Guillermo Apolinario Vilas (born 17 August 1952, in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) is a retired and former World No. 2 professional tennis player from Argentina. He was, however, thought to be the true World No. 1 in 1977 by several sources and publications, as well as through the current ATP-ranking system. Vilas was the second Latin-American to win a Grand Slam tournament.

Raised in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata, Vilas was a southpaw and played his first tour event in 1969. He was in the year-ending top ten from 1974 through 1982. He was a clay-court specialist but also played well on hard, grass, and carpet surfaces.

He won four Grand Slam titles: the 1977 French Open and the 1977 US Open (both played on clay) and the 1978 and 1979 Australian Open (both played on grass). He was also the runner-up at the French Open three times (1975, 1978, and 1982) and at the Australian Open once (January 1977).

In 1974 he won the year end Masters Grand Prix title. In addition he won five Championship Series titles (1975–80) the precursors to the current Masters 1000.

James Scott "Jimmy" Connors (born September 2, 1952, in East St. Louis, Illinois) is a former world no. 1 tennis player from the United States. He is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Connors won eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles with Ilie Năstase. He was also a runner-up seven times in Grand Slam singles, a doubles runner-up with Năstase at the 1973 French Open, and a mixed doubles runner-up with Chris Evert at the 1974 US Open. He held the top ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from July 29, 1974 to August 22, 1977 and an additional eight times during his career for a total of 268 weeks

In 1974, Connors became the second male in the open era to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year (Rod Laver being the first in 1969 and having been joined since by Mats Wilander, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic). Connors is also the only man to win U.S. Open singles championships on grass, clay, and hard courts.

Yannick Noah (born 18 May 1960 in Sedan, Ardennes) is a former professional tennis player from France. He is best remembered for being the last French and first black man to win the French Open in 1983, and as a highly-successful captain of France's Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams. Since his retirement from the game, Noah has remained in the public eye as a very popular music performer and as the co-founder, with his mother, of a charity organization for underprivileged children. Noah is also the father of Joakim Noah of the NBA Chicago Bulls.

Noah turned professional in 1977, and won his first top-level singles title in 1978 in Manila.

Noah became France's most prominent tennis hero in 1983, becoming the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open. He dropped only one set during the two-week long tournament, and defeated the defending-champion Mats Wilander in straight sets in the final, 6–2, 7–5, 7–6. Noah also became only the second black male to win a Grand Slam singles event (after Arthur Ashe). He remains the last Frenchman to have won the French Open men's singles title.

Brian Edward Gottfried (born January 27, 1952) is a retired tennis player from the United States who won 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles during his professional career. The right-hander was the runner-up at the 1977 French Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking on the ATP tour on June 19, 1977, when he became World No. 3.

Gottfried was born in Baltimore, Maryland. When he was five years old, some Japanese players stayed with his family while competing in a local tournament. Before leaving, they gave him a tennis racket as a present, thus launching his tennis career. In all, Gottfried won 14 national junior titles. He won the 1962 National 12-and-under singles title, and the doubles title with Jimmy Connors. Gottfried repeated the victory in 1963 with Dick Stockton. In 1964, he won the 12-and-under singles crown.

In 1970, as a freshman at Trinity University in Texas, he won the USTA boys 18s singles championship, as well as the doubles championship with Alexander Mayer. He was an All-American in 1971 and 1972. He was the runner-up in NCAA singles and doubles in 1972.