French Pro Championship - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

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, and is considered as a part of the professional grand slam from 1927 to 1967 till the advent of Open Era

Open era

Open era or Open Era may refer to:* Open Era , the period since 1968 where professionals can compete in Grand Slams* Glasnost era, the increased openness in the Soviet Union from the mid-1980s...

.

From 1930 the French Pro Championship were always played at Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, on outdoor clay at Roland Garros

Stade de Roland Garros

Le Stade de Roland Garros is a tennis venue located in Paris, France. It hosts the French Open tennis tournament , a Grand Slam event played annually in May and June. The facility was constructed in 1928 to host France's first defense of the Davis Cup...

except from 1963 to 1967 where it was held at Stade Pierre de Coubertin

Stade Pierre de Coubertin

The Stade Pierre de Coubertin is an indoor arena in Paris, France. It is the home venue of the Paris Basket Racing basketball team and the Open Gaz de France women's tennis tournament....

on indoor wood. Ken Rosewall

Ken Rosewall

Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...

holds the record for 8 wins.

Champions

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Name	Surface
Professional Era
1930	Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh was a top Czech tennis, soccer, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level....	Albert Burke	6-1, 6-2, 6-1	Roland Garros Stade Roland Garros Le Stade de Roland Garros is a tennis venue located in Paris, France. It hosts the French Open tennis tournament , a Grand Slam event played annually in May and June. The facility was constructed in 1928 to host France's first defense of the Davis Cup...	Clay Clay court A clay court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The red clay is slower than the green, or Har-Tru "American" clay. The French Open uses clay courts, making it unique among the Grand Slam tournaments.Clay courts are more common...
1931	Martin Plaa Martin Plaa Martin Plaa was a professional tennis player from France and had success as a professional in the early 1930s.Plaa worked for some years in the late 1920s that the then very successful French Davis Cup team coach. During the first years of the 1930s belonged Plaa himself to the extreme world...	Robert Ramillon Robert Ramillon Robert Ramillon is a French tennis professional player of the 1930s and is the winner of French Pro in 1932. He also played in the finals in 1931 and 1936.-References:*...	6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2	Roland Garros	Clay
1932	Robert Ramillon Robert Ramillon Robert Ramillon is a French tennis professional player of the 1930s and is the winner of French Pro in 1932. He also played in the finals in 1931 and 1936.-References:*...	Martin Plaa Martin Plaa Martin Plaa was a professional tennis player from France and had success as a professional in the early 1930s.Plaa worked for some years in the late 1920s that the then very successful French Davis Cup team coach. During the first years of the 1930s belonged Plaa himself to the extreme world...	6-4, 3-6, 8-6, 6-4	Roland Garros	Clay
1933^a	Bill Tilden Bill Tilden William Tatem Tilden II , nicknamed "Big Bill," is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. An American tennis player who was the World No. 1 player for seven years, he won 14 Majors including ten Grand Slams and four Pro Slams. Bill Tilden dominated the world of...	Henri Cochet Henri Cochet Henri Jean Cochet was a champion tennis player, one of the famous "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s....	6–2, 6–4, 6–2	Roland Garros	Clay
1934	Bill Tilden Bill Tilden William Tatem Tilden II , nicknamed "Big Bill," is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. An American tennis player who was the World No. 1 player for seven years, he won 14 Majors including ten Grand Slams and four Pro Slams. Bill Tilden dominated the world of...	Martin Plaa Martin Plaa Martin Plaa was a professional tennis player from France and had success as a professional in the early 1930s.Plaa worked for some years in the late 1920s that the then very successful French Davis Cup team coach. During the first years of the 1930s belonged Plaa himself to the extreme world...	6–2, 6–4, 7–5	Roland Garros	Clay
1935	Ellsworth Vines Ellsworth Vines Henry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.-Biography:...	Hans Nüsslein Hans Nüsslein Hans Nüsslein was a German tennis player of the 1930s.Born in Nuremberg, he had almost no background in amateur tennis. In late 1931, as a professional, he played Bill Tilden twice in Europe, taking him to 5 sets each time. Later in the 1930s, as Tilden aged, Nüsslein would beat the far more...	10–8, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1	Roland Garros	Clay
1936	Henri Cochet Henri Cochet Henri Jean Cochet was a champion tennis player, one of the famous "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s....	Robert Ramillon Robert Ramillon Robert Ramillon is a French tennis professional player of the 1930s and is the winner of French Pro in 1932. He also played in the finals in 1931 and 1936.-References:*...	6–3, 6–1, 6–1	Roland Garros	Clay
