Ken Rosewall

April 28 1968: The day Ken Rosewall beat Rod Laver in Bournemouth to win the first ever Open tournament

Every day, Tennis Majors takes you back to the biggest moments in tennis history. On April 28, 1968, Ken Rosewall beat Rod Laver in Bournemouth to win the first tournament of the Open Era

Alexandre Sokolowski

April 28, 2026

1968, Open era: The moment tennis opted to become a modern sport

With seven governing bodies and unity still seemingly impossible, tennis has never been quite so disorganised or disjointed. In the first of three special features, we look at the revolution of 1968, when tennis finally entered the modern era.

Jérémy Baudu

May 8, 2020