1968 Men's National Tennis League

1968 Men's NTL League

Laver won most title's this year
Details
Duration	18 March – 2 November
Edition	1st
Tournaments	18
Categories	(Pro)
Achievements (singles)
Most titles	Rod Laver (7)
Most finals	Rod Laver (8)
1969 →

The 1968 Men's National Tennis League (NTL) [1] was the inaugural series of professional tennis tournaments founded by George McCall, among others: Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, Andrés Gimeno, Pancho Gonzales and Fred Stolle.

History

In 1967 two new professional tennis organizations were formed: the National Tennis League,[2] organized by former U.S. Davis Cup captain George MacCall, and World Championship Tennis (WCT), which was founded by New Orleans promoter Dave Dixon and funded by Dallas oil and football tycoon Lamar Hunt. At the time the two professional tours signed a significant number of the world’s top players, professional and amateur.

In 1968 Men's National Tennis League offered prize money totaling $400,000 USD.[3] It began in March with the opening tournament held in São Paulo, Brazil that was won by Rod Laver and ended with the final tournament held in Lima, Peru in November that was won by Fred Stolle.

Legend

Pro tour

Key

• Q = Qualifier
• WC = Wild card
• LL = Lucky loser
• Alt = Alternate
• SE = Special exempt
• PR = Protected ranking
• ITF = ITF entry
• JE = Junior exempt
• w/o = Walkover
• r = Retired
• d = Defaulted
• SR = Special ranking

Calendar

This is the complete schedule of events on the 1968 National Tennis League, with player progression partially documented until the quarterfinals stage.

January

No events

February

No events

March

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semi Finalist	Quarter Finalist
18 March	São Paulo Pro Championships[4] São Paulo, Brazil Clay (i) Singles	Rod Laver 7–5, 5–7, 6–4	Pancho Gonzales
23 March	Buenos Aires Pro Championships[5] Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay Singles	Rod Laver 7–5, 5–7, 6–4	Pancho Gonzales	3rd Place Andrés Gimeno 4th Place Fred Stolle
27 March	NTL Bogotá Pro Championships[6] Bogotà, Colombia Clay (i) Singles - Doubles	Andrés Gimeno 11–13, 6–3, 6–4	Fred Stolle	3rd Place Rod Laver 4th Place Pancho Gonzales
		Rod Laver Fred Stolle 10–5	Andrés Gimeno Pancho Gonzales

April

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semi Finalist	Quarter Finalist
10 April	NTL Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup[7] Hollywood, United States Clay Singles	Roy Emerson 6–1, 6–1	Ken Rosewall	3rd Pancho Gonzales 4th Place Rod Laver	John Hammill Crawford Henry Rey Garrido Peter Cawthorn
18 April [8]	BBC2 World Pro Invitation Championships Wembley, Great Britain Carpet (i) Singles	Rod Laver 6–3 10-8	Ken Rosewall	Roy Emerson Pancho Gonzales
20 April	NTL Paris Pro Championships[9] Paris, France Clay Singles - Doubles	Ken Rosewall 6–3 6–4	Andrés Gimeno	Pancho Gonzales Rod Laver	Fred Stolle Roy Emerson

May

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semi Finalist	Quarter Finalist
29 April-5 May [10]	NTL Wembley Invitation[11] Wembley, Great Britain Wood (i) Singles - Doubles	Rod Laver 6–0, 6–1, 6–0	Ken Rosewall
		Rod Laver Roy Emerson 12-10 6–4	Andrés Gimeno Pancho Gonzales
18 May	NTL Madison Square Garden Pro Championships New York City, United States Carpet (i) Singles - Doubles	Rod Laver 4–6, 6–3, 9–7, 6–4	Ken Rosewall	Roy Emerson Andrés Gimeno	Lew Hoad Pancho Gonzales Alex Olmedo Fred Stolle

June

No events

July

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semi Finalist	Quarter Finalist
20 July	NTL Los Angeles Pro Championships[12] Los Angeles, United States Carpet (i)[13] Singles - Doubles	Pancho Gonzales 1–6 6–3 6–4	Rod Laver	Roy Emerson Ken Rosewall

August

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semi Finalist	Quarter Finalist
2 August	NTL Oakland Pro Championships[14] Oakland Coliseum Arena Oakland, United States Carpet (i) Singles - Doubles	Fred Stolle 7–5, 6–3	Pancho Gonzales	Roy Emerson
11 August	NTL Masters Championships[15] Highland Racquet & Riding Club Binghamton, United States Carpet (i) Singles - Doubles	Andrés Gimeno 6–4, 6–1	Fred Stolle	Roy Emerson Rod Laver
18 August	NTL Colonial Pro Championships[16] Highland Racquet & Riding Club Fort Worth, United States Singles - Doubles	Ken Rosewall 6–4, 6–2	Andrés Gimeno	Mal Anderson Fred Stolle	Tut Bartzen Roy Emerson Pancho Gonzales Rod Laver

