In Which Year Was Tennis First Played As A Professional Event And Not As An Amateur Game?

An influential tennis promoter C.C. Pyle is credited with establishing the first professional tennis tour in the year 1926, featuring a series of exhibition matches involving a number of well-known American and French tennis stars of the time. Some of the big names that played on this tour included the American Vinnie (Vincent) Richards (1903-1959) and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen (1899-1938). Richards was a member of the victorious United States Davis Cup team in 1925, along with luminaries of the game like R. Norris Williams, William "Little Bill" Johnston and William "Big Bill" Tilden.

Lenglen was a 12-time Grand Slam winner. She won the French Championships (now the French Open) six times (1914, 1921-1923, 1925 and 1926) and Wimbledon on just as many occasions (1919-1923 and 1925). The second court at Roland Garros in Paris, the venue for the French Open has been renamed as Court Suzanne Lenglen in her honour.

Professional and amateur tennis remained strictly separate for 42 years. However, in 1968, commercial considerations prevailed and thus began the Open Era. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) organises several tournaments throughout the year, but the prominent ones among them are the Grand Slam events, namely the Australian Open, the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships and the United States Open, which take place every year at Melbourne Park (Melbourne, Australia), Roland Garros (Paris, France), the All-England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon, London, England) and Flushing Meadows (New York, U.S.A.) respectively.