National Lawn Tennis Championships of India
{{Infobox tennis tournament
| name = National Lawn Tennis Championships of India
| type = defunct
| founded = 1910
| ended = 1999
| editions =
| event name =
| city = Various
| country = India
| tour = Grand Prix circuit
}}
The National Lawn Tennis Championships of India,{{cite web |title=History |url=https://aitatennis.com/history/ |website=aitatennis |publisher=All India Tennis Association |access-date=11 January 2023 |location=New Delhi, India}} originally called the All India Championships,{{cite book|last1=Majumdar|first1=Boria|last2=Mangan|first2=J. A.|title=Sport in South Asian Society: Past and Present|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317998945|pages=117–118|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWfdAAAAQBAJ&q=All+India+Championships+tennis&pg=PA118|language=en}} or the All India Lawn Tennis Championships and the Indian National Championships, was a combined (men's and women's) tennis tournament. It was played from 1910 until 1999.{{cite web |title=As the Road to Wimbledon India rolls into Kolkata, Wimbledon.com looks back at the history of the famous Calcutta South Club. |url=https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2016-04-05/road_to_wimbledon_an_introduction_to_the_calcutta_south_club.html |website=www.wimbledon.com |publisher=AELTC |access-date=11 February 2023 |date=5 April 2016}} It was held in various cities in, India and was played outdoor on multiple surfaces, but mainly grass courts.
Ramanathan Krishnan won most men's singles championships with eight titles overall,All India Tennis Association and, during the pre-Open era Jenny Sandison and Leela Row won the most women's singles championships with seven titles each, while Nirupama Mankad won the most titles during the open era with five titles.
History
Lawn tennis in India can be traced back within the first decade of the establishment of the Wimbledon championships with early local championships being established in places like Punjab (1885) and Calcutta (1887). However, there was no national championships, in 1910 colonial officers of the British Raj established the All India Lawn Tennis Championships in Allahabad which was 10 years before the All India Tennis Association was founded. The championships staged both men's and women's singles play and also doubles. In 1946, the All-India Championships tournament was renamed the National Lawn Tennis Championships of India by the India Lawn Tennis Association.{{cite web |title=History |url=https://aitatennis.com/history/ |website=aitatennis |location=New Delhi, India}} After World War 2 until the start of the open era, the event was often held over Christmas and new year and on a few occasions two events were held in a single year in January and December (sometimes winners are described as winning in a year in which an event started in late December, other times in the year the event finished in early January).
The tournament was hosted at different cities around India and was also played on different surfaces, such as grass courts (1910–59, 1964–66, 1969, 1970, 1973), hard courts (1967) and clay courts (1960–61, 1974–79). This tournament was also held in conjunction with the Northern India Championships for the years 1962 to 1967. In the open era the event became a minor event for Indian players.
Finals
:Incomplete roll included:{{cite web |title=Tournament – All India Championships |url=https://www.tennisarchives.com/tournament/?t=261&n=All%20India%20Championships |website=www.tennisarchives.com |publisher=Tennis Archives |access-date=11 January 2023}}{{cite web |title=Tournament – National and Northern India Championships |url=https://www.tennisarchives.com/tournament/?t=2192&n=National%20and%20Northern%20India%20Championships |website=www.tennisarchives.com |publisher=Tennis Archives |access-date=11 January 2023}}{{cite web |title=Tournament – India National Championships |url=https://www.tennisarchives.com/tournament/?t=2543&n=India%20National%20Championships |website=www.tennisarchives.com |publisher=Tennis Archives |access-date=11 January 2023}}
=Men's singles=
=Women's singles=
| class="wikitable"
!style="width:90px"|Year !style="width:200px"|Champion !style="width:200px"|Runner up !style="width:150px"|Score | |||
| colspan=4 align=center |All India Championships | |||
