1976 Grand Prix (tennis)

The 1976 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour.[1] The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The Commercial Union Assurance Masters is included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix ranking.[2]

1976 Grand Prix circuit

Jimmy Connors, 3rd at the Grand Prix and 1st for the ATP ranking.
Details
Duration	28 December 1975 – 13 December
Edition	7th
Tournaments	48
Categories	TC events Five-star events Four-star events Three-star events Two-star events One-star events
Achievements (singles)
Most tournament titles	Jimmy Connors (7)
Most tournament finals	Manuel Orantes (10)
Prize money leader	Raúl Ramírez ($190,000)
Points leader	Raúl Ramírez (938)
Awards
Player of the year	Björn Borg
Newcomer of the year	Wojciech Fibak
← 1975 1977 →

The 1976 Grand Prix circuit consisted of 48 tournaments held in 21 different countries.

Schedule

Key

Triple Crown events

Grand Prix Masters

Five-star events

Four-star events

Three-star events

Two-star events

One-star events

Team events

December 1975

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
28 Dec	Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam $75,000 – Grass – 64S/32D Two Star Singles – Doubles	Mark Edmondson 6–7, 6–3, 7–6, 6–1	John Newcombe	Ken Rosewall Ray Ruffels	Brad Drewett Dick Crealy Tony Roche Ross Case
		John Newcombe Tony Roche 7–6, 6–4	Ross Case Geoff Masters

May

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
4 May	Romika Cup Munich, West Germany Clay – 32S/16D One Star	Manuel Orantes 6–1, 6–4, 6–1	Karl Meiler	Hans Kary Jan Kodeš	François Jauffret Mike Cahill Jiří Hřebec Juan Gisbert, Sr.
		Juan Gisbert, Sr. Manuel Orantes 1–6, 6–3, 6–2, 2–3 RET.	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann
11 May	Coca-Cola British Hard Court Championships Bournemouth, Great Britain Clay – 48S/24D/16XD Two Star	Wojciech Fibak 6–2, 7–9, 6–2, 6–2	Manuel Orantes	Corrado Barazzutti François Jauffret	Hans Kary Norman Holmes Iván Molina Jean-François Caujolle
		Wojciech Fibak Fred McNair 4–6, 7–5, 7–5	Juan Gisbert, Sr. Manuel Orantes
		Linky Boshoff Colin Dowdeswell 6–8, 8–6, 6–1	Ilana Kloss Byron Bertram
18 May	German Open Hamburg, West Germany $100,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Three Star	Eddie Dibbs 6–4, 4–6, 6–1, 2–6, 6–1	Manuel Orantes	Jaime Fillol Hans Kary	Ulrich Pinner Jiří Hřebec Balázs Taróczy José Higueras
		Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart 7–6, 7–6, 7–6	Dick Crealy Kim Warwick
25 May	Italian Open Rome, Italy $131,500 – Clay – 64S/32D Four Star	Adriano Panatta 2–6, 7–6, 6–2, 7–6	Guillermo Vilas	Eddie Dibbs John Newcombe	Corrado Barazzutti Mark Edmondson Harold Solomon Jan Kodeš
		Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 7–6, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3[note 1]	Geoff Masters John Newcombe
	Agfa Colour Cup Düsseldorf, West Germany Clay – 48S/24D Two Star	Björn Borg 6–2, 6–2, 6–0	Manuel Orantes	José Higueras Jaime Fillol	Byron Bertram Dick Crealy Wojciech Fibak Kjell Johansson
		Wojciech Fibak Karl Meiler 6–4, 4–6, 6–4	Bob Carmichael Raymond Moore
31 May	French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay – 128S/64D/32XD Triple Crown Singles – Doubles – Mixed Doubles	Adriano Panatta 6–1, 6–4, 4–6, 7–6	Harold Solomon	Eddie Dibbs Raúl Ramírez	Björn Borg Manuel Orantes Balázs Taróczy Guillermo Vilas
		Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart 7–6 (8–6), 6–3, 6–1	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez
		Ilana Kloss Kim Warwick 5–7, 7–6, 6–2	Linky Boshoff Colin Dowdeswell