September

No events

October

No events

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semi Finalist	Quarter Finalist
28 Sep - 1 Oct	NTL Midland Championships[17] Midland, Texas, United States Singles - Doubles	Pancho Gonzales 7–5, 6–3	Roy Emerson	Andrés Gimeno Rod Laver	Pancho Segura Fred Stolle
4 - 7 Oct	NTL South Texas Pro Championships[18] Corpus Christi, United States Singles - Doubles	Rod Laver 6–2, 6–4	Andrés Gimeno	Roy Emerson Fred Stolle	Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura

November

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semi Finalist	Quarter Finalist
1-3 November[19]	NTL Lima Pro Championships Lima, Peru Clay Singles	Fred Stolle 3-0 matches	Round Robin Andrés Gimeno Rod Laver Roy Emerson
6 November[20]	NTL La Paz Pro Round Robin La Paz, Bolivia Clay Singles	Rod Laver 3-0 matches	Round Robin Andrés Gimeno Fred Stolle Roy Emerson
8 November[21]	São Paulo Round Robin Pro Championships São Paulo, Brazil Clay (i) Singles	Rod Laver 3-0 matches	Round Robin Andrés Gimeno Fred Stolle Roy Emerson
7 -10 Nov	NTL French Tour[22] Lyon & Marseille, France Clay Singles	Ken Rosewall (won Lyon event) Pancho Gonzales (won Marseille event) joint 1st

December

No events

Prize money

Men's

NTL OFFICIAL EARNINGS FOR 1968[23]

#	Player	$US
1	Rod Laver	70,359
2	Ken Rosewall	61,307
3	Pancho Gonzales	38,987
4	Andrés Gimeno	36,524
5	Roy Emerson	35,188
6	Fred Stolle	34,335

References

1. Gitlin, Marty (2011). Billie Jean King: Tennis Star & Social Activist: Tennis Star & Social Activist. ABDO. p. 46. ISBN 9781617149467. National Tennis league 1968.
2. Robertson, max (1974). Encyclopaedia of Tennis. Allen & Unwin. p. 74. ISBN 9780047960420.
3. Prugh, Jeff (6 Mar 1968). "Pro Net League to Aid Minority Group Youths". The Los Angeles Times. los Angeles, California: newspapers.com. p. 26. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
4. Archives, Tennis. "Sao Paulo Pro Championships 1968". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives, 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
5. Archives, Tennis. "Buenos Aires Pro Championships 1968". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives 2017. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2017-09-30.
6. Archives, Tennis. "Bogota Pro Championships 1968". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
7. "Hollywood NTL 1968". thetennisbase. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
8. "BBC2 PRO Tournament Draw". thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base.
9. Archives, Tennis. "Paris Pro Championships 1968". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
10. "NTL Wembley Invitation: Tournament Draw". thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
11. Archives, Tennis. "Wembley Invitation 1968". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
12. Archives, Tennis. "Los Angeles Professional Championships 1968". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
13. "Gonzales whips Stolle". Los Angeles Times. 18 July 1968. pp. Sports page 1.
14. Archives, Tennis. "Oakland Pros 1968". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
15. McCauley, Joe (2003). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor, Berkshire, England: , Short Run Book Company. pp. 252, 253. ASIN B001EOVE56.
16. McCauley, Joe (2003). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor, Berkshire, England: , Short Run Book Company. p. 253. ASIN B001EOVE56.
17. Collins, Bud; Trabert, Tony (2000). "1968 Results". In McCauley, Joe (ed.). THE HISTORY OF PROFESSIONAL TENNIS. Windsor, England: The Short Run Book Company Ltd. p. 253.
18. Collins, Bud; Trabert, Tony (2000). "1968 Results". In McCauley, Joe (ed.). THE HISTORY OF PROFESSIONAL TENNIS. Windsor, England: The Short Run Book Company Ltd. p. 253.
19. "NTL LIMA PRO CH. Tournament Roll of honour". thetennisbase.com. The Tennis Base. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
20. "Tournaments: La Paz Round Robin Championships". The Tennis Base. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
21. "SAO PAULO PRO Tournament Roll of honour". thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
22. Collins, Bud; Trabert, Tony (2000). "1968 Results". In McCauley, Joe (ed.). THE HISTORY OF PROFESSIONAL TENNIS. Windsor, England: The Short Run Book Company Ltd. p. 255.
23. McCauley, Joe (2003). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor, Berkshire, England: , Short Run Book Company. p. 255. ASIN B001EOVE56.

Sources

• McCauley, Joe; Trabert, Tony; Collins, Bud (2000). The History of Professional Tennis. The Short Run Book Company Limited. Exeter. England.
• Robertson, Max (1974). Encyclopaedia of Tennis. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9780047960420.

External links