1981 Grand Prix (tennis)
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | January 5, 1981 – January 17, 1982 | 
| Edition | 12th | 
| Tournaments | 89 | 
| Categories | Grand Slam (4)  Grand Prix (74) World Championship Tennis (9) Team Events (2)  | 
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most titles | |
| Most finals | |
| Prize money  leader  | |
| Points leader | |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year | |
| Most improved  player of the year  | |
| Newcomer  of the year  | |
| Comeback  player of the year  | |
← 1980  1982 →   | |
The 1981 Volvo Grand Prix was the only men's professional tennis circuit held that year. It consisted of the four Grand Slam tournaments and the Grand Prix tournaments. The World Championship Tennis (WCT) Tour was incorporated into the Grand Prix circuit. The WCT tour consisted of eight regular tournaments, a season's final, three tournaments categorized as special events and a doubles championship. In total 89 tournaments were held divided over 29 countries. The circuit was administered by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC).
Schedule
The table below shows the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix schedule (precursor to the ATP Tour).
- Key
 
| Grand Slam tournaments | 
| Tour finals | 
| Super Series | 
| Regular Series | 
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Dec | Davis Cup Final Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Carpet (i)  | 
3–1  | 
|||
| 14 Dec | Sofia Open  Sofia, Bulgaria Carpet (i) – $50,000 – 32S/16D  | 
6–4, 7–6, 7–6  | 
|||
7–6, 2–6, 6–4  | 
|||||
| Sydney Outdoor  Sydney, Australia Grass – $125,000 – 64S/32D  | 
6–4, 7–6, 6–3  | 
||||
6–7, 7–6, 7–6  | 
|||||
| 21 Dec  28 Dec  | 
Australian Open  Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Grass – $350,000 – 64S/32D Singles – Doubles  | 
6–2, 7–6(7–1), 6–7(1–7), 6–4  | 
|||
6–3, 6–7, 6–3  | 
January 1982
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Jan | Volvo Masters New York, U.S. Grand Prix Masters Carpet (i) – $400,000 – 8S/4D Singles – Doubles  | 
6–7(5–7), 2–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–2, 6–4.  | 
Round Robin  | ||
6–3, 6–3  | 
Points system
The tournaments listed above were divided into twelve point categories. The highest points were allocated to the Grand Slam tournaments; French Open, the Wimbledon Championships, the US Open and the Australian Open. Points were allocated based on these categories and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. The points table is based on a 32 player draw. No points were awarded to first-round losers and advancements by default were equal to winning a round.[4] The points allocation, with doubles points listed in brackets, is as follows:
| Grand Slam | $300,000+ | $275,000+ | $250,000+ | $225,000+ | $200,000+ | $175,000+ | $150,000+ | $125,000+ | $100,000+ | $75,000+ | $50,000+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 350 (70) | 300 (60) | 275 (55) | 250 (50) | 225 (45) | 200 (40) | 175 (35) | 150 (30) | 125 (25) | 100 (20) | 75 (15) | 50 (10) | 
| Runner-up | 245 (49) | 210 (42) | 192 (38) | 175 (35) | 157 (31) | 140 (28) | 122 (24) | 104 (20) | 87 (17) | 70 (14) | 52 (10) | 35 (7) | 
| Semifinalist | 140 (28) | 120 (24) | 110 (22) | 100 (20) | 90 (18) | 80 (16) | 70 (14) | 60 (12) | 50 (10) | 40 (8) | 30 (6) | 20 (4) | 
| Quarterfinalist | 70 (14) | 60 (12) | 55 (11) | 50 (10) | 45 (9) | 40 (8) | 35 (7) | 30 (6) | 25 (5) | 20 (4) | 15 (3) | 10 (2) | 
| Fourth round | 35 (7) | 30 (6) | 27 (6) | 25 (5) | 22 (5) | 20 (4) | 17 (3) | 14 (3) | 12 (2) | 10 (2) | 7 (–) | 5 (–) | 
| Third round | 17 (3) | 15 (–) | 13 (–) | 12 (–) | 11 (–) | 10 (–) | 9 (–) | 7 (–) | 6 (–) | 5 (–) | – (–) | – (–) | 
| Second round | 9 (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | 
Grand Prix standings
1. Ivan Lendl (Cze)
2. John McEnroe (USA)
3. Jimmy Connors (USA)
