| British Hard Court Championships | |
|---|---|
| Defunct tennis tournament | |
| Event name | British Hard Court Championships (1968–70, 1978, 1980–83) Rothmans British Hard Court Championships (1971–74) Coca-Cola British Hard Court Championships (1975–76) Rover British Clay Court Championships (1996–99) |
| Tour | ILTF (1968–70) Grand Prix circuit (1970–76, 1978, 1980–83) WTA Tour (1968, 1971–76, 1995–96) |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Abolished | 1999 |
| Location | Torquay (1924–26) Bournemouth (1927–83, 1995–99) Cardiff (1996, women) |
| Surface | Clay |
The British Hard Court Championships was a Grand Prix tennis and WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1968 to 1983 and 1995 to 1999. The inaugural edition of the tournament was held in 1924 in Torquay, moving to the West Hants Tennis Club in Bournemouth, England in 1927 and was held there until 1983. The 1977 and 1979 editions were cancelled due to lack of sponsorship.[1] In 1995 the event was revived at Bournemouth as a women's WTA tournament but was only played there that year.[2] The women's final edition in 1996 was held in Cardiff, Wales. The tournament was played on outdoor clay courts.[3] Bournemouth was one of the world's major tournaments, second only to Wimbledon in England and on the same level as Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg.[3] In the pre-war era, it was regarded as the most important event outside the four Grand Slams. Fred Perry is the record holder with five consecutive titles, from 1932 through 1936.[2]