| 1910 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Kendall | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Hutchinson | 6–3, 6–3 |
| 1911 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Miss Warburton | {{flagicon|India|British}} Miss Latham | (score?) |
| 1912 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Adams | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Leslie-Jones | 6–0, 6–3 |
| 1913 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Miss Warburton | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Leslie-Jones | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 1914 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Leslie-Jones | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Fremantle | 6–2, 6–0 |
| style="background:#efefef" | 1915–18 | colspan=3 align=center style="background:#efefef" | No event WW1 | ||
| 1919 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Dickens | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Simpson | 6–1, 6–3 |
| 1920 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Kellie {{cite news|title=Indian Championships.|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40354038?searchTerm=Indian%20Tennis%20Championships%20ladies&searchLimits=|accessdate=17 October 2017|work=Cairns Post|location=Qld.|date=16 February 1920|pages=8}} | ? | 6–3, 9-11, 6–1 |
| 1921 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs Kemble | ? | ? |
| 1922 | {{flagicon|GBR}} Phyllis Howkins Covell | {{flagicon|GBR}} Dorothy Shepherd-Barron | 6–3, 7–5 * |
| 1923 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Winifred MacClellan Keays | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs O'Neill | 6–2, 6–3 |
| 1924 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Yolande Mackinnon | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs T. Horn | 6–3, 6–3 |
| 1925 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Lena McKenna | {{flagicon|India|British}} Phyllis Cox Berthoud | 6–2, 6–4 |
| 1926 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Lena McKenna (2) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Miss Holden | 6–3, 1–6, 6–1 |
| 1927 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Jenny Sandison | {{flagicon|India|British}} Lena McKenna | 8–6, 6–4 |
| style="background:#efefef" | 1928 | colspan=3 align=center style="background:#efefef" | Abandoned | ||
| 1929 {{cite news|title=A MAID IN MAYFAIR|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/29636772?searchTerm=Indian%20Tennis%20Championships%20Jenny%20Sandison&searchLimits=l-title=34|accessdate=17 October 2017|work=Advertiser|location=Adelaide|date=14 November 1929|pages=15}} | {{flagicon|India|British}} Jenny Sandison (2) | {{flagicon|USA}} Elizabeth Ryan | ? |
| 1930 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Jenny Sandison (3) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Lena McKenna | 6–3, 6–0 |
| 1931 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row | {{flagicon|India|British}} Lena McKenna | 6–1, 6–1 |
| 1932 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Jenny Sandison (4) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row | 7–5, 6–3 |
| 1933 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Jenny Sandison(5) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row | 3–6, 6–2, 6–1 |
| 1934 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Jenny Sandison (6) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Hyacinth Harvey-Johnston | 6–2, 6–3 |
| 1935 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Jenny Sandison (7) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Margaret Parrott | 6–2, 6–3 |
| 1936 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row (2) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Rosie Gibson | 6–1, 6–0 |
| 1937 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row (3) | {{flagicon|GBR}} Joan Fry Lakeman | 2–6, 9–7, 6–2 |
| 1938 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row (4) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Meher Dubash | 6–1, 6–2 |
| 1939 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Gaby Curtis | {{flagicon|India|British}} Laura Woodbridge | 6–2, 6–8, 9–7 |
| 1940 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row (5) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Laura Woodbridge | 6–3, 6–2 |
