Tournament of Champions (tennis)


The Tournament of Champions was a series major professional tennis tournament held at various locations around the world between 1957 and 1968.

History

The tournament was held on the grass-courts of Forest Hills, New York, between 1957 and 1959, and an Australian version was held on grass-courts at White City, Sydney 1957, at Kooyong stadium in Melbourne in 1958, and at White City again in 1959. The 1957 and 1958 Forest Hills tournaments were both a round robin format, while the 1959 Forest Hills tournament was an elimination format with 10 players. The 1958 Kooyong Tournament of Champions was a round robin format with a final and a match for third place, while the 1957 and 1959 White City, Sydney tournaments were an elimination format.
The 1958 Kooyoong Tournament of Champions, with 10,000 Australian pounds prize money, was one of the richest tournaments of the era.
The Forest Hills Tournament of Champions was broadcast nationally in the USA on the CBS television network, the only professional tournament in the U.S.A. to achieve this status. The Forest Hills Tournament of Champions in 1957, 1958, and 1959 all featured a Pancho Gonzales vs. Lew Hoad singles match on the final day.
The tournament was picked up again in 1968 for a one off tournament during the open era and called Jack Kramer's Tournament of Champions held at Wembley Arena.

Sponsors

The Australian Tournament of Champions was sponsored by Ampol Petroleum as the Ampol Tournament of Champions. The prize money for the 1957 Sydney TOC was 7,500 Australian pounds, for the 1958 Kooyong TOC it was 10,000 Australian pounds, and for the 1959 Sydney TOC it was 5,000 Australian pounds.

Singles

Forest Hills (1957-1958-1959) Tournament of Champions

Australian Tournament of Champions

YearLocationChampionsRunners-upScore
1957Sydney, White City Stadium Pancho Segura Frank Sedgman7–5, 6–0, 6–4
1958Melbourne, Kooyong Stadium Lew Hoad Frank Sedgman
1959Sydney, White City Stadium Pancho Gonzales Lew Hoad11–9, 6–1, 6–1

London Tournament of Champions

Draws

Forest Hills 1959

London 1968