4. José Luis Clerc (Arg)
5. Guillermo Vilas (Arg)
6. Björn Borg (Sue)
7. Roscoe Tanner (USA)
8. Eliot Teltscher (USA)
9. Vitas Gerulaitis (USA)
10. Yannick Noah (Fra)
ATP rankings
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*The official ATP year-end rankings were listed from January 4th, 1982.
WCT Tour standings
| Player | Tournaments Played | Tournaments Won | Points | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | 2785 | |
| 3 | 2 | 170 | |
| 5 | 0 | 260 | |
| 3 | 1 | 235 | |
| 2 | 2 | 220 | |
| 8 | 0 | 150 | |
| 6 | 0 | 140 | |
| 3 | 0 | 130 | |
| 7 | 1 | 330 | |
| 4 | 0 | 13 | |
| 3 | 0 | 125 | 
List of tournament winners
The list of winners and number of singles titles won, alphabetically by last name:
 Björn Borg (3) French Open, Stuttgart Outdoor, Geneva
 José Luis Clerc (6) Florence, Rome, Boston, Washington, D.C., North Conway, Indianapolis
 Jimmy Connors (4) La Quinta, Brussels, Rotterdam, Wembley
 Kevin Curren (1) Johannesburg
 Eddie Dibbs (2) Forest Hills WCT, Quito
 Mark Edmondson (3) Adelaide, Bristol, Brisbane
 Wojciech Fibak (1) Gstaad
 Jaime Fillol (1) Mexico City
 John Fitzgerald (1) Kitzbühel
 Vitas Gerulaitis (1) Johannesburg
 Sammy Giammalva (1) Napa
 Hans Gildemeister (1) Santiago
 Shlomo Glickstein (1) South Orange
 Andrés Gómez (1) Bordeaux
 Brian Gottfried (1) Stowe
 Johan Kriek (3) Monterrey WCT, Newport, Australian Open
 Ramesh Krishnan (1) Manila
 Ivan Lendl (8) Stuttgart Indoor, Las Vegas, Montreal, Barcelona, Basel, Vienna, Cologne, Buenos Aires
 Chris Lewis (1) Munich
 Mario Martínez (1) Venice
 Gene Mayer (4) Memphis, Denver, Cleveland, Stockholm
 Sandy Mayer (1) Bologna
 John McEnroe (10) Boca Raton, Milan, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Dallas WCT, Queen's Club, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, US Open, Sydney Indoor
 Peter McNamara (2) Hamburg, Melbourne Indoor
 Richard Meyer (1) Sofia
 Yannick Noah (2) Richmond WCT, Nice
 Gianni Ocleppo (1) Linz
 Manuel Orantes (1) Palermo
 Marko Ostoja (1) Brussels
 Víctor Pecci (2) Viña del Mar, Bournemouth
 Mel Purcell (3) Tampa, Atlanta, Tel Aviv
 Bill Scanlon (2) Auckland, Bangkok
 Pavel Složil (1) Nancy
 Roscoe Tanner (1) Philadelphia
 Balázs Taróczy (3) Monte Carlo, Hilversum, Tokyo Outdoor
 Brian Teacher (1) Columbus
 Eliot Teltscher (2) Puerto Rico, San Francisco
 Thierry Tulasne (1) Båstad
 Vince Van Patten (1) Tokyo Indoor
 Robert Van't Hof (1) Taiwan
 Guillermo Vilas (3) Mar del Plata, Cairo, Houston
 Mark Vines (1) Bercy
 Tim Wilkison (1) Sydney Outdoor
 Van Winitsky (1) Hong Kong
The following players won their first title in 1981:
 Kevin Curren Johannesburg
 John Fitzgerald Kitzbühel
 Sammy Giammalva Napa
 Andrés Gómez Bordeaux
 Ramesh Krishnan Manila
 Mel Purcell Tampa
 Pavel Složil Nancy
 Thierry Tulasne Båstad
See also
Notes
- ^ Doubles event not listed by ATP.
 
References
- ^ "TENNIS". Tampa Times. Tampa, Florida: newspapers.com. March 13, 1981. p. 8. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
 - ^ Tingay, Lance; Barrett, John (1982). "Volvo Grand Prix Results: $50,000 to $150,000 Tournaments.". Slazengers world of tennis 1982 : the official yearbook of the International Tennis Federation. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-356-08596-8.
 - ^ Tingay, Lance; Barrett, John (1982). Slazengers world of tennis 1982 : the official yearbook of the International Tennis Federation. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-356-08596-8.
 - ^ John Barrett, ed. (1982). Slazengers World of Tennis 1982 : the official yearbook of the International Tennis Federation (14th ed.). London: Queen Anne Press. p. 26. ISBN 9780356085968.
 - ^ Bienvenido A Tenniscom.Com – Puppo – Set De Lectura
 - ^ "ATP Year-end top 20". ATP. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
 
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.
 
External links
- ATP Archive 1981 Volvo Grand Prix Tournaments
 

