North London Hard Courts Championships Explained

North London Hard Courts Championships
Type:defunct
Location:Highbury & Stamford Hill, London, England
Venue:North London Hard Courts Tennis Club & Gipsy Lawn Tennis Club
Tour:ILTF
Surface:Clay- outdoors

The North London Hard Courts Championships [1] was a combined men's and women's clay court tennis tournament founded in 1920. The tournament was jointly held at the Gipsy Lawn Tennis Club, Stamford Hill,[2] and the North London Hard Courts Tennis Club, Highbury London, England It ran until 1939.[3]

History

The North London Hard Courts Championships were established in 1920. The championships were usually held in September each year. However there were two events of the women's championships in 1922 and 1923: the first in May, and the second in September. The tournament was jointly held at the Gipsy Lawn Tennis Club, Stamford Hill and North London Hard Courts Tennis Club, Highbury London, England. It ran until 193 when it was abolished.[4]

Notable winners of the men's singles title included: Athar Ali Fyzee, Nicolae Mishu, Antoine Gentien,[5] Major Ritchie,[6] Pat Spence,[7] René Lacoste,[8] Gordon Lowe, and Henry Mayes.[9] Winners of the women's singles championship included: Ermyntrude Harvey, Dorothy Holman, Helen Wills-Moody, Lili de Alvarez and Sylvie Jung Henrotin.

Venues

The Gipsy Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1920 at Stamford Hill, London. It consisted of seven hard (clay) and twelve grass courts. The club also staged the North London Grass Courts Championships.[10] The North London Hard Courts Lawn Tennis Club at Sotheby Road, Highbury, [11] was the other venue used for this event.

Additional notes

Newspaper sources list the tournament as being held in Highbury,[12] however Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers of London state on their website that the tournament was staged continuously at the Gipsy Lawn Tennis Club Stamford Hill.[13] [14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: South Africans Arrive: Rene Lacoste will defend his singles' title in the North London Hard Courts Championships which begin at Highbury, Monday. . Leeds Mercury . British Newspaper Archives . 16 April 1929 . Leeds, Yorkshire . 9.
  2. Web site: Mullock's Auctions - Rare 1923 'The North London Hard Court Lawn Tennis Club Championships Silver Trophy. . www.mullocksauctions.co.uk . Mullock's Ltd . 7 January 2023.
  3. Web site: Nieuwland . Alex . Tournament – Highbury & Stamford Hill . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives . 7 January 2023 . Netherlands.
  4. Tennis Archives
  5. Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers
  6. Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers
  7. Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers
  8. Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers
  9. Tennis Archives
  10. Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers
  11. Book: American Lawn Tennis . 15 October 1923 . American Lawn Tennis Publishing Company . New York . 486 . en.
  12. News: LACOSTE TO MEET BRUGON: A red letter day for France in the North London Hard Court Lawn Tennis Championships at Highbury, London, yesturday resulted in a win for Rene Lacoste . The Scotsman . British Newspaper Archives . 27 April 1929 . London, England . 17.
  13. Web site: Nieuwland . Alex . Edition – Highbury 1922: City: London, Gipsy LTC, Stamford Hill . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives . 7 January 2023 . Netherlands.
  14. Web site: Nieuwland . Alex . Edition – Highbury 1928: City: London, Gipsy LTC, Stamford Hill . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives . 7 January 2023 . Netherlands.