Editing Lew Hoad (section)

===Professional career: 1957–1973===

;1957
After winning the 1957 Wimbledon title, Hoad turned professional by signing a two-year contract with Kramer for a record guarantee of US$125,000, or AUS£55,500, which included a US$25,000 bonus for winning the 1957 Wimbledon singles title.{{sfnp|Kramer|1981|p=229}}<ref name="smh1957"/><ref name="smh1958">{{cite news |title=Kramer receives the smallest cut |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MYBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3uQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5306%2C891215 |author=Alan Clarkson |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date= 7 January 1958|page=12 |via=Google News}}</ref> This was the highest guarantee that would be given to an amateur turning pro, with Laver receiving the second highest.<ref name="news.google.com">The Age, 31 December 1962. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC&dat=19621231&printsec=frontpage&hl=en</ref> Hoad's business relationship with Kramer in 1957 and later was congenial and smooth compared to the experiences of [[Pancho Gonzales]]. Hoad would later claim, "I never had a problem with Jack Kramer."<ref>Bud Lessor Oral History Archive, International Tennis Hall of Fame, 12 July 1980.</ref>

On 14 July 1957, Hoad won his debut match as a professional against [[Frank Sedgman]] at the Forest Hills [[Tournament of Champions (tennis)|Tournament of Champions]], broadcast live nationally on the CBS television network.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91593525 |title=Hoad Impressive In Professional Win. |work=The Canberra Times |date=16 July 1957 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What's My Line? (1950–1967) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0746571/ |website=IMDB|date=14 July 1957 }}</ref> He won his next match, against [[Pancho Segura]], but lost the last three to finish joint third in the round robin event behind Gonzales and Sedgman.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=76–78, 206}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Gonzales thinks he can beat Hoad consistently |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/490579632/ |work=Bergen Evening Record |date=22 July 1957 |page=13|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> After Forest Hills, Hoad commented on the difference between amateur and professional tennis: "It's an entirely different league. These pros make mistakes but they don't make them on vital points. That's the difference.".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91594180 |title=Gonzales Beats Hoad In Stirring Game. |work=The Canberra Times |date=23 July 1957 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref> At the following Masters round robin tournament played on cement courts at the Los Angeles Tennis Club he lost all six of his matches to finish in last place, commenting "I don't like cement courts...".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91595000 |title=Lew Hoad loses for 7th time |work=The Canberra Times |date=2 August 1957 |page=19 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=77–78, 206}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Lew Hoad 1957 Player Activity|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=HOAD%2C+LEW&player_input=&sub=3&idjugador=48277&year=1957&surface=&tipo_de_torneo=&ronda=&tipoRanking=ATP&tm_category=&tm_torneo=&anno_from=&anno_to=&hand=&codpais=&rondaplus=&con_wj1wj2=&ranking_from=&ranking_to=#aSubmenu|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> After these defeats Kramer commented that Hoad would have to change his playing style: "His second serve is too shallow. His opponents massacre it. He must shorten his backhand or play deeper in his returning service." Kramer stated that there was a psychological factor connected with Hoad's defeats "as he never has done well on these courts in Los Angeles and thinks they are his jinx. But, wait until he gets going in the indoor circuit, and then you’ll see an entirely different player, both mentally and physically."<ref>{{cite news |title=Kramer still has hopes Hoad will be a Pro star. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/155594618/ |work=Wilmington Morning News |date=3 August 1957 |page=19 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=limited}}</ref>

In September Hoad embarked on a four-month 4-man tour of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia together with Kramer (Sedgman replaced Kramer in Australia), Rosewall, and Segura. Kramer and Hoad were interviewed live on BBC television. Kramer gave his estimation of Hoad's game: "I feel that he's potentially the best player that tennis might ever have." Kramer cited Hoad's recent marathon win over Rosewall at The Hague on red clay as evidence of improvement in his play.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interviews with Lew Hoad and Jack Kramer |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/interviews-with-lew-hoad-and-jack-kramer-england-london-news-footage/807918162 |website=Getty Images |date=9 September 1957}}</ref> At the [[Wembley Championships|Wembley Indoor Pro Championships]] in late September, Kramer eliminated Hoad, defeating him in straight sets,<ref name="annual958">{{cite book|title=Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual 1958|date=1958|publisher=Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. |page=169|editor=[[Pat Hughes (tennis)|G.P. Hughes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Kramer, Rosewall win |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/615882404/ |work=Richmond-Times Dispatch |date=26 September 1957 |page=26 |quote=Jack Kramer, United States tennis promoter, and former Davis Cupper, defeated Lew Hoad of Australia, 6–1, 10–8, in the first round of a professional indoor tennis tournament at Wembley Stadium Wednesday.|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> and Kramer also defeated Gonzales for third place. The two players would be Kramer's headliners in the upcoming world pro tennis championship tour. In the 4-man tour of 1957, Hoad finished with slight edges over the other players, 16–15 over Rosewall, 16–14 over Kramer, 13–9 over Segura, 4–2 over Sedgman.<ref name="smh1957">{{cite news |title=Hoad... £6'10 a minute? |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=lL5f5cZgq8MC&dat=19571201&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date= 1 December 1957|page=13 |via=Google News}}</ref><ref>Manila Times, 23 November 1957</ref><ref>1957 4-man Tour Doubles Match. https://www.filmothek.bundesarchiv.de/video/586301</ref><ref name=":1">Bud Lessor Oral History Archive, International Tennis Hall of Fame, 12 July 1980</ref> Hoad was ranked combined world No. 3 behind Gonzales and Sedgman and ahead of Rosewall and Segura for 1957 by Quist.<ref>"Times have changed". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 27 October 1957. p. 32. Retrieved 26 January 2022 – via Google News Archive.</ref>

