U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships

Infobox ATP Tennis Tournament
Name = U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
Current =

Logo_size = 100px
City = Houston, Texas
Country = USA
Venue = River Oaks Country Club
Category = International Series
Surface = Clay / Outdoors
Draw = 32S/32Q/16D
Prize_Money = $416,000
Web_site = [http://www.riveroaksinternational.com/ Men's Clay Court]
Notes =

The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament which started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts.

The tournament began in 1910 when the Western Lawn Tennis Association (a section of the United States Lawn Tennis Association now known as the USTA/Midwest) lobbied the USLTA that a National Clay Court Championship would help promote the establishment of more clay courts in the West. Clay courts were more economical to install and maintain than grass courts, and the hope was that the lower costs associated with court construction would allow for a more rapid expansion of the game. The first National Clay Court Championships were held at the Omaha Field Club with a crowd of 5,000 watching the finals. Participation and play on clay grew as a result of the event and others, and in 1914 the event was moved to the Cincinnati Tennis Club. It has since been played in numerous cities and is today held in Houston, Texas.

Newest Home

The event was held at the Westside Tennis Club from 2001-2007. On May 8, 2007 the U.S. Tennis Association announced that the River Oaks Country Club in the River Oaks neighborhood would host the tournament staring in 2008, which will keep the event in Houston for several years. Other cities that competed for the event were Atlanta, Georgia, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The tournament pays out US$415,000 with the winner receiving US$65,850. The River Oaks venue features a stadium with seating for 3,000. Temporary seating for 500 will be installed for the second court. [cite web | last = Robertson | first = Dale | authorlink = Dale Robertson | title = River Oaks keeps Clay Courts in town | publisher = Houston Chronicle | date = May 7, 2007 | url = http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2007_4341169 | accessdate = 2007-05-09 ]

In 2007, after a few years being held on the same red clay used at the French Open, the event was held on Har-Tru green clay. In 2008, the event returned to red clay as the River Oaks red-clay courts were installed in 2005.

Past Finals

Pre-Open Era Finals

References

Additional References

*References used for the Pre-Open Era locations and champions: "United States Lawn Tennis Association Yearbook" (1942-'44, '48-49, '51, '53. '55-56, '60, '64, '66 & '69), "Spalding Lawn Tennis Annual" (1916, '24-'28, '30-'31 & '39), "Wright & Ditson's Lawn Tennis Annual" (1932-'33, '35 & '37), "New York Times" articles (1910-'14, '16, '18-'19 & '21-'22), "From Club Court to Center Court" by Phillip S. Smith (2007 Edition, page 67).

External links

* [http://www.atptennis.com/ ATPtennis.com]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSQUDYOLLFQ/ Video of 1958 tournament in River Forest, IL]