The Australian Hard Court Championships was a former professional tennis tournament established in 1938 and held until 2008. The event was played on clay courts until 1977 when it switched to hard courts. The tournament was a combined event for men and women until the end of the 1980s. In 2009,

Tennis Australia Tennis Australia Limited is the governing body for Tennis in Australia. It is owned by Australian states and territories. The association organises national and international Tennis tournaments including the Australian Open, the Australian Open ...

merged the separate men's and women's tournaments into a new combined tournament called the

Brisbane International The Brisbane International established in 2009 is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts in Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. It is a WTA Premier tournament of the WTA Tour and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 seri ...

History

Men's event

The Australian Men's Hard Court Championships began in Sydney in 1938. Throughout its history the championships were hosted in various cities around Australia. The tournament was played on clay until 1977. In 1978 the event switched to hardcourts and continued to be played on that surface until 1987. In the years 1987 and 1988, the tournament was held in conjunction with the

South Australian Open South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. Between 1999 and 2004, the national title was held in conjunction with the AAPT Championships. In 2005, the tournament was held in conjunction with the Adelaide Next Generation Hard Courts. From 2006 until 2008, the tournament was held in conjunction with the Adelaide Next Generation International. In 2008, the tournament in Adelaide was discontinued and merged with the women's event into a new combined tournament called the

Women's event

The Australian Women's Hard Court Championships event began alongside the men's in Sydney in 1938 and was also hosted in various cities around Australia throughout its history. The tournament was played on clay courts until 1977. In 1978 the event switched to hardcourts and continued to be played on that surface till 1987. Between 1989 and 1994, the event was held in conjunction with the

Danone Australian Hardcourt Championships The Danone Hardcourt Championships is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated women's tennis tournament played from 1987 to 1994. It was held at the Milton Tennis Centre in Brisbane in Australia and played on grass court A grass court is one of the fo ...

. It was not staged in 1995 and 1996, but re-emerged as a women's only event called the Thalgo Australian Women's Hard Courts which was held until 2002. In 2003, the tournament took the sponsorship of

Uncle Tobys Uncle Tobys is an Australian food manufacturing company which specialises in breakfast oat products. Since its foundation in 1861, the company has expanded its product range across the cereal and ready-to-eat snack market. Uncle Tobys is currentl ...

, and was named Uncle Tobys Hardcourts until 2005. Between 2006 and 2008, it was held as the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts. In 2009 the tournament was discontinued and was merged with the men's event into a new combined tournament called the

Past finals

Past finals of the championship's events include:

Men's singles

Women's singles

Men's doubles

Women's doubles

Notes

:Notes 1: ''From inception in 1938 the men's and women's events of the championships were hosted at the same locations and venues for most of its duration until 1986. Though there were a few exceptions after 1986, the name of the event- the (national title)- remained but the tournaments were separated into individual events for men and women until 2008.'' : Notes 2: ''As early as 1949, the (national championships) were occasionally held in conjunction with other tournaments which has been the case in more recent times''.

References

Sources

Australian Hard Court Championships: Roll of Honour: Tournament draws

External links

{{WTA Tier IV tournaments ATP Tour WTA Tour Grand Prix tennis circuit Clay court tennis tournaments Hard court tennis tournaments Sports competitions in Adelaide Sports competitions in Brisbane Sports competitions in Melbourne Sports competitions in Sydney 1938 establishments in Australia 2008 disestablishments in Australia