Rothmans Connaught Hard Court Championships
Tennis tournament
Connaught Hard Court Championships Tour ILTF Founded 1951; 73 years ago (1951 ) Abolished 1974; 50 years ago (1974 ) Location Chingford , Essex , England .Venue Connaught Lawn Tennis Club (f.1885) Surface Clay - outdoors
The Rothmans Connaught Hard Court Championships [ 1] also known simply as the Connaught Hard Courts was a combined men's and women's clay court tennis tournament founded in 1951.[ 2] The championships were organised by the Connaught Lawn Tennis Club, Chingford , Essex , England . The tournament ran until 1974.
History
The Connaught Hard Court Championships,[ 3] were established in 1951 as an open tournament held at the Connaught Lawn Tennis Club (f.1885),[ 4] Chingford , Essex , England . The tournament was continually staged until 1974. The tournament was sponsored by the tobacco company Rothmans International from 1971 to 1974.
Notable winners of the men's singles title included; Tony Mottram , Jack Arkinstall , Torben Ulrich , Sven Davidson , Lew Hoad ,[ 5] Rod Laver ,[ 6] Jaroslav Drobný ,[ 7] and Owen Davidson .[ 8] Previous winners of women's singles title included; Doris Hart ,[ 9] Angela Mortimer , Christine Truman , Norma Baylon , Ann Haydon Jones , Virginia Wade ,[ 10] and Dianne Fromholtz .
Finals
Men's singles
(Incomplete roll)[ 11]
Year
Champions
Runners-up
Score
↓ ILTF Circuit ↓
1951
Tony Mottram
John Horn
6-0, 6-3
1952
Tony Mottram (2)
Ignacy Tloczynski
2-6, 6-1, 6-3
1953
Jack Arkinstall
Don Black
6-3, 6-0
1954
Torben Ulrich
Bobby Wilson
6-2, 1-6, 6-0
1955
Sven Davidson
Mike Davies
6-4, 6-1
1956
Lew Hoad
Bobby Wilson
6-2, 6-1
1957
Jaroslav Drobný
Mike Davies
6-4, 6-3
1958
Roger Becker
Mike Davies
4-6, 6-4, 6-3
1959
Roger Becker (2)
Bobby Wilson
7-5, 2-6, 6-4
1960
Bobby Wilson
Roger Becker
6-4, 6-4
1961
Bobby Wilson (2)
Alan Mills
8-6, 6-1
1962
Rod Laver
Martin Mulligan
4-6, 6-4, 6-4
1963
Bobby Wilson (3)
Mike Sangster
8-6, 6-4, 6-2
1964
Bobby Wilson (4)
Mike Sangster
6-2, 6-3
1965
Bobby Wilson (5)
Mark Cox
6-2, 8-6
1966
Bobby Wilson (6)
Alan Mills
6-2, 6-2
1967
Birger Folke
Lars Ölander
6-3, 2-6, 14-12
1968
Paul Hutchins
Bobby Wilson
6-2, 1-6, 6-1
↓ Open era ↓
1969
Allan Stone
John Cooper
6-4, 6-2
1972
Hank Irvine
John Clifton
6-2, 6-2
1973
Owen Davidson
Colin Dowdeswell
3-6, 9-8, 6-1
Women's singles
(Incomplete roll)
Year
Champions
Runners-up
Score
↓ ILTF Circuit ↓
1951
Kay Tuckey
Joy Gannon Mottram
6-4, 6-4
1952
Jean Walker-Smith
Joy Gannon Mottram
1-6, 9-7, 6-4
1953
Doris Hart
Shirley Fry
6-3, 4-6, 6-4
1954
Leonie Thorn Brighton
Jenny Middleton
7-5, 6-3
1955
Angela Mortimer
Elaine Watson
6-1, 6-0
1956
Angela Mortimer (2)
Jenny Middleton
6-3, 6-1
1957
Christine Truman
Elaine Shenton
6-3, 6-3
1958
Christine Truman (2)
Ann Haydon
6-3, 8-6
1959
Angela Mortimer (3)
Christine Truman
6-3, 7-5
1960
Angela Mortimer (4)
Christine Truman
6-1, 4-6, 6-4
1961
Angela Mortimer (5)
Edda Buding
6-3, 6-3
1962
Angela Mortimer (6)
Christine Truman
6-2, 6-4
1963
Norma Baylon
Christine Truman (3)
divide title
1964
Norma Baylon (2)
Christine Truman
3-6, 6-2, 6-4
1965
Elizabeth Starkie
Christine Truman
8-6, 6-3
1966
Ann Haydon Jones
Virginia Wade
6-4, 6-3
1967
Virginia Wade
Pat Walkden
6-0, 9-7
1968
Faye Toyne Moore
Virginia Wade
6-4, 8-6
↓ Open era ↓
1969
Corinne Molesworth
Shirley Bloomer Brasher
3-6, 6-2, 6-4
1972
Cynthia Sieler
Wendy Appleby
7-5, 7-5
1973
Dianne Fromholtz
Ilana Kloss
6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Tournament records
References
^ "SWIRLING near-gale-force wind and rain hit the Rothman's Connaught Hard Court Championships at Chingford Essex yesterday, and flurries snow made play almost impossible". Birmingham Weekly Mercury . Birmingham, England: British Newspaper Archives. 28 May 1972. p. 40.
^ Nieuwland, Alex. "Tournament–Connaught Hard Courts; Chingford" . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives. Retrieved 8 January 2023 .
^ Wilson, Bobby (1964). St. Paul's Bibliographies: My Side of the Net . Oxford: Oxford Polytechnic Press. p. 76.
^ "History" . www.connaughtclub.co.uk . Chingford, England: Connaught Club. Retrieved 8 January 2023 .
^ Connaught Club
^ Connaught Club
^ Connaught Club
^ Tennis Archives
^ Connaught Club
^ Connaught Club
^ "Tournament – Connaught Hard Courts; Chingford" . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives. Retrieved 30 March 2023 .