The Los Angeles Open was a former tennis tournament held in Los Angeles, United States from 1927 until 2012. It included a women's draw until 1974 when Linda Lewis won the last ladies title. Subsequently, it became a men-only event and integrated into the ATP's professional tennis circuit. The inaugural edition of the event, known as the Pacific Southwest Championships, was organized by Perry T. Jones and held at the Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC) starting in October 1927. Bill Tilden and Kea Bouman were the first singles champions. The tournament quickly became a prestigious event on the tennis calendar.

John Donald Budge was an American tennis player. He is most famous as the first tennis player — male or female, and still the only American male — to win the Grand Slam, and to win all four Grand Slam events consecutively overall. Budge was the second man to complete the career Grand Slam after Fred Perry, and remains the youngest to achieve the feat. He won ten majors, of which six were Grand Slam events and four Pro Slams, the latter achieved on three different surfaces. Budge is considered to have one of the best backhands in the history of tennis, with most observers rating it better than that of later player Ken Rosewall.