| 1941 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row (6) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Meher Dubash | 6–4, 6–1 |
| 1942 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Mrs. Massey | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row | 2–6, 7–5, 6–2 |
| 1943 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Leela Row (7) | {{flagicon|India|British}} Meher Dubash | |
| 1944 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Laura Woodbridge | {{flagicon|India|British}} Miss Maguire | 6–1, 6–1 |
| 1945 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Laura Woodbridge (2) | {{flagicon|Ceylon|Colonial}} Doreen Sansoni | 3–6, 6–2, 6–0 |
| 1946 | {{flagicon|Ceylon|Colonial}} Doreen Sansoni | {{flagicon|India|British}} Sarah Mody | 6–1, 10–12, 6–0 |
| 1947 | {{flagicon|India|British}} Khanum Haji Singh{{Citation | title=Sport in South Asian Society: Past and Present | author=Boria Majumdar, J. A. Mangan | year=2005 | publisher=Routledge | isbn=0-415-35953-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CBk2bV_EEK8C | quote=... The first woman Champion was Khanum Singh (nee Haji) ...}} | {{flagicon|India|British}} Laura Woodbridge | w.o. |
| colspan=4 align=center | National Lawn Tennis Championships of India | |||
| 1948 | {{flagicon|IND}} Khanum Haji Singh (2) | {{flagicon|IND}} Promilla Khanna | 6–4, 6–4 |
| 1949 | {{flagicon|IND}} Khanum Haji Singh (3) | {{flagicon|IND}} Promilla Khanna | 3–6, 9–7, 6–3 |
| 1950 | {{flagicon|USA}} Pat Canning Todd | {{flagicon|USA}} Gussie Moran | 6–2, 6–2 |
| 1951 | {{flagicon|USA}} Dorothy Head | {{flagicon|GBR}} Joy Mottram | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 |
| 1952 | {{flagicon|IND}} Urmila Thapar | {{flagicon|IND}} Laura Woodbridge | 6–0, 4–6, 7–5 |
| 1953{{cite web |last1=Shukla |first1=Dr Balraj |title=First Queens of Indian tennis and the reign of Rita Davar |url=https://thebridge.in/forgotten-heroes/first-queens-indian-tennis-reign-rita-davar/ |website=thebridge.in |publisher=The Bridge |access-date=8 August 2023 |language=en |date=10 January 2019}} | {{flagicon|IND}} Rita Davar | {{flagicon|GBR}} Joy Mottram | 6–2, 6–1 |
| 1954{{cite web |last1=Shukla |first1=Dr Balraj |title=First Queens of Indian tennis and the reign of Rita Davar |url=https://thebridge.in/forgotten-heroes/first-queens-indian-tennis-reign-rita-davar/ |website=thebridge.in |publisher=The Bridge |access-date=8 August 2023 |language=en |date=10 January 2019}} | {{flagicon|IND}} Rita Davar (2) | {{flagicon|IND}} Urmila Thapar | 0–6, 6–2, 6–2 |
| 1955 | {{flagicon|IND}} Rita Davar (3) | {{flagicon|IND}} Urmila Thapar | 6–4, 6–1 |
| 1956 | {{flagicon|USA}} Althea Gibson{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Frances Clayton Gray, Yanick Rice Lamb ; foreword by Bill Cosby ; afterword by Venus|title=Born to win : the authorized biography of Althea Gibson|date=2004|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|location=Hoboken, N.J.|isbn=9780471471653|page=219}} | {{flagicon|JPN}} Saichiko Kamo | 6–2, 6–2 |
| 1957 | {{flagicon|IND}} Khanum Haji Singh (4) | {{flagicon|IND}} Promilla Khanna Singh | 7–5, 7–5 |
| 1958 | {{flagicon|IND}} Promilla Khanna Singh | {{flagicon|IND}} Leela Panjabi | 6–2, 6–3 |
| 1959 | {{flagicon|IND}} Dechu Appaiah | {{flagicon|IND}} Khanum Haji Singh | 2–6, 7–5, 6–2 |
| 1960 | {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Hellyer | {{flagicon|USA}} Mimi Arnold | 4–6, 7–5, 6–0 |
| 1961 | {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Hellyer (2) | {{flagicon|IND}} Dechu Appaiah | 6–4, 6–2 |
| colspan=4 align=center |India National and Northern India Championships | |||
| 1962 | {{flagicon|AUS}} Lesley Turner | {{flagicon|AUS}} Madonna Schacht | 6–1, 6–3 |
| 1963 | {{flagicon|IND}} Rattan Thadani | {{flagicon|IND}} Cherri Chettyanna | 6–2, 6–2 |
| 1964 | {{flagicon|GBR}} Jill Rook Mills | {{flagicon|IND}} Lakshmi Mahadevan | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 |
| 1965 | {{flagicon|NZL}} Marion Law | {{flagicon|IND}} Nirupama Vasant | 6–4, 6–4 |
| 1966 | {{flagicon|EST }} Tiiu Soome | {{flagicon|NZL}} Marion Law | 6–2, 3–6, 6–4 |
| 1967 | {{flagicon|USSR}} Rena Abzhandadze | {{flagicon|USSR}} Aleksandra Ivanova | 6–4, 6–0 |
| colspan=4 align=center |National Lawn Tennis Championships of India | |||
