The Southern Championships also known as the Southern States Championships or Southern Sectional Championships was a men's and women's grass court then later clay tournament staged annually at various locations from 1885 until 1978. The tournament is still being held today as the USTA Southern Championships.
History
In 1882 the Delaware Field Club in Willmington, Delaware, United States was founded, and officially incorporated in 1885. On 1 October 1885 the first Southern Championships were inaugurated at the venue, and the first men's champion was
Charles Belmont Davis
Charles Belmont Davis (1866 - 1926) was a writer, drama critic, and publisher. Several of his stories were adapted into films including his short story "The Octopus" which was adapted into '' Mother o' Mine'' (1921). His short story "When Johnny C ...
who later became an author.
A women's championship event was added to the schedule in 1901 and was held at the Bachelors Lawn Tennis Club, Washington D.C. which was won by
Marion Jones In 1978 the final championships were played at
Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...
that were then part of the official
USTA southern circuit. The final men's champion was won by the Paraguayan player
Francisco Gonzalez, the final ladies champion was
Zenda Liess
Zenda Liess (born December 12, 1959) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
Biography Tennis career
Liess competed as a junior in Florida, where she attended Spruce Creek High School. She won back to back Orange Bowl title ...
. The tournament was still being held in 1999 where it was known as the Southern Adult Clay Court Open.
[USTA Southern]
Locations
The championships have been played in the following cities;
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
,
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
,
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
,
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
,
.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
and
Washington D.C.,
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
References
{{reflist
Clay court tennis tournaments
Grass court tennis tournaments
Defunct tennis tournaments in the United States