June

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
14 Jun	John Player Open Nottingham, Great Britain $100,000 – Grass – 64S/32D Three Star	No Winner	Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase 6–2, 4–6, 1–1 Match Abandoned	Raúl Ramírez Ove Bengtson	Tom Okker Vijay Amritraj Ismail El Shafei Roger Taylor
		Not completed. (5 pairs remaining)
	Berlin Open Berlin, West Germany $50,000 – Clay – 32S/15D One Star	Víctor Pecci 6–1, 6–2, 5–7, 6–3	Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	Julián Ganzábal Ricardo Cano	Belus Prajoux Juan Gisbert, Sr. Wojciech Fibak Werner Zirngibl
		Patricio Cornejo Antonio Muñoz 7–5, 6–1	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann
21 Jun	Wimbledon Championships London, Great Britain Grand Slam $160,000 – Grass – 128S/64D/64XD Triple Crown Singles – Doubles – Mixed Doubles	Björn Borg 6–4, 6–2, 9–7	Ilie Năstase	Raúl Ramírez Roscoe Tanner	Vitas Gerulaitis Charlie Pasarell Guillermo Vilas Jimmy Connors
		Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 3–6, 6–3, 8–6, 2–6, 7–5	Ross Case Geoff Masters
		Françoise Dürr Tony Roche 6–3, 2–6, 7–5	Rosemary Casals Dick Stockton

July

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
5 Jul	Swedish Open Båstad, Sweden Clay – $100,000 – 64S/32D Three Star	Antonio Zugarelli 4–6, 7–5, 6–2	Corrado Barazzutti	Byron Bertram Billy Martin	Fred McNair Peter Fleming Raymond Moore Per Hegna
		Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart 6–3, 6–4	Wojciech Fibak Juan Gisbert, Sr.
	Swiss Open Gstaad, Switzerland $75,000 – Clay – 48S/24D Two Star	Raúl Ramírez 7–5, 6–7, 6–1, 6–3	Adriano Panatta	Jan Kodeš Onny Parun	Paolo Bertolucci Jeff Borowiak Karl Meiler Ricardo Cano
		Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann 7–5, 6–3, 6–3	Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta
12 Jul	Western Championships Cincinnati, United States $100,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Three Star	Roscoe Tanner 4–6, 7–5, 6–2	Eddie Dibbs	Dick Stockton Dick Crealy	Trey Waltke Stan Smith Bill Scanlon Cliff Richey
		Stan Smith Erik van Dillen 6–1, 6–1	Eddie Dibbs Harold Solomon
	Dutch Open Hilversum, Netherlands $75,000 – Clay – 32S/16D One Star	Balázs Taróczy 6–7, 2–6, 6–1, 6–3	Ricardo Cano	Ángel Giménez Belus Prajoux	Manuel Santana Robin Drysdale Raymond Moore Jean-François Caujolle
		Ricardo Cano Belus Prajoux 6–4, 6–3	Wojciech Fibak Balázs Taróczy
19 Jul	Head Cup Kitzbühel, Austria Clay – 64S/32D Two Star	Manuel Orantes 7–6, 6–2, 7–6	Jan Kodeš	Hans-Jürgen Pohmann François Jauffret	Jean-Louis Haillet Charlie Pasarell Ramiro Benavides Jeff Borowiak
		Jiří Hřebec Jan Kodeš 6–7, 6–2, 6–4	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann
26 Jul	Washington Star International Washington, D.C., USA $125,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Four Star	Jimmy Connors 6–2, 6–4	Raúl Ramírez	Brian Fairlie Raymond Moore	Dick Stockton Víctor Pecci Stan Smith Eddie Dibbs
		Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 6–3, 6–3	Arthur Ashe Jimmy Connors

