Orange Free State Championships

Tennis tournament

Orange Free State Championships

Defunct tennis tournament
Tour| ILTF Circuit
Founded| 1905; 119 years ago (1905)
Abolished| 1981; 43 years ago (1981)
Location| Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa
Venue| Orange Free State Lawn Tennis Club
Surface| Clay

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.

## History

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The 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

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The 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

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1. ^ Robertson, Max (1974). "South Africa". The encyclopedia of tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. pp. 319–320. ISBN 0047960426.
2. ^ "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.
3. ^ (OFSTA)
4. ^ (OFSTA)
5. ^ Robertson (1974)
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ South African Sugar Journal (1980)
8. ^ "South African Sugar Industry". SASA. The South African Sugar Association. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
9. ^ (OFSTA)
10. ^ (OFSTA)

* v
* t
* e

Sugar Tennis Circuit

* Border Championships (East London)
* Eastern Province Championships (Port Elizabeth)
* Natal Sugar Open Championships (Durban)
* Orange Free State Championships (Bloemfontein)
* Western Province Championships (Cape Town)

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