New Zealand Championships
Defunct tennis tournament
TourILTF Circuit (1913-1968)
Founded1885 (1885)
Abolished2020 (2020)
LocationAuckland
Christchurch
Dunedin
Hastings
Mount Eden
Miramar
Napier
Nelson
New Plymouth
Palmerston
Timaru
Wellington
VenueVarious
SurfaceGrass/Hard
Current champions
Men's singlesNew Zealand Finn Tearney
Women's singlesNew Zealand Paige Hourigan

The New Zealand Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament founded in 1885 in Napier, New Zealand[1] also known as the New Zealand National Lawn Tennis Championships or the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association Championships. The championships were organised by Tennis New Zealand, and played in various locations during its run that ended in 2020.[2]

History

New Zealand player Anthony Wilding and his father, Frederick Wilding, playing at the New Zealand Championships
(c. 1906–1909)

In December 1885, the first New Zealand Championships were held at Farndon Park, in the small town of Clive, near Napier.[3][4] The championships were organised by the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association, which was formed in Napier.[5]

The championships were held in numerous locations throughout the course of their history. In 1907 the edition of the tournament was valid as the Australasian Championships grand slam event. The championships were not held from 1915 to 1918 due to World War I and also from 1941 to 1944 during World War II.

In 1973 the event was sponsored by the oil company BP and was known as the BP New Zealand Championships for one edition only.[6] The event continued to be held through till 2020 when it was discontinued.[7] The tournament was played almost exclusively on grass courts from its inception until 1988 when it switched to hard courts.

The winners of the first gentlemen's singles title was Percival Fenwick, and the ladies singles was won by Sarah Lance.[8] The final winner of the men's singles title was Finn Tearney and the women's singles was won by Paige Hourigan.[9] The towns where the championships were held included Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hastings, Mount Eden, Miramar, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston, Timaru and Wellington. From 1983 the event was held permanently in Wellington.

Event names

The event was first known as the New Zealand National Lawn Tennis Championships or the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association Championships. It was later shortened to just New Zealand Championships and historically sometimes referred to as the New Zealand Senior Championships.[10] In 1973 the tournament was sponsored by the oil company BP and was branded as the BP New Zealand Championships.[11]

See also

Notes

This event should not be confused with the New Zealand Open Championships event that was first played in Auckland in 1969 and exclusively in that city until 1979 that was a combined event until 1981, and is directly descended from the both ATP Auckland Open and WTA Auckland Open.[12] This tournament for all of its history was regarded as a national championships, and should not be confused the men's BP National Championships tournament that was titled as such from 1988 to 1992 was also a different roll of winners.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "History". tennis.kiwi. Tennis New Zealand. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Tennis NZ Roll of Honour" (PDF). Tennis Kiwi. Tennis New Zealand. 2020. pp. 18, 19, 20. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Lawn Tennis". Lyttelton Times: 4. 5 January 1886.
  4. ↑ Tennis New Zealand
  5. ↑ Ryan, Greg (2 August 2004). The Making of New Zealand Cricket: 1832-1914. Oxford: Routledge. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-135-75482-2.
  6. ↑ "WTA Tour Finals 1970 to 2007" (PDF). Wayback Machine. 29 May 2008. pp. 33, 369. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-29. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  7. ↑ Tennis New Zealand
  8. ↑ "Tennis NZ Roll of Honour" (PDF). Tennis Kiwi. Tennis New Zealand. 2020. pp. 18, 19, 20. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Tennis New Zealand. pp. 18, 19, 20.
  10. ↑ "'NEW ZEALAND CHAMPIONSHIPS". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand. 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "WORLD SPORT IN BRIEF: Evonne Goolagong, Australia's 1971 Wimbledon champion, reached the quarter-finals the BP New Zealand tennis championships Christchurch today by beating Michelle Gurdal of Belgium 6-4, 6-2". Evening Express. Aberdeenshire, Scotland: Aberdeen Journals. 17 January 1973. p. 16. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  12. ↑ Tennis New Zealand. pp. 18, 19, 20.
  13. ↑ Tennis New Zealand. pp. 18, 19, 20.
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