The South of France Championships its original name or Championnats du Sud de la France also known as the Championships of the South of France and the Championship of Southern France was a
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
event held from 1895 through 1971 it was originally played at the
Nice Lawn Tennis Club in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...
, France. It was one of the tournaments of the
French Riviera tennis circuit.
History
Lawn tennis was introduced to
French Riviera
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from ...
by English, who decided to holiday on the
Cote d'Azur
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation "Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
after
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
vacationed there during the late 1800s. The Riviera season was usually December through to March and a number of events would be staged in Nice the South of France Championships was considered the best of these early continental tournaments other events founded around this time included the Nice Championships, the Nice Lawn Tennis Club Championships and later the Nice International.
Nice Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1890 at Place Mozart. In 1895 the South of France Championships tournament began, the dates the event was held fluctuated between February, March and April annually the club and championships changed location to Parc Imperial Avenue Suzanne Lenglen in 1923. It was one of the earliest events open to international players, the tournament survived for a period of 76 years until 1971.
Finals
Notes: 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) in some tournaments not all. * Indicates challenger
Men's singles
Women's singles
Records
Men's singles
Source: The Tennisbase included
*Most titles:
Laurence Doherty, (8)
*Most consecutive titles:
Laurence Doherty, (7)
*Most finals:
Laurence Doherty, (8)
*Most consecutive finals:
Laurence Doherty, (7)
*Most matches played:
Pierre Darmon, (39)
*Most matches won:
Pierre Darmon, (33)
*Most consecutive match wins:
Anthony Wilding
Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...
, and
Laurence Doherty, (19)
*Most editions played:
Georges Goven, (12)
*Best match winning %:
Laurence Doherty and
Reginald Doherty (100%)
*Longest final:
Jacques Brichant
Jacques "Jacky" Brichant (28 March 1930 – 9 March 2011) was a Belgian tennis player. He was ranked world No. 9 for 1957. Brichant was a clay court specialist and won many clay court tournaments in Europe.
Brichant has played the most Davis ...
v
Bobby Wilson, result: 9–11, 6–3, 6–2, 7–9, 6–4 (63 games), (1957)
*Shortest final:
Armando Vieira
Armando Vieira (born 11 April 1925) is a Brazilian retired tennis player. His best achievement was reaching quarterfinals of the 1951 Wimbledon Championships.
In June 1951 he won the singles title at the Dutch International Championships after ...
v
József Asbóth
József Asbóth (; 18 September 1917 – 22 September 1986) was a Hungarian tennis player. Born to a family of railway workers, he is best remembered for being the first Hungarian and first player from Eastern Europe to win a Grand Slam singl ...
, result: 6–1, 6–1 (14 games) (1953)
*Shortest final:
Sergio Tacchini v
Jean-Noël Grinda, result: 6–4, 4–0 retired (14 games) (1964)
*Title won with the fewest games lost,
Anthony Wilding
Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...
, (12), (1908)
*Oldest champion:
Gordon Lowe, 38y 8m and 23d, (1923)
*Youngest champion:
René Lacoste, 19y 8m and 9d, (1924)
See also
*
Monte-Carlo Masters
*
Open de Nice Côte d'Azur
References
Sources
*
* Ayre's Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, A. Wallis Myers. UK.
* Dunlop Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, G.P. Hughes, 1939 to 1958, Published by Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd, UK.
* Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annuals and Compendia, Lowe, Sir F. Gordon, Eyre & Spottiswoode.
External links
Nice Lawn Tennis ClubTennisbase The South of France Championships-Roll of Honor
{{French Riviera Circuit
Clay court tennis tournaments
Defunct tennis tournaments in France