U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament. Founded in 1910, it has been held in nearly two dozen cities, and since 2001 has been held in Houston, Texas.[1] It currently pays out US$742,350 with the winner receiving US$100,635.[2] It is the only remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts.
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships | |
---|---|
Tournament information | |
Location | Houston, Texas United States |
Venue | River Oaks Country Club |
Category | Grand Prix Tour (1970–89) ATP World Series (1990–1999) ATP International Series (2000–2008) ATP World Tour 250 series (2009–2018) ATP Tour 250 series (2019–present) |
Surface | Maroon clay / outdoors |
Draw | 28S / 16D |
Prize money | $642,735 (2023) |
Website | mensclaycourt.com |
Current champions (2024) | |
Singles | |
Doubles |
The tournament began in 1910 when the Western Lawn Tennis Association (a section of the United States Lawn Tennis Association now known as the USTA/Midwest) persuaded the USLTA that a National Clay Court Championship would promote the construction of more clay courts in the West. Clay courts were cheaper to install and maintain than grass courts, and the hope was that these lower costs would accelerate the growth of the game's popularity. The first National Clay Court Championships were held at the Omaha Field Club; a crowd of 5,000 watched the finals.
Participation and play on clay grew as a result of the event and others, and in 1914, the event was moved to the Cincinnati Tennis Club. It has since been played in numerous cities. Between 1970 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour as part of the Grand Prix Super Series of events (1974–1977). During the stint in Indianapolis, from 1969 through 1986, the tournament was a combined men's and women's event.
From 2001 to 2007, the event was held at the Houston Westside Tennis Club. In 2007, after a few years being held on the same red clay used at the French Open, the event switched to Har-Tru green clay.
In 2007, the U.S. Tennis Association sought a new venue and entertained bids from Atlanta, Georgia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. But in May 2007, the USTA announced that the tournament would simply move downtown to River Oaks Country Club in the River Oaks neighborhood. The new venue has a stadium with seating for 3,000 with temporary seating for 500 for the second court.[3] Its Har-Tru clay, of a maroon color, was renewed in 2005 and 2008.
Past finals
editSingles
editBill Tilden holds the record for most titles (7).
Bill Tilden and Frank Parker share the record of most finals (8).
Doubles (open era)
editRecords
editMen's singles
editMost titles | 7 | |
---|---|---|
Most finals | 8 | |
Most consecutive titles | (1922-1927)
|
6 |
Most consecutive finals | (1922-1927)
|
6 |
Title with the least games lost | 23 (2003) | |
Most matches played | 64 | |
Most matches won | 56 | |
Most consecutive matches won | 36 | |
Most editions played | 16 | |
Best winning % | 97.96% | |
Youngest champion | 17y, 5m, 3d (1933) | |
Oldest champion | 40y, 7m, 18d (1917) |
Longest final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1942 (66 games) | |||||
5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | |
7 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
Shortest final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 (15 games) | |||||
6 | 6 | ||||
0 | 3 |
Source: The Tennisbase[5]
See also
edit- Charleston Open – WTA clay court event held in the United States
- U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships
- River Oaks International Tennis Tournament
References
edit- ^ Clifford Terry (July 11, 1965). "Tennis by the quartz". Chicago Tribune. pp. Sunday Magazine, 16–19.
- ^ "Tournament profile". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
- ^ Robertson, Dale (May 8, 2007). "Clay Courts finds new home at River Oaks". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ "W.M. Johnston Wins Two Tennis Titles". The Toronto World. Chicago. July 21, 1919. p. 8.
- ^ Garcia, Gabriel. "US Clay Court Championships Tournament Records". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
Sources
edit- References used for the Pre-Open Era locations and champions: United States Lawn Tennis Association Yearbook (1942–'44, '48–49, '51, '53. '55–56, '60, '64, '66 & '69), Spalding Lawn Tennis Annual (1916, '24–'28, '30–'31 & '39), Wright & Ditson's Lawn Tennis Annual (1911–'14, 1921, 1932–'33, '35 & '37), New York Times articles (1910–'14, '16, '18–'19 & '21–'22), From Club Court to Center Court by Phillip S. Smith (2007 Edition, page 67).