Pancho Gonzalez: World Champion

The way was open for a new world professional champion: Richard Gonzalez.

In 1954, Jack Kramer, who had dominated Gonzalez in his first professional tour, retired from actually competing and took over the promotion of the tour. His retirement opened the way for a new professional tennis champion.

As promoter, Kramer promptly offered contracts to four of the men he thought most capable of filling his shoes: Francisco “Pancho” Segura, Frank Sedgman, Don Budge, and Richard Gonzalez. Now, three years after his devastating debut on the pro-fessional tour, Gonzalez was back.

Kramer’s 1954 tour would be different from the previous head to head tours between the reigning professional king and the newly-turned-pro amateur champion. Instead, this tour would be a round robin contest in which four players continually played each other. The two winners of one night’s two matches would play each other the following night. Likewise, the losers would face off.

The man who had won the most matches at the end of the tour would be declared the new professional tennis champion. Although each player received the same pay whether he won or lost, Gonzalez knew that for him the stakes for winning this tour were enormous. Losing…