The 1977 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix was a professional
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
circuit administered by the
International Lawn Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...
(ILTF, later the ITF) which served as a forerunner to the current
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, an ...
(ATP) World Tour and the
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tenni ...
(WTA) Tour.
The circuit consisted of the four modern
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The
Colgate-Palmolive Masters is included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix ranking. Colgate-Palmolive was the new tour sponsor, taking over from Commercial Union.
Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Vilas (; born 17 August 1952) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. Vilas was the No. 1 of the Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977, and won four Grand Slam tournaments, one year-end Masters, nine Grand Prix Super Se ...
won the Grand Prix circuit, having accumulated the most points (2,047), and received the largest share from the bonus pool ($300,000). The top eight points ranked singles players as well as the top four doubles teams qualified for the season-ending
Masters tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
Schedule
;Key
December 1976
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January 1978
Points system
The Grand Prix tournaments were divided into seven groups. Group TC consisted of the
Grand Slam tournaments; the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon Championships and the US Open—while the other tournaments were given star ratings ranging from six stars to one star, based on prize money and draw size. Points were allocated based on these ratings and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. No points were awarded to first-round losers, and ties were settled by the number of tournaments played.
[ The points allocation, with doubles points listed in brackets, is as follows:
]
Standings
The 1977 Grand Prix tournaments were divided in seven separate point categories, ranging from the Triple Crown tournaments (250 points for the winner) to the smallest One Star tournaments (50 points for the winner). At the end of the year the 35 top-ranked players received a bonus from the bonus pool. To qualify for a bonus a player must have played at least 15 tournaments. The top eight points ranked singles players and top four doubles teams were entitled to participate in the season-ending Masters tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
.[
]
ATP rankings
List of tournament winners
The list of winners and number of Grand Prix singles titles won, alphabetically by last number of titles:
* Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Vilas (; born 17 August 1952) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. Vilas was the No. 1 of the Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977, and won four Grand Slam tournaments, one year-end Masters, nine Grand Prix Super Se ...
(16) Springfield, Buenos Aires, Virginia Beach, French Open, Kitzbühel, Washington, D.C., Louisville, South Orange, Columbus, US Open, Paris, Tehran, Bogotá, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Johannesburg
* Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. Between 1974 and 1981, he became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles with six at the French Open and five consecutively at Wimb ...
(10) Boca Raton, Memphis, Nice, Denver, Madrid, Barcelona, Wimbledon, Basel, Cologne, Wembley
* Vitas Gerulaitis
Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis (July 26, 1954 – September 17, 1994) was an American professional tennis player, known as Vitas Gerulaitis. In 1975, he won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering with Sandy Mayer. He won the men's singles ...
(5) Ocean City, Rome, Brisbane, Perth, Australian Open (December)
* Brian Gottfried
Brian Edward Gottfried (born January 27, 1952) is a retired American tennis player who won 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles during his professional career. He was the runner-up in singles at the 1977 French Open, won the 1975 and 1977 Fren ...
(5) Baltimore, Palm Springs, Washington Indoor, La Costa, Vienna
* Jeff Borowiak
Jeff Borowiak (born September 25, 1949) is a former professional tennis player from the United States, who won five singles and three doubles titles during his professional career, reaching a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 20 in A ...
(3) Dayton, Gstaad, Montreal
* Jimmy Connors
James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 ...
(3) Las Vegas, Maui, Sydney Indoor
* Tim Gullikson
Timothy Ernest Gullikson (September 8, 1951 – May 3, 1996) was a tennis player and coach who was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin and grew up in Onalaska, Wisconsin in the United States.
Gullikson was Pete Sampras' coach from 1992 to 1995.
Tenn ...
(3) Newport, Taiwan, Adelaide
* Sandy Mayer
Alexander "Sandy" Mayer (born April 5, 1952) is a former tennis player from the United States. He won twelve titles in singles and twenty-four titles in doubles in his professional career, and was part of the winning tennis squad at Stanford Uni ...
(3) Little Rock, Hampton, Stockholm
* Manuel Orantes
Manuel Orantes Corral (; born 6 February 1949) is a former tennis player from Spain who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. He won the US Open men's singles title in 1975, beating defending champion Jimmy Connors in the final. Orantes reached a ...
(3) Indianapolis, Boston, Tokyo Outdoor
* Vijay Amritraj
Vijay Amritraj (born 14 December 1953) is an Indian sports commentator, actor and retired professional tennis player from Madras. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's 4th highest civilian honour, in 1983.In 2022, he was honored for his cont ...
(2) Auckland, Bombay
* Corrado Barazzutti
Corrado Barazzutti (born 19 February 1953, in Udine) is a former tennis player from Italy. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 7, achieved in August 1978.
After his player career Barazzutti was non-playing captain of the Italy Davis C ...
(2) BÃ¥stad, Paris Bercy
* Paolo Bertolucci
Paolo Bertolucci (born 3 August 1951) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He is currently working as sport commentator for Italian SKY Italia, Sky TV.
Bertolucci won the Davis Cup with Italy in 1976. His greatest success on ATP Tou ...
(2) Hamburg, Berlin
* Eddie Dibbs
Eddie Dibbs (born February 23, 1951) is a retired American tennis player also nicknamed "Fast Eddie". He attained a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 in July 1978, winning 22 titles and being a runner-up another 20 times.
Dibbs holds t ...
