The Kingston International Championships[1] also known as the Kingston International Invitation and the St. Andrew International Invitation[2] was a men's and women's clay court then later hard court tennis tournament established in 1932 as the Kingston International Tournament[3] and first played at St. Andrews Club,[4] then later Sabina Park, then at the Liguanea Club, Kingston, St. Andrews Parish, Jamaica until 1970.
History
The Kingston International tournament was established in 1932 and first played at the St. Andrews Club, Kingston, Jamaica.[5] It later moved to Sabina Park, Kingston,[6] then later at the Liguanea Club, Kingston. In the 1960s the tournament was known as the St. Andrew International Invitation.[7] In 1966 the first and only Jamaican tennis player to win the men's event was Richard Russell when he defeated Arthur Ashe in three sets. The tournament was part Caribbean Circuit which was a major feature of the international tennis scene in from the 1930s to early 1970s. The tournament was staged annually until 1970 when it was discontinued. In 1971 left with the lack of an international tournament in Kingston the Jamaica LTA in cooperation with Rothmans Pall Mall (Jamaica) Ltd launched a replacement event for this one. It was called the Rothmans of Jamaica Tennis Spectacular and was first played in December 1971 on indoor courts at the National Arena.
^"Savitt Takes Singles Title" (Subscription). Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Canada: Newspaper Archives. 5 March 1952. p. 20.
^"Christine beats Darlene". Nottingham Evening Post. Nottinghamshire, England: British Newspaper Archive. 24 February 1961. p. 16. Retrieved 4 March 2023.