1937	Hans Nüsslein Hans Nüsslein Hans Nüsslein was a German tennis player of the 1930s.Born in Nuremberg, he had almost no background in amateur tennis. In late 1931, as a professional, he played Bill Tilden twice in Europe, taking him to 5 sets each time. Later in the 1930s, as Tilden aged, Nüsslein would beat the far more...	Henri Cochet Henri Cochet Henri Jean Cochet was a champion tennis player, one of the famous "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s....	6–2, 8–6, 6–3	Roland Garros	Clay
1938	Hans Nüsslein Hans Nüsslein Hans Nüsslein was a German tennis player of the 1930s.Born in Nuremberg, he had almost no background in amateur tennis. In late 1931, as a professional, he played Bill Tilden twice in Europe, taking him to 5 sets each time. Later in the 1930s, as Tilden aged, Nüsslein would beat the far more...	Bill Tilden Bill Tilden William Tatem Tilden II , nicknamed "Big Bill," is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. An American tennis player who was the World No. 1 player for seven years, he won 14 Majors including ten Grand Slams and four Pro Slams. Bill Tilden dominated the world of...	6–0, 6–1, 6–2	Roland Garros	Clay
1939	Don Budge Don Budge John Donald Budge was an American tennis champion who was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional...	Ellsworth Vines Ellsworth Vines Henry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.-Biography:...	6–2, 7–5, 6–3	Roland Garros	Clay
1940–1952	Not Held
1953^b	Frank Sedgman Frank Sedgman Frank Arthur Sedgman, born 29 October 1927, in Mont Albert, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, was a tennis player who was arguably the world No.1 in 1952. In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Sedgman in his list of the 21...	Pancho Gonzales Pancho Gonzales Ricardo Alonso González , generally known as Richard "Pancho" Gonzales was an American tennis player. He was the world no. 1 professional tennis player for an unequalled eight years in the 1950s and early 1960s...		Palais des Sports, Paris	Cement Indoor
1954–1955	Not Held
1956	Tony Trabert Tony Trabert Marion Anthony Trabert is a retired American tennis champion and long-time tennis author, TV commentator, instructor, and motivational speaker...	Pancho Gonzalez	6–3, 4–6, 5–7, 8–6, 6–2	Roland Garros	Clay
1957	Not Held
1958	Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...	Lew Hoad Lew Hoad Lewis Alan Hoad was a champion tennis player....	3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–0	Roland Garros	Clay
1959	Tony Trabert Tony Trabert Marion Anthony Trabert is a retired American tennis champion and long-time tennis author, TV commentator, instructor, and motivational speaker...	Frank Sedgman Frank Sedgman Frank Arthur Sedgman, born 29 October 1927, in Mont Albert, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, was a tennis player who was arguably the world No.1 in 1952. In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Sedgman in his list of the 21...	6–4, 6–4, 6–4	Roland Garros	Clay
1960	Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...	Lew Hoad Lew Hoad Lewis Alan Hoad was a champion tennis player....	6–2, 2–6, 6–2, 6–1	Roland Garros	Clay
1961	Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...	Pancho Gonzales Pancho Gonzales Ricardo Alonso González , generally known as Richard "Pancho" Gonzales was an American tennis player. He was the world no. 1 professional tennis player for an unequalled eight years in the 1950s and early 1960s...	2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 8–6	Roland Garros	Clay
1962	Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...	Andres Gimeno Andrés Gimeno Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera is a retired Spanish tennis player. He major achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open....	3–6, 6–2, 7–5, 6–2	Roland Garros	Clay
1963	Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...	Rod Laver Rod Laver Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...	6–8, 6–4, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4	Stade Coubertin Stade Pierre de Coubertin The Stade Pierre de Coubertin is an indoor arena in Paris, France. It is the home venue of the Paris Basket Racing basketball team and the Open Gaz de France women's tennis tournament.... , Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...	Wood Indoor
1964	Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...	Rod Laver Rod Laver Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...	6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 6–3	Stade Coubertin	Wood Indoor
1965	Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...	Rod Laver Rod Laver Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...	6–3, 6–2, 6–4	Stade Coubertin	Wood Indoor
1966	Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...	Rod Laver Rod Laver Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...	6–3, 6–2, 14–12	Stade Coubertin	Wood Indoor
1967	Rod Laver Rod Laver Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...	Andres Gimeno Andrés Gimeno Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera is a retired Spanish tennis player. He major achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open....	6–4, 8–6, 4–6, 6–2	Stade Coubertin	Wood Indoor
1968	Rod Laver Rod Laver Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...	John Newcombe John Newcombe John David Newcombe, AO, OBE is a former World No. 1 tennis player.-Biography:He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963 and was a member of...	6–2, 6–2, 6–3	Roland Garros	Clay