;1958
In 1958 a projected series of 100 head-to-head matches was commenced between Hoad and the reigning champion of professional tennis, Pancho Gonzales, together with an undercard series between Trabert and Segura.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Neue Deutsche Wochenschau 418/1958|url=https://www.filmothek.bundesarchiv.de/video/586314|publisher=[[Bundesarchiv]]|date=31 January 1958|place=Melbourne, Australia| language=de}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=208}} The series started in January in a number of Australian cities in stadiums on grass courts with mostly a best-of-five set format, and in New Zealand for three matches with a best-of-three set format, and at the end of the Australasian subtour, Hoad was leading 8 to 5. Most venues reported record crowds, including the first Kooyong encounter, which Hoad won in a 3 and 3/4 hour, four-sets, 80-games marathon in front of 12,000 spectators.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91254986 |title=Hoad takes lead |work=The Canberra Times |date=11 January 1958 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=82}} From 5 to 4 down in New Zealand, Hoad launched a 15 to 3 winning streak against Gonzales (including the non-tour Kooyong Tournament of Champions deciding match and the third-place match at Sydney Masters<ref>Sydney Morning Herald, 4 February 1958, p. 13 "Kramer said he would ask Gonzales to count the Masters 3rd place match in the world 100-match series."</ref>). In February, the series continued in the United States, mostly in indoor venues and local gyms with a best-of-three set format, played on a portable canvas surface.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Montana Standard|date=28 January 1958|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/354286086|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}."The experts advise against taking too seriously the fact that Pancho Gonzales, world's top professional player, is trailing Lew Hoad after the first few matches in their 100-match international series. They are playing now on grass courts in Australia. Look for Gonzales to begin taking charge when he and Hoad open the United States section of their tour in San Francisco on Feb. 8. Then they will play on indoor surfaces, on which Hoad has had little experience. Gonzales has been playing on indoor surfaces for years and is a master of them."</ref>  Hoad would experience a thigh injury in May and June.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=83–84}} But Hoad won 18 of the first 27 matches, and in late February Gonzales had, according to Kramer, the look of a "beaten man".{{sfnp|Kramer|1981|p=234}} However, after they played an outdoor match on 1 March on a chilly night in [[Palm Springs]], Hoad's back stiffened which affected him significantly for the rest of the series. Twice Hoad was forced to take time off to rest his back and was substituted for in his absence by Rosewall and Trabert. From 9–18 Gonzales surged to a 26–23 lead, and at the end of the series on 8 June, he had defeated Hoad by 51 matches to 36.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91246825 |title=Gonzales Now Leads Hoad. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=2 April 1958 |page=20 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Lew and Pancho serve up tennis at its very best|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=16 June 1958|volume=8|issue=24|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1958/06/16/lew-and-pancho-serve-up-tennis-at-its-very-best}}</ref>{{sfnp|Kramer|1981|pp=233–235}}

In late 1958, Jack Kramer was asked which of the many "World Professional Championships" tournaments he considered deserving of the title, and he named four tournaments under his own aegis: Forest Hills, L.A. Masters, Kooyong and Sydney White City.<ref>World Tennis, "Around the World", November 1958</ref> Hoad won three of these eight tournaments in 1958/59.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=208–216}} For the 1958/1959 seasons, Kramer had a troupe of professional champions that included 11 Hall of Fame players,{{efn|name=ampol|The 11 members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame on the 1959/60 Ampol world series, all of whom won major singles titles, were Hoad, Gonzales, Rosewall, Sedgman, Trabert, Segura, Anderson, Cooper, Rose, McGregor, Olmedo}} under contract, and he designed a series of tournaments to provide a format in which all of them could participate. In January 1958, Hoad won the Kooyong [[Tournament of Champions (tennis)|Tournament of Champions]] in Melbourne, the richest tournament of  the year. The tournament was funded by the Australian oil company [[Ampol]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91255316 |title=Draw for Ampol tennis fixed |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=15 January 1958 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad defeated Gonzales and Sedgman in deciding matches, and won all five of his matches in the round-robin event. During the world championship tour in the U.S. in May, the four players participated in the Cleveland event. In the final at Cleveland on 5 May, Hoad lost a two-set lead against Gonzales while struggling with his leg-muscle injury.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=83}} Hoad dropped out of the tour in late May to rest his thigh injury.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=83}} At the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions in June 1958, Hoad's thigh injury healed in time for his final match which he won against Gonzales on the final day.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=209}}  However, Gonzales won the event with a better overall round-robin record. At Roland Garros in September, Hoad won his quarterfinal against Trabert, and his semifinal against Gonzales.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=211}} While leading in the final against Rosewall, Hoad wrenched his back reaching for a ball, and could not play well in the remainder of the match.<ref>The Times of London, 20–22 September 1958</ref> He had to default the [[Wembley Championships|Wembley Pro tournament]] in September due to an "arthritic" back.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Around the World...|magazine=World Tennis|date=November 1958|volume=6|issue=6|page=50}}</ref> Hoad rested for the next three months and did not play again until 1959.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=211}} Jack March ranked Hoad world No. 2 professional tennis player behind Gonzales for 1958.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=88}} Jack Kramer ranked Hoad  No. 4 for 1958, with Gonzales first, Sedgman second, Rosewall third.<ref>The Press (Christchurch), 6 March 1959, p.6 "Sportsman's notebook"</ref>

;1959
In early 1959, it was announced that the Australian oil company [[Ampol]],{{efn|name=caltex|"Caltex" was the name used by the Ampol company from 1997 until 2020. The company then officially rebranded as "Ampol Ltd." in May  2020.}} would provide an award of AUS£2,500 (US$5,600), plus the Ampol Open Trophy, to the "acknowledged world's best tennis player", adjudged from a world series of tournaments managed by Jack Kramer.<ref>Kramer's brochure described the Ampol series with the term "World Championship Tennis". Kramer 1959 tour fall brochure. https://douglasstewart.com.au/product/jack-kramer-presents-world-championship-tennis/</ref> All of the best pros would be ranked by a point system<ref name="argus19590114"/>{{efn|name=Ampol|The 13 players on the 1959 Ampol Open Trophy world series of tournaments were Hoad, Gonzales, Rosewall, Sedgman, Trabert, Anderson, Segura, Cooper, Rose, McGregor, Hartwig, Olmedo, Giammalva}} which would determine the seeding list for all tournaments.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=97}}<ref name="argus19590923"/> The first five tournaments of the series were played in Australia on a portable outdoor wooden plywood court,<ref>Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 1959</ref> playing slow on a sand/paint surface for traction, but with no sliding possible.<ref>Kramer 1959 winter tour brochure</ref> Hoad began the series slowly, hampered by an elbow injury.<ref>Chicago Tribune, 1 March  1959, p. 258</ref> At the end of January, Hoad defeated Rosewall and Cooper to win at Perth and in February 1959, he defeated Rosewall in three sets to win the South Australian Pro<ref>{{cite web|title=Abilene Reporter, 15 February 1959|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/45152900|website=newspapers.com|date=15 February 1959 }}</ref> tournament at the Norwood Cricket Oval in Adelaide.<ref>Sydney Morning Herald, 13 January 1959</ref> This gave Hoad the lead in Ampol bonus points after the first group of five tournaments, a lead which he would not relinquish until the Ampol Open Trophy series ended in January 1960.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=212}}

