helped arrange a five-month series of 17 tournaments in the United States and Europe with a points system to determine the rankings of the touring pros. These points series of tournaments paved the way for more recent and current professional rankings and tours. Kramer had planned an important women's professional tour for 1955 between Maureen Connolly and defending world professional champion Pauline Betz, but it failed to materialize due to Connolly's career-ending injury. It was expected that Connolly would earn about $75,000 from her contract. Kramer apparently gave testimony at Connolly's trial for damages. Kramer terminated his own company World Tennis Inc. Tours in early 1960, but remained as promoter and manager of the new International Professional Tennis Players Association, which was owned by the players themselves and assumed responsibility for the pro player contracts. Ramanathan Krishnan rejected a record three-year $150,000 guarantee offer from Kramer in 1959. Neale Fraser rejected a $50,000 two year contract from Kramer in 1960. Both Rod Laver and Roy Emerson rejected contract offers from Kramer in 1961, and Kramer was not able to field a world tour in 1962, retiring as promoter and manager that year, being succeeded by Tony Trabert. Kramer continued to assist in the pro tour occasionally thereafter, and helped to arrange an $80,000 offer to Emerson in 1964, which Emerson rejected. Kramer was a relentless advocate for the establishment of Open Tennis between amateur and professional players. An International Tennis Federation (ITF) proposal to introduce Open tennis lost by five votes in 1960, but became a reality in 1968. In 1970, he created the Men's Grand Prix points system. In 1972, he was the first executive director of the ATP. He was unpaid at his request. In that role, he was a key figure in an ATP boycott of Wimbledon in 1973, for the banning of Nikola Pilić from the tournament. Author In his 1979 autobiography, The Game: My 40 Years in Tennis, Kramer calls Helen Wills Moody the best women's tennis player that he ever saw. "She was the champion of the world, when I was 15 and played her. – she won Seven Forest Hills and Eight Wimbledons.... I beat her, but Helen played a very good game." Kramer ranked the best possessors of tennis shots as of 1979: First serve: Ellsworth Vines had the finest serve, but Pancho Gonzales was "more consistent with his in the tightest