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The Welsh Open

When you walk onto the courts at PLTC you are following in the footsteps of grand slam champions of yesteryear including numerous Wimbledon champions as well as Australian Open, US Open and Davis Cup winners. The club has played a major part in the history of Welsh and British tennis and is very proud of this.

The Welsh Open at PLTC

The club was the original host of the prestigious Welsh Tennis Championships. This was a major open grass court tournament that took place prior to Wimbledon. It was held at the club in the years 1886–89, 1893-95 and 1901-09. After 1909 the tournament moved to Newport Athletic club where it remained until it was last played in 1974.

Champions

Here is a list of the winners of the Singles events played at PLTC:

Year	Mens champion	Mens R/Up	Womens champion	Womens R/Up
1886	Ernest Browne	James Baldwin	L. Browne	L.C. Stephens
1887	Ernest Browne	James Baldwin	Maud Watson	Beatrice Langrishe
1888	Willoughby Hamilton	Ernest Browne	Blanche Bingley Hillyard	Miss Pope
1889	Willoughby Hamilton	Ernest Lewis	N Pope	Mary Sweet-Escott
1893	George C. Greene Ball	Harry S. Barlow	Ethel Cochrane	Emily Stoddart
1894	George C. Greene Ball	Edward Roy Allen	Helen Jackson	Ethel Cochrane
1895	Wilberforce Eaves	Edward Roy Allen	Jane Corder	Helen Jackson
1901	Sydney Howard Smith	John Mycroft Boucher	Winifred Longhurst	M. Golding
1902	Sydney Howard Smith	John Mycroft Boucher	Winifred Longhurst	Constance Hill
1903	John Mycroft Boucher	Ernest Wills	Connie Wilson	Winifred Longhurst
1904	Sydney Howard Smith	Anthony Wilding	Connie Wilson	Maude Garfit
1905	Sydney Howard Smith	John Mycroft Boucher	May Sutton	Connie Wilson
1906	Sydney Howard Smith	John Mycroft Boucher	May Sutton	Maude Garfit
1907	John Mycroft Boucher	Samuel Ernest Charlton	May Sutton	Toupie Lowther
1908	John Mycroft Boucher	Anthony Wilding	Maude Garfit	Mrs G Bruce
1909	John Mycroft Boucher	Walter Crawley	Maude Garfit	Winifred Longhurst

Sharing History with PLTC, Wimbledon and the other Grandslams

The first men’s winner Ernest Browne was a Wimbledon Semi-finalist the previous year.

Willoughby Hamilton who won in 1888 and 1889 was Wimbledon champion in 1890.

Ernest Lewis who lost to Hamilton in the 1889 final was a 4 time Wimbledon runner up and won the Wimbledon doubles in 1892 with 1893 Welsh Championships runner up Harry S Barlow who himself was a Wimbledon runner up in 1889 and 1890.

Sydney Howard Smith who won the Welsh Championships 5 times at PLTC was a 3 time Wimbledon runner up, won the Wimbledon doubles in 1902 and 1906 and was a Davis Cup winner in 1905 and 1906.

1904 and 1908 Welsh Championships runner up Anthony Wilding was a New Zealander who was the world number one player at the time and the first real superstar of the sport. He won a bronze medal at the 1912 Olympics, won Wimbledon 4 consecutive times from 1910, Wimbledon doubles 4 times , the Australian Open in 1906 and 1909 as well as the doubles in 1906 and was also a 4 time Davis Cup winner.

Maud Watson who won the Welsh Championships in 1887 holds a big place in the history of women’s tennis. She was the winner of the first ever Wimbledon Women’s singles title in 1884. She also won in 1885 and was runner up in 1886.

Blanche Bingley Hillyard, the 1888 Welsh Championships winner won six singles Wimbledon championships (1886, 1889, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1900) and was runner up seven times.

1894 winner Helen Jackson was Wimbledon runner up in 1895.

Maude Garfit who was runner up in 1904 and 1906 and winner in 1908 and 1909 was a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1909.

Toupie Lowther the 1907 runner up was a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1903 and 1906.

May Sutton who won in 1905,1907 and 1907 was an American who won Wimbledon in 1905 and 1907 and the US Open in 1904. She also won the women’s doubles at the US Open in 1904 and was runner up in the mixed doubles.

This is a link to the Welsh Championships Wikipedia page for more information : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Championships_(tennis)