Since its inception in 1972 Koch Tavares has improved various sports without forgetting about its primary product, tennis. It has been the only Brazilian company that works from the bottom to the top of sport: from schools to 7-year-old children to the Brasil Open, the main national tennis event.

From 1972 to 76 Koch Tavares was dedicated to the realization of tennis events, organizing three tournaments of the WCT – World Championship of Tennis – at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium. The ‘76 edition went off with a public of more than 60,000 spectators.

In this same year, Koch Tavares organized and promoted an international match between John Newcombe and Guillermo Vilas; the first edition of the Itaú Tennis Cup – international men's circuit with 7 stages; and the Itaú Tennis Grand Prix.

The improvement and valorization of the sport were marked by the organization of memorable events and tournaments with the participation of international stars such as the Colgate Series (77), which featured Billie Jean King; Martina Navratilova; Chris Evert, and Maria Esther Bueno. In the late 1970s, Koch Tavares continued organizing two other circuits after the Itaú Cup: the Santista Cup (women's international circuit) and the Hering Cup (men's and women's youth cup).

In the following years, competitions in various categories – men's, women's, national, international, children, youth, adult – continued to be realized from north to south of the country: Melitta Open, in Curitiba (PR); South America Open, in Itaparica (BA); Copa Leite União, in São Paulo (SP); Chevrolet Classic, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ); Antuérpia Classic, in Guarujá (SP); and Rainha Open, in Brasília (DF), among others. Even the ball-catchers had their own tournament.


On TV: Koch Tavares Realization
In 1973, the first TV transmission of a tennis event: the II International Tennis Circuit, organized and promoted by Koch Tavares. And the debut on TV was done in grand style on the first broadcast of Globo TV Network's Esporte Espetacular Program.

Three years later, Koch Tavares made possible for the first time the transmission of the finals of the tournament of Wimbledon by TV Bandeirantes. Eleven years later the agreement with the broadcasting company included the broadcast of the International Circuit on TV, with transmission of the finals of the main competitions and bulletins during the events.

After some years, the Circuit went on to be transmitted by TV Manchete and later by TV Record. Tennis, then, went on to occupy a more and more outstanding position in the media and in the marketing of many companies.


Spectacular Tennis: Exhibitions and Challenges
With the objective of acquainting the Brazilian fans with their stars, Koch Tavares has promoted matches and exhibitions since 1976. Among many tournaments, were the matches between Jimmy Connors x Hank Pfister (80); Martina Navratilova x Monica Seles (91); Steffi Graf x Jana Novotna (93); Connors x McEnroe (94); Hingis x Kournikova (00).

Challenges between countries was also part of Koch Tavares' repertoire: BRA x USA , in 96, featured Gustavo Kuerten, Fernando Meligeni, Todd Martin and Michael Chang. In 2000 and 2004, the Brazilians and the Argentineans met at the Gymnasium of Ibirapuera in São Paulo . In 2002, Rio de Janeiro also had the privilege of watching the main tennis players of Brazil and Argentina in another Challenge. Guga, Sá, Meligeni, Saretta, Nalbandian, Chela, Gaudio, Zabaleta and Lobo were the big stars of these spectacles.

In 1996, the Rio de Janeiro Tennis Classic took place in Maracanãzinho (RJ), which featured Steffi Graf, Conchita Martinez, Andréa Vieira and Mirian D'Agostini among others.

The following year, the public met with excitement in São Paulo for the Banco Real Masters to watch the performance of world celebrities such as Richard Krajicek, Marc Rosset, Karim Alami, Hernan Gumy, Guga and Meligeni.

In 2003, the main South American tennis players – Gustavo Kuerten and Flávio Saretta (BRA), Fernando Gonzalez (CHI), Nicolas Lapentti (ECU), and Gastón Gaudio and Mariano Zabaletta (ARG) – provided one more spectacle at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium (SP).


Brasil Open
It took seven years for Brazil to return as a player on the world scene of tennis: in September 2001, the Brasil Open promoted the competitions of the ATP (men's) and WTA (women's) in the same week. It was also the first time that Gustavo Kuerten competed on Brazil as a professional in an ATP tournament.

In the paradise-like setting of Costa do Sauípe, the public had an opportunity to see some of the greatest names in the international tennis circuit such as Monica Seles, who went to become champion, Jelena Dokic, Amanda Coetzer, Joana Cortez, then the champion of Brazilian professionals, Jan Vacek who defeated Fernando Meligeni in the finals, Flávio Saretta, Max Mirnyi and Nicolas Massú, among many others.

In 2002, once more, the Brasil Open held excellent men's and women's competitions. The success of the first event attracted higher ranked tennis players than the first go-round: Sjeng Schalken, Cecil Mamiit, Ramon Delgado, Gastón Etlis, Mashiska Washington, Dominik Hrbaty and Tommy Robredo, among others, disputed the title that landed with Guga who defeated the Argentine Guillermo Coria in a match that lasted well over 3 hours.

In women's competition, Monica Seles returned to defend her title, but lost in the semifinals to Eleni Danilidou. Anastasia Myskina was the champion of the II Brasil Open, which also featured grand stars such as Jelena Dokic, Amanda Coetzer and Iva Majoli.

The Brasil Open 2002 was awarded by the ATP its "Awards of Excellence" distinction, referring to the facilities offered in the realization of the event.

Two important changes took place with the fourth edition of the event: the date (from September to February) and the floor (from hard to clay). The competition went on to integrate, with Buenos Aires (ARG), Viña Del Mar (CHI) and Acapulco (MEX) the ATP Latin-American Tour, increasing its importance on the tennis world calendar. For the first time, the final event took place on a Saturday night.

In addition to the matches and the astounding level of adoration it brought to the fans, the Brasil Open offered a range of different leisure options and entertainment activities for the public present at Costa do Sauípe. Tennis clinics with Maria Esther Bueno and Marcelo Meyer were a huge success and were always competitive. Shows in Vila Nova da Praia packed the house at night in the complex.