From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
WCT Finals
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | WCT Finals |
| founded | 1971 |
| ended | 1989 |
| editions | 19 |
| city | Dallas, Texas |
| country | United States |
| venue | Moody Coliseum (1971–1979) |
| Reunion Arena (1980–1989) | |
| category | Year-end championships |
| surface | Carpet / Indoor |
Reunion Arena (1980–1989) | men's singles = | men's doubles = The WCT Finals was a men's tennis tournament that served as the season-ending championship for the WCT Circuit. From 1971–1989 the event was held annually in Texas on indoor carpet courts. The 1971 quarterfinals and semifinals were played in Houston, and final played at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. The 1972–1979 editions were played at Moody Coliseum, and the 1980–1989 tournaments at Reunion Arena in Dallas. The 1974 edition was the first tennis tournament to experiment with electronic line calling. The first edition of the WCT Finals was in November 1971, just a few days before the equivalent event of the rival Grand Prix circuit. But the second edition occurred just six months later to accommodate NBC's new tennis coverage; the tournament final between Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver is credited as "the match that made tennis in the United States" because its unprecedented domestic television audience of 23 million fueled a massive increase in the sport's popularity. The ensuing editions were also held in the spring. John McEnroe had the most overall success, winning a record five titles. Because of the popularity of the 1972 final, another edition, less important and with half the prize money, was held in November in Rome.The prize money offered to the winner, Arthur Ashe, was US$25,000 compared to the US$50,000 won by Ken Rosewall for the main edition in May. A decade later there were three editions of the WCT Finals; the most important one in Dallas, and the others in autumn in Naples, Italy, and in winter (in January 1983) in Detroit. The tournament was sponsored by Buick between 1985 and 1986, a brand of General Motors, and was called the "Buick WCT Finals".
Finals
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | AUS Ken Rosewall | AUS Rod Laver | 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4) |
| 1972 | AUS Ken Rosewall (2) | AUS Rod Laver | 4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–5) |
| 1973 | USA Stan Smith | USA Arthur Ashe | 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 |
| 1974 | AUS John Newcombe | SWE Björn Borg | 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 1975 | USA Arthur Ashe | SWE Björn Borg | 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–0 |
| 1976 | SWE Björn Borg | ARG Guillermo Vilas | 1–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–1 |
| 1977 | USA Jimmy Connors | USA Dick Stockton | 6–7(5–7), 6–1, 6–4, 6–3 |
| 1978 | USA Vitas Gerulaitis | USA Eddie Dibbs | 6–3, 6–2, 6–1 |
| 1979 | USA John McEnroe | SWE Björn Borg | 7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5) |
| 1980 | USA Jimmy Connors (2) | USA John McEnroe | 2–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–1, 6–2 |
| 1981 | USA John McEnroe (2) | RSA Johan Kriek | 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 |
| 1982 | TCH Ivan Lendl | USA John McEnroe | 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 1983 | USA John McEnroe (3) | TCH Ivan Lendl | 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–0) |
| 1984 | USA John McEnroe (4) | USA Jimmy Connors | 6–1, 6–2, 6–3 |
| 1985 | TCH Ivan Lendl (2) | USA Tim Mayotte | 7–6(7–4), 6–4, 6–1 |
| 1986 | SWE Anders Järryd | FRG Boris Becker | 6–7(3–7), 6–1, 6–1, 6–4 |
| 1987 | TCH Miloslav Mečíř | USA John McEnroe | 6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2 |
| 1988 | FRG Boris Becker | SWE Stefan Edberg | 6–4, 1–6, 7–5, 6–2 |
| 1989 | USA John McEnroe (5) | USA Brad Gilbert | 6–3, 6–3, 7–6(7–3) |
Seasonal finals events
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 winter (Rome) | USA Arthur Ashe | USA Bob Lutz | 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6 |
| 1982 fall (Naples) | TCH Ivan Lendl | POL Wojciech Fibak | 6–4, 6–2, 6–1 |
| 1982 winter (Detroit) | TCH Ivan Lendl | ARG Guillermo Vilas | 7–5, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4 |
Records
| # | Titles |
|---|---|
| 5 | USA John McEnroe |
| 2 | AUS Ken Rosewall |
| USA Jimmy Connors | |
| TCH Ivan Lendl |
| # | Finals |
|---|---|
| 8 | USA John McEnroe |
| 4 | SWE Björn Borg |
| 3 | USA Jimmy Connors |
| TCH Ivan Lendl | |
| 2 | AUS Ken Rosewall |
| AUS Rod Laver | |
| USA Arthur Ashe | |
| GER Boris Becker |
| # | Appearances |
|---|---|
| 9 | USA John McEnroe |
| 6 | USA Arthur Ashe |
| 5 | AUS Rod Laver |
| SWE Björn Borg | |
| USA Vitas Gerulaitis | |
| USA Jimmy Connors | |
| TCH Ivan Lendl |
| # | Match wins |
|---|---|
| 21 | USA John McEnroe |
| 10 | SWE Björn Borg |
| USA Jimmy Connors | |
| TCH Ivan Lendl | |
| 7 | AUS Ken Rosewall |
| USA Arthur Ashe | |
| USA Vitas Gerulaitis |
References
References
- Lamar Hunt. (April 1986). "Lamar Hunt muses on 16 years of the WCT". D Magazine.
- George Hardie. (March 1988). "George Hardie Remembers...". D Magazine.
- "1972: The Rod Laver vs. Ken Rosewall WCT Final in Dallas". tennis.com.
- Only one match has since had a larger U.S. TV audience: the legendary [[Battle of the Sexes (tennis)#1973: Riggs vs. King. Battle of the Sexes]] the following year, signifying how popular tennis had become during this boom period.
- held in January, 24-30, 1983
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about WCT Finals — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report