# 1968 Men's National Tennis League

The 1968 Men's National Tennis League (NTL) was the inaugural series of professional tennis tournaments founded by George McCall, among others: Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, Andrés Gimeno, Pancho Gonzales and Fred Stolle.

## History

In 1967 two new professional tennis organizations were formed: the National Tennis League, organized by former U.S. Davis Cup captain George MacCall, and World Championship Tennis (WCT), which was founded by New Orleans promoter Dave Dixon and funded by Dallas oil and football tycoon Lamar Hunt. At the time the two professional tours signed a significant number of the world’s top players, professional and amateur.
In 1968 Men's National Tennis League offered prize money totaling $400,000 USD. It began in March with the opening tournament held in São Paulo, Brazil that was won by Rod Laver and ended with the final tournament held in Lima, Peru in November that was won by Fred Stolle.

## Legend

* Pro tour

### Key

* Q = Qualifier
* WC = Wild card
* LL = Lucky loser
* Alt = Alternate
* SE = Special exempt
* PR = Protected ranking
* ITF = ITF entry
* JE = Junior exempt
* w/o = Walkover
* r = Retired
* d = Defaulted
* SR = Special ranking

## Calendar

This is the complete schedule of events on the 1968 National Tennis League, with player progression partially documented until the quarterfinals stage.

### January

No events

### February

No events

### March

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist |
| 18 March | São Paulo Pro Championships São Paulo, Brazil Clay (i) Singles | Rod Laver 7–5, 5–7, 6–4 | Pancho Gonzales | |
| 23 March | Buenos Aires Pro Championships Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay Singles | Rod Laver 7–5, 5–7, 6–4 | Pancho Gonzales | 3rd Place Andrés Gimeno 4th Place Fred Stolle |
| 27 March | NTL Bogotá Pro Championships Bogotà, Colombia Clay (i) Singles - Doubles | Andrés Gimeno 11–13, 6–3, 6–4 | Fred Stolle | 3rd Place Rod Laver 4th Place Pancho Gonzales |
| 27 March | NTL Bogotá Pro Championships Bogotà, Colombia Clay (i) Singles - Doubles | Rod Laver Fred Stolle 10–5 | Andrés Gimeno Pancho Gonzales | 3rd Place Rod Laver 4th Place Pancho Gonzales |

### April

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
| 10 April | NTL Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup Hollywood, United States Clay Singles | Roy Emerson 6–1, 6–1 | Ken Rosewall | 3rd Pancho Gonzales 4th Place Rod Laver | John Hammill Crawford Henry Rey Garrido Peter Cawthorn |
| 18 April | BBC2 World Pro Invitation Championships Wembley, Great Britain Carpet (i) Singles | Rod Laver 6–3 10-8 | Ken Rosewall | Roy Emerson Pancho Gonzales | |
| 20 April | NTL Paris Pro Championships Paris, France Clay Singles - Doubles | Ken Rosewall 6–3 6–4 | Andrés Gimeno | Pancho Gonzales Rod Laver | Fred Stolle Roy Emerson |

### May

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
| 29 April-5 May | NTL Wembley Invitation Wembley, Great Britain Wood (i) Singles - Doubles | Rod Laver 6–0, 6–1, 6–0 | Ken Rosewall | | |
| 29 April-5 May | NTL Wembley Invitation Wembley, Great Britain Wood (i) Singles - Doubles | Rod Laver Roy Emerson 12-10 6–4 | Andrés Gimeno Pancho Gonzales | | |
| 18 May | NTL Madison Square Garden Pro Championships New York City, United States Carpet (i) Singles - Doubles | Rod Laver 4–6, 6–3, 9–7, 6–4 | Ken Rosewall | Roy Emerson Andrés Gimeno | Lew Hoad Pancho Gonzales Alex Olmedo Fred Stolle |

### June

No events

### July

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
| 20 July | NTL Los Angeles Pro Championships Los Angeles, United States Carpet (i) Singles - Doubles | Pancho Gonzales 1–6 6–3 6–4 | Rod Laver | Roy Emerson Ken Rosewall | |

### August

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
| 2 August | NTL Oakland Pro Championships Oakland Coliseum Arena Oakland, United States Carpet (i) Singles - Doubles | Fred Stolle 7–5, 6–3 | Pancho Gonzales | Roy Emerson | |
| 11 August | NTL Masters Championships Highland Racquet & Riding Club Binghamton, United States Carpet (i) Singles - Doubles | Andrés Gimeno 6–4, 6–1 | Fred Stolle | Roy Emerson Rod Laver | |
| 18 August | NTL Colonial Pro Championships Highland Racquet & Riding Club Fort Worth, United States Singles - Doubles | Ken Rosewall 6–4, 6–2 | Andrés Gimeno | Mal Anderson Fred Stolle | Tut Bartzen Roy Emerson Pancho Gonzales Rod Laver |

### September

No events

### October

No events
| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
| 28 Sep - 1 Oct | NTL Midland Championships Midland, Texas, United States Singles - Doubles | Pancho Gonzales 7–5, 6–3 | Roy Emerson | Andrés Gimeno Rod Laver | Pancho Segura Fred Stolle |
| 4 - 7 Oct | NTL South Texas Pro Championships Corpus Christi, United States Singles - Doubles | Rod Laver 6–2, 6–4 | Andrés Gimeno | Roy Emerson Fred Stolle | Pancho Gonzales Pancho Segura |

### November

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist |
| 1-3 November | NTL Lima Pro Championships Lima, Peru Clay Singles | Fred Stolle 3-0 matches | Round Robin Andrés Gimeno Rod Laver Roy Emerson |
| 6 November | NTL La Paz Pro Round Robin La Paz, Bolivia Clay Singles | Rod Laver 3-0 matches | Round Robin Andrés Gimeno Fred Stolle Roy Emerson |
| 8 November | São Paulo Pro Championships São Paulo, Brazil Clay (i) Singles | Rod Laver 3-0 matches | Round Robin Andrés Gimeno Fred Stolle Roy Emerson |
| 7 -10 Nov | NTL French Tour Lyon & Marseille, France Clay Singles | Ken Rosewall (won Lyon event) Pancho Gonzales (won Marseille event) joint 1st | |

### December

No events

## Prize money
### Men's

NTL OFFICIAL EARNINGS FOR 1968 :
| # | Player | $US |
| 1 | Rod Laver | 70,359 |
| 2 | Ken Rosewall | 61,307 |
| 3 | Pancho Gonzales | 38,987 |
| 4 | Andrés Gimeno | 36,524 |
| 5 | Roy Emerson | 35,188 |
| 6 | Fred Stolle | 34,335 |