August

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
2 Aug	Louisville International Louisville, United States $125,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Four Star	Harold Solomon 6–2, 7–5	Wojciech Fibak	Dick Stockton Stan Smith	Guillermo Vilas Jaime Fillol Raúl Ramírez Víctor Pecci
		Byron Bertram Pat Cramer 6–3, 6–4	Stan Smith Erik van Dillen
	Volvo International North Conway, United States Clay – 64S/32D Three Star	Jimmy Connors 7–6, 4–6, 6–3	Raúl Ramírez	Željko Franulović Cliff Richey	Eddie Dibbs Wojciech Fibak Brian Gottfried Manuel Orantes
		Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 6–3, 6–0	Ricardo Cano Víctor Pecci
	Buckeye Championships Columbus, United States Clay – 48S/24D Two Star	Roscoe Tanner 6–4, 7–6	Stan Smith	Brian Teacher Vijay Amritraj	Patricio Cornejo Dick Stockton Colin Dibley Anand Amritraj
		William Brown Brian Teacher 6–3, 6–4	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart
9 Aug	U.S. Clay Court Championships Indianapolis, United States $160,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Four Star	Jimmy Connors 6–2, 6–4	Wojciech Fibak	Harold Solomon Guillermo Vilas	Eddie Dibbs Manuel Orantes Buster Mottram Brian Gottfried
		Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 6–2, 6–2	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart
16 Aug	Rothmans Canadian Open Toronto, Ontario, Canada $125,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Four Star	Guillermo Vilas 6–4, 7–6, 6–2	Wojciech Fibak	Jaime Fillol Brian Fairlie	Onny Parun Paolo Bertolucci Víctor Pecci Bob Hewitt
		Bob Hewitt Raúl Ramírez 6–2, 6–1	Juan Gisbert, Sr. Manuel Orantes
23 Aug	U.S. Professional Tennis Championships Boston, United States $125,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Four Star	Björn Borg 6–7, 6–4, 6–1, 6–2	Harold Solomon	Raúl Ramírez Eddie Dibbs	Jimmy Connors Paolo Bertolucci Guillermo Vilas Adriano Panatta
		Ray Ruffels Allan Stone 3–6, 6–3, 7–6	Mike Cahill John Whitlinger
	Tennis Week Open South Orange, United States $50,000 – Clay – 32S/16D One Star	Ilie Năstase 6–4, 6–2	Roscoe Tanner	Balázs Taróczy Onny Parun	Vijay Amritraj Buster Mottram Bernard Mitton Željko Franulović
		Fred McNair Marty Riessen 7–5, 4–6, 6–2	Vitas Gerulaitis Ilie Năstase
30 Aug	US Open New York, United States Grand Slam $217,000 – Clay – 128S/64D/32XD Triple Crown Singles – Doubles – Mixed Doubles	Jimmy Connors 6–4, 3–6, 7–6^(11–9), 6–4	Björn Borg	Guillermo Vilas Ilie Năstase	Jan Kodeš Eddie Dibbs Dick Stockton Manuel Orantes
		Tom Okker Marty Riessen 6–4, 6–0	Paul Kronk Cliff Letcher
		Betty Stöve Frew McMillan 6–3, 7–6	Billie Jean King Ray Ruffels

September

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
13 Sep	Grow Professional Doubles Championships The Woodlands, United States $100,000 – Hard – 16D	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 6–1, 6–4, 5–7, 7–6	Phil Dent Allan Stone	McNair / Stewart El Shafei / Fairlie
	Bermuda Classic Bermuda $50,000 – Clay – 32S/16D One Star	Cliff Richey 7–6, 6–2	Gene Mayer	Dick Crealy John Yuill	John Lloyd Álvaro Fillol Steve Krulevitz Balázs Taróczy
		Mike Cahill John Whitlinger 6–4, 4–6, 7–6	Mark Edmondson John Marks
20 Sep	Arco Pacific Southwest Open Los Angeles, United States $125,000 – Carpet – 64S/32D Four Star	Brian Gottfried 6–2, 6–2	Arthur Ashe	Ilie Năstase Raúl Ramírez	Jimmy Connors Dick Stockton John Lloyd Sandy Mayer
		Bob Lutz Stan Smith 6–2, 3–6, 6–3	Arthur Ashe Charlie Pasarell
27 Sep	Fireman's Fund International San Francisco, United States $125,000 – Carpet – 64S/32D Four Star	Roscoe Tanner 4–6, 7–5, 6–1	Brian Gottfried	Sherwood Stewart Dick Stockton	Harold Solomon Vijay Amritraj Butch Walts Arthur Ashe
		Dick Stockton Roscoe Tanner 6–3, 6–4	Brian Gottfried Bob Hewitt

