenor George Lottor Les StoefenVines–Stoefen25–1Vines–Nüsslein75%–25+%*Vines–Tilden9–3Vines–Lott2–0Tilden–Lott35–6*Vines/Tilden–Lott/Stoefen20–101936 Jan 11–Jun 7North America tourPrincipals: Ellsworth Vines Les Stoefen Secondaries: George Lott Berkeley BellVines–Stoefen33–5*1937 Jan 6–May 12North America tourPrincipals: Ellsworth Vines Fred Perry Secondaries: George Lott Bruce BarnesVines–Perry32–29Tilden–Perry2–0Barnes–Lott25-19*Perry/Vines–Barnes/Lott25–16*1938 Jan 11–May 30North America tourPrincipals: Ellsworth Vines Fred Perry Secondaries: Walter Senior Berkeley BellVines–Perry49–35Senior–Bell25–12*Senior/Vines–Bell/Perry33–21*1939 Jan 3–Mar 6North America tourPrincipals: Don Budge Ellsworth Vines Secondaries: Dick Skeen Bruce Barnes Alfred ChapinBudge–Vines22–17Skeen–Chapin13–2*1939 Mar 10–May 8North America tourPrincipals: Don Budge Fred Perry Secondaries: Ben Gorchakoff Walter SeniorBudge–Perry28–81941 Jan 6–May 10North America tour Don Budge Bill TildenBudge–Tilden47–61941 Dec 26–Apr 5U.S. tour Don Budge (52–18) Bobby Riggs (36–36) Frank Kovacs (25–26) Fred Perry (23–30) Lester Stoefen (3–31)Budge–Riggs15–10Budge–Kovacs12–5Budge–Perry15–3Budge–Stoefen10–01946 Mar 9–Jun 2North America tourPrincipals: Bobby Riggs Don Budge Secondaries:
Wayne Sabin John FaunceRiggs–Budge24–22Don Budge: A Tennis Memoir (1969), p.1451947 Dec 26–1948 May 27North America tourPrincipals: Jack Kramer Bobby Riggs Secondaries:
Dinny Pails Pancho SeguraKramer–Riggs69–201949 Oct 25–1950 May 21World tourPrincipals: Jack Kramer Pancho Gonzales Secondaries:
Frank Parker Pancho Segura Bobby RiggsKramer–Gonzales94–291950 Oct 28–1951 MarNorth America tour Jack Kramer Pancho SeguraKramer–Segura64–281953 Jan 6–Jun 1North America tourPrincipals: Jack Kramer Frank Sedgman Secondaries:
Pancho Segura Ken McGregorKramer–Sedgman54–41Segura–McGregor71–251954 Jan 3–May 30North America tour Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura Frank Sedgman Don BudgeGonzales–Sedgman30–21Gonzales–Segura30–21Segura–Sedgman23–221955 Dec 9–1956 Jun 3North America tourPrincipals: Pancho Gonzales Tony Trabert Secondaries:
Pancho Segura Rex Hartwig Jack KramerGonzales–Trabert74–271957 Jan–MayWorld tourPrincipals: Pancho Gonzales Ken Rosewall Secondaries:
Dinny Pails Pancho SeguraGonzales–Rosewall50–261958 Jan–MayWorld tourPrincipals: Pancho Gonzales Lew Hoad Secondaries:
Tony Trabert Pancho Segura Ken Rosewall Frank SedgmanGonzales–Hoad51–361959 Feb 20–May 31North America tour Pancho Gonzales (47–15) Lew Hoad (42–20) Ashley Cooper (21–40) Mal Anderson (13–48)Gonzales–Cooper14–0Gonzales–Anderson20–0Hoad-Gonzales15–13Hoad–Cooper18–2Hoad–Anderson9–5Cooper–Anderson19–81960 Jan–JunWorld tour Pancho Gonzales (49–8) Ken Rosewall (32–25) Pancho Segura (22–28) Alex Olmedo (11–44)Gonzales–Rosewall20–41960 Dec 30–1961 May 28World tour——Finals: Pancho Gonzales Andrés Gimeno Frank Sedgman Barry MacKayGonzales–Gimeno (final)21–7Sedgman–MacKay (3rd place)15–131963 Feb–May 30North 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–Laver5–3Finals: Ken Rosewall Rod Laver Andrés Gimeno Butch BuchholzRosewall–Laver (final)14–4Gimeno–Buchholz (3rd place)11–7
Winners ToursPlayerYears7 Pancho Gonzales1954, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 615 Ellsworth Vines1934, 35, 36, 37, 384 Don Budge1939 , 39 , 41, 42 Jack Kramer1948, 50, 51, 533 Bill Tilden1931, 32, 33 1 Karel Koželuh1928 Bobby Riggs1946 Ken Rosewall1963
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. The 1959 tournament series was referred to as "the world series" in Kramer's brochure and a newspaper report.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." 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. 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". DateTournament seriesStandings 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 Tilden278164149143947468605036 1959 Jan 8–1960 Jan 2 Ampol Open Trophy15 tournaments51434132251414811Kramer Fall Tour Brochure, 1959 1964 May 19–Oct 31 I.P.T.P.A.17 tournaments— St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 27 April 1965.World Tennis, December, 1964.
