The Orange Free State Championships[1] was a men's and women's international tennis tournament established in 1905 as the Orange River Colony Tennis Championships[2] and was played on outdoor clay courts at the Orange Free State Lawn Tennis Club, Orange Free State, South Africa until 1981.
| Orange Free State Championships | |
|---|---|
| Defunct tennis tournament | |
| Tour | ILTF Circuit |
| Founded | 1905 |
| Abolished | 1981 |
| Location | Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa |
| Venue | Orange Free State Lawn Tennis Club |
| Surface | Clay |
History
editThe first Free State tournament on record was played at Ramblers in 1905,[3] and was called the Orange River Colony Tennis Championships.[4] The championships were part of the Sugar Circuit (f.1962)[5] of tennis tournaments from the 1960s to 1980s.[6] In 1980 the tournament was ended due to the withdraw of sponsorship by South African Sugar Association.[7][8]
Venues
editThe original six Bloemfontein courts were built behind the Government's buildings, known as the Bloemfontein Tennis club,[9] it later changed its name to the Orange Free State Lawn Tennis Club.[10]
References
edit- ^ Robertson, Max (1974). "South Africa". The encyclopedia of tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. pp. 319–320. ISBN 0047960426.
- ^ "The History of Tennis in the Free State" (PDF). www.freestatetennis.co.za/. Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa: Orange Free State Tennis Association (OFSTA). p. 5. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ (OFSTA)
- ^ (OFSTA)
- ^ Robertson (1974)
- ^ Dewey, Glen (1980). THE LAST SUGAR TENNIS CIRCUIT END OF AN ERA By Glen Dewey (South African Sugar Association). The South African Sugar Journal. Vol 64. Mount Edgecombe, South Africa. p.10.
- ^ South African Sugar Journal (1980)
- ^ "South African Sugar Industry". SASA. The South African Sugar Association. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ (OFSTA)
- ^ (OFSTA)