October

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
4 Oct	Aryamehr Cup Tehran, Iran $150,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Five Star	Manuel Orantes 7–6, 6–0, 2–6, 6–4	Raúl Ramírez	Guillermo Vilas Eddie Dibbs	Hans-Jürgen Pohmann Paolo Bertolucci Antonio Zugarelli Wojciech Fibak
		Wojciech Fibak Raúl Ramírez 7–5, 6–1	Juan Gisbert, Sr. Manuel Orantes
	Island Holidays Classic Maui, United States $100,000 – Hard – 48S/24D Three Star	Harold Solomon 6–3, 5–7, 7–5	Bob Lutz	Marty Riessen Stan Smith	John Lloyd John Newcombe Brian Fairlie Arthur Ashe
		Raymond Moore Allan Stone 6–7, 6–3, 6–4	Dick Stockton Roscoe Tanner
11 Oct	Trofeo Gillette Madrid, Spain Clay – 64S/32D Three Star	Manuel Orantes 7–6, 6–2, 6–1	Eddie Dibbs	Raúl Ramírez Wojciech Fibak	Balázs Taróczy Jan Kodeš Jaime Fillol Bob Hewitt
		Wojciech Fibak Raúl Ramírez 4–6, 7–5, 6–3	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan
	Air India/BP Classic Brisbane, Australia $50,000 – Grass – 32S/16D One Star	Mark Edmondson 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4	Phil Dent	Allan Stone Tom Gorman	Ray Ruffels Kim Warwick Dick Crealy Brian Fairlie
		Syd Ball Kim Warwick 6–4, 6–4	Ismail El Shafei Brian Fairlie
18 Oct	Custom Credit Australian Indoor Championships Sydney, Australia $125,000 – Hard (i) – 48S/24D Four Star	Geoff Masters 4–6, 6–3, 7–6, 6–3	James Delaney	Mark Edmondson Dick Crealy	Paul Kronk Sashi Menon Bill Scanlon Kim Warwick
		Ismail El Shafei Brian Fairlie 4–6, 6–4, 7–6	Syd Ball Kim Warwick
	Trofeo Conde de Godó Barcelona, Spain Clay – 64S/32D Three Star	Manuel Orantes 6–1, 2–6, 2–6, 7–5, 6–4	Eddie Dibbs	Raúl Ramírez Harold Solomon	Jan Kodeš Željko Franulović Brian Gottfried Javier Soler
		Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez 7–6, 6–4	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan
25 Oct	Hitachi West Coast Classic Perth, Australia $50,000 – Hard – 32S/16D One Star	Ray Ruffels 6–0, 4–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2	Phil Dent	Roscoe Tanner Dick Stockton	Dick Crealy Tim Gullikson Syd Ball Gene Mayer
		Dick Stockton Roscoe Tanner 6–7, 6–1, 6–2	Bob Carmichael Ismail El Shafei
	Jean Becker Open Paris, France $50,000 – Hard (i) – 32S/16D One Star	Eddie Dibbs 5–7, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6	Jaime Fillol	Mark Cox Stan Smith	Erik van Dillen Tom Okker Sherwood Stewart Paolo Bertolucci
		Tom Okker Marty Riessen 6–2, 6–2	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart
	Fischer Grand Prix Vienna, Austria $50,000 – Hard (i) – 32S/16D One Star	Wojciech Fibak 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1	Raúl Ramírez	Ove Bengtson Víctor Pecci	Vitas Gerulaitis Arthur Ashe Brian Gottfried Balázs Taróczy
		Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan 6–4, 4–0 RET.	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez

