The Real Sociedad de Tenis de la Magdalena (; "Royal Society of Tennis of la Magdalena"), commonly known as El Tenis de Santander and familiarly as El Tenis, is a private country club based in
Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
,
Cantabria,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Founded by king
Alfonso XIII and a group of
noblemen
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...
in April 1906, it is one of the oldest country clubs in Spain.
The club is located in the
Magdalena Peninsula
The Magdalena Peninsula is a 69-acre (28 hectare)
peninsula located near the entrance to the Bay of Santander in the city of Santander, Cantabria, along the north coast of Spain.
The peninsula is a popular recreational destination for both tour ...
, and has over 8,000 members, having sports sections of
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 ...
,
hockey,
roller hockey,
swimming,
bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
, and
canoeing
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
.
Currently membership is largely reserved for the children and spouses of members only, being very restrictive towards people wishing to become affiliates.
History
First half of the 20th century
Early in the century a group of
noblemen
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...
decided to create a
sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
which they christened as ''Lawn-tenis Society of Santander''. It was installed on the premises of a
velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...
, built a few years earlier near the
Magdalena Peninsula
The Magdalena Peninsula is a 69-acre (28 hectare)
peninsula located near the entrance to the Bay of Santander in the city of Santander, Cantabria, along the north coast of Spain.
The peninsula is a popular recreational destination for both tour ...
. In the square surrounded by the racetrack they placed two cement tennis pitches, complemented by a booth, where the players could change attire.
![Alfonso XIII Real Sociedad de Tenis de la Magdalena](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Alfonso_XIII_Real_Sociedad_de_Tenis_de_la_Magdalena.jpg)
Two years later, the Santander Consistory decided to give the king
Alfonso XIII the strategic peninsula, while starting up the popular initiative to build a summer palace for the
Spanish Royal Family
The Spanish royal family consists of King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, their children (Leonor, Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofía of Spain), and Felipe's parents, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía. The royal family lives at Zarzuela Palace i ...
. From that moment the elitist club became a popular sport entity much frequented by the Spanish royal family. Consequently, in 1909 King Alfonso assumed the Presidency of Honor of the club, which allowed it to add the prefix "Real".
After this appointment, there was a sharp increase in the number of affiliated members with the consequent expansion of sporting activities and meetings of social and festive character. The construction of new gravel roads and buildings allowed the club to share grounds with the
Palacio de la Magdalena
The Palacio de la Magdalena (Spanish for Magdalena Palace) is a palace in Santander (Cantabria), Spain. Its construction was financed by popular subscription and given to the Spanish Royal Family for use as a summer residence. It was built by ...
. Other activities such as
bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
were also incorporated, whose first championship was held in 1933.
In 1945, a
hockey team was established.
Second half of the 20th century
With the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the club, the Prince
Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
arranged a visit. Years later, the king
Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
officially accepted the honorary presidency of the club in 1976. After this, many events were held, including the
European Tennis Championship held in 1982, the organization of the first edition of the International tennis tournament, now called
ATP
ATP may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Association of Tennis Professionals, men's professional tennis governing body
* American Technical Publishers, employee-owned publishing company
* ', a Danish pension
* Armenia Tree Project, non ...
and the
Fed Cup semi-final, played between
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in 1995.
21st century
During the 21st century, the club has organized events including the
2000 Davis Cup
The 2000 Davis Cup (also known as the 2000 Davis Cup by NEC for sponsorship purposes) was the 89th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 135 teams entered the competition, 16 in the World ...
semi-final, between Spain and the
US in which the host country won.
In 2006, the club celebrated its centenary with events including the Spanish National Tennis Championship in both male and female categories, as well as the Spanish National Bowling Tournament and the Spanish National Hockey Championship.
Facilities
![Real Sociedad de Tenis La Magdalena](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Real_Sociedad_de_Tenis_La_Magdalena.JPG)
The club's facilities are composed of five
tennis court
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 ...
s of clay and two synthetic surface courts, a
bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
court, a
fitness center
A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise.
In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...
, 3
swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
s, a nautical section and senior and youth social buildings.
Hockey
Current squad
Men's squad
Head coach: Borja Movellan
Club Presidents
* 1906 – 1910 The Count of Mansilla
* 1910 – 1942 Gabriel María de Pombo e Ibarra
* 1942 – 1945 Ángel Jado y Canales
* 1945 – 1948 Miguel Quijano de la Colina
* 1948 – 1957 Ernesto Alday y Redonet
* 1957 – 1960 Rupert Arrarte e Isasi
* 1960 Francisco de Nardiz y Pombo
* 1960 – 1966 Pedro Quijano y González-Camino
* 1966 – 1972 Antonio Zúñiga y García de Chama
* 1974 – 1978 Luis Ortueta y Egido
* 1978 – 1986 José Felipe Arrarte y de la Revilla
* 1986 – 1990 José Ignacio de la Torriente y Oria
* 1990 – 1994 Mariano Moro y Ribalaygua
* 1994 – 2000 Jesús Pellón y Fernández-Fontecha
* 2000 Alfonso Yllera y Palazuelo
* 2000 – 2007 Fernando Bolívar y Fernández
* 2007 – 2011 Carlos Rey y Hoppe
* 2011 – 2015 Enrique Zalduondo y Fernández-Baladrón
* 2015 – 2019 Fernando Cortines y González de Riancho
* 2019 – Ángela Escallada y de Haya
Honours
National honours
*
Royal Order of Sports Merit
The Royal Order of Sports Merit ( es, Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo) is a Spanish civil order of merit established in 18 June 1982. The order is indented to recognise distinguished service in sports, in teaching physical education, or the mana ...
Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo
Orden del Mérito Deportivo
See also
* Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro
References
{{División Honor Hockey Hierba
Sports clubs established in 1906
Multi-sport clubs in Spain
Tennis clubs in Spain
Sport in Santander, Spain
1906 establishments in Spain
Tenis