In the four-man 1959 Kramer World Professional Championship Tour, which ran from 20 February – 31 May in North America, Hoad built a lead of 12 to 5 in his series of matches against Gonzales, after a win in Newcastle, Pennsylvania in late April.<ref>L'Impartial, Saturday, 25 April 1959. p. 7</ref> Gonzales stated that "I had blisters under my blisters from the punishment" on that tour.<ref>New York Times, 23 January 1970, p. 56</ref> However, the daily grind of the tour began to cause a renewal of Hoad's back trouble,{{sfnp|Hodgson|Jones|2001|p=175}} and he finally won against Gonzales by 15 matches to 13. He also won his head-to-head's with newly turned pro [[Ashley Cooper (tennis)|Ashley Cooper]] (18–2) and [[Mal Anderson]] (9–5). With a win–loss record of 42–20 he finished second in the four-man tour behind Gonzales (47–15).<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Around the World...|magazine=World Tennis|date=July 1959|volume=7|issue=2|pages=61, 67}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=92, 212}}  The championship was based on money won.<ref>Associated Press news release, 1 June 1959. "(AP) — Pancho Gonzales is the world professional tennis champion for the fifth straight year. Gonzales clinched the title Saturday and then defeated his main rival, Lew Hoad, in the final match of their tour, 6–3, 15–13, Sunday. '''Gonzales won $29,150 on the tour. Hoad's total was $28,250. The championship is based on money won.''' Hoad came out on top in matches with Gonzales, 15–13.</ref> This would be the only 4-man world professional championship tour in which the winner would have a losing record against one of the other players, and the second-place finisher would have winning records against all of the other players. Four-man world championship tours were held in 1942, 1954, 1959, and 1960.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=188, 200, 212, 216}} In late April the players in the 4-man tour played in the Cleveland event, and Hoad lost the final to Gonzales in three straight sets.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=92, 212}}

The L.A. Masters round robin from 5–14 June, was held at the L.A. Tennis Club on concrete, and was part of the Ampol series. Hoad and Gonzales both finished with five wins and one loss, but Gonzales won the title on account of his victory over Hoad in their head-to-head match, which had been the first match for both in the event.<ref name="lat19600615">{{cite news |author=Jamie Curran |title=Gonzales wins pro masters net tourney |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380677970/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=15 June 1960 |page=1 Part IV|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=212}} During the tournament, Hoad received several Hollywood offers for screen tests, but turned them down with the comment "What do I want with money?".{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=92}} At the O'Keefe Professional Championships on red clay at Toronto Lawn Tennis Club from 16 to 21 June, also part of the Ampol series, Hoad lost to Sedgman and Rosewall lost to Trabert. Gonzales won the tournament by beating Cooper, Trabert and Sedgman.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=212}}

The Forest Hills [[Tournament of Champions (tennis)|Tournament of Champions]]<ref>Current designation "WCT Tournament of Champions" by West Side Tennis Club. https://thewestsidetennisclub.com/history-timeline/</ref> from 23 to 28 June, played on grass at the Forest Hills stadium in New York, and part of the Ampol series, awarded the largest winners' cheques of the season. Hoad defeated Mal Anderson in the quarterfinal, Rosewall in the semifinal in four sets and Gonzales in the final, also in four sets, to claim the title.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=212}} Gonzales appeared tired near the end of the match, but had declared in an interview prior to the final, "I feel fit, very fit. Until Hoad beats me, I'm not worried."<ref>TIME magazine, 6 July 1959. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,825754,00.html</ref> In the August 1959 issue of ''World Tennis'', Riggs wrote of the Forest Hills final, "the match signified the end of an era. The great Gonzales who had dominated professional tennis for four years had been decisively beaten..."<ref name="archive.org">World Tennis, August 1959, p. 25. https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1959-08_7_3/page/26/mode/2up</ref>

In August 1959, Hoad defeated Cawthorn and Worthington to reach the final of  the [[Slazenger Pro Championships]] in Eastbourne, but lost to Cooper in the final.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=213}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=Tournament results – England|journal=World Tennis|date=October 1959|volume=7|issue=5|page=78}}</ref><ref>Eastbourne Gazette, 12 August 1959</ref> In September, Hoad lost to Sedgman in the semifinal of the French Pro at Roland Garros, part of the Ampol series, but defeated Rosewall in a playoff for third place. At the Wembley Indoor Championships, part of the Ampol series, Hoad was upset by Segura in the second round, and Segura eventually lost the final to Anderson in a close match. In the Grand Prix de Europe tour from August to October, which excluded Roland Garros and Wembley, Hoad finished in third place behind Sedgman and Rosewall (Gonzales defaulted the European tour).

