| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | April–May 1876 – December 1876 |
| Edition | 1st |
| Tournaments | 2 |
| Categories | National (1) Regular (1) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles |  Miss W Casey Mary G Gray (1) |
| Most tournament finals | Miss W Casey Mary G Gray (1) |
1877 → | |
1876 Women's Tennis Season was mainly composed of national and local amateur tournaments. This year two tennis events were staged in Dublin, Ireland and Hamilton, Bermuda between April and December 1876. [1]
Before the birth of Open Era, most tournaments were reserved for amateur athletes. In 1874 the British Major Walter Clopton Wingfield he patented the House of London Crafts the invention of a new game, which consists of a shaped field hourglass, divided in the middle by a net suspended. The game was packaged in a box containing some balls, four paddles, the network and the signs to mark the field. The game was based on the rules of the old real tennis and, at the suggestion of Arthur Balfour, was called lawn-tennis. The official date of birth of the court would be February 23, 1874. [2]
The women's amateur tennis seasons covers a period of thirty five years from 1876 to 1912. During this period there was no single international organization responsible for overseeing tennis. At the very start in tennis history lawn tennis clubs themselves organized events and some like the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in England (f.1877) and the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Ireland (f.1879) generally oversaw tennis in their respective countries.
This would later change when tennis players started (those that could) traveled the world to compete in events organized by individual national lawn tennis associations (NLTA)'s the oldest of which then was the United States Lawn Tennis Association (f. 1881). In certain countries that did not establish a national association until later, had provincial, regional or state lawn tennis associations overseeing tournaments in a province, region or state within a country, such as the Northern Lawn Tennis Association in Manchester, England (f.1880), [3] had responsibility for coordinating tournaments staged by clubs in the North of England region. In Australia the Victorian Lawn Tennis Association (f.1904) organised tournaments in the state of Victoria, Australia.
In 1876 the very first tournaments for women were organised in Ireland and Bermuda. In Ireland an All Ireland Lawn Tennis Championships organised by the Irish Champion Athletic Club, Dublin were held between 17 and 22 July, [4] that was won by a Miss W Casey who defeated a Miss Vance. [5] [6] [7] In September 1876 a second tournament for women was staged at Hamilton. Bermuda that was won by Mary G Gray. [8]
This year in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia a local sports goods supply company imported tennis equipment from England, tennis courts were laid and local competitions held for the first time. [9] In 1876 in the United States tennis was first played in Boston Massachusetts on a private tennis court built by Hollis Hunnewell and Nathaniel Thayer. [10] In Canada the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club was established. [11]
In 1913 the International Lawn Tennis Federation was created, that consisted of national member associations. The ILTF through its associated members then became responsible for supervising a global women's tour.
Notes 1: Challenge Round: the final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921), [12] in some tournaments not all.
Notes 2:Tournaments in italics were events that were staged only once that season
Key
| Main [13] [14] [15] |
| National |
| Provincial/Regional/State |
| County |
| Regular |
No events
| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 7. [16] [17] | All Ireland Lawn Tennis Championships All Ireland LTC Dublin, Ireland Grass Singles | Miss W Casey def. | Miss Vance [18] |
No events
| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3. [19] [20] | Bermuda Tournament Hamilton, Bermuda Grass Singles | Mary G Gray def. | Rose Key |
No events
Miss W Casey (1) Dublin Mary G Gray (1) HamiltonMary Ewing Outerbridge was an American woman who imported the lawn game tennis to the United States from Bermuda.
Major Walter Clopton Wingfield was a Welsh inventor and a British Army officer who was one of the pioneers of lawn tennis. Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997 as the founder of modern lawn tennis, an example of the original equipment for the sport and a bust of Wingfield can be seen at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sport with more complex rules.
The 1877 Wimbledon Championship was a men's tennis tournament held at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London. It was the world's first official lawn tennis tournament, and was later recognised as the first Grand Slam tournament or "Major". The AEC & LTC had been founded in July 1868, as the All England Croquet Club. Lawn tennis was introduced in February 1875 to compensate for the waning interest in croquet. In June 1877 the club decided to organise a tennis tournament to pay for the repair of its pony roller, needed to maintain the lawns. A set of rules was drawn up for the tournament, derived from the first standardised rules of tennis issued by the Marylebone Cricket Club in May 1875.
