South Florida Open Championships

The South Florida Open Championships also known as the South Florida Championships or South Florida Open^[1] was an international men's and women's clay court tennis tournament founded in 1922.^[2] The tournament was first played in Miami, Florida, United States. From 1946 this tournament also carried the joint denomination of West Palm Beach Open.^[3] The tournament was played at other locations until 1977 when it was discontinued as part of the ILTF Independent Tour.^[2]

South Florida Open Championships
Defunct tennis tournament
Tour	ILTF World Circuit (1922–72) ILTF Independent Tour (1973–77)
Founded	1922; 103 years ago (1922)
Abolished	1977; 48 years ago (1977)
Location	Fort Lauderdale Miami Miami Beach Punta Gorda Palm Beach West Palm Beach
Venue	Various
Surface	Clay

History

The South Florida Championships was a combined men's and women's clay court tournament first established in February 1922 and played in Miami, Florida, United States. The inaugural singles winners were Fritz Bastian (men's)^[2] and Martha Floyd (women's). The tournament was part regional USLTA Southern Circuit.^[2] In 1954 a second edition of the men's event was held in Fort Lauderdale called the South Florida Fall Championships that was won by

The tournament was held in Miami, Miami Beach, Palm Beach Punta Gorda, West Palm Beach.^[2] The fall championships were played in Fort Lauderdale.^[2]

The championships ran annually until 1977 when they discontinued from the ILTF Independent Tour,^[2] a series of worldwide tournaments not part of the men's Grand Prix Circuit or women's the WTA Tour. The final winners of the singles events were the Canadian player Harry Fritz (men's),^[2] the American player Bunny Smith (women's)

Finals

Men's singles (Winter)

(incomplete roll)

Year	Location	Champions	Runners-up	Score
South Florida Championships
1922	Miami	Fritz Bastian	James Calder	6-2, 6–3, 6–3.[2]
1924	Miami	G. Carlton Shafer	George Bart Pfingst[4]	8-6, 6–4, 6–1.[2]
1926	West Palm Beach	Jerome (Jerry) Lang	John T. Graves jr.	6-1, 8–6, 6–3.[2]
1927	West Palm Beach	Bill Tilden II	Manuel Alonso Areizaga	6-3, 7–9, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2.[2]
1928	Miami Beach	Frank Hunter	John F. Hennessey	6-4, 6–4, 6–3.[2]
1929	Miami	John F. Hennessey	Frank Hunter	2-6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–3.[2]
1930	Miami	George Lott	John Doeg	2-6, 6–2, 4–6, 6–2, 8–6.[2]
1931	Punta Gorda	J. Gilbert Hall	Gustavo Vollmer	7-5, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5.[2]
1932	Punta Gorda	Julius Seligson	Gustavo Vollmer	4-6, 6–2, 6–3, 6–1.[2]
1939	West Palm Beach	Wayne Sabin	Gene Mako	7-9, 6–1, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2.[2]
1940	West Palm Beach	Bobby Riggs	Henry Prusoff	6-1, 7–5, 6–2.[2]
1941	Palm Beach	Bobby Riggs (2)	Jack Kramer	6-3, 6–2, 6–3.[2]
1946	West Palm Beach	Gardnar Mulloy	Pancho Segura	6–4, 6–3.[2]
1948	West Palm Beach	Bruce Thomas	Sidney Schwartz	6-4, 6–4.[2]
1950	West Palm Beach	Tony Vincent	Malcolm Fox	7-5, 6–3.[2]
1951	West Palm Beach	Louis Straight Clark	Tony Vincent	6-4, 6–1, 5–7, 6–3.[2]
1952	West Palm Beach	Gardnar Mulloy (2)	Tony Vincent	6-4, 4–6, 7–5, 6–3.[2]
1953	West Palm Beach	Malcolm Fox	Charles Harris	1-6, 6–2, 10–8.[2]
1954	West Palm Beach	Gardnar Mulloy (3)	Lorne Main	6-1, 4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–2.[2]
1955	West Palm Beach	Eddie Moylan	Jean-Noël Grinda	9-7, 6–2.[2]
1956	West Palm Beach	Vic Seixas	Eddie Moylan	2-6, 6–2, 6–4.[2]
1957	West Palm Beach	Don Candy	Armando Vieira	3-6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–1.[2]
1958	West Palm Beach	Jack Frost	Kosei Kamo	6-3, 6–2.[2]
1959	West Palm Beach	Jack Frost (2)	John W. Frost	6-2, 6–2.[2]
1960	West Palm Beach	Mike Davies	Eduardo Zuleta	6-2, 6–0.[2]
1961	West Palm Beach	John C. Skogstad[5]	Eduardo Zuleta	6-0, 6–0, 2–6, 2–6, 6–3.[2]
1962	West Palm Beach	Ed Rubinoff	Thomaz Koch	8-6, 10–12, 9–7, 7–5.[2]
1963	West Palm Beach	Miguel Olvera	Eduardo Zuleta	6-1, 6–3, 6–1.[2]
1964	West Palm Beach	Nicky Kalogeropoulos	Eduardo Zuleta	7-5, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3.[2]
1965	West Palm Beach	Billy Higgins	Lester M Sack[6]	6-3, 6–1, 6–0.[2]
1966	West Palm Beach	Eduardo Zuleta	Harry Fauquier	6-3, 6–1.[2]
1967	West Palm Beach	Eduardo Zuleta (2)	Keith Carpenter	10-8, 6–2.[2]
1968	West Palm Beach	Eduardo Zuleta (3)	Frank Tutvin	6-4, 6–3.[2]
↓  Open era  ↓
South Florida Open Championships
1969	West Palm Beach	Eduardo Zuleta (4)	Jamie Pressly[7]	8-6, 6–0.[2]
South Florida Open
1970	West Palm Beach	Frank Froehling III	Pancho Guzmán	7-5, 5–7, 6–3.[2]
1971	West Palm Beach	Frank Froehling III (2)	Pat Cramer	6-3, 6–2.[2]
1972	West Palm Beach	Eddie Dibbs	Miguel Olvera	5-7, 6–4, 7–5.[2]
1973	West Palm Beach	Eddie Dibbs (2)	Norman Holmes	6-0, 6–2.[2]
1974	West Palm Beach	Doug Crawford	Rick Fisher	6-3, 7–5.[2]
1976	West Palm Beach	Greg Halder	Clive Rothwell[8]	6-2, 6–3.[2]
1977	West Palm Beach	Harry Fritz	Larry Loeb[9]	6-4, 7–6.[2]

