The Indian Open was a defunct men's

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

tournament founded as the India International Championships in 1923. It was played from 1923 until 1979 and the men's event was part of the

Grand Prix tennis circuit The Grand Prix tennis circuit was a professional tennis tour for male players that existed from 1970 to 1989. The Grand Prix and World Championship Tennis (WCT) were the two predecessors to the current tour for male players, the ATP Tour, with t ...

, 1970 to 1979. From 1945 to 1972 it was known as the Indian International Championships. It was held in various cities in, India and was played outdoor on multiple surfaces.

History

Tennis was introduuced to India in 1880s by British Army and Civilian Officers. In 1923 the India International Championships were established and played at the

Calcutta South Club Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commerci ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The championships were not staged during World War II and a few years after Indian Independence in 1947. In 1948 the tournament was renamed as the Indian International Championships until 1954, and still held in

. In 1955 two versions of the championships were held, one the India International Championships from late December till early January, and the Indian International Championships in late January. In 1956 the tournament returned to the latter's title. In 1957 two championships were once again held in Calcutta with the same tournament names as in 1955. In 1958 the event then resumed under the Indian International Championships brand name until 1972. In 1973 it was renamed as the Indian Open.

Locations and venues

The

was founded in 1920, and also organised the Calcutta Lawn Tennis Championships.That tournament later became known as the East India Lawn Tennis Championships. Its current facilities consist of the six original grass courts, In 1985 the Club built six new

clay courts A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate depending on the tournament. T ...

, and in 2004 it added five asphalt-based rubberized

hard courts A hardcourt (or hard court) is a surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. It is typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic resins to seal the surface and ...

. The ''India International Championships'' were predominantly staged in

, under the new tournament name the ''Indian International Championships'' that began in 1948, it continued to held in Calcutta until it moved to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in 1959. Over a number of years, the event was also held in other cities such as

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

and

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Finals

Men's singles

:''Incomplete roll included'':Tournament – Indian Open , url=https://www.tennisarchives.com/tournament/ t=4760&n=Indian%20Open , website=www.tennisarchives.com , publisher=Tennis Archives , access-date=11 January 2023

Men's doubles

References

Sources

*
http://www.tennisarchives.com/All India Championships 1910–1956

External links

ATP World Tour archive
* IT

{{ATP seasons, state=collapsed Grand Prix tennis circuit Clay court tennis tournaments Grass court tennis tournaments Hard court tennis tournaments Tennis tournaments in India Defunct tennis tournaments in India Defunct sports competitions in India Recurring sporting events established in 1923 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1979 1923 establishments in India 1979 disestablishments in India