Major Thomas Henry Gem, known as Harry Gem, was an English lawyer, soldier, writer and sportsman.
Juan Bautista Luis Augurio Perera Orfila, known as Augurio Perera, was a Spanish-born merchant and sportsman based in England, credited alongside his friend Harry Gem as a lawn tennis pioneer.
The Irish Open and originally known as the Irish Championships or Irish Lawn Tennis Championships, and for sponsorship reasons also known as Carroll's Irish Open Championships was a men's and women's tennis tournament held at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin, Ireland. Before the creation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the establishment of its world championship events in 1913, it was considered by players and historians one of the four most important tennis tournaments to win. the others being Wimbledon, the U.S. National championships and the Northern Championships. The men's event was part of the pre-open era tour from inception until 1967. It was then part of the open era non-aligned independent tour (1968–69). From 1970 to 1974, it was an event on the Grand Prix tennis circuit. The women's event was on the same tours as the men except for when it became part of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour from 1971 to 1973. The men's edition was played until 1979, and the women's ended in 1983 when they both ceased to part of the top level world tennis circuit.
Tennis Wales (Welsh: Tennis Cymru) is the national governing body for tennis in Wales. It is part of the British tennis governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association. It was founded as the Welsh Lawn Tennis Association (WLTA) in 1887.
The 1877 men's tennis season was composed of 5 tournaments for the second edition pre-open era lawn tennis season. Before the birth of Open Era (tennis), most tournaments were reserved for amateur athletes. In 1874 British Major Walter Clopton Wingfield patented with the House of London Crafts the invention of a new game, which consisted of a shaped field hourglass, divided in the middle by a suspended net. The game was packaged in a box containing some balls, four paddles, the net components and the signs to mark the field. The game was based on the rules of the old real tennis and, at the suggestion of Arthur Balfour, was called lawn-tennis. The official date of birth of the court would be February 23, 1874. In 1877 all were amateur tournaments, among them was the first 1877 Wimbledon Championship, the inaugural event was held from 9 to 19 July and saw as the inaugural winner Spencer Gore. The tournament would remain for a period of 35 years the sole major tennis tournament in the world until the International Lawn Tennis Federation introduces its three World championship series events in 1913 that continue until 1923, when the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association only agrees to join the ILTF on the basis of two compromises: the title 'World Championships' would be abolished and wording would be 'for ever in the English language'. Wimbledon would still retain its prestigious and historical status, and become one of the four Grand Slam tennis events from 1924.
The 1878 men's tennis season was composed of the third annual pre-open era tour. It now incorporated 15 tournaments staged in Great Britain and Ireland the Wimbledon championships was won by challenger Patrick Francis Hadow defeating the defending champion Spencer Gore.
The 1880 men's tennis season was the fifth amateur tennis tour held that year. It now incorporated 44 tournaments staged in Australia, Great Britain and Ireland and the United States. The 1880 Wimbledon Championships was won by John Hartley against Herbert Lawford, in the Challenge Round.
The 1877 Women's Tennis Season was mainly composed of national, regional, local amateur tournaments. This year 3 tennis events were staged in Dublin, Limerick and Waterford, Ireland between April and September 1877
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The North Northamptonshire LTC Tournament. also known simply as the North Northamptonshire LTC was a brief Victorian era men's and women's grass court tennis tournament founded in 1880. It was organised by the North Northamptonshire Lawn Tennis Club who held the event at different locations in North Northamptonshire, England. The tournament ran annually for four editions only until 1883.
The All Ireland Lawn Tennis Championships. or simply called The Irish Championships was a Victorian period combined men's and women's grass court tennis tournament first staged July 1876. This event was organised by the All Ireland Lawn Tennis Club that was under auspices of the Irish Champion Athletic Club (I.C.A.C.). The tournament was held at Champion Ground, Lansdowne, Dublin, Ireland. The championships ended around 1878.
1880 Women's Tennis season was mainly composed of national, regional, county, local regular amateur tournaments. This year, 13 tennis events for women were staged, one in India, three of them in Ireland and nine events in England between May and October 1880.
The Bermuda Tournament was one of earliest known women's grass court tennis event's staged only one time in September 1876. It was held in Hamilton, Bermuda.
The 1876 men's tennis season was the first edition of the pre-open era men's tennis seasons consisting of just 2 tournaments. It began on 22 July in Dublin, Ireland and ended on 15 September in Limerick, Ireland.