The Bristol Open, originally known as the West of England Championships and the West of England Lawn Tennis Championships is a defunct tennis tournament that was originally hosted in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, England, from 1881 till 1895. It was staged briefly in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England, in 1896, then from 1920 onwards was hosted again in Bristol annually until the tournament ceased in 1989. The tournament was played on grass courts in the weeks preceding the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...

usually June.

History

The West of England Championships were originally held in Bath from 1881 until 1895; the tournament then transferred to Bristol in 1896. In 1897 the event ceased for period of 24 years. It was reinstated in 1920 and was played in Bristol for the remainder of its run. At the start of the

Open Era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today a ...

the tournament was part of the independent tour circuit. In 1971 the event was renamed the Bristol Open; the men's event became part of the

World Championship Tennis World Championship Tennis (WCT) was one of the principal organizing bodies of men's professional tennis headquartered at the WCT Lakeway World of Tennis facility, Austin, Texas, United States from 1968 to 1989. It administered the WCT Circuit a w ...

tour and the women's was part of the International Grand Prix. The women's event stopped in 1973 and was not held again. Although the men's tournament also stopped in 1973, it was reinstated in 1980 and became part of the

Grand Prix tennis circuit The ITF Grand Prix Circuit was a professional tennis tour for male players founded in 1970 as the ILTF Grand Prix Tennis Circuit it was administered by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and ran annually until 1989 when it and the rival ...

until 1989.

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.

Men's singles

Women's singles

Men's doubles

References

External links

ITF Search
(search Bristol) {{Men's tennis seasons Grand Prix tennis circuit Sports competitions in Bristol Defunct tennis tournaments in the United Kingdom 1881 establishments in England Recurring sporting events established in 1881 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1989 1989 disestablishments in England