Sport | Professional tennis |
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Abbreviation | WCT |
Founded | 1968-1989 |
Location | WCT Lakeway World of Tennis, Austin, Texas, United States |
Replaced | 1990 by ATP |
World Championship Tennis (WCT) was one the principal organizing bodies of men's professional tennis headquartered at the WCT Lakeway World of Tennis facility, Austin, Texas, United States from 1968 to 1989. It administered the WCT Circuit a world wide tour of associated tennis tournaments that was a rival tour to the ITF Grand Prix Circuit both of which were replaced by the Association of Tennis Professionals ATP Tour in 1990.
In 1968 (the first players signed a contract at the end of 1967). Players were ranked in a special WCT ranking according to their results in those tournaments.
The WCT had an important impact on the commercial development of tennis. It instituted a tie-breaker system, experimented the "no-ad" scoring system on 40-40 (called at times "sudden death") and outfitted players with colored clothing, a radical idea at that time. WCT also strongly encouraged the audience to cheer for players, rather than politely applaud, as the more staid tennis audiences had done before. They publicly emphasized their prize money structure and special bonus pool as an incentive to attract top players.