Hoad won the Perth and Adelaide Memorial Drive events in November and December to begin the final group of Ampol tournaments, which were played on grass courts in tennis stadiums.<ref name="argus19590923">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131614593 |title=World Tennis Championship |work=[[The Cumberland Argus]] |date=23 September 1959 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref> At the Sydney White City Tournament of Champions from 8–13 December, Hoad injured his hip in the semifinal against Anderson,<ref>Sydney Morning Herald, 11 December 1959. "Hoad injured his hip in an awkward fall in the first game of the third set which he lost."</ref> and lost the final to Gonzales in straight sets.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=215}}  At Brisbane Milton Courts from 15 to 19 December, Rosewall defeated Hoad in the semifinal and Gonzales in the final in long matches.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=215}} The final event of the Ampol Open Trophy series, the Qantas International Kooyong Championships at Melbourne, began on 26 December 1959.<ref name="theage19600104">{{cite news |author1=Don Lawrence |title=Tennis final to Lew Hoad |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/120978356 |work=The Age |date=4 January 1960 |page=15|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> With a victory at Kooyong, either Hoad or Gonzales would have won the series. Gonzales decided to return to the U.S. for the holidays to be with his fiancée, although Kramer had warned that "it could cost Gonzales AUS£5,000 by going home for Christmas."<ref>{{cite news |author1=Don Lawrence |title=Board of Management need in open tennis |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122238322/ |work=The Age |date=22 December 1959 |page=20 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lewis Hoad champion du monde |url=http://www.lexpressarchives.ch/Olive/APA/SwissSNP_Fr/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=IMP%2F1960%2F01%2F06&id=Ar00905&sk=53F0BA6E |work=L'Impartial |date=6 January 1960 |page=9 |language=French}}</ref> Gonzales thereby defaulted the Ampol series to Hoad.  On 24 December, the day following Gonzales' departure, Hoad announced that he would not participate in the upcoming 4-man tour in January 1960.<ref>The Age, 24 December 1959. p. 16</ref> On 2 January 1960, Hoad defeated Rosewall in a three-and-a-half hour, four-set match to win the Kooyong tournament,{{efn|name=kooyong1960|Hoad and Rosewall both had a 4–1 win–loss record but Hoad finished first due to his win over Rosewall.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=216}} }}<ref>Ottawa Citizen, 4 January 1960, p. 15</ref> a match which Kramer acclaimed as one of the best ever played.<ref name="theage19600104"/> With Hoad's successful defence of the Kooyong title also came the Ampol Open Trophy win and bonus money award.<ref name="argus19590114">{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131618684/15033875 |title=Search for world's best tennis star |work=The Cumberland Argus |date=14 January 1959 |page=9 |via=Trove }}</ref>

The Ampol Open Trophy "world series"<ref>Kramer 1959/60 fall tour brochure, "In each tournament conducted in the world series, the players are seeded according to their standings on points."</ref><ref>The Cumberland Argus. 23 September 1959. p. 5 – via Trove. "The world series will wind up at Kooyong, Melbourne..."</ref><ref name="argus19590923"/> or "world's open tennis championship" (it was named "open" in case open tennis arrived, which it did not for some years)<ref>"Search for world's best tennis star". The Cumberland Argus. 14 January 1959. p. 9 – via Trove. "'We have therefore framed the scope of this award to provide for an amateur to win in the event of open tournaments being played,' Mr. Walkley said."</ref><ref name="argus19590114"/><ref name="argus19590923" /> had consisted of 15 tournaments around the world between 10 January 1959 and 2 January 1960.{{efn|name=kramertour|According to the Kramer Tour brochure for 1959, the 15 tournaments were Melbourne (Olympic Velodrome) (10 Jan), Brisbane (20 Jan), Perth (26 Jan), Sydney (Marks Athletic Field) (4 Feb), Adelaide (Norwood Cricket Oval) (11 Feb), L.A. Masters (L.A. Tennis Club) (5 Jun), Toronto (Toronto Lawn Tennis Club) (16 Jun), New York City (Forest Hills) (23 Jun), Paris (Roland Garros) (8 Sep), London (Wembley) (19 Sep), Perth (26 Nov), Adelaide (Memorial Drive Tennis Club) (1 Dec), Sydney (White City) (8 Dec), Brisbane (Milton Courts) (15 Dec), Melbourne (Kooyong) (26 Dec)}} Hoad finished first in the series with 51 bonus points, ahead of Gonzales (43 points) and Rosewall (41 points).{{efn|name=ampolpoints|Final Ampol Points List: L. Hoad (51) P. Gonzales (43) K. Rosewall (41) F. Sedgman (32) T. Trabert (25) P. Segura (14) M. Anderson (14) A. Cooper  (8) Olmedo (1) M. Rose (1) Hartwig (0) McGregor (0) Giammalva (0)}}{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=97, 99}}<ref name="theage19600104"/><ref>Kramer Tour 1959 brochure</ref> {{efn|name=ampol1959–1960|Hoad won six of the 15 tournaments and 71% (36/51) of his matches in the series,<ref>{{cite web|title=Lew Hoad: 1959 Player Activity|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=HOAD%2C+LEW&player_input=HOAD%2C+LEW&sub=3&idjugador=48277&year=1959&surface=&tipo_de_torneo=&ronda=&tipoRanking=ATP&tm_category=&tm_torneo=&anno_from=&anno_to=&hand=&codpais=&rondaplus=&con_wj1wj2=&ranking_from=&ranking_to=#aSubmenu|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Lew Hoad: 1960 Player Activity|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=HOAD%2C+LEW&player_input=HOAD%2C+LEW&sub=3&idjugador=48277&year=1960&surface=&tipo_de_torneo=&ronda=&tipoRanking=ATP&tm_category=&tm_torneo=&anno_from=&anno_to=&hand=&codpais=&rondaplus=&con_wj1wj2=&ranking_from=&ranking_to=#aSubmenu|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref> while Gonzales won four tournaments and 72% (26/36) of his matches,<ref>{{cite web|title=Pancho Gonzales: 1959 Player Activity|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player1=GONZALES,%20PANCHO&sub=3&idjugador=46369&year=1959&surface=&tipo_de_torneo=&ronda=&tipoRanking=ATP&tm_category=&tm_torneo=&anno_from=&anno_to=&hand=&codpais=&rondaplus=&con_wj1wj2=&ranking_from=&ranking_to=#aSubmenu|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref> and Rosewall won two tournaments and 62% (26/42) of his matches in the series.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=211–216}} Sedgman (Melbourne), Trabert (Roland Garros) and Anderson (Wembley) each won one Ampol world series tournament. Gonzales defaulted three Ampol tournaments, and played 15 fewer matches than Hoad. Hoad was three wins and five losses in matches against Gonzales in the Ampol series, although Hoad and Gonzales were two wins and two losses against each other in tournament deciding matches. Hoad won six of his eight matches against Rosewall on the Ampol series.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=211–216}}}} ''The Melbourne Age'' stated, Hoad "was crowned the new world professional tournament champion at Kooyong" by winning the Ampol world series.<ref name="theage19600104"/> ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' reported that Hoad had won "the title of world's top professional tennis player" and was "the game's top money-earner" for 1959.<ref name="sh19600110">{{cite news |author1=David Burke |title=Hoad takes stock |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122787666/ |work=The Sun-Herald |date=10 January 1960 |page=33|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="theage19600104"/><ref>Arizona Republic, 29 June 1959, "In prize money, Gonzales leads Hoad by only $65, winning $47,640 to Hoad's $47.575. Hoad picked up $3,750 in this tourney, including $750 as a share of the doubles title with Trabert."</ref> French language ''L'Impartial'' on 6 January 1960 stated "Lewis Hoad world champion", the win at Kooyong "allows him at the same time to claim the world title for 1959".<ref name="impartial1960">{{cite news |title=Tennis – Lewis Hoad champion du monde |url=http://www.limpartialarchives.ch/Olive/APA/SwissSNP_Fr/sharedpages/SharedView.Page.aspx?sk=BFEE6E15&href=IMP%2F1960%2F01%2F06&page=9 |work=L'Impartial |date=6 January 1960 |page=9 |language=fr}}</ref> In an advertisement in ''World Tennis'' magazine in June 1960, Hoad was described as "world champion Lew Hoad".<ref>World Tennis, June 1960. p. 7</ref> Kramer's brochure described the Ampol series with the term "World Championship Tennis".<ref>Kramer 1959 tour fall brochure. https://douglasstewart.com.au/product/jack-kramer-presents-world-championship-tennis/</ref><ref>Current designation by West Side Tennis Club of 1959 Forest Hills TOC is "WCT Tournament of Champions". https://thewestsidetennisclub.com/history-timeline/</ref>  There had also been references of Gonzales between January and April 1960 being described variously that he was "world professional tennis champion, will defend his title",<ref>{{cite web|title=Arena lists Pro tennis Feb. 3,4|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=10 January 1960|page=S8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/178018867|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> was advertised as "WORLD PRO CHAMPION",<ref>{{cite web|work=The Boston Globe|date=24 January 1960|title=Professional tennis|page=70|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/428875362|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> was "world professional champion",<ref>{{cite web|work=The Daily Oklahoman|title=Once over lightly|author=John Cronley|date=26 February 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/451776462|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> "goes after an unprecedented sixth straight world crown",<ref>The Los Angeles Times, 29 January 1960</ref> was "perennial professional champion",<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chattanooga Daily Times|date=21 February 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/604378949|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> was described in UPI newswire reports  as "world professional tennis champion since 1954",<ref>{{cite web|title=Pasadena Independent|date= 9 April 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/38880034|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Cincinnati Enquirer|date=16 April 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/103216320|website=newspapers.com}}</ref> "titleholder" of the "world professional tennis championship" <ref>{{cite web|title=The Age (Melbourne)|date=12 April 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/122008506|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> and that Gonzales with "five world series championships as his record, defeated Ken Rosewall at Cairns last night in straight sets and added further to his claims for his sixth successive world title".<ref>Cairns Post, 20 April 1960</ref> On 15 January 1960, ''Lawn Tennis and Badminton'' said Hoad was taking a six-month rest and the article stated "J. Kramer is urging Hoad not to take this step, as during this year he will have his best chance of taking R. A. Gonzales' world professional title from him".<ref>Lawn Tennis and Badminton, 15 January 1960</ref>