(2) Miami, Oviedo
* Raúl RamÃrez
Raúl RamÃrez (born 20 June 1953) is a Mexican retired professional tennis player. He was active during the 1970s and 1980s. RamÃrez was the first player to finish first in both singles and doubles Grand Prix point standings, accomplishing th ...
(2) Queen's Club, Los Angeles
* Harold Solomon
Harold Solomon (born September 17, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). ...
(2) Brussels, Cincinnati
* Roscoe Tanner
Leonard Roscoe Tanner (born October 15, 1951) is a retired American tennis player, who turned professional in 1972 and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 on July 30, 1979.
Tanner was famous for his big left-handed serve, which ...
(2) Australian Open (January), Sydney Outdoor
* John Alexander (1) North Conway
* Mark Cox (1) Helsinki
* Victor Amaya
Victor Amaya (born July 2, 1954) is a retired tennis player from the U.S.
The left-handed Amaya's career-high singles ranking was World No. 15, attained in August 1980.
One of Amaya's memorable matches was a loss to Björn Borg in the first ro ...
(1) Adelaide
* Wojciech Fibak
Wojciech Fibak (; popularly Wojtek Fibak ; born 30 August 1952) is a former professional tennis player and Polish entrepreneur and art collector. Fibak is best known for his doubles success with Dutch pro Tom Okker and Australian Kim Warwick, a ...
(1) Düsseldorf
* Željko Franulović
Željko Franulović (; born 13 June 1947) is a Croatian former tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia and has since had a long career in tennis management. He has been the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament director since 2005.
Whilst his c ...
(1) Munich
* José Higueras
José Higueras (; born 1 March 1953) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Spain.
Between 1976 and 1984, Higueras won 16 top-level singles titles. A semi-finalist at the French Open in 1982 and 1983, he reached a career ...
(1) Murcia
* Jiřà Hřebec
Jiřà Hřebec (born 19 September 1950) is a retired Czech professional tennis player. He won three singles and four doubles titles on the ATP Tour during his career. Hřebec achieved his highest singles ranking of world No. 25 in April 1974.
Cu ...
(1) San Jose
* Karl Meiler
Karl Meiler (30 April 1949 – 17 April 2014) was a tennis player from West Germany who was active in the 1970s and 1980s.
Meiler won four singles (1972, Buenos Aires; 1974, Omaha and Calgary; 1977, Manila) and 17 doubles titles during his ...
(1) Manila
* Ilie Năstase
Ilie Theodoriu Năstase (, born 19 July 1946) is a former World No. 1 Romanian tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 in singles from 23 August 1973 to 2 June 1974, and was the first man to hold the top position on the computerized ATP ranking ...
(1) Aix-en-Provence
* Andrew Pattison
Andrew Pattison (born 30 January 1949) is a former South African-born Rhodesian and later Zimbabwean tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking was world No. 24, which he reached on 24 September 1974. Pattison won four singles tourna ...
(1) Laguna Niguel
* Patrick Proisy
Patrick Proisy (born 10 September 1949) is a French former professional tennis player best remembered for reaching the final of the French Open in 1972 (where he beat top seed and defending champion Jan Kodeš in the quarter-finals and fourth se ...
(1) Hilversum
* Ken Rosewall
Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...
(1) Hong Kong
* Stan Smith
Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Smith is best known to non-tennis players as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles cham ...
(1) Los Angeles PSW
* Brian Teacher
Brian David Teacher (born December 23, 1954) is a former American professional male tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking World No. 7 in 1981.
Teacher is best remembered for his singles championship at the Australian Open in 1980. Hi ...
(1) Jackson
* Butch Walts
Butch Walts (born June 4, 1955) is a former professional tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a ten ...
(1) San Francisco
The following players won their first title in 1977:
* Victor Amaya
Victor Amaya (born July 2, 1954) is a retired tennis player from the U.S.
The left-handed Amaya's career-high singles ranking was World No. 15, attained in August 1980.
One of Amaya's memorable matches was a loss to Björn Borg in the first ro ...
Adelaide
* Tim Gullikson
Timothy Ernest Gullikson (September 8, 1951 – May 3, 1996) was a tennis player and coach who was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin and grew up in Onalaska, Wisconsin in the United States.
Gullikson was Pete Sampras' coach from 1992 to 1995.
Tenn ...
Newport
* Chris Kachel
Chris Kachel (born 19 June 1955) is a former professional tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a te ...
Manila
* Patrick Proisy
Patrick Proisy (born 10 September 1949) is a French former professional tennis player best remembered for reaching the final of the French Open in 1972 (where he beat top seed and defending champion Jan Kodeš in the quarter-finals and fourth se ...
Hilversum
* Brian Teacher
Brian David Teacher (born December 23, 1954) is a former American professional male tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking World No. 7 in 1981.
Teacher is best remembered for his singles championship at the Australian Open in 1980. Hi ...
Jackson
See also
* 1977 World Championship Tennis circuit
*1977 WTA Tour
The 1977 WTA Tour consisted of a number of tennis tournaments for female tennis players. It was composed of the newly streamlined version of the Virginia Slims Circuit (which was now an 11-week tour of the US) and the Colgate Series. The year 1977 ...
References
External links
ATP 1977 results archive
Further reading
*
{{Men's tennis seasons
Grand Prix tennis circuit seasons
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...