The Open Era in professional tennis began in 1968.
Before the Open Era, the major championships were officially restricted to amateurs, while professional players competed on separate circuits. That division kept many of the strongest players out of Wimbledon, the French Championships, the U.S. Championships and the Australian Championships. In 1968, tennis administrators agreed to let professionals and amateurs compete in the same major events.
The first Open Era tournament was the 1968 British Hard Court Championships, held at the West Hants Club in Bournemouth beginning on April 22. The 1968 French Championships then became the first Grand Slam tournament played in the new era. The first Open Wimbledon followed that summer, and the U.S. Open later in the year offered total prize money of $100,000.
The change helped unify tennis and created the modern professional game, though disputes over governance, prize money and player control continued. The year is sometimes confused with 1973, when the ATP was founded, or with 1970, associated with the emergence of the Virginia Slims circuit. Neither marks the start of open competition.