Wikipedia

French Pro Championship

The French Pro Championship was a major tennis tournament founded in 1930 by the "Association Française des Professeurs de Tennis (AFPT)" and ran annually until 1968 when it was discontinued.

French Pro Championships
Defunct tennis tournament
Founded1930
Abolished1968
LocationParis, France
VenueStade Roland Garros (1930–39,1956–1962,1968)
Palais des Sports (1950–1953)
Stade Pierre de Coubertin (1963–67)
SurfaceClay, Hard, Wood

History

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In 1930 the "Association Française des Professeurs de Tennis (AFPT)" held its first pro tournament, titled "Championnat International de France Professionnel" (French Pro Championships) June 18–22, 1930,[1] and is considered as a part of the professional major from 1927 to 1967 till the advent of Open Era. The tournament only had a men's draw.[citation needed]

From 1930 the French Pro Championship were always played at Paris, on outdoor clay at Roland Garros except from 1963 to 1967 where it was held at Stade Pierre de Coubertin on indoor wood. Ken Rosewall holds the record for 8 wins overall and 7 consecutive wins.

There was a professional tournament at Roland Garros in 1952 held on a round robin basis, in which Segura finished first, winning the decider over Pancho Gonzales, Kramer third, and Budge fourth. There is no indication yet of recognition by the AFPT as the official French Pro.

There were tournaments played on indoor cement in 1950 and 1953 at the Palais des Sports. They are listed in the table below, but there is no suggestion that they were seen as official French Pro titles.

Champions

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Singles

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Year Champion Runner-up Score Venue Surface
Professional Era
1930   Karel Koželuh   Albert Burke 6–1, 6–2, 6–1 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1931   Martin Plaa   Robert Ramillon 6–3, 6–1, 3–6, 6–2 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1932   Robert Ramillon   Martin Plaa 6–4, 3–6, 8–6, 6–4 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1933[a] Not held
1934   Bill Tilden   Martin Plaa 6–2, 6–4, 7–5 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1935   Ellsworth Vines   Hans Nüsslein 10–8, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1936   Henri Cochet   Robert Ramillon 6–3, 6–1, 6–1 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1937   Hans Nüsslein   Henri Cochet 6–2, 8–6, 6–3 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1938   Hans Nüsslein   Bill Tilden 6–0, 6–1, 6–2 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1939   Don Budge   Ellsworth Vines 6–2, 7–5, 6–3 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1940–1949 Not held
1950[b]   Pancho Segura*   Jack Kramer Palais des Sports Hard (i)
1951 Not held
1952[b]   Pancho Segura*   Jack Kramer 6-3, 6-2[5] Roland Garros Clay
1953[b]   Frank Sedgman*   Pancho Gonzales Palais des Sports Hard (i)
1954–1955 Not held
1956   Tony Trabert   Pancho Gonzales 6–3, 4–6, 5–7, 8–6, 6–2 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1957 Not held
1958   Ken Rosewall   Lew Hoad 3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–0 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1959   Tony Trabert   Frank Sedgman 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1960   Ken Rosewall   Lew Hoad 6–2, 2–6, 6–2, 6–1 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1961   Ken Rosewall   Pancho Gonzales 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 8–6 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1962   Ken Rosewall   Andrés Gimeno 3–6, 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 [2] Roland Garros Clay
1963   Ken Rosewall   Rod Laver 6–8, 6–4, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4 [2] Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
1964   Ken Rosewall   Rod Laver 6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 6–3 [2] Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
1965   Ken Rosewall   Rod Laver 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 [2] Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
1966   Ken Rosewall   Rod Laver 6–3, 6–2, 14–12 [2] Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
1967   Rod Laver   Andrés Gimeno 6–4, 8–6, 4–6, 6–2 [2] Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
Open Era
1968   Rod Laver   John Newcombe 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 Roland Garros Clay

Notes:

  1. ^ In History of the Pro Tennis Wars[3] Ray Bowers gives a detailed account of the first twenty years of the professional tennis tours, from a modest beginning in 1926 with Suzanne Lenglen and Vincent Richards as the main attractions, on through 1945. No mention is made of a French Pro tournament in 1933. The only professional competition played that year at Roland Garros was a USA-France meeting, September 22–24, in the Davis Cup format won by the USA 4–1 where Cochet overcame Bruce Barnes, Tilden defeated Plaa and Cochet, Barnes beat Plaa, and Americans then closed out the doubles. Many sources, probably incorrectly, considered the Tilden-Cochet match as a final of a supposed French Pro.[4]
  2. ^ a b c In 1953, from Saturday November 21 to Sunday November 22, a 4-man (Sedgman winner, Gonzales runner-up, Segura 3rd and Budge 4th) professional tournament was held in Paris on indoor red cement at the Palais des Sports but there is no mention that this tournament was a French Pro: in particular in the January 1954 edition of Tennis de France, the French magazine, run by Philippe Chatrier (future president of the ILTF) who made the report of this tournament by interviewing the winner Frank Sedgman. Joe McCauley included this tournament in his list of French Pro tournaments but in the precis to his book History of Professional Tennis mentions that it may not have been considered at the time as an official French Pro. In January 1950 at the same site Pancho Segura defeated Jack Kramer.

