French Pro Championship

French Pro Championships
French Pro Championships
Defunct tennis tournament
Founded	1930
Abolished	1968
Location	Paris, France
Venue	Stade Roland Garros (1930–39,1956–1962,1968) ; Palais des Sports (1950–1953) ; Stade Pierre de Coubertin (1963–67)
Surface	Clay, Hard, Wood

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.

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

Singles

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[lower-alpha 1]	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[lower-alpha 2]	Pancho Segura*	Jack Kramer		Palais des Sports	Hard (i)
1951	Not held
1952[lower-alpha 2]	Pancho Segura*	Jack Kramer	6-3, 6-2[5]	Roland Garros	Clay
1953[lower-alpha 2]	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:

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]
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

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

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

Men's singles

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

References

Le Tennis en France 1875–1955
"French Pro Championships". www.tennis.co.nf. Archived from the original on 2017-09-03. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
"Tennis Server - Between The Lines - Archive 2004 - 2015". tennisserver.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
"Cochet as professional". The Courier-mail. No. 25. 25 September 1933. p. 9 – via National Library of Australia.
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.
McCauley (2000), pp. 256–257.
Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annual
Ayres' Lawn Tennis Almanack 1925
Alan, Little (2014). The Golden Days of Tennis on the French Riviera 1874–1939. London: Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. p. 452. ISBN 9780906741542.
Garcia, Gabriel. "Tournament Records: French Pro Championships". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 14 December 2017.

Bibliography

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

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[_1933-5] 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]

[_1950_1953-6] 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.

[1] Le Tennis en France 1875–1955

[gsta-2] "French Pro Championships". www.tennis.co.nf. Archived from the original on 2017-09-03. Retrieved 2017-09-22.

[historyProTennis-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.

[7] 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.

[FOOTNOTEMcCauley2000256–257-8] McCauley (2000), pp. 256–257.

[9] Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annual

[10] Ayres' Lawn Tennis Almanack 1925

[11] Alan, Little (2014). The Golden Days of Tennis on the French Riviera 1874–1939. London: Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. p. 452. ISBN 9780906741542.

[12] Garcia, Gabriel. "Tournament Records: French Pro Championships". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 14 December 2017.

Major tennis tournaments
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Former	Professional U.S. French Wembley ILTF amateur Hard Court Grass Court Covered Court