National Lawn Tennis Championships of India

National Lawn Tennis Championships of India
Defunct tennis tournament
Tour	Grand Prix circuit
Founded	1910
Abolished	1999
Location	Various India
Surface	Clay, Grass, Hard

The National Lawn Tennis Championships of India, originally called the All India Championships, or the All India Lawn Tennis Championships and the Indian National Championships, was a combined (men's and women's) tennis tournament. It was played from 1910 until 1999. It was held in various cities in, India and was played outdoor on multiple surfaces, but mainly grass courts.

Ramanathan Krishnan won most men's singles championships with eight titles overall, and, during the pre-Open era Jenny Sandison and Leela Row won the most women's singles championships with seven titles each, while Nirupama Mankad won the most titles during the open era with five titles.

History

Lawn tennis in India can be traced back within the first decade of the establishment of the Wimbledon championships with early local championships being established in places like Punjab (1885) and Calcutta (1887). However, there was no national championships, in 1910 colonial officers of the British Raj established the All India Lawn Tennis Championships in Allahabad which was 10 years before the All India Tennis Association was founded. The championships staged both men's and women's singles play and also doubles. In 1946, the All-India Championships tournament was renamed the National Lawn Tennis Championships of India by the India Lawn Tennis Association. After World War 2 until the start of the open era, the event was often held over Christmas and new year and on a few occasions two events were held in a single year in January and December (sometimes winners are described as winning in a year in which an event started in late December, other times in the year the event finished in early January).

The tournament was hosted at different cities around India and was also played on different surfaces, such as grass courts (1910–59, 1964–66, 1969, 1970, 1973), hard courts (1967) and clay courts (1960–61, 1974–79). This tournament was also held in conjunction with the Northern India Championships for the years 1962 to 1967. In the open era the event became a minor event for Indian players.

Finals

Incomplete roll included:

Men's singles

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
All India Championships
1910	Edmund Atkinson	Lewis Deane	7–5, 7–5, 7–5
1911	H. W. Davies	John Rendall	?
1912	H. W. Davies (2)	H. Nelson-Wright	6–0, 6–3, 2–6, 4–6, 6–1(2)
1913	Edmund Atkinson	?	?
1914	Edmund Atkinson (2)	?	?
1915	?	?	?
1916	Mohammed Sleem	Udupi Diggavi Ranga Rao	6–2, 6–1
1917–18	Not held
1919	Mr.Nagu	?	?
1921	Edward Vivian Bobb	?	?
1922	Mohammed Sleem (2)	Harry Lewis-Barclay	8–6, 6–1, 6–1
1923	S.K. Mukerji	Sandford Wilson Bobb	6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
1924	Eric Burn Andreae	Sri-Krishna Prasada	8–6, 7–5, 7–5
1925	Eric Burn Andreae (2)	Jagat Mohan Lal	6–4, 6–3, 6–8, 6–4
1926	Edward Vivian Bobb (2)	Sri-Krishna Prasada	6–2, 4–6, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5
1927	Edward Vivian Bobb (3)	Dip Narain Kapoor	5–7, 7–5, 8–6, 6–3
1928–29	Not held
1930	Edward Vivian Bobb (4)	Dip Narain Kapoor	6–4, 5–7, 6–3, 6–2
1931	Dip Narain Kapoor	Ahad Hussain	3–6, 7–5, 5–7, 6–2, 6–1
1932	Dip Narain Kapoor (2)	Ahad Hussain	6–0, 6–2, 6–2
1933	Edward Vivian Bobb (5)	Sohan Lal	5–7, 3–6, 6–3, 6–1, 10–8
1934	Sohan Lal	Edward Vivian Bobb	6–2, 3–6, 6–1, 6–8, 6–2
1935	Josip Palada	Franjo Punčec	4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–2
1936	Ladislav Hecht	Roderich Menzel	2–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 5–5 ret.
1937	Edward Vivian Bobb (6)	Dip Narain Kapoor	6–4, 7–5, 6–3
1938	Dip Narain Kapoor (3)	Islam Ahmad	8–6, 6–4, 6–4
1939	Ghaus Mohammad	Tenkasi K. Ramanathan	6–1, 6–2
1940	Franjo Punčec	Yudishtra Singh	11-9. 6–4, 7–5
1941	Ghaus Mohammad (2)	Iftikhar Ahmed Khan	6–0, 6–3, 7–5
1942	Subba L.R. Sawhney	Prem Lal Pandhi	6–1, 6–1, 6–0
1943	Ghaus Mohammad (3)	Iftikhar Ahmed Khan	6–2, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3
1944	Hal Surface	Ghaus Mohammad	6–2, 6–4, 6–0
1945	Sumant Misra	B.R. Kapinipathy	9–7, 9–7, 5–7, 6–0
1946	Ghaus Mohammad (4)	Dilip Bose	7–5, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
1947	Sumant Misra (2)	Man-Mohan Bhandari	4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–0
National Lawn Tennis Championships of India
1948	Lennart Bergelin	Sumant Misra	8–6, 6–1, 6–4
1949	Dilip Bose	Sumant Misra	3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 8–6
1950	Felicisimo Ampon	Pedro Masip	5–7, 8–6, 8–6, 6–1
1951	Sven Davidson	Jaroslav Drobný	6–3, 6–3 7–5
1952	Sven Davidson (2)	Khan-Iftikhar Ahmed	6–3, 6–4, 8–6
1953	Sumant Misra (3)	Naresh Kumar	6–8, 2–6, 6–3, 9–7, 6–3
1954	Ramanathan Krishnan	Jack Arkinstall	6–2, 6–3, 7–5
1955	Jack Arkinstall	Ramanathan Krishnan	3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3
1956	Sven Davidson	Kurt Nielsen	6–4, 6–1, 15–17, 6–4
1957	Ramanathan Krishnan (2)	Naresh Kumar	6–4, 6–0, 8–6
1958	Ulf Schmidt	Ramanathan Krishnan	6–2, 6–2, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3
1959	Ramanathan Krishnan (3)	Naresh Kumar	6–2, 6–2, 6–1
1960	Ramanathan Krishnan (4)	Ulf Schmidt	6–3, 6–3 6–1
1961	Ramanathan Krishnan (5)	Carlos Fernandes	6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 7–5
India National and Northern India Championships
1962	Roy Emerson	Ramanathan Krishnan	6–4, 6–4, 6–3
1963	Ramanathan Krishnan (6)	Jaidip Mukerjea	6–4, 6–0, 6–3
1964	Ramanathan Krishnan (7)	Alan Mills	6–1, 6–3, 6–4
1965	Ramanathan Krishnan (8)	Martin Mulligan	w.o.
1966	Jaidip Mukerjea	Premjit Lall	4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–0
1967	Premjit Lall	Ramanathan Krishnan	3–6, 7–5, 5–7, 2–1 rtd.
National Lawn Tennis Championships of India
1968	Premjit Lall (2)
Open era
1969	Ilie Năstase	Premjit Lall	6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4
1970	Premjit Lall (3)	Alex Metreveli	9–7, 6–0, 5–7 6–3
1971	Jaidip Mukerjea (2)	Premjit Lall	7-5, 6-3, 6-3
1972	Gaurav Misra	Ramanathan Krishnan	4–6, 6–4, 8–10, 7–5, 6–2
1973	Vijay Amritraj	Ramanathan Krishnan	?
1974	Anand Amritraj	?	?
1975	Vijay Amritraj (2)	?	?
1976	Tom Gorman	?	?
1977	Ramesh Krishnan	?	?
1978	Ramesh Krishnan (2)	?	?
1979	Bidyut Goswami	?	?
1980	Sashi Menon	?	?
1981	Sashi Menon (2)	?	?
1982	Srinivasan Vasudevan	Jay Royappa	6-1, 6-1
1983	Nandan Bal	Enrico Piperno	4-6, 7-6, 7-6
1984	Nandan Bal (2)	Enrico Piperno	4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3
1985	Nandan Bal (3)	Enrico Piperno	6-4, 7-5
1986	Zeeshan Ali	?	?
1987	Zeeshan Ali (2)	?	?
1988	Zeeshan Ali (3)	?	?
1989	Zeeshan Ali (4)	?	?
1990	Leander Paes	?	?
1991	Zeeshan Ali (5)	?	?
1992	Gaurav Natekar	?	?
1993	Asif Ismail	?	?
1994	Mahesh Bhupathi	?	?
1995	Mahesh Bhupathi (2)	?	?
1996	Nitin Kirtane	?	?
1997	Marcus Hilpert	?	?
1998	Marcus Hilpert (2)	?	?
1999	Syed Fazaluddin	?	?