Men's singles (Fall)

Year	Location	Champions	Runners-up	Score
South Florida Fall Championships/West Palm Beach Fall Open
1954	Fort Lauderdale	Allen Austin Quay	James (Jim) Shakespeare[10]	6-2, 6–2.[2]

Women's singles

(incomplete roll)

Year	Location	Champions	Runners-up	Score
South Florida Championships
1922	Miami	Martha Floyd	Clare Cassell	6-4, 6-4
1923	Miami	Anna Townsend Godfrey	Clare Cassell	6-1, 6-1
1929	Miami	Eleanor Brooks Cottman	Gisela Comallonga	6-,2 6-4
1939	West Palm Beach	Pauline Betz	Marta Barnett[11]	6-3, 6-2
1940	West Palm Beach	Mary Hardwick	Sarah Palfrey Fabyan	6-1, 6-3
1941	Palm Beach	Pauline Betz (2)	Dorothy Bundy	6-4, 6-1
1946	West Palm Beach	Shirley Fry	Eleanor Cushingham[12]	6-2, 2-6 6-1
1948	West Palm Beach	Magda Berescu Rurac	Laura Lou Jahn[13]	6-4, 6-1
1949	West Palm Beach	Helen Pedersen Rihbany	Virginia Lee Boyer	6-0, 6-1
1950	West Palm Beach	Jean Clarke	Rhoda Hopkins[14]	7-5, 6–8, 6-1
1951	West Palm Beach	Beverly Baker	Shirley Fry	6-4, 6-4
1953	West Palm Beach	Thelma Coyne Long	Jean Clarke	6-4, 6-4
1954	West Palm Beach	Laura Lou Kunnen	Hana Sládková-Koželuhová	9-7, 6-1
1955	West Palm Beach	Mildred Thornton[15]	Pat Stewart	9-7, 6-4
1956	West Palm Beach	Shirley Fry (2)	Nancy Morrison Montgomery	6–1, 6-1
1957	West Palm Beach	Dottie Head Knode	Karol Fageros	7–9, 7–5, 6-3
1958	West Palm Beach	Janet Hopps	Maria Bueno	6–3, 7-5
1959	West Palm Beach	Barbara Scofield Davidson	Marie Martin	6–4, 2–6, 9-7
1960	West Palm Beach	Ann Barclay	Sandy Warshaw[16]	7–5, 6-1
1961	West Palm Beach	Ann Barclay (2)	Nancy Morrison Montgomery	6–1, 6-3
1962	West Palm Beach	Stephanie DeFina	Nancy Morrison Montgomery	8–6, 6-2
1963	West Palm Beach	Stephanie DeFina (2)	Nancy Morrison Orthwein	6–1, 6-1
1964	West Palm Beach	Stephanie DeFina (3)	Carol Ann Prosen	1–6, 6–4, 6-2
1965	West Palm Beach	Betty Stöve	Trudy Groenman	6–4, 6-4
1966	West Palm Beach	Stephanie DeFina (4)	Alice Tym	6–4, 6-0
1967	West Palm Beach	Stephanie DeFina (5)	Vera Cleto	6–3, 6-0
1968	West Palm Beach	Kazuko Sawamatsu	Vera Cleto	6–1, 6-3
↓  Open era  ↓
South Florida Open Championships
1969	West Palm Beach	Stephanie DeFina (6)	Anna Maria Cavadini[17]	6–1, 6-2
South Florida Open
1970	West Palm Beach	Chris Evert	Stephanie DeFina	6–3, 6-2
1971	West Palm Beach	Christiane Spinoza	Bunny Smith	6–1, 6-2
1972	West Palm Beach	Pam Austin	Mary McLean[18]	6–1, 6-1
1973	West Palm Beach	Bunny Smith[19]	Sabine Bernegger[20]	6–4, 7-5

Tournament records

Men's singles

Included:^[2]

• Most Titles: Eduardo Zuleta (4)
• Most Finals: Eduardo Zuleta (8)
• Most Consecutive Titles: Eduardo Zuleta (3)
• Most Consecutive Finals: Eduardo Zuleta (3)

Women's singles

• Most Titles: Stephanie DeFina (6)
• Most Finals: Stephanie DeFina (7)
• Most Consecutive Titles: Stephanie DeFina (3)
• Most Consecutive Finals: Stephanie DeFina (3)