The 1976 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour.[1] The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The Commercial Union Assurance Masters is included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix ranking.[2]
Details | |
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Duration | 28 December 1975 – 13 December 1976 |
Edition | 7th |
Tournaments | 48 |
Kategorien | TC events (3) GPM events (1) 5 Star events (4) 4 Star events (9) 3 Star events (10) 2 Star events (8) 1 Star events (11) |
Achievements (singles) | |
Most tournament titles | ![]() |
Most tournament finals | ![]() |
Prize money leader | ![]() |
Points leader | ![]() |
Awards | |
Player of the year | ![]() |
Newcomer of the year | ![]() |
← 1975 1977 → |
The 1976 Grand Prix circuit consisted of 48 tournaments held in 21 different countries.
Zeitplan
edit- Key
Triple Crown |
Grand Prix Masters |
Five-star events |
Four-star events |
Three-star events |
Two-star events |
One-star events |
Team events |
December 1975
editWeek | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
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28 Dec | Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Two Star Grass – $75,000 – 64S/32D Singles – Doubles |
Mark Edmondson 6–7, 6–3, 7–6, 6–1 |
John Newcombe | Ken Rosewall Ray Ruffels |
Brad Drewett Dick Crealy Tony Roche Ross Case |
John Newcombe Tony Roche 7–6, 6–4 |
Ross Case Geoff Masters |
May
editJune
editJuly
editAugust
editSeptember
editOctober
editNovember
editDecember
editWeek | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 Dec | Commercial Union Assurance Masters Houston, United States Carpet – $130,000 – 8S/4D Singles – Doubles |
Manuel Orantes 5–7, 6–2, 0–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 |
Wojciech Fibak | Guillermo Vilas Harold Solomon |
Round robin Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez Eddie Dibbs Roscoe Tanner |
Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart 6–3, 5–7, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez |
Points system
editThe tournaments listed above were divided into six groups. Group TC consisted of the Triple Crown—the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open—while the other tournaments were given star ratings ranging from five stars to one star, based on prize money and draw size.[3] Points were allocated based on these ratings and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. No points were awarded to first-round losers, and ties were settled by the number of tournaments played. The points allocation, with doubles points listed in brackets, is as follows:
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Standings
editThe 1976 Grand Prix tournaments were divided in six separate point categories, ranging from the Triple Crown tournaments (150 points for the winner) to the smallest One Star tournaments (40 points for the winner). At the end of the year the 35 top-ranked players received a bonus from the bonus pool. To qualify for a bonus a player must have played a minimum amount of One and Two Star tournaments. The top eight points ranked singles players and top four doubles teams were entitled to participate in the season-ending Masters tournament.[2]
Rk | Name | Points | Bonus |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Raúl Ramírez (MEX) | 938 | $150,000 |
2 | Manuel Orantes (ESP) | 811 | $90,000 |
3 | Jimmy Connors (USA) | 800 | - |
4 | Eddie Dibbs (USA) | 687 | $60,000 |
5 | Harold Solomon (USA) | 681 | $45,000 |
6 | Guillermo Vilas (ARG) | 627 | $35,000 |
7 | Roscoe Tanner (USA) | 615 | $30,000 |
8 | Wojciech Fibak (POL) | 582 | $26,000 |
9 | Brian Gottfried (USA) | 574 | $23,000 |
10 | Björn Borg (SWE) | 510 | - |
ATP rankings
editThese are the ATP rankings of the top twenty singles players at the end of the 1975 season [4] and at the end of the 1976 season,[5] with numbers of ranking points, points averages, numbers of tournaments played, year-end rankings in 1976, highest and lowest positions during the season and number of spots gained or lost from the first rankings to the year-end rankings.
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List of tournament winners
editThe list of winners and number of Grand Prix singles titles won, alphabetically by last name:
- Paolo Bertolucci (1) Barcelona
- Björn Borg (3) Düsseldorf, Wimbledon, Boston
- Jimmy Connors (6) Washington, North Conway, Indianapolis, US Open, Cologne, Wembley
- Mark Cox (1) Stockholm
- Eddie Dibbs (2) Hamburg, Paris (Jean Becker)
- Mark Edmondson (1) Australian Open
- Brian Fairlie (1) Manila
- Wojciech Fibak (2) Bournemouth, Vienna
- Brian Gottfried (1) Los Angeles
- Geoff Masters (1) Sydney Indoor
- Ilie Năstase (1) South Orange
- Manuel Orantes (5) Munich, Kitzbühel, Madrid, Barcelona, Masters
- Adriano Panatta (2) Rome, French Open
- Víctor Pecci (2) Madrid, Berlin
- Raúl Ramírez (2) Gstaad, London III
- Cliff Richey (1) Bermuda
- Ken Rosewall (1) Hong Kong
- Ray Ruffels (1) Perth
- Harold Solomon (2) Maui, Johannesburg
- Roscoe Tanner (4) Cincinnati, Columbus, San Francisco, Tokyo Outdoor
- Balázs Taróczy (1) Hilversum
- Guillermo Vilas (3) Montreal, São Paulo. Buenos Aires
- Kim Warwick (1) Bangalore
- Antonio Zugarelli (1) Båstad
The following players won their first Grand Prix title in 1976:
- Mark Edmondson Australian Open
- Wojtek Fibak Stockholm
- Geoff Masters Sydney Indoor
- Víctor Pecci Madrid
- Kim Warwick Bangalore
- Antonio Zugarelli Båstad
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ This match was stopped at two sets all due to bad light. The final set was played on 15 September during the Grow Professional Doubles Championships.
References
edit- ^ "How it All Began". ATPWorldTour.com. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ a b John Barrett, ed. (1977). World of Tennis 1977 : a BP yearbook. London: Macdonald and Janes. pp. 25–31. ISBN 9780354090117.
- ^ "$5-Million Tour For Grand Prix Tennis". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. UPI. 23 January 1976.
- ^ "ATP Rankings (singles) as of December 15, 1975". atpworldtour.com. ATP Tour, Inc. 15 December 1975. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
- ^ "ATP Rankings (singles) as of December 12, 1976". atpworldtour.com. ATP Tour, Inc.
- ^ "ATP rankings 15 Dec, 1975". ATP. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ "ATP Year-end top 20". ATP. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
External links
edit- ATP Archive 1976: Commercial Union Grand Prix Tournaments
- ATP – History Mens Professional Tours
Further reading
edit- Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book (2nd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. ISBN 978-0-942257-70-0.