The Leamington Open Tournament, also known as the Leamington Lawn Tennis Club Tournament, was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament held at
Leamington Spa,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
,
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 ...
from 1882 to 1931 as part of the pre-open era tennis tour. It was founded on 1 August 1882 as the Royal Leamington Lawn Tennis Tournament.
History
The Leamington Open Tournament was established on 1 August 1882, and first staged at Jephson Gardens. At the same meeting held in August 1882, a dual tournament called the
Warwickshire Championships
The Warwickshire Championships also known as the Warwickshire County Championships founded on 1 August 1882 was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament held at Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England from 1882 to 1938 as part of the pre-op ...
(1882–1938) was staged.
At the inaugural event, the first men's all comers singles champion was England's
Robert Wallace Braddell (son of
Sir Thomas Braddell), who defeated
Edward Lake Williams in 3 straight sets. The all comers mixed doubles title was won by Erskine Gerald Watson and his sister
Maud Watson
Maud Edith Eleanor Watson, MBE (9 October 1864 – 5 June 1946) was a British tennis player and the first female Wimbledon champion.
Biography
Born in Harrow, Middlesex, the daughter of a local vicar Henry William and Emily Frances Watson. ...
.
[Routledges Sporting Annual (1883) Lawn Tennis Principle Meetings of 1882.]
The tournament continued separately to that of the county championship until 1931. Formers men's winners of this event include
Charles Walder Grinstead (1883) and
Cotah Ramaswami (1920).
Finals
Men's Singles
:''Incomplete roll''
Mixed Doubles
:''Incomplete roll''
References
{{Reflist, 2
Sources
* Nieuwland, Alex. "Tournament – Leamington. www.tennisarchives.com. A. Nieuwland.
* Routledges Sporting Annual (1883) George Routledge and Son. London.
* Warwickshire County Tennis Championships. Leamington Lawn Tennis & Squash Club". lltsc.co.uk.
Grass court tennis tournaments
Defunct tennis tournaments in the United Kingdom
Tennis tournaments in England