Doubles

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Year Champion Runner-up Score Venue Surface
Professional Era
1930   Karel Koželuh
  Roman Najuch		   Albert Burke
  Edmund Burke		 6–4, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1 Roland Garros Clay
1931 Roland Garros Clay
1932 Roland Garros Clay
1933 Not held
1934 Roland Garros Clay
1935   Bill Tilden
  Ellsworth Vines		   Albert Burke
  Hans Nüsslein		 6–4, 3–6, 7–5, 6–4 Roland Garros Clay
1936   Henri Cochet
  Albert Burke		   Martin Plaa
  Robert Ramillon		 6–1, 4–6, 6–1, 6–3 Roland Garros Clay
1937   Lester Stoefen
  Bill Tilden		   Henri Cochet
  Robert Ramillon		 6–4, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 Roland Garros Clay
1938   Martin Plaa
  Robert Ramillon		   Hans Nüsslein
  Bill Tilden		 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 Roland Garros Clay
1939   Don Budge
  Ellsworth Vines		   Henri Cochet
  Robert Ramillon		 6–4, 6–4, 2–6, 6–4 Roland Garros Clay
1940–1949 Not held
1950 Palais des Sports Hard (i)
1951 Not held
1952 Roland Garros Clay
1953   Don Budge*
  Frank Sedgman* 		  Pancho Gonzales
  Pancho Segura 		2–6, 9–7, 6–4 Palais des Sports Hard (i)
1954–1955 Not held
1956   Pancho Gonzales
  Tony Trabert		   Rex Hartwig
  Frank Sedgman		 6–3, 2–6, 6–1 Roland Garros Clay
1957 Not held
1958   Lew Hoad
  Tony Trabert		   Pancho Gonzales
  Ken Rosewall		 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 Roland Garros Clay
1959   Lew Hoad
  Tony Trabert		   Mervyn Rose
  Frank Sedgman		 14–12, 6–4, 6–2 Roland Garros Clay
1960   Lew Hoad
  Tony Trabert		   Ken Rosewall
  Frank Sedgman		 6–4, 6–0, 6–1 Roland Garros Clay
1961   Lew Hoad
  Ken Rosewall		   Pancho Gonzales
  Tony Trabert		 6–1, 6–3, 8–10, 13–11 Roland Garros Clay
1962   Lew Hoad
  Ken Rosewall		   Mal Anderson
  Ashley Cooper		 6–1, 6–3, 6–3 Roland Garros Clay
1963   Lew Hoad
  Ken Rosewall		   Mal Anderson
  Rod Laver		 6–2, 7–5, 8–6 Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
1964   Lew Hoad
  Ken Rosewall		   Luis Ayala
  Andrés Gimeno		 6–8, 6–4, 6–4 Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
1965   Mal Anderson
  Ken Rosewall		   Butch Buchholz
  Rod Laver		 10–8, 4–6, 8–6, 2–6, 10–8 Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
1966   Butch Buchholz
  Rod Laver		   Pierre Barthès
  Andrés Gimeno		 6–3, 6–3, 6–4 Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
1967   Pierre Barthès
  Andrés Gimeno		   Rod Laver
  Fred Stolle		 6–3, 6–4 Stade Pierre de Coubertin Wood (i)
Open Era
1968   Roy Emerson
  Rod Laver		   Ken Rosewall
  Fred Stolle		 1–6, 3–6, 11–9, 6–3, 6–2 Roland Garros Clay

Source:[6]

Bristol Cup and other French professional events

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Main article: Bristol Cup

Before 1930 some tournaments were sometimes labelled "Professional Championships of France": the Bristol Cup (held from 1920 to 1932), the most important pro tournament in the world in the 1920s, was sometimes referred as the French Pro[7] as well as the World Pro tournament held at Deauville in 1925.[8] Therefore, two different tournaments were both considered as French Pro Championships in 1925 (World Pro at Deauville and Bristol Cup at Cannes) and from 1930 to 1932 (Roland Garros and Bristol Cup at Beaulieu).[9]

Records

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Men's singles

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Source: French Pro Championships, (1930–68): The Tennisbase included [10]

Most titles   Ken Rosewall 8
Most finals   Ken Rosewall 8
Most consecutive titles   Ken Rosewall
(1960 - 1966)
 7
Most consecutive finals   Ken Rosewall
(1960 - 1966)
 7
Most matches played   Ken Rosewall 32
Most matches won   Ken Rosewall 30
Most consecutive matches won   Ken Rosewall 25
Most editions played   Ken Rosewall 11
Best winning %   Ken Rosewall 93.75%
Title won with the fewest games lost   Karel Koželuh 20
(1930)
Youngest champion   Don Budge 23y, 7m, 14d
(1939)
Oldest champion   Bill Tilden 41y, 7m, 7d
(1934)
Longest final
1963 (55 games)
  Ken Rosewall 6 6 5 6 6
  Rod Laver 8 4 7 3 4
Shortest final
1938 (21 games)
  Hans Nüsslein 6 6 6
  Bill Tilden 0 1 2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Le Tennis en France 1875–1955
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "French Pro Championships". www.tennis.co.nf. Archived from the original on 2017-09-03. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  3. ^ "Tennis Server - Between The Lines - Archive 2004 - 2015". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Cochet as professional". The Courier-mail. No. 25. 25 September 1933. p. 9 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Michel Lejard (June 28, 1952). "Segura volontaire a pris une option sur le tournoi des "Pros"". L'Equipe (in French). p. 6. Segura b. Kramer : 6-3, 7-5.
  6. ^ McCauley (2000), pp. 256–257.
  7. ^ Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annual
  8. ^ Ayres' Lawn Tennis Almanack 1925
  9. ^ Alan, Little (2014). The Golden Days of Tennis on the French Riviera 1874–1939. London: Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. p. 452. ISBN 9780906741542.
  10. ^ Garcia, Gabriel. "Tournament Records: French Pro Championships". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 14 December 2017.

Bibliography

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  • McCauley, Joe (2000). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor: The Short Run Book Company Limited.
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