The Darlington Open. also known as the Darlington Association Tournament was a late

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

men's and women's

grass court A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Grass courts are made of grasses in different compositions depending on the tournament. Although grass c ...

tennis tournament founded in 1881. It was organised by the Darlington Outdoor's Sports Association and held at the Feethams Cricket Ground

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The tournament ran annually until 1933.

History

Darlington Open Tournament was founded in 1881 by the Darlington Outdoor's Sports Association, and held at the Feethams Cricket Ground

until 1893. The inaugural was held from 1 August to 6 August 1881. The winner of the men's singles was Mr. Mark Fenwick who defeated Mr. Arthur Richard Springett. The women's singles was won by Miss Ethel Surtees who defeated Miss Alice Cheese. A local newspaper report of the event that concluded on early August 1882: The final edition concluded on 12 August 1893 the winner of men's singles was Mr.

Harold Mahony Harold Segerson Mahony (13 February 1867 – 27 June 1905) was a Scottish-born Irish tennis player who is best known for winning the singles title at the Wimbledon Championships in 1896. His career lasted from 1888 until his death in 1905. Maho ...

and the winner of the women's singles was Miss

Charlotte Cooper Charlotte Cooper may refer to: * Charlotte Cooper (author) (born 1968), British author and LGBT activist * Charlotte Cooper (tennis) (1870–1966), British tennis player * Charlotte Cooper-Andrade, wife of Vernon Andrade * Charlotte Cooper (born 19 ...

. Other notable winners of this title in the men's singles include

Herbert William Wrangham Wilberforce Sir Herbert William Wrangham Wilberforce (8 February 1864 – 28 March 1941) was a British male tennis player. He was vice-president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club from 1911 to 1921 and served as its president from 1921 to 1936. ...

(1883, 1887, 1888) and

Patrick Bowes-Lyon Patrick Bowes-Lyon (5 March 1863 – 5 October 1946) was a British tennis player, barrister and uncle of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, mother of Queen Elizabeth II. Career He won the Scottish Championships in 1885, 1886 and 1888, he won the doubles ...

(1884–1886). Whilst former women's singles winners included Helen Jackson (1887) and

Lottie Dod Charlotte Dod (24 September 1871 – 27 June 1960) was an English multi-sport athlete, best known as a tennis player. She won the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Championship five times, the first one when she was only 15 in the summer of 1887. She ...

(1888). Of note the ladies singles tournament was not played at every edition. The tournament ran annually until 1933 when it was dropped by the County Durham Lawn Tennis Association along with the following Norton Open and Ryton Open.

Finals

Challenge Round: the final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921), in some tournaments not all.

* Indicates challenger

Men's Singles

Men's Doubles

Women's Single's

Women's Doubles

Mixed Doubles

Notes

The Minden family were closely associated with this tournament, who within a couple of years had emigrated to New Zealand. Percival Clennell Fenwick won the inaugural New Zealand Lawn Tennis Championships in 1886 and again in 1887, 1888. His brother Minden Fenwick won the title in 1889–1890.

References

{{Reflist, 2

Sources

* McLintock, Alexander Hare; McLintock, Alexander Hare; Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "New Zealand Championships". An encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, 1966. Ministry of Culture and Heritage. * Routledges Sporting Annual (1882) George Routledge and Son. London. * Routledges Sporting Annual (1883) George Routledge and Son. London. * The Northern Echo (2008) Darlington, County Durham, England. Defunct tennis tournaments in the United Kingdom Grass court tennis tournaments