November

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
1 Nov	Dewar Cup London, Great Britain Carpet – $100,000 – 32S/16D Three Star	Raúl Ramírez 6–3, 6–4	Manuel Orantes	Mark Cox Jaime Fillol	Bernard Mitton Antonio Zugarelli Arthur Ashe Wojciech Fibak
		David Lloyd John Lloyd 6–4, 3–6, 6–3	John Feaver John James
	Japan Open Tennis Championships Tokyo, Japan Clay – 48S/24D Three Star	Roscoe Tanner 6–3, 6–2	Corrado Barazzutti	Dick Stockton Ken Rosewall	Jürgen Fassbender Dick Crealy Brian Fairlie John Whitlinger
		Bob Carmichael Ken Rosewall 6–4, 6–4	Ismail El Shafei Brian Fairlie
	Cologne Cup Cologne, West Germany $50,000 – Carpet – 32S/16D One Star	Jimmy Connors 6–2, 6–3	Frew McMillan	Brian Gottfried Víctor Pecci	Jiří Hřebec František Pala Henry Bunis Harold Solomon
		Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan 6–1, 3–6, 7–6	Colin Dowdeswell Mike Estep
8 Nov	Stockholm Open Stockholm, Sweden $150,000 – Hard (i) – 64S/32D Five Star	Mark Cox 4–6, 7–5, 7–6^(7–3)	Manuel Orantes	Jimmy Connors Brian Gottfried	Raúl Ramírez Byron Bertram Haroon Rahim Björn Borg
		Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan 6–4, 4–6, 6–4	Tom Okker Marty Riessen
	Citizen's Classic Hong Kong, Hong Kong $75,000 – Hard – 32S/16D Two Star	Ken Rosewall 1–6, 6–4, 7–6, 6–0	Ilie Năstase	James Hagey Gene Mayer	Emilio Montaño Hans-Jürgen Pohmann Steve Krulevitz Paul Kronk
		Hank Pfister Butch Walts 6–4, 6–2	Anand Amritraj Ilie Năstase
15 Nov	Benson & Hedges Championships London, Great Britain $125,000 – Carpet – 32S/16D Four Star	Jimmy Connors 3–6, 7–6^(8–6), 6–4	Roscoe Tanner	Brian Gottfried Wojciech Fibak	Stan Smith Raúl Ramírez Tom Okker Ilie Năstase
		Stan Smith Roscoe Tanner 7–6, 6–3	Wojciech Fibak Brian Gottfried
	Philta International Manila, the Philippines $75,000 – Hard – 47S/24D Two Star	Brian Fairlie 7–5, 6–7, 7–6	Ray Ruffels	Geoff Masters Dick Crealy	Mike Machette Hans-Jürgen Pohmann Mark Edmondson Ross Case
		Ross Case Geoff Masters 6–0, 6–1	Anand Amritraj Corrado Barazzutti
	São Paulo Open São Paulo, Brazil $50,000 – Carpet – 32S/16D One Star	Guillermo Vilas 6–3, 6–0	José Higueras	Jorge Andrew Thomaz Koch	Belus Prajoux Víctor Pecci Ricardo Cano Adriano Panatta
		Lito Álvarez Víctor Pecci 6–4, 3–6, 6–3	Ricardo Cano Belus Prajoux
22 Nov	South African Breweries Open Johannesburg, South Africa $150,000 – Hard – 48S/24D/16XD Five Star	Harold Solomon 6–2, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4	Brian Gottfried	Raúl Ramírez Stan Smith	Cliff Richey Raymond Moore Roscoe Tanner Willem Prinsloo
		Brian Gottfried Sherwood Stewart 1–6, 6–1, 6–2, 7–6	Juan Gisbert, Sr. Stan Smith
		Betsy Nagelsen Bob Hewitt 6–2, 7–6	Annette du Plooy Deon Joubert
	South American Open Buenos Aires, Argentina $75,000 – Clay – 32S/16D Two Star	Guillermo Vilas 6–2, 6–2, 6–3	Jaime Fillol	Paolo Bertolucci Thomaz Koch	José Higueras Željko Franulović Víctor Pecci Ricardo Cano
		Carlos Kirmayr Tito Vázquez 6–4, 7–5	Ricardo Cano Belus Prajoux
	Indian Open Bangalore, India $50,000 – Clay – 32S/16D One Star	Kim Warwick 6–1, 6–2	Sashi Menon	Haroon Rahim Doug Crawford	Bob Carmichael Alvin Gardiner Mike Cahill Ashok Amritraj
		Bob Carmichael Ray Ruffels 6–2, 7–6	Chiradip Mukerjea Bhanu Nunna

