The Northern Lawn Tennis Club, or simply The Northern, is a members-owned sporting club in

West Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. It was home to the prestigious

Northern Championships Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

considered one of the most important tournaments in the world for many years. the others being Wimbledon, the U.S. National championships and the

Irish Championships Irish Open may refer to: *Irish Open (golf), a golf tournament on the European Tour **Irish Senior Open, a golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour **Ladies Irish Open, a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour * Irish Open (darts), annual ...

It is now the venue for the

Manchester Trophy The Manchester Open previously known as the Northern Lawn Tennis Championships, the Northern Championships, the Northern Tennis Tournament and the Manchester Trophy was a grass court tennis tournament on the ATP Tour held at the Northern Lawn T ...

(the successor to that former event), is played on the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...

(ITF) Women's Circuit.

History

The club was established in December 1881 in nearby

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

on grounds leased from the De Trafford Estate. Initial membership was limited to 250 people who had to pay one guinea entrance fee as well as one guinea subscription. In 1909 the club moved to its current location in Didsbury. Over the years the club has hosted many international tournaments including the

Manchester Open The Manchester Open previously known as the Northern Lawn Tennis Championships, the Northern Championships, the Northern Tennis Tournament and the Manchester Trophy was a grass court tennis tournament on the ATP Tour held at the Northern Lawn T ...

, which started in 1880 as the

Northern Lawn Tennis Championships Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

, and the current

on the ITF Women's Circuit and formerly part of the

ATP Challenger Tour The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP T ...

. The club has hosted many players including

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...

Maureen Connolly Maureen Catherine Connolly-Brinker (née Connolly; September 17, 1934 – June 21, 1969), known as "Little Mo", was an American tennis player, the winner of nine major singles titles in the early 1950s. In 1953, she became the first woman to win ...

Pete Sampras Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...

and

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

Facilities

The club is a member of the

Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Founded in 1888, the LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. It believes that tennis can provide "physical ...

and has facilities offering 22

tennis courts A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

: three indoor courts, nine

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 ...

s, three

clay court 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. ...

s, six synthetic tiger turf, an indoor half wall and a junior court. In a normal season, outdoor play will commence on the grass courts around the second week in May and finish around the second week of September. It also has large

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

facilities: six courts in total and is an affiliated member of

England Squash & Racketball England Squash is recognised by Sport England as the English national governing body of the racket sports of squash and squash 57. Based at the National Squash Centre in Manchester, it aims to increase participation in both sports. History The S ...

. There is also a gym on site with fitness classes and a bar and restaurant area.

Notable tournaments

* Rothmans Northern Open * Greater Manchester Grass Court Championships * All England Ladies Doubles Championship *

References

External links

Official website

Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) – Northern Lawn Tennis Club

Manchester City Council directory listing
{{Coord, 53.4235, -2.2372, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Tennis venues in the United Kingdom Tennis venues in England Sport in Manchester Tennis clubs

History

Facilities

Notable tournaments

References

Further reading

External links