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.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. 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 YearChampionRunner-upScore1971 Ken Rosewall Rod Laver6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4)1972 Ken Rosewall Rod Laver4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–5)1973 Stan Smith Arthur Ashe6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 1974 John Newcombe Björn Borg4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–2 1975 Arthur Ashe Björn Borg3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–0 1976 Björn Borg Guillermo Vilas1–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–1 1977 Jimmy Connors Dick Stockton6–7(5–7), 6–1, 6–4, 6–3 1978 Vitas Gerulaitis Eddie Dibbs6–3, 6–2, 6–1 1979 John McEnroe Björn Borg7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)1980 Jimmy Connors John McEnroe2–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–1, 6–2 1981 John McEnroe Johan Kriek6–1, 6–2, 6–4 1982 Ivan Lendl John McEnroe6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 1983 John McEnroe Ivan Lendl6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–0)1984 John McEnroe Jimmy Connors6–1, 6–2, 6–3 1985 Ivan Lendl Tim Mayotte7–6(7–4), 6–4, 6–1 1986 Anders Järryd Boris Becker6–7(3–7), 6–1, 6–1, 6–4 1987 Miloslav Mečíř John McEnroe6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2 1988 Boris Becker Stefan Edberg6–4, 1–6, 7–5, 6–2 1989 John McEnroe Brad Gilbert6–3, 6–3, 7–6(7–3)
Seasonal finals events YearChampionRunner-upScore1972 winter (Rome) Arthur Ashe Bob Lutz6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6 1982 fall (Naples) Ivan Lendl Wojciech Fibak6–4, 6–2, 6–11982 winter (Detroit)held in January, 24-30, 1983 Ivan Lendl Guillermo Vilas7–5, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Records #Titles 5 John McEnroe 2 Ken Rosewall Jimmy Connors Ivan Lendl #Finals 8 John McEnroe 4 Björn Borg 3 Jimmy Connors Ivan Lendl2 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 Lendl7 Ken Rosewall Arthur Ashe Vitas Gerulaitis
Won without dropping a set: John McEnroe (1981, 1984) Singles–doubles titles winners: Stan Smith (S–D), John McEnroe (S–D)
See also WCT World Doubles Grand Slam Cup Masters Grand Prix
References
External links ATP tournament archive