December

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
6 Dec	Commercial Union Assurance Masters Houston, United States $130,000 – Carpet – 8S/4D Singles – Doubles	Manuel Orantes 5–7, 6–2, 0–6, 7–6^(7–1), 6–1	Wojciech Fibak	Guillermo Vilas Harold Solomon
		Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart 6–3, 5–7, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez

Points system

The tournaments listed above were divided into six groups. Group TC consisted of the Triple Crown—the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open—while the other tournaments were given star ratings ranging from five stars to one star, based on prize money and draw size.[3] 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:

Group TC

Champion: 160 (32) Runner-up: 120 (24) Semifinalist: 80 (16) Quarterfinalist: 40 (8) Fourth Round: 20 (4) Third Round: 10 (2) Second Round: 5

Five-star

Champion: 120 (24) Runner-up: 90 (18) Semifinalist: 60 (12) Quarterfinalist: 30 (6) 9th – 16th: 15 (3) 17th – 32nd: 7 33rd – 64th: 1

Four-star

Champion: 100 (20) Runner-up: 75 (15) Semifinalist: 50 (10) Quarterfinalist: 25 (5) 9th – 16th: 12 (2) 17th – 32nd: 6

Three-star

Champion: 80 (16) Runner-up: 60 (12) Semifinalist: 40 (8) 5th – 8th: 20 (4) 9th – 16th: 10 (2) 17th – 32nd: 5

Two-star

Champion: 60 (12) Runner-up: 45 (9) Semifinalist: 30 (6) 5th – 8th: 15 (3) 9th – 16th: 7 (1) 17th – 32nd: 3

One-star

Champion: 40 (8) Runner-up: 30 (6) Semifinalist: 20 (4) 5th – 8th: 10 (2) 9th – 16th: 5

Standings

The 1976 Grand Prix tournaments were divided in six separate point categories, ranging from the Triple Crown tournaments (150 points for the winner) to the smallest One Star tournaments (40 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 a minimum amount of One and Two Star tournaments. The top eight points ranked singles players and top four doubles teams were entitled to participate in the season-ending Masters tournament.[2]

Rk	Name	Points	Bonus
1	Raúl Ramírez (MEX)	938	$150,000
2	Manuel Orantes (ESP)	811	$90,000
3	Jimmy Connors (USA)	800	–
4	Eddie Dibbs (USA)	687	$60,000
5	Harold Solomon (USA)	681	$45,000
6	Guillermo Vilas (ARG)	627	$35,000
7	Roscoe Tanner (USA)	615	$30,000
8	Wojciech Fibak (POL)	582	$26,000
9	Brian Gottfried (USA)	574	$23,000
10	Björn Borg (SWE)	510	–

ATP Rankings

These are the ATP Rankings of the top twenty singles players at the end of the 1975 season [4] and at the end of the 1976 season,[5] with numbers of ranking points, points averages, numbers of tournaments played, year-end rankings in 1976, highest and lowest positions during the season and number of spots gained or lost from the first rankings to the year-end rankings.

As of 15 December 1975[6] Rk Name 1  Jimmy Connors (USA) 2  Guillermo Vilas (ARG) 3  Björn Borg (SWE) 4  Arthur Ashe (USA) 5  Manuel Orantes (ESP) 6  Ken Rosewall (AUS) 7  Ilie Năstase (ROU) 8  John Alexander (AUS) 9  Roscoe Tanner (USA) 10  Rod Laver (AUS) 11  Tom Okker (NED) 12  Tony Roche (AUS) 13  Raúl Ramírez (MEX) 14  Adriano Panatta (ITA) 15  Vitas Gerulaitis (USA) 16  Jaime Fillol (CHI) 17  Harold Solomon (USA) 18  Eddie Dibbs (USA) 19  Jan Kodeš (TCH) 20  John Newcombe (AUS)

