The ITF Grand Prix Circuit was a professional tennis tour for male players founded in 1970 as the ILTF Grand Prix Tennis Circuit it ran annually until 1989 when it and WCT Circuit were replaced by a single world wide ATP Tour .
31-483: The ASB Classic could refer to several tennis tournaments held in Auckland: The women's WTA Auckland Open The men's ATP Auckland Open Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title ASB Classic . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
62-515: A guarantee. The manipulation of Grand Slam tournaments by professional promoters at the start of the Open Era led promoter Jack Kramer, the top male tennis player in the world in the 1940s and 1950s, to conceive of the Grand Prix in 1969. He described it as "a series of tournaments with a money bonus pool that would be split up on the basis of a cumulative point system." This would encourage
93-631: A panel of journalists had ranked the best players in the world. The best thirty-two men based on this ranking were invited to play the 1971 WCT circuit, which included Ilie Năstase , Stan Smith , Jan Kodeš , Željko Franulović , and Clark Graebner . The Australian Open was part of the WCT circuit while the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open were Grand Prix events. The conflict between the ILTF (running
124-650: Is played in the following week, immediately ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, the Australian Open . The ASB Classic returned in 2023 after the 2021 and 2022 events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic owing travel restrictions for international visitors to New Zealand. In 1886 the first open tournament held in Auckland was the Auckland Championships was
155-497: The 1972 US Open where they agreed to form their own syndicate, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), through the efforts of Jack Kramer, Donald Dell , and Cliff Drysdale. In 1973, there were four rival professional circuits: the WCT circuit battled with the U. S. Indoor Circuit from January to April and the Grand Prix until July; both tours competed with the "European Spring Circuit" until June. In that same year,
186-730: The ASB Classic ) is a professional women's tennis tournament in Auckland , New Zealand . The tournament is played annually, in the first week of January, at the ASB Tennis Centre in the suburb of Parnell , just east of the Central Business District. It is an International level tournament in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) World Tour. The equivalent men's event, the ATP Auckland Open ,
217-556: The COVID-19 pandemic . In regards to the 2022 cancellation, organizers cited New Zealand's strict quarantine rules as making it intractable for players, officials, and all other required staff to be admitted into the country. This tournament had just its official names from 1956 to 1968 with no sponsorship. In 1969 following the start of the open era sponsorship begins and the event carries both its official designation and its sponsorship title. The tournaments sponsored names have been as follows: Grand Prix tennis circuit Before
248-635: The Open Era , popular professional tennis players, such as Suzanne Lenglen and Vincent Richards , were contracted to professional promoters. Amateur players were under the jurisdiction of their national (and international) federations. Later professional promoters, such as Bill Tilden and Jack Kramer , often convinced leading amateurs like Pancho Gonzales and Rod Laver to join their tours with promises of good prize money. But these successes led to financial difficulties when players were paid too much and falling attendances resulted in reduced takings. In
279-639: The "Tennis Masters Series" until 2004, then the "ATP Masters Series" until 2009. They are now called the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments . Grand Prix tournaments below this level were originally called the Grand Prix Super Series . They were retained by the ATP and renamed as the " Championship Series ". All remaining Grand Prix Tour events became part of the " World Series ". Based on USLTA Tennis Yearbooks and Guides and World of Tennis yearbooks
310-513: The 'Auckland Invitation'. In 1959 the tournament was renamed as the New Zealand Invitation before returning to its former name in 1960. By the 1960s the shuttle bus fare from town to Stanley Street was sixpence. Admission was five shillings for the first three days and 7/6 for finals and semifinals – a whole tournament for the equivalent of $ 4. By the 1970s, 25 cents got you all-day parking next door at Carlaw Park . The tournament
341-487: The ATP created controversy by calling for a boycott of the 1973 Wimbledon Championships after one of its members, Niki Pilić, was suspended by the Yugoslav Tennis Federation for failing to play in a Davis Cup tie against New Zealand. The ATP boycott went ahead after negotiations failed, with only three members of the organisation – Roger Taylor, Ilie Năstase, and Ray Keldie – breaking
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#1732787103317372-756: The Benson and Hedges Open. Then from 1998 until 2015 it was named the 'Heineken Open'. There was no women's events for the years 1983 to 1984 and 1986. In 1987 the women's event resumed and its sponsorship name was the Nutri-Metics Open until 1989, then called the Nutri-Metics International in 1990, then the Nutri-Metics Bendon Classic from 1991 to 1992, then the Amway Classic from 1993 to 1996. In 1997 it
403-616: The Grand Prix circuit, on an experimental basis during its first year. The first World Championship Tennis tournament was held 20 January 1968 in Sydney, Australia. The first NTL tournament was held 18–21 March 1968 in São Paulo, Brazil. In July 1970, the WCT absorbed the NTL. In 1971, WCT ran a twenty-tournament circuit with the year-ending WCT Finals held in November. At the end of 1970,
434-537: The Grand Prix points system – to January for the 1987 edition so that the Grand Prix Masters could be held in December from 1986 onwards. It failed, however, to prevent the number of tournaments on the Grand Prix circuit from growing, with 48 being held in 1974 compared to 75 in 1989. The WCT and Grand Prix circuits were separate until 1978, when the Grand Prix circuit integrated the WCT circuit. In 1982,
465-609: The Grand Prix was led by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC) from 1974 through 1989. (Its name was shortened to the Men's Tennis Council (MTC) in 1988.) The MIPTC's duties included imposing fines for violations of its Code of Conduct, drug testing, and administrating the Grand Prix circuit. It also moved the Australian Open from its December date – which had been adopted in 1977 so that it could be included in
