 In 1971, the majority of the best players still mainly played the WCT circuit.Thus, the 1971 Australian Open was a WCT competition whereas the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open were ILTF Grand Prix events.By then, the rivalry between the two groups became so intense that Rosewall, Gimeno, Laver, Emerson and some other WCT players boycotted the 1971 US Open (although Newcombe played and lost in the first round to Kodes).