Kramer's office reported that in 1959 Hoad had won his personal series of matches against Gonzales 24 to 23.<ref name="sh19600110"/><ref name="theage19600104"/>

Kramer placed Hoad in fourth place in his personal world professional rating for 1959, the same ranking which Kramer awarded to Hoad in 1958 and 1960. Jack March ranked Hoad second behind Gonzales for 1959, the same ranking which he had given Hoad for 1958.<ref name=":18">{{cite magazine|date=December 1959|title=Around the World...|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1959-12_7_7/page/44/mode/2up|magazine=World Tennis|location=New York|publisher=|volume=7|issue=7|page=44|access-date=}}</ref> Robert Roy in the French sportspaper ''[[L'Équipe]]'' ranked Hoad fifth as of mid-December, behind Gonzales, Sedgman, Rosewall, and Trabert.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=97}}<ref>''L'Équipe'', 17 December 1959</ref> Kramer's Australian tennis agent Bob Barnes placed Hoad in first spot, corresponding to Hoad's standing on the official Ampol ranking, with Gonzales second, Rosewall third, Sedgman fourth, and Trabert fifth.
<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Around the World...|journal=World Tennis|date=December 1959|volume=7|issue=7|page=44}}</ref> [[Mal Anderson]], in a conversation in ''World Tennis'', recalled that "Kramer established a point system to decide the best players...Lew finished ahead of Pancho" followed by Rosewall, Sedgman, and Trabert.<ref>Robson, Mike (June 1960). "The Pros in New Zealand". World Tennis. Vol. 8 no. 1. New York. p. 25</ref>

;1960
Hoad decided not to play in the 4-man 1960 world championship tour and took a three-month layoff at the beginning of 1960 to rest his back and spend time with his family.<ref name="theage19591224">{{cite news |author1=Don Lawrence |title=Lew Hoad withdraws from 1960 tennis tour |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122238586/ |work=The Age |date=24 December 1959 |page=16|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="sh19600110"/> When he returned to play,<ref>{{cite news |title=Writers predict 'cold' future for Wimbledon |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VJOaslTFpLQC&dat=19600208&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |work=St. Joseph Gazette |date=8 February 1960 |page=7 |quote=Kramer did more than talk yesterday. He signed up Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad for another seven years}}</ref> he was rusty, slow, and carried some extra weight, but he gradually recovered his form. He won a New Zealand tour in April, over Anderson, Sedgman, and Cooper.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=216}} In May, Hoad commenced his participation in Kramer's tournament series for 1960, which used a point system to rank the players.<ref name="ReferenceA">Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 1960</ref> Gonzales withdrew from the tournament series just before it began. Hoad lost a five-set final to Rosewall at the Melbourne Olympic Pool where a court was set up on the drained pool floor.<ref>{{cite news | title=Rosewall pro tennis champ | work=Los Angeles Times | date=11 May 1960 | pages=4}}</ref> Hoad, Rosewall, and most of the pros did not play in the Cleveland World Pro which, as in 1959, was not a part of Kramer's tournament series. However, Hoad and Trabert played a match in Cincinnati, Trabert's home town, won by Hoad, just before the Cleveland event, where Trabert would be runner-up to Olmedo.<ref>From Club Court to Center Court
2010 Edition The Evolution of Professional Tennis in Cincinnati By Phillip S. Smith, p. 27. http://assets.usta.com/assets/663/15/Compendium%2010_reduced.pdf</ref> Hoad won tournament finals in June at Santa Barbara, California and in September at Geneva, Switzerland, both over Rosewall, but appeared out of condition in the Roland Garros final against Rosewall.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=217}} At the Wembley Indoor Championships that year, Hoad was again upset by Segura in the second round. In late 1960, Hoad won the inaugural Japanese Professional Championships in Tokyo, beating Rosewall, Cooper, and Gimeno.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=103, 218}} The event drew 7,000 fans for each of the four evenings of play, with the Crown Prince and Princess in attendance the first evening.<ref name="World Tennis 1961, p. 51">World Tennis, January 1961, p. 51. https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1961-01_8_8/page/50/mode/2up?view=theater</ref> In the final, Hoad prevailed at 13–11 in the fifth set over Rosewall, saving three match points.<ref name="World Tennis 1961, p. 51"/> Following the marathon Tokyo final, Hoad withdrew from the remaining tournaments in the point series with back trouble, and the final projected tournament in Australia was not played.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>McCauley (2000) p.103</ref> The final results of Kramer's tournament series for 1960 are unknown. Hoad and Gonzales did not play against each other in 1960. Hoad was ranked world No. 2 professional tennis player behind Gonzales in a newspaper report.<ref>{{cite web|title=Valley News|date= 15 January 1961|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/30309010|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}} "Lew Hoad, world's second ranking tennis player behind Pancho Gonzales..."</ref>

