The Canterbury Championships
was a regional
grass court tennis tournament. Founded in 1882 as the Canterbury Championship, it was first formally staged in 1885.
The tournament was played at the Canterbury Lawn Tennis Club (founded 1881),
at
Christchurch, New Zealand. The championships were staged annually until 2014.
History
The Canterbury Lawn Tennis Club was first established in 1881.
In 1882 the club staged the first Canterbury Championship that was won by
Frederick Wilding
Frederick Wilding (20 November 1852 – 5 July 1945) played first-class cricket for Canterbury in the 1880s and 1890s. He also played tennis and was a noted athlete.
Early life
Wilding was born in Montgomery, Wales in 1852. His father, J ...
the father of Anthony Wilding.
In 1885 following the creation of New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association and its associated regional LTA's including the
Canterbury LTA it became an officially sanctioned tournament.
Although an open event for all comers the championships mainly featured players from within New Zealand, but also from Australia. It became more internationalised following the
World War II and in part due to
commercial jet
airliners making the time to travel to New Zealand shorter, it became part of the worldwide
ILTF Circuit.
The tournament was downgraded as a
Satellite Tournament during the 1980s. By the 2000s it was chiefly a localised
Tennis New Zealand
Tennis New Zealand (commonly known by the acronym Tennis NZ or TNZ) (formally the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association) is the governing body of tennis in New Zealand. Founded in 1886, it is one of the world's oldest tennis associations. It is a ...
event. Multiple New Zealand winners of the men's and women's singles titles include
Richard Harman,
May Spiers,
Joy Marshall,
Thelma Poole, Jean MacGibbon and Robyn Legge Hunt. International winners of the women's singles include
Rita Bentley,
Kathy Harter and
Mary Struthers
Mary Struthers (born July 21, 1950) is an American former professional tennis player.
A San Diego native, Struthers was active on tour in the 1970s, making main draw appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon. She featured in the second round o ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Grass court tennis tournaments
Defunct tennis tournaments in New Zealand