Misplaced Pages

The Phoenix Thunderbird Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament founded in 1952 as Phoenix Thunderbird Championships Invitational. Also known as the Phoenix Thunderbird Invitational it continued as a joint event until 1970 when the men's event was discontinued. In 1971 the women's tournament was re branded as the Virginia Slims Thunderbird Classic that event continued until 1980.

The tournament was part of the ILTF North America Circuit a regional sub circuit of the ILTF World Circuit from 1952 to 1969. In 1970 it became ILTF Grand Prix Circuit for that year only.

History

The tournament was founded in 1952, as the Phoenix Thunderbird Championships a joint men's and women's tennis tournament played at the Phoenix Country Club, Phoenix, Arizona, United States. In 1953 the word 'championships' was dropped from the tournaments title becoming the Phoenix Thunderbird Invitational. In 1969 the tournament went open under the brand name the Thunderbird Invitational. In 1970 the tournament was re branded as the Phoenix Thunderbird Open, and was the final year as a combined event when the men's tournament was discontinued. In 1971 women's event became part of the Virginia Slims Circuit and was known as the Virginia Slims Thunderbird Classic, that event carried on till 1980 when it was last known as the Thunderbird Classic before it too was abolished. The tournament was originally played on indoor hard courts from 1953 to 1965, then outdoor hard courts from 1966 to 1970. The event was originally played at the end February annually, then moved to mid to late March. It was only in 1970 that its scheduling was moved to October that year, however the women's event carried on with the new dates.

The current successor tennis event for men played at the same venue is the Arizona Tennis Classic.

Finals

Singles

Included:

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
Phoenix Thunderbird Championships
1952	Tony Trabert	Bob Perry	6–1, 6–2, 8–6
Phoenix Thunderbird Invitational
1953	Tony Trabert	Bob Perry	6–1, 6–2, 8–6
1954	Arthur Larsen	Tom Brown	6–2, 6–4, 6–2
1955	Arthur Larsen (2)	Herbert Flam	6–4, 6–1
1956	Tom Brown	Gardnar Mulloy	6–4, 8–6
1957	Alex Olmedo	Noel Brown	6–3, 6–2
1958	Gilbert Shea	Myron Franks	7–5, 11–9
1959	Hugh Stewart	Tom Brown	3–6, 6–4, 6–4
1960	Tom Brown (2)	Whitney Reed	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
1961	Whitney Reed	Jon Douglas	6–4, 6–3
Phoenix Thunderbird Invitation
1962	Tut Bartzen	Allen Fox	6–4,6–4
1963	Charlie Pasarell	Allen Fox	2–6, 6–3, 6–2
1964	Charlie Pasarell (2)	Dennis Ralston	6–3, 3–6, 6–4
1965	Chuck McKinley	Arthur Ashe	8–10, 6–4, 10–8
1966	Arthur Ashe	Jim Osborne	3–6, 6–3, 6–2
1967	Stan Smith	Allen Fox	7–5, 6–3
1968	Stan Smith (2)	Bob Lutz	4–6, 6–2, 6–1
↓  Open Era  ↓
1969	Cliff Richey	Manuel Santana	6–4, 6–4
Phoenix Thunderbird Open
1970	Stan Smith (3)	Jim Osborne	6–3, 6–7, 6–1

Doubles

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
1970	Dick Crealy Ray Ruffels	Jan Kodeš Charlie Pasarell	7–6, 6–3

See also

• Arizona Tennis Classic (successor men's event)
• Thunderbird Classic (the women's event)
• Virginia Slims of Arizona (another women's event in Arizona)

References

1. Barrett, John; Tingay, Lance; West, Peter (1971). "US Tournaments". World of Tennis 1971 : a BP yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-0-362-00091-7.
2. "USLTA Tournaments: Arizona". American Lawn Tennis. New York City: Rea Publications. 1952. p. 20.
3. Archives, Tennis (2017). "Thunderbird Invitation". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
4. "T-Bird Tennis Titles Taken by Richey's". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona: The Misplaced Pages Library - newspapers.com. 24 Mar 1969. p. 8. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
5. "Spanish ace heads T-Bird tennis tourney". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona: The Misplaced Pages Library - newspapers.com. 16 Mar 1969. p. 75. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
6. World of Tennis 1971
7. "Phoenix: Overview". ATP Tour. ATP. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
8. Archives, Tennis (2017). "Thunderbird Invitation". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
9. The Arizona Republic (1969)

Sources

• ATP Results Archive

• Defunct tennis tournaments in the United States
• Hard court tennis tournaments in the United States
• Grand Prix tennis circuit
• Tennis tournaments in Arizona