;1961
[[File:Lew Hoad and Robert Haillet at Professional Championship Noordwijk 1961.jpg|thumb|Hoad and [[Robert Haillet]] (right) at the Professional Championship in [[Noordwijk]], Netherlands in August 1961]]
Hoad played a few one-set matches on the 1961 Professional World Series tour in January, but soon withdrew because of a broken left foot and was substituted for by first Trabert and then Sedgman.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103117073 |title=Hoad breaks left foot |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=23 March 1961 |page=31 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103117207 |title=Hoad planning month's rest |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=24 March 1961 |page=31 |via=Trove}}</ref> He finished fourth in a tour of five Soviet cities in July, behind Trabert, Buchholz, and Segura, returning to play after his broken foot had healed.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=220–221}}  In late August and September, Hoad and Gonzales played a ten-match best-of-three sets tour of Britain and Ireland, with Buchholz and Davies playing the undercard matches.<ref name="sh19611008">{{cite news |author1=Eddie Oakes |title=Pros. plan busy Aust. tour |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121276234 |work=The Sun-Herald |date=8 October 1961 |page=62|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> Hoad won his series against Gonzales by a score of six matches to four.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Vera McWeeny |title=Vera McWeeney on Tennis |work=Irish Independent |date=16 September 1961 |page=18|via=Irish Newspaper Archives}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lew Hoad Wins at St Annes |work=Lytham Evening Gazette |date=11 September 1961 }}</ref> Hoad won four of the five matches in the series which were played on grass.<ref>Hoad won on grass at Bristol, Leeds, Scarborough, and St. Annes, Gonzales won on grass at Dublin. / Scarborough News, 2 September 1961 / Yorkshire Evening Post, 3 September 1961 / St. Annes News 10 September 1961 / Irish Examiner, 27 August 1961</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=British Pro Tour|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=tournament&accion=draw&torneoSearchEnc=BRITISH%20PRO%20TOUR&year=1961|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> In September, Hoad lost in the first round of the French Pro to [[Luis Ayala (tennis)|Luis Ayala]].{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=221}} At the Wembley Pro, Hoad defeated Gonzales in a four-set semifinal. In the final against Rosewall, in the second game of the match, Hoad pulled his back while running for a backhand volley and suffered a recurrence of his old back injury, and could no longer run, losing in four sets.<ref>World Tennis Nov. 1961, P. 10. https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1961-11_9_6/page/10/mode/2up?view=theater</ref> In November, Hoad won the fifth and deciding rubber for Australia against the United States in the final of the inaugural Kramer Cup (the pro equivalent of the Davis Cup) by beating Trabert in four sets. Trabert said afterwards: "Trying to stop Lew in that final set was like fighting a machine gun with a rubber knife".{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=115}} Robert Roy in [[L'Équipe]] ranked Hoad as the third-best player of the year.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=116}} In July 1961 Gardnar Mulloy rated Hoad as world No. 1 ahead of Gonzales, and the favourite to win a prospective open Wimbledon.<ref name="miaminews19610716">{{cite news |author=John Crittenden |title=Barriers to crumble at Wimbledon – Gar |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/302057845/ |work=Miami News |date=16 July 1961 |page=4C |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref>

;1962
There was no official pro championship tour in 1962, as Laver and Emerson had declined to accept pro offers made by Kramer at the 1961 Wimbledon. Kramer resigned as tour promoter and director. From 14 to 17 March 1962, Hoad won the Adelaide Professional Championships, beating Rosewall, Gimeno, and Sedgman, the final against Rosewall very close. In late August, Hoad played a five-match, best-of-three sets tour in Britain against Trabert, defeating Trabert at Nottingham, Edinburgh, Bournemouth, and Dublin, while Trabert won at Scarborough.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=225}} Hoad won the professional tournament in [[Zürich]] in September 1962 by a win in the final against Pancho Segura.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131779146 |title=Hoad new champion. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=11 September 1962 |page=28 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> In late September, Hoad lost to Rosewall in a {{frac|3|1|4}}-hour, four-set final at Wembley.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=119, 230}} Hoad and Rosewall teamed to win the doubles final at both Roland Garros and Wembley. In October, Hoad was awarded the Facis Trophy for winning the pro tour of Italy.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=224}} In the 1962 Kramer Cup tournament, in best-of-five set formats, Hoad defeated Gimeno in the semifinal tie in Turin, Italy on clay, and Hoad won the opening match of the final at Adelaide in December against Olmedo on grass.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=226–227}} In an interview in 1980, Hoad stated that "I finally finished playing seriously, in about 1962".<ref name=":1"/> Hoad was voted the world No. 1 professional tennis player for 1962 in a UPI poll of 85 U.S. sports editors held at the end of January 1963 following the Australian tour.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104257599 |title=Lew Hoad Mr. Tennis. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=30 January 1963 |page=30 |via=Trove}} Votes: Hoad 63, Laver 61, Rosewall 47, Segura 37, Olmedo 24</ref>

