1981 World Championship Tennis Finals – Singles

Jimmy Connors was the defending champion but did not compete that year.

Singles
1981 World Championship Tennis Finals
Champion	John McEnroe
Runner-up	Johan Kriek
Score	6–1, 6–2, 6–4

John McEnroe won in the final 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 against Johan Kriek.

Seeds

A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.

1. John McEnroe (champion)
2. Roscoe Tanner (semifinals)

Draw

Key

• Q = Qualifier
• WC = Wild card
• LL = Lucky loser
• Alt = Alternate
• SE = Special exempt
• PR = Protected ranking
• ITF = ITF entry
• JE = Junior exempt
• w/o = Walkover
• r = Retired
• d = Defaulted
• SR = Special ranking

	Quarterfinals									Semifinals									Final
	1	John McEnroe	7	6	6
		Sandy Mayer	5	4	3
										1	John McEnroe	6	6	6
											Brian Gottfried	3	4	1
		Brian Gottfried	7	6	6
		Sammy Giammalva Jr.	5	3	1
																			1	John McEnroe	6	6	6
																				Johan Kriek	1	2	4
		Wojciech Fibak	5	6	1	4
		Johan Kriek	7	3	6	6
											Johan Kriek	77	6	4	0	6
										2	Roscoe Tanner	62	3	6	6	4
		Vijay Amritraj	2	6	6	66	4
	2	Roscoe Tanner	6	1	2	78	6

References

• 1981 World Championship Tennis Finals Draw