- Source: Midland Counties Championships
The Midland Counties Championships also known as the Midland International was a grass court tennis tournament held at Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club, Edgbaston, Great Britain from 1882 to 1977.
History
The first unofficial championship was established in 1881 at the Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club, Edgbaston near Birmingham, England as part of the Edgbaston Open Tournament. In 1882 the Midland Counties Challenge Cup became a separate event and ran for seventy two editions until 1977. The event featured both men's and women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles competitions and was classified as an open tournament.
The men' event was succeeded by the Birmingham Open in 1978 a $125k event as part of ITF Grand Prix Circuit that year, it was staged only once, it was later revived in 1991 as an indoor tournament for that season only.
The women's was succeeded five years later by a new event called the Edgbaston Cup a Toyota International Series event on the Toyota Series Circuit.
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
=Included:
(Incomplete roll) Notes: * This edition was part of the Edgbaston Open Tournament.
= Women's singles
=(Incomplete roll)
References
Sources
"Abolition of Challenge Rounds". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. EVENING POST, VOLUME CIII, ISSUE 65, 20 MARCH 1922.
Cole, Matt. (2012) "At The Heart of the Game: The History of Edgbaston Priory Club" (PDF). edgbastonpriory.com. Edgbaston Priory Club.
Myers, A. Wallis (1903). "Edgabston". Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad. New York, USA: Scribner's sons.
Nieuwland, Alex (2017). "Tournament – Midland Counties Championships". www.tennisarchives.com. Friesland, Netherlands: Tennis Archives.
Further reading
Ayre's Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, 1908 to 1938, A. Wallis Myers.
British Lawn Tennis and Squash Magazine, 1948 to 1967, British Lawn Tennis Ltd, UK.
Dunlop Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, G. P. Hughes, 1939 to 1958, Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd, UK
Lawn tennis and Badminton Magazine, 1906 to 1973, UK.
Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annuals and Compendia, Lowe, Sir F. Gordon, Eyre & Spottiswoode
Spalding's Lawn Tennis Annuals from 1885 to 1922, American Sports Pub. Co, USA.
The World of Tennis Annuals, Barrett John, 1970 to 2001.
External links
http://www.tennisarchives.com/tournament/midland counties championships