Guillermo Vilas

Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Vilas during the Munich Open in May 1975
Country (sports) Argentina
ResidenceBuenos Aires
Born (1952-08-17) 17 August 1952 (age 72)
Mar del Plata, Argentina
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro1968[1]
Retired1992
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$4,923,882
Int. Tennis HoF1991 (member page)
Singles
Career record951–297
Career titles62 [2] (10th in the Open Era)
Highest rankingNo. 2 (30 April 1975)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (1978, 1979)
French OpenW (1977)[3]
WimbledonQF (1975, 1976)
US OpenW (1977)[3]
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsW (1974)
WCT FinalsF (1976)
Doubles
Career record217–150
Career titles16
Highest rankingNo. 13 (21 May 1979)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1977Jan)[3]
French OpenSF (1975)
Wimbledon3R (1976)
US OpenQF (1975)
Guillermo Vilas at the 1974 Dutch Open

Guillermo Vilas (born 17 August 1952) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. Vilas was the world No. 1 of the Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977.[4] He won four major titles and the year-end championships, totalling 62 singles titles alongside 16 doubles titles during his career on the ATP tour. World Tennis, Agence France-Presse and Livre d'or du tennis 1977 (Christian Collin-Bernard Ficot), among other rankings and publications, rated him as world No. 1 in 1977.[5][6][7] In the computerized ATP rankings, he peaked at No. 2 in April 1975, a position he held for a total of 83 weeks, although some have argued that Vilas should have been ranked No. 1[8] for at least 10 weeks, particularly in 1977 when he won 2 majors. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991, two years after his first retirement.[9]

Vilas is known for his prowess on clay courts. He won over 650 matches on clay, which is an all-time record. His peak was the 1977 season during which he won 16 ATP singles titles,[10] including two majors (both on clay) and had a 53 winning streak on clay, which was the longest in the Open Era at his time. In 2016, The Daily Telegraph ranked him as the 3rd best male clay-court player of all time, behind Rafael Nadal and Björn Borg.[11] In 2018, Steve Tignor for Tennis Magazine ranked him as the 16th greatest tennis player of the Open Era.[12]

Historical and statistical studies presented in 2015 by Argentinian journalist Eduardo Puppo and Romanian mathematician Marian Ciulpan concluded that Vilas should have been No. 1 in the old ATP ranking system for seven weeks between 1975 and 1976. The ATP and its chief executive at that time, Chris Kermode, although not refuting the data, decided not to officially recognize Vilas as No. 1. In October 2020, Netflix released a documentary film about Vilas's case titled Guillermo Vilas: Settling the Score.[13] In May 2024, ATP's vice-president confirmed that Vilas will never be number one.[14]

  1. ^ "Sports Network bio". Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Inductee: Class of 1991: Guillermo Vila". www.tennisfame.com. International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Barrett, John; Flink, Steve; Tingay, Lance (1978). World of Tennis 1978: A BP Yearbook (10th Year ed.). London: Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 31, 33–34, 36, 39–40, 42, 65–66, 68. ISBN 978-0-354-09039-1. ISSN 0305-6325. OCLC 237184605. OL 15012356M.
  4. ^ "Guillermo Vilas". www.head.com.
  5. ^ Sal Recchi (18 January 1978). "Who's No. 1? Let's draw straws". Boca Raton News. p. 1C – via Google News Archive.
  6. ^ "Masters não dicidiu quem é o primeiro tenista do mundo". Jornal do Brasil (in Portuguese). 11 January 1978. p. 27.
  7. ^ Le livre d'or du tennis 1977. Solar. January 1977 – via Amazon.
  8. ^ Gabriel, Craig. "History should be corrected and guillermo vilas awarded no.1 | We Are Tennis". We Are Tennis. BNP Paribas. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Guillermo Vilas". International Tennis Hall of Fame.
  10. ^ "Guillermo Vilas: Numero Uno For 1977 - A World Tennis Magazine Throwback". World Tennis Magazine. WTM. 5 June 2020. p. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  11. ^ Simon Briggs (20 May 2016). "Ahead of French Open 2017 Simon Briggs ranks the 20 male clay-court players of all time". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  12. ^ "The 50 Greatest Players of the Open Era (M): No. 16, Guillermo Vilas". www.tennis.com.
  13. ^ vilastennisacademy.com/en/guillermo-vilas-settling-the-score-now-on-netflix/
  14. ^ Salatino, Guillermo (23 May 2024). "ATP says that Vilas will never be number one". CLAY.