Grand Prix Tennis Circuit - Integration and The End

Integration and The End

The WCT and Grand Prix circuits were separate until 1977, when the Grand Prix circuit integrated the WCT circuit. In 1982, the WCT circuit split from the Grand Prix again and created a more complex WCT ranking, similar to the ATP ranking. The split was short-lived, however, and in 1985 the Grand Prix absorbed the four remaining WCT tournaments.

During the 1988 US Open the ATP, led by then-World No. 1 Mats Wilander, staged an impromptu meeting known as the Parking Lot Press Conference during failed negotiations with the MTC over the organisation of the Grand Prix and key issues such as player fatigue. During the Conference the ATP declared that it would be starting its own tour in 1990, meaning that the 1989 Grand Prix would effectively be its last. The final event of the Grand Prix was the Nabisco Masters Doubles held at the Royal Albert Hall in London in the United Kingdom from December 6 through December 10, 1989. Its last champions were Jim Grabb and Patrick McEnroe, who beat John Fitzgerald and Anders Järryd 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–3.