Year-end rankings (12 December 1976)[7] Rk Name Points Avg. Change 1  Jimmy Connors (USA) 1,204 80.27 = 2  Björn Borg (SWE) 789 52.60 +1 3  Ilie Năstase (ROU) 606 43.29 +1 4  Manuel Orantes (ESP) 902 41.00 +1 5  Raúl Ramírez (MEX) 1185 39.50 +8 6  Guillermo Vilas (ARG) 813 38.71 −4 7  Adriano Panatta (ITA) 447 31.93 +7 8  Harold Solomon (USA) 893 30.79 +9 9  Eddie Dibbs (USA) 920 30.67 +9 10  Brian Gottfried (USA) 794 28.36 +13 11  Roscoe Tanner (USA) 765 28.33 −2 12  Arthur Ashe (USA) 575 26.14 −8 13  Ken Rosewall (AUS) 341 24.36 −7 14  Wojtek Fibak (POL) 754 23.56 +44 15  Dick Stockton (USA) 513 20.52 +15 16  Stan Smith (USA) 514 19.04 +5 17  Mark Cox (GBR) 298 18.63 +5 18  Vitas Gerulaitis (USA) 248 16.53 −3 19  Jan Kodeš (TCH) 334 15.90 = 20  Robert Lutz (USA) 282 15.67 +2

List of tournament winners

The list of winners and number of Grand Prix singles titles won, alphabetically by last name:

• Paolo Bertolucci (1) Barcelona
• Björn Borg (3) Düsseldorf, Wimbledon, Boston
• Jimmy Connors (6) Washington, North Conway, Indianapolis, US Open, Cologne, Wembley
• Mark Cox (1) Stockholm
• Eddie Dibbs (2) Hamburg, Paris (Jean Becker)
• Mark Edmondson (1) Australian Open
• Brian Fairlie (1) Manila
• Wojciech Fibak (2) Bournemouth, Vienna
• Brian Gottfried (1) Los Angeles
• Geoff Masters (1) Sydney Indoor
• Ilie Năstase (1) South Orange
• Manuel Orantes (5) Munich, Kitzbühel, Madrid, Barcelona, Masters
• Adriano Panatta (2) Rome, French Open
• Víctor Pecci (2) Madrid, Berlin
• Raúl Ramírez (2) Gstaad, London
• Cliff Richey (1) Bermuda
• Ken Rosewall (1) Hong Kong
• Ray Ruffels (1) Perth
• Harold Solomon (2) Maui, Johannesburg
• Roscoe Tanner (4) Cincinnati, Columbus, San Francisco, Tokyo Outdoor
• Balázs Taróczy (1) Hilversum
• Guillermo Vilas (3) Montreal, São Paulo. Buenos Aires
• Kim Warwick (1) Bangalore
• Antonio Zugarelli (1) Båstad

The following players won their first Grand Prix title in 1976:

• Mark Edmondson Australian Open
• Wojtek Fibak Stockholm
• Geoff Masters Sydney Indoor
• Víctor Pecci Madrid
• Kim Warwick Bangalore
• Antonio Zugarelli Båstad

See also

• 1976 World Championship Tennis circuit
• 1976 WTA Tour

Notes

1. This match was stopped at two sets all due to bad light. The final set was played on 15 September during the Grow Professional Doubles Championships.

References

1. "How it All Began". ATPWorldTour.com. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
2. John Barrett, ed. (1977). World of Tennis 1977 : a BP yearbook. London: Macdonald and Janes. pp. 25–31. ISBN 9780354090117.
3. "$5-Million Tour For Grand Prix Tennis". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. UPI. 23 January 1976.
4. "ATP Rankings (singles) as of December 15, 1975". atpworldtour.com. ATP Tour, Inc. 15 December 1975. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
5. "ATP Rankings (singles) as of December 12, 1976". atpworldtour.com. ATP Tour, Inc.
6. "Tennis - ATP World Tour - Singles Rankings". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
7. "Tennis - ATP World Tour - Singles Rankings". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 2012-04-03.

External links

• ATP Archive 1976: Commercial Union Grand Prix Tournaments
• ATP – History Mens Professional Tours

Further reading

• Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book (2nd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. ISBN 978-0-942257-70-0.