| Indian Open | |
| Type: | defunct |
| Founded: | 1923 |
| Ended: | 1977 |
| City: | Various |
| Country: | India |
The Indian Open was a men's tennis tournament founded as the India International Championships[1] in 1923. It was played from 1923 until 1979 and the men's event was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit, 1970 to 1979. From 1945 to 1972 it was known as the Indian International Championships. It was held in various cities across India and was played outdoor on multiple surfaces.
Tennis was introduuced to India in 1880s by British Army and Civilian Officers.[2] In 1923 the India International Championships[3] were established and played at the Calcutta South Club, Calcutta, West Bengal, India. The championships were not staged during World War II and a few years after Indian Independence in 1947.
In 1948 the tournament was renamed as the Indian International Championships until 1954, and still held in Calcutta. In 1955 two versions of the championships were held, one the India International Championships from late December till early January, and the Indian International Championships in late January. In 1956 the tournament returned to the latter's title. In 1957 two championships were once again held in Calcutta with the same tournament names as in 1955. In 1958 the event then resumed under the Indian International Championships brand name until 1972. In 1973 it was renamed as the Indian Open.
The Calcutta South Club was founded in 1920, and also organised the Calcutta Lawn Tennis Championships.That tournament later became known as the East India Lawn Tennis Championships. Its current facilities consist of the six original grass courts, In 1985 the Club built six new clay courts, and in 2004 it added five asphalt-based rubberized hard courts.
The India International Championships were predominantly staged in Calcutta, under the new tournament name the Indian International Championships that began in 1948, it continued to held in Calcutta until it moved to Madras in 1959. Over a number of years, the event was also held in other cities such as New Delhi and Bombay.
Incomplete roll included:[4] [5] [6]
| Year | Location | Winner | Runner-up | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India International Championships | |||||
| 1923 | Calcutta |  Sunao Okamoto | |||
| 1924 | Calcutta | Sunao Okamoto (2) | |||
| 1925 | Calcutta | Syed Anwar Yusoof | |||
| 1926 | Calcutta |  J. Robson | |||
| 1927 | Calcutta | Sunao Okamoto (3) | Pershotam Lal Mehta | 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 | |
| 1928 | Calcutta | Atri-Madan Mohan | Pershotam Lal Mehta | 3–6, 6–3, 6–1, 8–6 | |
| 1929 | Calcutta | Edward Vivian Bobb | Mohammed Sleem | 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 | |
| 1930 | Calcutta | Bunny Austin |  Eskel Andrews | 6–2, 7–5, 6–1 | |
| 1931 | Calcutta | Jiro Fujikura | Ryuki Miki | 3–6, 3–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–0 | |
| 1932 | Calcutta |  Giorgio de Stefani | Dip Narain Kapoor | 7–5, 6–4, 6–2 | |
| 1933 | Calcutta | Atri-Madan Mohan |  Robert Harman | 6–3, 6–2, 1–6, 2–6, 6–2 | |
| 1934 | Calcutta | Josip Palada | Edward Vivian Bobb | 10–8, 6–3, 6–3 | |
| 1935 | Calcutta | Josip Palada (2) | Franjo Punčec | ||
| style=background: | 1940–1944 | Not held (WW2) | |||
| Indian International Championships | |||||
| 1945 | Madras |  B.R. Kapinipathy | 9–7, 9–7, 5–7, 6–0 | ||
| 1946 | Calcutta | 7–5, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 | |||
| 1947 | Calcutta | Sumant Misra (2) | Sohan Lal | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–0 | |
| 1948 | Calcutta |  Lennart Bergelin | Sumant Misra | 8–6, 6–1, 6–4 | |
| 1949 | Calcutta | Dilip Kumar Bose | Sumant Misra | 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 8–6 | |
| 1950 | Calcutta | Felicisimo Ampon |  Pedro Masip | 5–7, 8–6, 8–6, 6–1 | |
| 1951 | Calcutta | Sven Davidson | Jaroslav Drobný | 6–3, 6–3 7–5 | |
| 1952 | Calcutta | Sven Davidson (2) |  Khan-Iftikhar Ahmed | 6–3, 6–4, 8–6 | |
| 1953 | Calcutta | Sumant Misra (3) | Naresh Kumar | 6–8, 2–6, 6–3, 9–7, 6–3 | |
| 1954 | Calcutta |  Jack Arkinstall | Ramanathan Krishnan | 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 | |
| 1955 | Calcutta | Ramanathan Krishnan | Jack Arkinstall | 6–2, 0–6, 3–6, 6–1, 6–3 | |
| Indian International Championships | |||||
| 1956 | Calcutta | Jack Arkinstall | Ramanathan Krishnan | 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 | |
| 1957 | Calcutta | Ramanathan Krishnan (2) | Naresh Kumar | 6–4, 6–0, 8–6 | |
| 1958 | Calcutta | Ramanathan Krishnan (3) | Naresh Kumar | 6–2, 6–2, 6–1 | |
| 1959 | Madras | Ramanathan Krishnan (4) | Giuseppe Merlo | 7–5, 6–0, 6–0 | |
| 1960 | New Delhi | Ramanathan Krishnan (5) | Ulf Schmidt | 6–3, 6–3 6–1 | |
| 1961 | New Delhi | Ramanathan Krishnan (6) |  Carlos Fernandes | 6–2, 3–6, 14–16, 6–2, 6–3 | |
| 1965 | New Delhi | Ramanathan Krishnan (7) | Martin Mulligan | w.o. | |
| 1966 | New Delhi | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–0 | |||
| 1968 | New Delhi | 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 5–7, 6–4 | |||
| ↓ Open era ↓ | |||||
| 1969 | New Delhi | Ilie Năstase | Premjit Lall | 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 | |
| 1970 | Calcutta | Premjit Lall | Alex Metreveli | 9–7, 6–0, 5–7 6–3 | |
| 1972 | Calcutta | Gaurav Misra | Ramanathan Krishnan | 4–6, 6–4, 8–10, 7–5, 6–2 | |
| Indian Open | |||||
| 1973[7] | New Delhi | Vijay Amritraj | Mal Anderson | 6–4, 5–7, 7–9, 6–3, 11-9 | |
| 1974[8] | Bombay | 6–3, 6–3, 7–6 | |||
| 1975[9] | Calcutta | Vijay Amritraj (2) | 7–5, 6–3 | ||
| 1976[10] | Bangalore | 6–1, 6–2 | |||
| 1977[11] | Bombay | Vijay Amritraj (3) | Terry Moor | 7–6, 6–4 | |
| 1978[12] | Calcutta | 6–3, 6–2 | |||
| 1979[13] | Bombay | Vijay Amritraj (4) | Peter Elter | 6–1, 7–5 | |
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 6–2, 6–4 | |||
| 1974 | 6–4, 7–6 | |||
| 1975 | 1–6, 6–4, 6–3 | |||
| 1976 | 6–2, 7–6 | |||
| 1977 | 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 | |||
| 1978 | 7–6, 6–4 | |||
| 1979 | 7–6, 6–2 |