Notes:

^a In History of the Pro Tennis Wars, by Ray Bowers (http://www.tennisserver.com/lines/lines-archive.html), a Web site where Bowers gives a very 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, there is no mention 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

Bruce Barnes (tennis)

Bruce Parkhouse Barnes was a high-ranking American tennis player of the 1930s.Barnes was born in Dallas, Texas. As a professional, he won the 1933 world men's doubles championship with Bill Tilden, and lost the finals of the 1937 United States Professional Championship to Karel Koželuh and the...

, 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.

^bIn 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 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

Frank Sedgman

Frank Arthur Sedgman, born 29 October 1927, in Mont Albert, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, was a tennis player who was arguably the world No.1 in 1952. In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Sedgman in his list of the 21...

, winner of the tournament. Joe McCauley included this tournament in his list of French Pro tournaments but he precised in 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 in the same site Pancho Segura

Pancho Segura

Pancho Segura, born Francisco Olegario Segura , was a leading tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, both as an amateur and as a professional. In 1950 and 1952, as a professional, he was the World Co-No. 1 player...

defeated Jack Kramer.

Bristol Cup

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 as well as the World Pro tournament held at Deauville in 1925 . 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 August	World Pro, Deauville	Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh was a top Czech tennis, soccer, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level....	Albert Burke 2nd
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 Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh was a top Czech tennis, soccer, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level....	Albert Burke	3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–0
1927	Not Held
1928 9–12 January	Bristol Cup, Menton	Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh was a top Czech tennis, soccer, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level....	Ramon Najuch	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
1929 January	Bristol Cup, Menton	Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh was a top Czech tennis, soccer, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level....	Albert Burke	6–3, 6–1, 6–0
1930 January	Bristol Cup, Menton	Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh was a top Czech tennis, soccer, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level....	Ramon Najuch	6–3, 6–3, 6–4 (or 6–3, 6–4, 6–4)
1931 10–17 January	Bristol Cup, Menton	Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh was a top Czech tennis, soccer, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level....	Albert Burke	6–3, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
1932 5–10 January	Bristol Cup, Menton	Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh was a top Czech tennis, soccer, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level....	Martin Plaa Martin Plaa Martin Plaa was a professional tennis player from France and had success as a professional in the early 1930s.Plaa worked for some years in the late 1920s that the then very successful French Davis Cup team coach. During the first years of the 1930s belonged Plaa himself to the extreme world...	6–1, 6–4, 1–6, 6–0

Champions

Bristol Cup

See also