;1963
In January 1963, Hoad and Rosewall guaranteed the contract of new pro [[Rod Laver]]. Hoad defeated Laver 8–0{{efn|name=laver_hoad_hth|Laver, in statements made in interviews from June 2017 and November 2019, claimed that after turning pro he lost the first 13 matches which he played against Hoad, although he did not specify these as all being part of the 1963 Australian tour. Buchholz (in 2007), who played the undercard on the tour, claimed that Hoad won 13 consecutive matches over Laver. In a book published in 2020, Laver stated "during that Australian tour, I played Lew eight times and he won every match".<ref>The Golden Era: The extraordinary 25 years when Australians ruled the tennis world, Rod Laver, 2020, p. 225</ref><ref name="bodo2007">{{cite web |author1=Peter Bodo |title=TMF: best of 5, all the time! |url=http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2007/04/tmf-best-of-5-all-the-time/44510/ |website=[[Tennis.com]] |date=4 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Stephen Towers |title="A light shone down on me" The remarkable story of the 1969 Rod Laver Grand Slam |url=https://tennishead.net/a-light-shone-down-on-me-the-remarkable-story-of-the-1969-rod-laver-grand-slam/ |website=tennishead |date=19 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Martyn Herman |title=Laver says turning pro made him twice as good |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/tennis-wimbledon-laver-idINKBN19K04Y |website=Reuters |date=29 June 2017}}</ref>}} in an Australian tour, some of their matches played to best-of-five and televised from sold-out stadiums.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=227}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Lew Hoad vs Rod Laver Head 2 Head|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=HOAD%2C+LEW&player_input=HOAD%2C+LEW&sub=2#aSubmenu|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=14 June 2019}}</ref><ref>World Tennis, The Amateurs and the Pros by Lew Hoad, August 1964</ref> On Laver's pro debut on 5 January, Hoad beat Laver at White City stadium in Sydney on a "slippery" grass surface.<ref>{{cite web|title=First loss to pro Laver|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=6 January 1963|page=53|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/121456490|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Their match at the Kooyong stadium in Melbourne on grass was a close contest, with Laver extending Hoad to five sets before losing. After the Australian series, Hoad was inactive for five months, partly due to a shoulder injury.<ref>Schenectady Gazette, 28 June 1963. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZWQtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FYkFAAAAIBAJ&dq=gonzalez+fails+comeback&pg=596,4662889&hl=en</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Fresno Bee|date= 7 January 1964|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/702542293/|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> Hoad did not plan to participate in the World Tour for 1963.<ref name="news.google.com"/> On his return in June, he lost to Laver in the semifinal of the Adler Pro, and at the Forest Hills U.S. Pro tournament he lost to Buchholz in the first round. The Forest Hills event did not have a television contract, was a financial failure, and the players, with the exception of Gonzales, were not paid.<ref name=collins/><ref>{{cite news |author1=Dave Anderson |title=The grandeur that was Hoad |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/11/archives/the-grandeur-that-was-hoad.html |work=The New York Times |date=11 September 1977 |page=181}}</ref> At the French Pro indoor event at [[Stade Pierre de Coubertin (Paris)|Stade Coubertin]] in September, Hoad was defeated in straight sets by Rosewall in the semifinal and lost the third place play-off against Sedgman. At the Wembley Pro, he reached the final after surviving a marathon semifinal against Buchholz in which he strained his leg muscle and was limping throughout most of the match. McCauley acclaimed the semi-final with Buchholz "one of the best contests ever staged at Wembley".{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=125}} Hoad was tired and sluggish in the final,{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=125}} which again he lost to Rosewall, this time in four sets.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=230}} At the Tokyo Japanese Pro in November, Hoad defeated Rosewall in the preliminary round, but lost the third place match to Sedgman, Buchholz defeating Laver in the final.<ref>Japanese Pro 1963. https://www.tennisarchives.com/edition/?v=28471</ref> At the end of the World Championship Tour earlier in the season, Laver had finished second and was officially ranked the No. 2 professional player behind Rosewall.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=228}} Hoad did not play in the World Tour, and was not officially ranked.

;1964–67  
In February and March 1964, Hoad played a 16-day 24-match best-of-three sets tour of New Zealand with Laver, Rosewall, and Anderson. Hoad and Laver both finished on top with seven wins and five losses, but Hoad won first place with a 3 to 1 head-to-head score against Laver.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=231}} <ref>New Zealand Herald, 29 February, March 1964 / Christchurch Star, 16 March 1964</ref> In late September 1964, Hoad and Gonzales played a four match best-of-three sets head-to-head series in Britain, at Brighton, Carlyon Bay (Cornwall), Cardiff (Wales), and Glasgow (Scotland). Hoad won at Carlyon Bay and Cardiff, while Gonzales won at Brighton and Glasgow.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brighton match report|work=Brighton Evening Argus |date=21 September 1964| author=Dick Morgan| url=https://m.imgur.com/a/StgjBAK}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Injury-weakened Hoad|work=Glasgow Herald |date=24 September 1964|url=https://m.imgur.com/a/Ld8kPam}}</ref><ref>TennisBase, Hoad/Gonzales matches, 1964</ref> Hoad experienced foot trouble in 1964 and finished in sixth place in the tournament series point system.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=235}} In early 1965, much of his large right toe was removed, and he was only able to play a limited schedule thereafter.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=132}} Hoad won his final victories against Laver in January 1966 at White City in Sydney, his home town, defeating him in straight sets, and at Forest Hills, New York in a round robin match in June 1966.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=240}}

