Tournament

West of Scotland Championships

For several years during the early years of its existence the West of Scotland Championships tournament was held at Castle Wemyss, Wemyss Bay in Inverclyde; the castle was demolished in 1984. Subsequently, the main location for the tournament was usually Pollokshields, an area on the south side of Glasgow.

The women did not play for the West of Scotland Championships title in the early years of this tournament’s existence, when the men’s version was open only to players resident in the western counties of Scotland.

A challenge round was in force at the South of Scotland Championships for several years during the early period of its existence. This meant that the defending champion did not have to take part in what used to be known as the all-comers’ event, but could sit out until the actual championship match.
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From: West of Scotland Championships - Wikipedia

History

The first West of Scotland Championships were held from 3-8 July 1882. That year, two men’s singles events were held during the meeting: the West of Scotland open event and the Western Counties Championship closed event. The West of Scotland Championships were won by England’s Walter W. Chamberlain, and the Western Counties Championship was won by Scotland’s Edward M. Shand.

In 1970, soon after the Open Era began, the tournament was renamed as the West of Scotland Open Tennis Championships. In 1972 the whisky company Hepburn & Ross, which makes the Red Hackle whisky brand, took over sponsorship and the tournament was called the Red Hackle West of Scotland Championships until 1980.

In 1981 the Glasgow-based distilling firm Robertson & Baxter Group took over sponsorship of the tournament, which was marketed as Lang’s West of Scotland Championships. Lang’s ceased its sponsorship of the tournament in 1983. The championships are still being held today as part of the circuit run by Tennis Scotland. The present name of the tournament is the West of Scotland Open Championships.

Tournament names

West of Scotland Championships (1882-1969)
West of Scotland Open Tennis Championships (1970-72)
Red Hackle West of Scotland Championships (1973-78)
Lang’s West of Scotland Championships (1981-83)
West of Scotland Open Championships (post-1983)
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