Women's singles

Year	Champion	Runner up	Score
All India Championships
1910	Mrs Kendall	Mrs Hutchinson	6–3, 6–3
1911	Miss Warburton	Miss Latham	(score?)
1912	Mrs Adams	Mrs Leslie-Jones	6–0, 6–3
1913	Miss Warburton	Mrs Leslie-Jones	6–4, 6–3
1914	Mrs Leslie-Jones	Mrs Fremantle	6–2, 6–0
1915–18	No event WW1
1919	Mrs Dickens	Mrs Simpson	6–1, 6–3
1920	Mrs Kellie	?	6–3, 9-11, 6–1
1921	Mrs Kemble	?	?
1922	Phyllis Howkins Covell	Dorothy Shepherd-Barron	6–3, 7–5 *
1923	Winifred MacClellan Keays	Mrs O'Neill	6–2, 6–3
1924	Yolande Mackinnon	Mrs T. Horn	6–3, 6–3
1925	Lena McKenna	Phyllis Cox Berthoud	6–2, 6–4
1926	Lena McKenna (2)	Miss Holden	6–3, 1–6, 6–1
1927	Jenny Sandison	Lena McKenna	8–6, 6–4
1928	Abandoned
1929	Jenny Sandison (2)	Elizabeth Ryan	?
1930	Jenny Sandison (3)	Lena McKenna	6–3, 6–0
1931	Leela Row	Lena McKenna	6–1, 6–1
1932	Jenny Sandison (4)	Leela Row	7–5, 6–3
1933	Jenny Sandison(5)	Leela Row	3–6, 6–2, 6–1
1934	Jenny Sandison (6)	Hyacinth Harvey-Johnston	6–2, 6–3
1935	Jenny Sandison (7)	Margaret Parrott	6–2, 6–3
1936	Leela Row (2)	Rosie Gibson	6–1, 6–0
1937	Leela Row (3)	Joan Fry Lakeman	2–6, 9–7, 6–2
1938	Leela Row (4)	Meher Dubash	6–1, 6–2
1939	Gaby Curtis	Laura Woodbridge	6–2, 6–8, 9–7
1940	Leela Row (5)	Laura Woodbridge	6–3, 6–2
1941	Leela Row (6)	Meher Dubash	6–4, 6–1
1942	Mrs. Massey	Leela Row	2–6, 7–5, 6–2
1943	Leela Row (7)	Meher Dubash
1944	Laura Woodbridge	Miss Maguire	6–1, 6–1
1945	Laura Woodbridge (2)	Doreen Sansoni	3–6, 6–2, 6–0
1946	Doreen Sansoni	Sarah Mody	6–1, 10–12, 6–0
1947	Khanum Haji Singh	Laura Woodbridge	w.o.
National Lawn Tennis Championships of India
1948	Khanum Haji Singh (2)	Promilla Khanna	6–4, 6–4
1949	Khanum Haji Singh (3)	Promilla Khanna	3–6, 9–7, 6–3
1950	Pat Canning Todd	Gussie Moran	6–2, 6–2
1951	Dorothy Head	Joy Mottram	6–3, 4–6, 6–3
1952	Urmila Thapar	Laura Woodbridge	6–0, 4–6, 7–5
1953	Rita Davar	Joy Mottram	6–2, 6–1
1954	Rita Davar (2)	Urmila Thapar	0–6, 6–2, 6–2
1955	Rita Davar (3)	Urmila Thapar	6–4, 6–1
1956	Althea Gibson	Saichiko Kamo	6–2, 6–2
1957	Khanum Haji Singh (4)	Promilla Khanna Singh	7–5, 7–5
1958	Promilla Khanna Singh	Leela Panjabi	6–2, 6–3
1959	Dechu Appaiah	Khanum Haji Singh	2–6, 7–5, 6–2
1960	Margaret Hellyer	Mimi Arnold	4–6, 7–5, 6–0
1961	Margaret Hellyer (2)	Dechu Appaiah	6–4, 6–2
India National and Northern India Championships
1962	Lesley Turner	Madonna Schacht	6–1, 6–3
1963	Rattan Thadani	Cherri Chettyanna	6–2, 6–2
1964	Jill Rook Mills	Lakshmi Mahadevan	6–3, 4–6, 6–4
1965	Marion Law	Nirupama Vasant	6–4, 6–4
1966	Tiiu Soome	Marion Law	6–2, 3–6, 6–4
1967	Rena Abzhandadze	Aleksandra Ivanova	6–4, 6–0
National Lawn Tennis Championships of India
1968	Aleksandra Ivanova	Nina Turkheli	6–1, 6–2
Open era
1969	Judith Dibar	Alice Luthy Tym	6–2, 6–1
1970	Aleksandra Ivanova (2)	Irena Škulj	6–1, 6–3
1971	Nirupama Mankad	Kiran Peshawaria	4–6, 6–1, 6–1
1972	Marilyn Tesch	Nirupama Mankad	6–4, 6–2
1973	Udaya Kumar	Kiran Peshawaria Bedi	6–2, 7–5
1974	Susan Das	Nirupama Vasant Mankad	(score?)
1975	Nirupama Mankad (2)	Susan Das	7–5, 6–4
1976	Nirupama Mankad (3)	Susan Das	6–4, 6–3
1977	Nirupama Mankad (4)	Susan Das	6–4, 6–3
1978	Nirupama Mankad (5)	Amreeta Ahluwalia	3–6, 6–1, 8–6
1979	Amreeta Ahluwalia	Anu Peshawaria	6–4, 6–0
1980	Amreeta Ahluwalia (2)	Anu Peshawaria	6–0, 6–3
1981	Amreeta Ahluwalia (3)	Anu Peshawaria	6–1, 6–4
1982	Anu Peshawaria (4)	Namratha Appa Rao	6–4, 6–3

Venues

The tournament was staged in different cities for the duration of its run they included:

Host city	years staged
Allahabad	1910–1938, 1944, 1946–1949, 1950–1951
Bombay	1939, 1974, 1977, 1979
Calcutta	1940, 1952–1953, 1955, 1957–1959, 1963 1964–1965, 1967, 1975, 1978
Baroda	1941
Lahore	1942
Indore	1943
Madras	1944, 1945, 1954
New Delhi	1956, 1960–1962, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1980, 1982
Bangalore	1976
Pune	1981

Records

Included:

Men's singles

• Most titles: Ramanathan Krishnan (8 titles)
• Most finals: Ramanathan Krishnan (10 finals)
• Most consecutive titles: Edward Vivian Bobb (3 titles) (1927–27, 1930)
• Most consecutive finals: Ramanathan Krishnan, (4 finals) (1957–60)
• Most matches played: Vijay Amritraj (26)
• Most matches won: Vijay Amritraj (24)
• Most consecutive matches won: Edward Vivian Bobb (13)
• Most editions played: Premjit Lall (11)
• Best match winning %: Edward Vivian Bobb, 92.8%, (pre-open era)
• Best match winning %: Vijay Amritraj, 92.3%, (open era)
• Oldest champion: Jack Arkinstall, 34y 7m & 26d (1954)
• Youngest champion: Ramanathan Krishnan, 16y 8m & 17d (1954)

Women's singles

• Most titles Pre Open era: Jenny Sandison/ Leela Row (7)
• Most titles Open era: Nirupama Mankad (5)

See also

• Indian Open

Sources

• http://www.tennisarchives.com/All India Championships 1910–1956
• https://app.thetennisbase.com/All India Championships draws 1910–1979