The 1976 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The Commercial Union Assurance Masters is included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix ranking.
Jimmy Connors finished the year as ATP world No. 1 for the third time in his career. Connors won seven titles during the season, including a major at the US Open.
Raúl Ramírez was the 1976 Grand Prix No. 1. Ramírez won two tournaments during the season.
Björn Borg was named the ATP Player of the Year. Borg won three tournaments during the season, including a major at the Wimbledon Championships, and finished runner-up at another major at the US Open.
James Scott Connors, known universally as Jimmy Connors, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 weeks. By virtue of his long and prolific career, Connors still holds three prominent Open Era men's singles records: 109 titles, 1,557 matches played, and 1,274 match wins. His titles include eight major singles titles and three year-end championships. In 1974, he became the second man in the Open Era to win three major titles in a calendar year, and was not permitted to participate in the fourth, the French Open. Connors finished year end number one in the ATP rankings from 1974 to 1978. In 1982, he won both Wimbledon and the US Open and was ATP Player of the Year and ITF World Champion. He retired in 1996 at the age of 43.
Connors in 1994
Connors at the 1978 ABN Tennis Tournament holding his Wilson T2000 steel racket
Jimmy Connors (1978)
Jimmy Connors (2007)