The ‘Open Era’ refers to the period since 1968, when professional players have been allowed to compete alongside amateurs at Grand Slam tournaments and other events sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Put simply, the events are ‘open’ to all players.
The Open Era has brought about a shift in the professionalisation of tennis – allowing players to earn prize money through competing in tournaments.
What happened before the Open Era?
Tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. Wimbledon – the oldest Grand Slam – began in 1877. The US Open started in 1881, followed by the French Open in 1891 and the Australian Open in 1905.
Until 1968, only amateurs – players who did not earn a living through tennis, nor any prize money through competing – were allowed to enter Grand Slams.
Professional tennis players competed in entirely different tournaments.
The idea was to make the sport fair – it was thought professional players who could dedicate their time to training and were paid to do so would have an advantage over amateur players.
What changed in 1968?
The British Hard Court Championships – held in Bournemouth in April 1968 – was the first tournament of the Open Era.
The titles were won by Australia’s Ken Rosewall and Britain’s Virginia Wade, who took home £1,000 and £300, external respectively in prize money.
Wimbledon was the first Grand Slam to be ‘open’ but remains the only one not to include the word in its name. The French Championships became the French Open, the US National Championships became the US Open, and the Australian Championships became the Australian Open.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.
What is Ask Me Anything?
Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.
We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.
The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.
We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world’s biggest sporting events.
Our coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio.
