ECC Antwerp
title: "ECC Antwerp" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ecc-antwerp", "exhibition-tennis-tournaments", "indoor-tennis-tournaments", "defunct-tennis-tournaments-in-belgium", "carpet-court-tennis-tournaments", "hard-court-tennis-tournaments", "sports-competitions-in-antwerp"] topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECC_Antwerp" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox tennis tournament"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | ECC Antwerp |
| type | defunct |
| event name | European Champions' Championship (1982–1985) |
| The European Community Championship (1986–1998) | |
| tour | Invitational/Exhibition (1982–1991) |
| World Series (1992–1994) | |
| Championship Series (1996–1998) | |
| founded | 1982 |
| ended | 1998 |
| editions | 16 |
| location | Antwerp, Belgium |
| venue | Sportpaleis |
| surface | Carpet (indoor) (1982–1996) |
| Hard (indoor) (1997–1998) | |
| :: |
|name = ECC Antwerp |type = defunct |event name = European Champions' Championship (1982–1985) The European Community Championship (1986–1998) |tour = Invitational/Exhibition (1982–1991) World Series (1992–1994) Championship Series (1996–1998) |founded = 1982 |ended = 1998 |editions = 16 |location = Antwerp, Belgium |venue = Sportpaleis |surface = Carpet (indoor) (1982–1996) Hard (indoor) (1997–1998) |website =
The European Community Championship was a men's professional tennis tournament held from 1982 until 1998 in Antwerp, Belgium. The tournament was held as a special invitational/exhibition event run outside the Grand Prix series and did not distribute any ATP ranking points until 1992, when the tournament became part of the ATP Tour. While an exhibition tournament, invitations were extended to players who won a tournament title in Europe during that year. The surface of the tournament was indoor carpet.
The inaugural event was held in December 1982, with a $700,000 purse on offer for 24 players. At that time, the high level (Super Series) European Grand Prix events like the Italian Open or indoor tournament in Wembley, London offered only $300,000 and $200,000 respectively.
It was called the European Champions' Championship and from 1986 was renamed the European Community Championship (ECC). Its nickname was the "Gold Racquet" tournament because if a player won the tournament thrice within a 5-year span, he would also receive a special trophy, a life-size, 13.2-pound gold racquet studded with 1,420 diamonds valued at $1,000,000, created by the artist Varozza. This inspired the Proximus Diamond Games, a WTA Tour event held in Antwerp since 2002, to have a similar trophy system.
In 1985, Ivan Lendl won his third title within 4 years and received the $200,000 winners prize together with the Gold Racquet. In 1991, Boris Becker spoiled Lendl's quest for a $1,250,000 million prize ($250,000 prize money plus the $1,000,000 racquet) at the ECC in Antwerp by beating him in the semifinals. Had Lendl won, he would have kept the gold-and-diamond racquet trophy valued at about $1,000,000, adding to his from 1985. He was in the running for a second after victories in 1987 and 1989, but wound up with only $100,000 that year.
Past finals
Singles
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| Year | Date Final | Prize money | Champion | Runner-up | Score | Special / Invitational event | ATP Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Dec 5 | TCH Ivan Lendl | USA John McEnroe | 3–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–3, 6–3 | |||
| 1983 | Nov 20 | USA John McEnroe | USA Gene Mayer | 6–4, 6–3, 6–4 | |||
| 1984 | Nov 18 | TCH Ivan Lendl | SWE Anders Järryd | 6–1, 6–2, 6–2 | |||
| 1985 | Nov 3 | TCH Ivan Lendl | USA John McEnroe | 1–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–2 | |||
| 1986 | Nov 10 | USA John McEnroe | TCH Miloslav Mečíř | 6–3, 1–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–2 | |||
| 1987 | Nov 1 | TCH Ivan Lendl | TCH Miloslav Mečíř | 5–7, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3 | |||
| 1988 | Nov 6 | USA John McEnroe | URS Andrei Chesnokov | 6–1, 7–5, 6–2 | |||
| 1989 | Oct 29 | TCH Ivan Lendl | TCH Miloslav Mečíř | 6–2, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4 | |||
| 1990 | Oct 21 | YUG Goran Ivanišević | FRA Henri Leconte | 6–2, 7–6(8–6), 4–6, 4–6, 6–1 | |||
| 1991 | Dec 8 | USA Aaron Krickstein | GER Boris Becker | walkover | |||
| 1992 | Nov 15 | NED Richard Krajicek | AUS Mark Woodforde | 6–2, 6–2 | |||
| 1993 | Nov 14 | USA Pete Sampras | SWE Magnus Gustafsson | 6–1, 6–4 | |||
| 1994 | Nov 13 | USA Pete Sampras | SWE Magnus Larsson | 7–6(7–5), 6–4 | |||
| 1995 | Not held | ||||||
| 1996 | Feb 19 | GER Michael Stich | CRO Goran Ivanišević | 6–3, 6–2, 7–6(7–5) | |||
| 1997 | Feb 23 | SUI Marc Rosset | GBR Tim Henman | 6–2, 7–5, 6–4 | |||
| 1998 | Feb 23 | GBR Greg Rusedski | SUI Marc Rosset | 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–1, 6–4 | |||
| :: |
Doubles
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| Year | Winners | Runners-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | USA John Fitzgerald | ||
| SWE Anders Järryd | USA Jared Palmer | ||
| USA Patrick McEnroe | 6–2, 6–2 | ||
| 1993 | CAN Grant Connell | ||
| USA Patrick Galbraith | RSA Wayne Ferreira | ||
| ESP Javier Sánchez | 6–3, 7–6 | ||
| 1994 | SWE Jan Apell | ||
| SWE Jonas Björkman | NED Hendrik Jan Davids | ||
| CAN Sébastien Lareau | 4–6, 6–1, 6–2 | ||
| 1995 | Not held | ||
| 1996 | SWE Jonas Björkman | ||
| SWE Nicklas Kulti | RUS Yevgeny Kafelnikov | ||
| NED Menno Oosting | 6–4, 6–4 | ||
| 1997 | RSA David Adams | ||
| FRA Olivier Delaître | AUS Sandon Stolle | ||
| CZE Cyril Suk | 3–6, 6–2, 6–1 | ||
| 1998 | RSA Wayne Ferreira | ||
| RUS Yevgeny Kafelnikov | ESP Tomás Carbonell | ||
| ESP Francisco Roig | 7–5, 3–6, 6–2 | ||
| :: |
References
- World of Tennis annuals
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