Talk:French Pro Championship
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Professional International Championships of France ("French Pro") (1930-1968 and 1920-1932)
[edit]In 1930 the "Association Française des Professeurs de Tennis (AFPT)" held its first pro tournament, entitled "Championnat International de France Professionnel" (French Pro Championships) in 18-22 June 1930 [1].
This tournament was reserved for the "official professional" players, and played on clay at Roland Garros (unless noted).
In 1953, from Saturday 21 November to Sunday 22 November, a 4-man (Sedgman winner, Gonzales runner-up, Segura 3rd and Budge 4th) professional indoor tournament was held in Paris at the Palais des Sports but there is no mention anywhere 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 Frank Sedgman, winner of the tournament.
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 |  Karel Koželuh |  Albert Burke | |
| 1931 |  Martin Plaa | Robert Ramillon | |
| 1932 | Robert Ramillon | Martin Plaa | |
| 1933[2] | not held | ||
| 1934 |  Bill Tilden | Martin Plaa | |
| 1935 | Ellsworth Vines |  Hans Nusslein | |
| 1936 | Henri Cochet | Robert Ramillon | |
| 1937 | Hans Nusslein | Henri Cochet | |
| 1938 | Hans Nusslein | Bill Tilden | 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 |
| 1939 | Don Budge | Ellsworth Vines | |
| 1940-1955 | not held | ||
| 1956 | Tony Trabert | Pancho Gonzales | |
| 1957 | not held | ||
| 1958 |  Ken Rosewall | Lew Hoad | |
| 1959 |  Tony Trabert | Frank Sedgman | |
| 1960 | Ken Rosewall | Lew Hoad | |
| 1961 | Ken Rosewall |  Pancho Gonzales | |
| 1962 | Ken Rosewall |  Andrés Gimeno | |
| 1963[3] | Ken Rosewall | Rod Laver | 6-8, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 |
| 1964[3] | Ken Rosewall | Rod Laver | 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 |
| 1965[3] | Ken Rosewall | Rod Laver | 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 |
| 1966[3] | Ken Rosewall | Rod Laver | 6-3, 6-2, 14-12 |
| 1967[3] | Rod Laver | Andrés Gimeno | |
| 1968 | Rod Laver | John Newcombe | |
Nevertheless 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 [4] as well as the World Pro tournament held at Deauville in 1925 [5]. 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).
| Date | Event and city | Winner | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Bristol Cup, Cannes | Romeo Acquarone | ||
| 1921 December | Bristol Cup, Cannes | John C. S. Rendall | ||
| 1922 19-23 December | Bristol Cup, Menton |  John C. S. Rendall |  J. Negro | 6-1, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 (or 6-1, 0-6, 6-4, 6-1) |
| 1923 December ?-20 | Bristol Cup, Menton | John C. S. Rendall | J. Negro | 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 |
| 1924 late December | Bristol Cup, Cannes (Court Métropole) | Albert Burke |  Ramon Najuch | 7-5, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 |
| 1925 December ?-26 | Bristol Cup, Cannes (Court Métropole) | Albert Burke | Ramon Najuch | 0-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 |
| 1926 13-16 December | Bristol Cup, Menton | Karel Koželuh | Albert Burke | 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 |
| No Bristol Cup in December 1927 : delayed to January 1928 | ||||
| 1928 9-12 January | Bristol Cup, Menton | Karel Koželuh | Ramon Najuch | 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 |
| 1929 January | Bristol Cup, Menton | Karel Koželuh | Albert Burke | 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 |
| 1930 January | Bristol Cup, Menton | Karel Koželuh | Ramon Najuch | 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 (or 6-3, 6-4, 6-4) |
| 1931 10-17 January | Bristol Cup, Menton | Karel Koželuh | Albert Burke | 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 |
| 1932 5-10 January | Bristol Cup, Menton | Karel Koželuh | Martin Plaa | 6-1, 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 |
References
- ↑ Le Tennis en France 1875-1955
- ↑ According to Bowers, in 1933 the only professional competition played at Roland Garros was a USA-France meeting, 22-24 September in the Davis Cup format won by the USA 4-1 where Cochet overcame Barnes, Tilden defeated Plaa and Cochet, Barnes beat Plaa, and Americans then closed out the doubles. Many sources probably wrongly considered the Tilden-Cochet match as a final of a supposed French Pro.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Played on indoor wood at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin
- ↑ Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annual
- ↑ Ayres' Lawn Tennis Almanack 1925