496-461: The Grand Prix) and WCT was so strong that Rosewall, Gimeno, Laver, Emerson, and other WCT players boycotted the 1971 US Open . The third professional circuit that year was the U. S. Indoor Circuit run by Bill Riordan , the future manager of Jimmy Connors . In July 1971, the ILTF voted to ban all WCT contract professionals from competing in ILTF tournaments and from using ILTF facilities from
527-666: The MTC over the organisation of the Grand Prix and key issues such as player fatigue. During this press conference, the ATP declared that it would be starting its own tour in 1990, meaning that the 1989 Grand Prix would effectively be its last. The final event of the Grand Prix was the Nabisco Masters Doubles held at the Royal Albert Hall 6–10 December 1989. Its last champions were Jim Grabb and Patrick McEnroe , who beat John Fitzgerald and Anders Järryd in
558-405: The WCT circuit split from the Grand Prix again and created a more complex WCT ranking, similar to the ATP ranking. The split was short-lived, however, and in 1985 the Grand Prix absorbed the four remaining WCT tournaments. During the 1988 US Open the ATP, led by then-World No. 1 Mats Wilander , staged an impromptu meeting known as the "Parking Lot Press Conference" during failed negotiations with
589-585: The beginning of 1972 onwards. The 1972 editions of the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships excluded all contract professional players. Then in April 1972, the ILTF and WCT agreed to divide the 1973 tour into a WCT circuit that ran from January through May and a Grand Prix circuit that ran for the rest of the year. The conflict between the ILTF and WCT led all tennis players to attend
620-510: The best players came under contract to one of two professional tours: When the Open Era began in 1968, tournaments often found themselves deprived of NTL or WCT players. The first open tournament, the British Hard Court Championships at Bournemouth , was played without WCT players, as was that year's French Open. In 1970, NTL players did not play in the Australian Open because their organization did not receive
651-495: The best players to compete regularly in the series, so that they could share in the bonus at the end and qualify for the special championship tournament climaxing the year. When only a few contract players showed up for the 1970 French Open , the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) approved Kramer's Grand Prix proposal. In April 1970, its president Ben Barnett announced the creation of
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#1732787103317682-657: The chairman of the Wimbledon Championships . In 1967, David announced that a professional tournament would be held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club after the 1967 Wimbledon Championships . This tournament was televised by the BBC and built public support for professional tennis. In late 1967, the best of the amateur players turned professional, paving the way for the first open tournament. Some professionals were independent at this time, such as Lew Hoad , Luis Ayala , and Owen Davidson , but most of
713-516: The early 1960s, the professional tour began to fall apart. It survived only because the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships , having been unable to give prize money to its 1963 winner, received prize money from the First National Bank of Boston for its 1964 tournament. At the same time, the concept of "shamateurism" – amateur promoters paying players under the table to ensure they remained amateurs – had become apparent to Herman David ,
744-626: The event was separated into the ATP Auckland Open for men and the WTA Auckland Open for women. Between 1979 and 1989 the men's editions of the tournament were part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit . From 1969, the first edition in the open era of tennis, until 1981 the joint tournament was known under its sponsored name 'Benson and Hedges Open'. When the event was split into two tournaments the men's sponsorship continued as
775-504: The final. In 1990, the Association of Tennis Professionals , led by Hamilton Jordan , replaced the MTC as the sole governing body of men's professional tennis and the ATP Tour was born. The nine most prestigious Grand Prix tournaments became known as the "Championship Series Single Week" from 1990 through 1995. In 1996, Mercedes began sponsoring these series of events, renamed as the "Super 9" until 1999. In 2000, they became known as
806-407: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ASB_Classic&oldid=704073413 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages WTA Auckland Open The WTA Auckland Open (currently sponsored by ASB Bank and called
837-643: The local clubs raised the-then enormous sum of 1,800 pounds to prepare the site and build new courts . For the next 30 years the Tennis Centre in Stanley Street was home to local tennis matches. In 1942 the Auckland Championships were discontinued. In 1954 a second version of the Auckland Championships was revived that is still being staged today. In 1956 Auckland hosted its first new permanent international tournament , known as
868-414: The picket. They were later fined for this. The men's draws for that year were subsequently made up of second-string players, lucky losers, and older players such as Neale Fraser , who reached the final of the men's doubles with fellow Australian John Cooper . The draw also showcased future talents such as Björn Borg , Vijay Amritraj , Sandy Mayer , and John Lloyd amid record crowds. The governance of
899-563: The precursor event to this one, but was not always staged. In the 1920s major new tennis venues were built in Auckland for the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association (now called Tennis Auckland), as well as Wellington and Christchurch comprising both grass and hard courts. In 1920 when the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association was looking for a permanent base, the only available site was a tip in Stanley Street. Undeterred,
930-512: Was branded as the ASB Classic a women's tournament. After being separated for 34 years, the WTA and ATP merged the event in 2016 and both tournaments are now known collectively as the ASB Classic. Heineken will still be a sponsor but will have a diminished role in anticipation of new tennis regulations restricting alcohol sponsorship. Both the 2021 and 2022 Auckland Open were cancelled due to
961-643: Was played on outdoor grass courts from its inaugural edition in 1956 until 1977, switching to hard courts in 1978. In 1963 this event was rebranded as the Auckland Wills International tournament. In 1969 its official name was altered again to the New Zealand Open. In 1971 its official name was changed to the New Zealand Centennial Open for one year only before returning to its former name until 1981 when