Wembley Pro

Before the open era (of 1968 to our days) the professional players were banished traditional circuit amateur and were not allowed in the traditional tournaments of the Large Slam or in Coupe Davis.

The important tests of the professional players were the following ones:

- rounds opposing two (or several) players high-speed motorboats as Fortify and Perry in 1938 (Fortify dominated Perry 49 matches with 35 in their great American round) or Kramer to Sedgman in 1953 (victory of Kramer 53 matches with 41)

- tests by teams copied on the format of the Coupe Davis like Bonnardel Cup in the years 1930 and Kramer Cup (1961-1963)

and

- the professional tournaments of which here a relatively exhaustive list:

the Cup Bristol-board (organized either in Beaulieu or in Cannes) in the years 1920
Queen' S Club Pro (only in 1928)
the tournament of Southport (called the International Pro Championship off Britain) of 1935 to 1939
World Pro Championships in Berlin in the years 1930
the U.S Pro hardcourt in Los Angeles in 1945 (which was the tournament pro which attracted the most high-speed motorboats in this last year of the Second world war)
Philadelphia Pro 1950-1952
the " Tournament off Champions" Pro in Los Angeles in 1956 and Forest Hills in the years which followed (not to be confused with l'" U.S. Pro" who was organized in various places of which… Forest Hills)
some Masters Pro Robin Round in Los Angeles (1957, 1958)
Australian Pro (it only three editions into 1954,1957 and 1958 ago)
Madison Square Garden Pro (1966, 1967)
Wimbledon Pro (1967)
… and some other tournaments in Australia and South Africa.

and finally three tournaments which survived better than preceding the cities with sometimes all the cream of the tennis and other times with very little of the best players in the table:

- the " United States Professional Championship" (" U.S. Pro")

- " International of Professionnels" France; or " the French Professional Championships or more simply the " French Pro" , in Paris

- and finally the professional tournament of Wembley organized with the Wembley Arena in the suburbs of London often called Wembley Pro to simplify: these exact denominations were the " London Indoor Professional Championships" from 1951 to 1967. In 1968, first open year, it was reserved to the professionals and was called the " Kramer Tournament off Champions." From 1969 to 1971, the " British Covered Short Championships." Then as from 1976 the " Benson & Hedges Tournament". This tournament was thus one of the most important sports events tennistic before 1968: often the winner was regarded as the best professional player even world; it was a little the equivalent for the professionals of Wimbledon among amateurs. From 1968 the sporting importance of this tournament declined vis-a-vis the new tournaments of the Large Open Slam, with the WCT Finals and Masters. The last edition took place in 1990.

editions 1936,1938 are dubious (cf professional major Tournois of tennis of the pre-open era)

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