The Ten Most Important People in Tennis History

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6 – Herman David

Leader of the All England Club, eager to continue to advance Wimbledon's place as the sport's preeminent event, David was the one who in 1967 had the guts to cut through the game's age-old amateur code. Hosting a special event for pros that summer, David decreed that in 1968 Wimbledon would be an Open tournament come hell or high water. Soon enough, all other tennis powers followed suit. Contemporary pro tennis was born.

5 – Bill Tilden

During sport's first Golden Age of the '20s, tennis stood tall with baseball, football and boxing. One man led the way: a wannabe actor from a patrician Philadelphia family. Thoroughly commanding any court he played on, Tilden was tennis' Babe Ruth – the first major champion who ushered in his sport's modern era. As the saying went, "Tilden and tennis, in that order."

4 – Lamar Hunt

So the good news was that tennis became an Open sport in 1968. But where was the money to come from? How would a pro circuit run differently from the old school upper-class world? Oil billionaire Hunt had the answers, pouring millions into the creation of World Championship Tennis. A cohesive set of tournaments, WCT paved the way for everything from the creation of the ATP to big-time TV contracts to today's multi-million dollar tour.