After the expiration of his seven-year contract on 14 November 1966,<ref>{{cite news |title=Writers predict 'cold' future for Wimbledon |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VJOaslTFpLQC&dat=19600208&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |work=[[St. Joseph Gazette]] |date=8 February 1960 |page=7 |quote=Kramer did more than talk yesterday. He signed up Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad for another seven years}}</ref> Hoad withdrew from competitive play for ten months. Hoad and his wife invested in the construction and development of a tennis club resort and a related residential complex in southern Spain. He returned unexpectedly to participate in the [[Wimbledon Pro]] tournament in late August 1967.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=244–249}}
The [[Wimbledon Pro]] was a three-day BBC televised tournament organised by the [[All-England Club]] as a trial for "open" tennis and as such the first Wimbledon tournament open to male professional tennis players. Hoad was one of the eight players invited for the singles event and despite being in semi-retirement and without competitive play for ten months,{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=244–248}} he won his first match against  Gonzales in three sets.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=UK: Wimbledon World Professional Tennis Championship 1967|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVAAKU6R1B7HWL6VCU8HNWU7TK4Y-UK-WIMBLEDON-WORLD-PROFESSIONAL-TENNIS-CHAMPIONSHIP|publisher=[[British Pathé]]|date=25 August 1967|place=London}}</ref> The BBC television commentator called it "the finest match ever seen on these hallowed grounds."{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=139}} This would be the last match on grass between Hoad and Gonzales, with Hoad holding a lifetime edge on grass over Gonzales of 21 matches to 14.<ref>TennisBase, lifetime hth statistics</ref><ref>local British newspapers 1961 tour / ''Irish Examiner'', 27 August 1961 / ''Yorkshire Evening Post'', 3 September 1961 / ''St. Annes News'', 10 September 1961 / Hoad won on grass at Bristol, Leeds, Scarborough, St. Annes, Gonzales won on grass at Dublin</ref><ref>''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 5 February 1958, p. 17</ref> With little energy left he lost the semifinal to Rosewall in two straight sets.{{sfnp|Hoad|Pollard|2002|pp=142–145}} Hoad played for an eight-week period on the pro tour in 1967, and then retired permanently from regular competitive tennis play.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=249}}

;Open era 1968–1973
Back problems plagued Hoad throughout his career and forced his retirement from the tennis tour in October 1967 but the advent of the [[Open Era]] enticed him to make sporadic appearances at tournaments.<ref name=theage19670609>{{cite news|title=Hoad may retire to coaching|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WdRYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y5MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4151%2C1413273|work=The Age|date=9 June 1967}}</ref> Hoad lost in the final of the [[Irish Open (tennis)|Irish Championships]] at Dublin in July 1968 to [[Tom Okker]] in straight sets, hampered by a thigh injury.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107062703 |title=Laver scores again. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=15 July 1968 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref> In November 1969, Hoad won the [[Dewar Cup Aberavon]] singles title, part of the Dewar Cup indoor circuit, defeating [[Mark Cox (tennis)|Mark Cox]] in the semifinal<ref>The Times of London, 1 November 1969</ref> and [[Bob Hewitt]] in the final, both wins in two straight sets.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hoad shines in Dewar Cup|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vBEQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rZADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3510%2C714046|work=The Age|date=3 November 1969}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Hoad threat again|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vhEQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rZADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3965%2C987092|work=The Age|date=5 November 1969}}</ref> At the [[1970 Italian Open (tennis)|1970 Italian Open]], he lost in the third round in four sets to [[Alex Metreveli]]. At the [[1970 French Open]], he defeated [[Charlie Pasarell]] in four close sets, and reached the fourth round before succumbing to eventual finalist [[Željko Franulović]]. At Wimbledon that year he lost in the second round to [[Ismail El Shafei]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Fred Tupper |title=Wimbledon cheers Hoad, 35, as he loses 5-set struggle against El Shafei |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/25/archives/wimbledon-cheers-hoad-35-as-he-loses-5set-struggle-against-el.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 June 1970}}</ref>

Hoad won his final tournament singles title on 7 August 1971, the Playmon Fiesta 71, on red clay at [[Benidorm]], Spain.<ref>ABC Madrid, 8 August 1971, p. 45</ref> He defeated [[Antonio Muñoz (tennis)|Antonio Muñoz]] in the semifinal and [[Manuel Santana]] in the final. This would mark a twenty-year span during which Hoad won singles titles in tennis, between the ages of 16 and 36, dating back to the Brisbane tournament of August 1951. In spring 1972, Hoad played the doubles final at [[1972 Italian Open (tennis)|Italian Open]] with [[Frew McMillan]] against [[Ilie Năstase]] and [[Ion Țiriac]]. Hoad/McMillan led 2–0 in sets but retired at 3–5 down in the fifth set in protest of the poor light conditions and the antics of the Rumanian pair.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hoad stalks off court|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YsgQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tJADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4809%2C764737|work=The Age|date=4 May 1972}}</ref><ref name=wot73>{{cite book|title=World of Tennis '73 : a BP and Commercial Union yearbook|year=1973|publisher=Queen Anne Press|location=London|isbn=9780671216238|pages=117–119|editor=[[John Barrett (tennis)|John Barrett]]}}</ref> At the end of June, at the age of 37, Hoad made his final [[1972 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]] appearance losing in the first round to [[Jürgen Fassbender]] in four sets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102028560 |title=Veterans bow to youth at Wimbledon. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=28 June 1972 |page=34 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad's final match was a second round loss as a result of a retirement to Fassbender in [[1973 South African Open (tennis)|Johannesburg]]  in November 1973.<ref name="sa1973">{{cite web|title=1973 Johannesburg – Men's singles draw|url=http://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/johannesburg/426/1973/draws?matchtype=singles|publisher=Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)}}</ref>

From 1970 to 1974, Hoad was the coach of the [[Spain Davis Cup team|Spanish Davis Cup team]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Hoad enters net tourney |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/414841616/ |work=Billings Gazette |date=9 August 1970 |page=46 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=limited}}</ref>

According to notes for a 1970 [[British Pathé]] documentary film about Hoad's tennis ranch, Hoad had "made about GBP 350,000 as a professional".<ref>{{cite news |title=Australian Former Champion Lew Hoad Establishes Tennis School In Spain. |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA59IBG5MPTC1GB4ZLDYAK4EOXE-SPAIN-AUSTRALIAN-FORMER-CHAMPION-LEW-HOAD-ESTABLISHES-TENNIS |work=[[British Pathé]] |date=20 February 1970 }}</ref> Per a 1977 newspaper interview, "Throughout his career, Hoad earned a total of £250,000, less than many pros collect in a year now.  He received £150 for his Wimbledon victories; the payoff now is £17,500."<ref>{{cite news |author=Jack Monet |title=Nowadays, Lew Hoad Is Helpful on the Tennis Court |work=International Herald Tribune (European Edition) |date=30 April 1977 |page=13}}</ref>