Winners SeriesPlayerYears4 Rod Laver1965, 1966, 1967, 19691 Bobby Riggs19461 Lew Hoad19591 Ken Rosewall19641 Tony Roche1968
Other professional tours
Women DatePro TourStandingsHead-to-head results Ref.1926 Oct 9–1927 FebNorth America tour Suzanne Lenglen Mary K. BrowneLenglen–Browne38–01927 Jul 5–JulU.K. tour Suzanne Lenglen Dorothea Köring Evelyn Dewhurst—incompleteresults1936 Jan 11–AprU.S. tour Ethel Burkhardt Arnold Jane SharpArnold–Sharp—1936 Oct 9–Asia tour Jane Sharp Sanae OkadaMarble–Hardwickincompleteresults1941 Jan 6–May 10North America tour Alice Marble Mary HardwickMarble–Hardwick58–31942 Jun 6–U.S. tourPrincipals: Dorothy Round Mary Hardwick Secondaries: Bobby Riggs Wayne SabinRound–Hardwick—1943 Jun 9–U.S. tour (military posts)Principals: Alice Marble Mary Hardwick Secondaries: Charles HareMarble–Hardwick—1943U.S. tour (Women's Army Corps bases) Eveleen Donelley Lezlie HarringtonDonelley-Harrington—1943 Sep–U.S. Tour (colleges) Alice Marble Mary HardwickMarble–Hardwick—1944Canal Zone and Caribbean tour Alice Marble Mary HardwickMarble–Hardwick—1947 Jun 8–U.S. & Europe tour Pauline Betz Sarah Palfrey CookeBetz–Palfrey Cooke—1951U.S. tour Pauline Betz Gussie MoranBetz–Moran—1959 Dec 28–1960U.S. tour Althea Gibson Karol FagerosGibson–Fageros114–4
Men DatePro tourStandingsHead-to-head results Ref.1926 Oct 9–1927 FebNorth America tour Vincent Richards Paul Féret Howard Kinsey Harvey Snodgrass—incompleteresults1927 Jul 5–JulU.K. tour Karel Koželuh Howard KinseyKoželuh–Kinseyincompleteresults1929 Sep–Oct 27U.S. tour Karel Koželuh Vincent RichardsKoželuh–Richards5–21930U.S. tourPrincipals: Karel Koželuh Vincent Richards Secondaries: Dan Maskell Allen Behr Roman Najuch Charles WoodKoželuh–Richards4–21931 May 9–17North America tour Bill Tilden Vincent RichardsTilden–Richards4–0*1931 Oct 21–Nov 9Europe tour Bill Tilden Albert Burke Karel Koželuh Martin Plaa Francis Hunter Hans Nüsslein Roman Najuch— incompleteresults1932 Sep 17–Nov 27Europe tour Bill Tilden Hans Nüsslein Roman Najuch Bruce Barnes Various local playeres— incompleteresults1933Europe tour Bill Tilden Bruce Barnes Hans Nüsslein Roman Najuch Various local players— incompleteresults1933U.S. tour Bill Tilden Francis Hunter Bruce Barnes Vincent Richards Theodore Rericha Emmett Paré— incompleteresults1933South America tour Hans Nüsslein Karel Koželuh Various local playersNüsslein–Koželuh incompleteresults1933–1934South America tour Henri Cochet Martin Plaa Various local players— incompleteresults1934 Feb 19–Mar 19North America tour United States (10) Bill Tilden Ellsworth Vines France (0) Henri Cochet