Todd Martin - Definition and Overview

The Three Major Professional Tournaments

Professional tennis players in the years before the Open era began in 1968 played mostly on tours in head-to-head competition. They had, however, several annual tournaments that they called championship tournaments. The most prestigious was the London Indoor Professional Championship at Wembley in England, played between 1934 and 1972, that was unofficially considered the world's championship. The oldest was the United States Professional Championship, played between 1927 and 1999. Between 1955 and 1962 it was played indoors in Cleveland and was called the World Professional Championships. The third major tournament was the French Professional Championship, played between 1930 and 1968. The British and American championships continued into the Open era but devolved to the status of minor tournaments.

Wembley Championship:

United States Pro Championship:

Also known as MFS Pro Championships at Boston

French Pro Championship: