The WCT Finals was a men's tennis tournament that served as the season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis 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.[1] The 1972–1979 editions were played at Moody Coliseum, and the 1980–1989 tournaments at Reunion Arena in Dallas.[2] 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.[3][4] 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".

WCT Finals
Tournament information
Founded1971
Abolished1989
Editions19
LocationDallas, Texas
United States
VenueMoody Coliseum (1971–1979)
Reunion Arena (1980–1989)
CategoryYear-end championships
SurfaceCarpet / Indoor

Finals

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Year Champion Runner-up Score
1971   Ken Rosewall   Rod Laver 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4)
1972   Ken Rosewall (2)   Rod Laver 4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–5)
1973   Stan Smith   Arthur Ashe 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
1974   John Newcombe   Björn Borg 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–2
1975   Arthur Ashe   Björn Borg 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–0
1976   Björn Borg   Guillermo Vilas 1–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–1
1977   Jimmy Connors   Dick Stockton 6–7(5–7), 6–1, 6–4, 6–3
1978   Vitas Gerulaitis   Eddie Dibbs 6–3, 6–2, 6–1
1979   John McEnroe   Björn Borg 7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
1980   Jimmy Connors (2)   John McEnroe 2–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–1, 6–2
1981   John McEnroe (2)   Johan Kriek 6–1, 6–2, 6–4
1982   Ivan Lendl   John McEnroe 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
1983   John McEnroe (3)   Ivan Lendl 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–0)
1984   John McEnroe (4)   Jimmy Connors 6–1, 6–2, 6–3
1985   Ivan Lendl (2)   Tim Mayotte 7–6(7–4), 6–4, 6–1
1986   Anders Järryd   Boris Becker 6–7(3–7), 6–1, 6–1, 6–4
1987   Miloslav Mečíř   John McEnroe 6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
1988   Boris Becker   Stefan Edberg 6–4, 1–6, 7–5, 6–2
1989   John McEnroe (5)   Brad Gilbert 6–3, 6–3, 7–6(7–3)

Seasonal finals events

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Year Champion Runner-up Score
1972 winter (Rome)   Arthur Ashe   Bob Lutz 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6
1982 fall (Naples)   Ivan Lendl   Wojciech Fibak 6–4, 6–2, 6–1
1982 winter (Detroit)[5]   Ivan Lendl   Guillermo Vilas 7–5, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4

Records

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# Titles
5   John McEnroe
2   Ken Rosewall
  Jimmy Connors
  Ivan Lendl
# Finals
8   John McEnroe
4   Björn Borg
3   Jimmy Connors
  Ivan Lendl
2   Ken Rosewall
  Rod Laver
  Arthur Ashe
  Boris Becker
# Appearances
9   John McEnroe
6   Arthur Ashe
5   Rod Laver
  Björn Borg
  Vitas Gerulaitis
  Jimmy Connors
  Ivan Lendl
# Match wins
21   John McEnroe
10   Björn Borg
  Jimmy Connors
  Ivan Lendl
7   Ken Rosewall
  Arthur Ashe
  Vitas Gerulaitis


See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lamar Hunt (April 1986). "Lamar Hunt muses on 16 years of the WCT". D Magazine.
  2. ^ George Hardie (March 1988). "George Hardie Remembers..." D Magazine.
  3. ^ "1972: The Rod Laver vs. Ken Rosewall WCT Final in Dallas". tennis.com.
  4. ^ Only one match has since had a larger U.S. TV audience: the legendary Battle of the Sexes the following year, signifying how popular tennis had become during this boom period.
  5. ^ held in January, 24-30, 1983
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