The Exmouth Open originally called the Exmouth Lawn Tennis Club Tournament or simply Exmouth Tournament was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament founded in 1880. From 1890 the event was known as the Exmouth Open Tennis Tournament. It was hosted by the Exmouth Archery, Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club,
Exmouth, Devon,
Great Britain until 1927. It was then hosted by the newly founded Exmouth Lawn Tennis Club until it was abolished as a senior tour event in 1975.
History
The Exmouth Archery, Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1879. In 1880 the club hosted the first Exmouth Lawn Tennis Club Tournament for men only. In 1881 the tournament became an open event for both men and women as well. The first winner of the open men's singles was England's
Ernest Maconchy (later Brigadier General), and first winner of the women's open singles was Ireland's Lilian Cole.
The event was one of the earliest English tournaments that featured a women's singles event.
In 1880s following the
Wimbledon Championships it was part of what was known as the "Western tour" over the course of five weeks taking in the grass court events such as the
Teignmouth and Shaldon Tournament at Teignmouth, the
Torquay Lawn Tennis Tournament
The Torquay Open was grass court tennis event founded in 1879. In 1881 it was known as the Torquay Lawn Tennis Tournmament. that was held at the Winter Garden, Torquay, Devon, England. It continued under that name until after World War II when it ...
at Torquay,
[Lake (2014)] the
Bournemouth Open Tournament
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...
at
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
,
and finishing off at the
South of England Championships at
Eastbourne.
In August 1888 a
Battle of the Sexes
Battle of the Sexes refers to a conflict between men and women.
Battle of the Sexes may also refer to:
Film
* ''The Battle of the Sexes'' (1914 film), American film directed by D. W. Griffith
* ''Battle of the Sexes'' (1920 film), a 1920 Germa ...
charity tennis match was staged at the tournament, predating the modern famous match by 85 years, between
Ernest Renshaw and
Lottie Dod, Renshaw won but only just! From 1890 the event was known as the Exmouth Open Tennis Tournament. In 1968 following the start of the open era it was renamed to the Exmouth Open. The event was part of the Amateur Tour (1877–1912), the ILTF Amateur Tour (1913–1967) and the ITF Independent Tour (1968–1975). In 1970 the tournament was called the Robertson Viota Exmouth Open for sponsorship reasons. In 1971 it was known as the Bio-Strath Exmouth Open until 1975.
[World of Tennis 1971 : a BP year book. London: Queen Anne Press. 1971. pp. 270–271. ISBN 9780362000917.]
Former notable of winners the men's singles event include;
Charles Lacy Sweet
Charles Lacy Sweet (1861–1892) was a British tennis player in the early years of Wimbledon. He was a semi finalist at the 1887 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles. He was active for ten years from 1882 to 1892, and won 11 singles titles ...
,
Charles Walder Grinstead
Charles Walder Grinstead (1 December 1860 – 16 March 1930) was an English champion tennis player. He reached the quarter finals at Wimbledon 1883. Grinstead reached the Wimbledon All Comers Final in 1884, where he beat Ernest Renshaw befo ...
,
Harry Grove,
Ernest Wool Lewis Ernest Lewis may refer to:
* Ernest Lewis (tennis) (1867–1930), British amateur lawn tennis player
* Ernest Lewis (footballer), Welsh footballer
* Ernest W. Lewis (1875–1919), American jurist
* Ernie Lewis
Ernest Clayton Lewis (November 20, ...
,
William Renshaw,
Reggie Doherty,
Ryuki Miki
was a Japanese amateur tennis player. His main success was winning the 1934 Wimbledon Championships in mixed doubles (with Dorothy Round).
Sports career
Ryuki Miki was born in Takamatsu. During his studies at the Kobe University, Kobe Higher ...
,
Jaroslav Drobny. Former winners of the women's singles title included;
Maud Watson,
Blanche Bingley Hillyard
Blanche Bingley Hillyard (née Bingley; 3 November 1863 – 6 August 1946) was an English tennis player. She won six singles Wimbledon championships (1886, 1889, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1900) and was runner up seven times, having also competed in the ...
,
Phyllis Satterthwaite and
Sue Barker
Sue or SUE may refer to:
Music
* Sue Records, an American record label
* ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus
* "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie
Places
* Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits island ...
. The final men's edition held in 1975 was won by Britain's
Jonathan Smith, and the final winner of the women's singles was Czech player
Jana Simonova
Jana may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Jana'' (film), a 2004 Tamil film by Shaji Kailas
* Jana (singer) (born 1974), Serbian singer
* Jana (Native American singer), née Jana Mashonee
* ''Jana of the Jungle'', animated series created by Doug Wilde ...
.
Finals
Men's singles
:''Incomplete roll''
Men's doubles
:''Incomplete roll''
Women's singles
:''Incomplete roll''
Mixed doubles
:''Incomplete roll''
References
{{Reflist, 2
Sources
* Club History. Exmouth, Devon, England: Phear Park Bowling Club.
* Dwight, James (1886).Lawn Tennis. Boston, Massachusetts, United States: Wright & Ditson.
* Fletcher, Kelly (23 September 2020). "Book Review: Tennis for the people". New Frame.
* Heathcote, John Moyer (1891). Tennis. London: Longmans, Green.
* Lake, Robert J. (3 October 2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain. Oxford: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-44557-8.
* National Army Museum, Brigadier General Ernest Maconchy: Soldiers' Stories". ww1.nam.ac.uk.
* Nieuwland, Alex. "Tournament – Exmouth". www.tennisarchives.com. Netherlands: Tennis Archives.
* Routledge's sporting annual (1883). London: George Routledge & Sons.
* The Boy's Own Annual. London: Leisure Hour Office. 1880.
Grass court tennis tournaments
Defunct tennis tournaments in the United Kingdom
Tennis tournaments in England