ACT Open

The ACT Open[1] formally known as the Australian Capital Territory Open was a combined men's and women's hard court tennis tournament founded in 1929 as the ACT Championships or Australian Capital Territory Championships.[2] The tournament was organised by the Canberra Lawn Tennis Association and first played at at the Manuka Tennis Courts, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia It ran annually until 1968 as part of the ILTF Circuit, then part of the ILTF Independent Tour until 1977 when it was downgraded.[3]

ACT Championships
ACT Open
Defunct tennis tournament
TourILTF Circuit
Founded1929 (1929)
Abolished1978 (1978)
LocationCanberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
VenueManuka Tennis Courts (1942-69)
Canberra Tennis Centre (1970-2008)
SurfaceHard

History

The Australian Capital Territory Championships the most important tennis championship held in the Australian Capital Territory, was inaugurated in 1929.[4] In 1930 the first open women's singles event was held one year later.[2] The venue for the tournament for many years was the Canberra Lawn Tennis Association courts in the Manuka area of Canberra.[2] The event was originally played on outdoor hard cement tennis courts.[3]

With the onset of open tennis in 1968 this tournaments status began to decline. In 1969 following the start of the open era it became part of the ILTF Independent Tour (tournaments not aligned to the Grand Prix Circuit or WCT Circuit until 1977. In 1970 the tournament was moved from Manuka to the new Canberra Tennis Centre at Lyneham.[2] In 1978 downgraded to a Satellite tournament.[3] The tournament was not held from 1982 to 1984, and 1999 to 2003. It continued until 2006.[3] Today the tournament has survived in one form or another and is known as the Canberra Tennis International.[3]

The tournament was sponsored from 1970 until at least 1980 by Ampol, Patra Foods and W.D. and H.O. Wills.[2]

References
  1. "TENNIS Fifty years of the ACT Open". The Canberra Times. Canberra: Tove: National Library of Australia. 21 September 1980. p. 25. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  2. The Canberra Times
  3. "Tournaments:ACT Championships - ACT Open". The Tennis Base. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  4. "Big money for Canberra tennis". Weekly Times. Canberra: Tove: National Library of Australia. 2 July 1952. p. 58. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
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