| 1968 | {{flagicon|USSR}} Aleksandra Ivanova | {{flagicon|USSR}} Nina Turkheli | 6–1, 6–2 |
| style=background-color:#ffaa77
|colspan=10 align=center |Open era | |||
| 1969 | {{flagicon|Romania|1965}} Judith Dibar | {{flagicon|USA}} Alice Luthy Tym | 6–2, 6–1 |
| 1970 | {{flagicon|USSR}} Aleksandra Ivanova (2) | {{flagicon|YUG}} Irena Škulj | 6–1, 6–3 |
| 1971 | {{flagicon|IND}} Nirupama Mankad | {{flagicon|IND}} Kiran Peshawaria | 4–6, 6–1, 6–1 |
| 1972 | {{flagicon|AUS}} Marilyn Tesch | {{flagicon|IND}} Nirupama Mankad | 6–4, 6–2 |
| 1973 | {{flagicon|IND}} Udaya Kumar | {{flagicon|IND}} Kiran Peshawaria Bedi | 6–2, 7–5 |
| 1974 | {{flagicon|IND}} Susan Das{{cite news|last1=Trade|first1=TI|title=The Assam Tribune Online|url=http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jan1017/sports053|accessdate=17 October 2017|date=10 January 2017}} | {{flagicon|IND}} Nirupama Vasant Mankad | (score?) |
| 1975 | {{flagicon|IND}} Nirupama Mankad (2) | {{flagicon|IND}} Susan Das | 7–5, 6–4 |
| 1976 | {{flagicon|IND}} Nirupama Mankad (3) | {{flagicon|IND}} Susan Das | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 1977 | {{flagicon|IND}} Nirupama Mankad (4) | {{flagicon|IND}}Susan Das | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 1978 | {{flagicon|IND}} Nirupama Mankad (5) | {{flagicon|IND}} Amreeta Ahluwalia | 3–6, 6–1, 8–6 |
| 1979 | {{flagicon|IND}} Amreeta Ahluwalia | {{flagicon|IND}} Anu Peshawaria | 6–4, 6–0 |
| 1980 | {{flagicon|IND}} Amreeta Ahluwalia (2) | {{flagicon|IND}} Anu Peshawaria | 6–0, 6–3 |
| 1981 | {{flagicon|IND}} Amreeta Ahluwalia (3) | {{flagicon|IND}} Anu Peshawaria | 6–1, 6–4 |
| 1982 | {{flagicon|IND}} Anu Peshawaria (4) | {{flagicon|IND}} Namratha Appa Rao | 6–4, 6–3 |
Venues
The tournament was staged in different cities for the duration of its run they included:{{cite web|title=All India Championships/Indian Open. Tournament Roll of Honour, Locations|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=tournament&accion=honour&pais=IND&nomTorneo=ALL+INDIA+CH.&descPais=INDIA&codpais=IND&stats=ALL+INDIA+CH.#datosDraw|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=The Tennis Base|accessdate=16 October 2017}}
Records
=Men's singles=
- Most titles: {{flagicon|IND}} Ramanathan Krishnan (8 titles)
- Most finals: {{flagicon|IND}} Ramanathan Krishnan (10 finals)
- Most consecutive titles: {{flagicon|India|British}} Edward Vivian Bobb (3 titles) (1927–27, 1930)
- Most consecutive finals: {{flagicon|IND}} Ramanathan Krishnan, (4 finals) (1957–60)
- Most matches played: {{flagicon|IND}} Vijay Amritraj (26)
- Most matches won: {{flagicon|IND}} Vijay Amritraj (24)
- Most consecutive matches won: {{flagicon|India|British}} Edward Vivian Bobb (13)
- Most editions played: {{flagicon|IND}} Premjit Lall (11)
- Best match winning %: {{flagicon|India|British}} Edward Vivian Bobb, 92.8%, (pre-open era)
- Best match winning %: {{flagicon|IND}} Vijay Amritraj, 92.3%, (open era)
- Oldest champion: {{flagicon|AUS}} Jack Arkinstall, 34y 7m & 26d (1954)
- Youngest champion: {{flagicon|IND}} Ramanathan Krishnan, 16y 8m & 17d (1954)
=Women's singles=
- Most titles Pre Open era: {{flagicon|India|British}} Jenny Sandison/{{flagicon|India|1931}} Leela Row (7)
- Most titles Open era: {{flagicon|IND}} Nirupama Mankad (5)
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book|last1=Majumdar|first1=Boria|last2=Mangan|first2=J. A.|title=Sport in South Asian Society: Past and Present|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317998945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWfdAAAAQBAJ&q=All+India+Championships+tennis&pg=PA118|language=en}}
- [http://www.tennisarchives.com/wedstrijdfiche.php?wedstrijdid=261 http://www.tennisarchives.com/All India Championships 1910–1956]
- [https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=tournament&accion=honour&pais=IND&nomTorneo=ALL+INDIA+CH.&descPais=INDIA&codpais=IND&stats=ALL+INDIA+CH.#datosDraw https://app.thetennisbase.com/All India Championships draws 1910–1979]
Category:Grand Prix tennis circuit
Category:Clay court tennis tournaments
Category:Grass court tennis tournaments
Category:Hard court tennis tournaments
Category:Tennis tournaments in India
Category:Defunct tennis tournaments in India
Category:Defunct sports competitions in India
Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1910
Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1982