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Western India Championships
Western India Championships
Defunct tennis tournament
Founded	1888; 137 years ago
Abolished	1980; 45 years ago
Location	Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Venue	Bombay Gymkhana Club
Surface	Grass/Clay

The Western India Championships^[1] also known as the Western India Tennis Championships,^[2] was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament founded in 1888 as the Bombay Gymkhana Club Tournament. The championships were played at the Gymkhana Club grounds, in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. The championships ran until 1980 before they were discontinued.

History

Tennis was introduced to India in the 1880s by British Army and Civilian Officers.^[3] In 1888 the Western India Championships were founded as the Bombay Gymkhana Club Tournament and played at the Bombay Gymkhana Club, Bombay, Maharashtra, India. In 1900 the tournament became known as the Western India Tournament, and in 1912 it was officially named the West India Championships.^[4] The championships were staged until 1980 when they were abolished.

In 1947, 1955 and 1959 this tournament was held in conjunction with the All India Hard Court Championships. It was also held jointly with the Cricket Club of India tournament for 1970 and 1975.

Finals

Men's singles

(incomplete roll).^[5]

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
Bombay Gymkhana Club Tournament
1888	Francis Reid Ward	T.C. Sangster	2–6, 6–5, 6–3
1889	Alfred Bruce Sangster	Arthur Knapp Oliver	6–1, 5–6, 6–4
1890	Eustace Ferrers Nicholson	Arthur Elliott Barton	6–5, 6–5, 6–4
1891	Eustace Ferrers Nicholson (2)	Arthur Elliott Barton	6–4, 3–5, 6–2, 6–1
1892	Captain C.S. Smith	Pelham George von Donop	8–6, 6–4, 6–1
1894	Captain C.S. Smith (2)	Robert Montagu Poore	6–3, 6–2, 6–1
1897	Herbert E. Cheetham	Captain John Glennie Greig	6-5, 6-2
1898	Captain John Glennie Greig	Herbert E. Cheetham	6-5, 6-3
1899	Arthur Cyril Ransome	Percy F. Fisher	4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–1
Western India Tournament
1900	Percy F. Fisher	W. Reid	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
1902	Francis J. Marshall	W. Reid	6–5, 6–4, 6–3
1903	W. Reid	Herbert E. Cheetham	6–1, 6–3, 6–0
1904	W. Reid (2)	Ralph Kidd	6–0, 3–6, 6–3
1905	Herbert E. Cheetham (2)	Ralph Kidd	?
1906	John C. S. Rendall	Herbert E. Cheetham	6-3, 6-1
1907	W. Reid (3)	T.C. Lucas	6-4, 6-3
1909	J. Stuart Milne	A.H. Glendenning	6-5, 6-3
1910	Richard Dubourdieu	W. Reid	?
1911	F.R.R. Brooke	J. Stuart Milne	6-3, 6-3
Western India Championships
1912	Hassan Ali Fyzee	Captain J.T. Lucas	7-5, 6-4
1913	Richard Dubourdieu (2)	Udupi D. Ranga Rao	6–4, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1
1914	Hassan Ali Fyzee	Udupi D. Ranga Rao	6–4, 2–6, 6–2, 6–3
1915	Udupi D. Ranga Rao	N.F. Naoroji	6-3, 6-2
1916	Udupi D. Ranga Rao (2)	Zenzo Shimidzu	0–6, 6–0, 6–1
1917	Udupi D. Ranga Rao (3)	Hassan Ali Fyzee	6-3, 6-0
1918	Zenzo Shimidzu	Udupi D. Ranga Rao	6-4, 6-1
1919	John C. S. Rendall	Zenzo Shimidzu	10–8, 4–6, 6–2, 9–7
1920	Udupi D. Ranga Rao (4)	Lewis Seymour Deane	6-4, 6-2
1921	N.B. Bhagwat	Tawara Tsumoru (Tsumio) Takeshi	6–4, 2–6, 6–1
1922	Udupi D. Ranga Rao (5)	Ernest Taylor Annett	6-3, 6-2
1923	Sunao Okamoto	Udupi D. Ranga Rao	6-1, 6-1
1924	Mr. Chunilal	R.A. Wagle	6-0, 6-2
1925	Sunao Okamoto (2)	Thomas William Brough	6-0, 6-3
1926	Syed Mohammad Hadi	Udupi D. Ranga Rao	2-6, 7-5 6-1
1927	Alexander Maurice Dudley Pitt	R.S. Raya Iyer	8–6, 5–7, 6–1
1928	Alexander Maurice Dudley Pitt (2)	Morley Fox	6-4, 6-2
1929	Alexander Maurice Dudley Pitt (3)	Morley Fox	6-4, 6-2
1930	Buster Andrews	M. Kamruddin	6-4, 6-3
1931	N.R. Suvarna	B.H. Khardekar	6–2, 3–6, 6–3
1932	Jiro Satoh	Edward Vivian Bobb	3–6, 6–3, 6–3
1933	Giorgio de Stefani	Edward Vivian Bobb	6-4, 6-3
1934	Edward Vivian Bobb	John Edward Tew	7-5, 7-5
1935	Josip Palada	Franjo Punčec	6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
1936	Roderich Menzel	Ladislav Hecht	6-1, 6-1
1937	Antoine Gentien	Alan Stedman	7-5, 6-2
1938	Subba L.R. Sawhney	Bernard Thomas Blake	6–4, 2–6, 6–4
1939	Edward Vivian Bobb (2)	Syed Abdul Azim	3–6, 6–1, 6–3
1940	Edward Vivian Bobb (3)	Syed Abdul Azim	2–6, 6–1, 6–2
1941	Finn Bekkevold^[6]	Charles William Barker	7-5, 6-2
1942	Ghaus Mohammed Khan	Prem Lal Pandhi	6-2, 7-5
1943	S.S. Indulkar	R.N. Pandit	6–3, 2–6, 6–2
1944/1945	Not held (due to World War II)
1946	Narendra Nath	/ Jimmy Mehta	6-3, 6-3
Western India & All India Hard Court Championships
1947	Narendra Nath (2)	Khan-Iftikhar Ahmed^[7]	6-4 6-4 6-3
Western India Championships
1948	Torsten Johansson	Lennart Bergelin	6-4 ret.
1950	Robert Abdesselam	Philippe Washer	6–2, 9–7, 6–2
1952	Louis Straight Clark	Władysław Skonecki	8–6, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 6–2
1953	Narendra Nath (3)	Ramanathan Krishnan	6–4, 7–5, 6–0
1954	Jack Arkinstall	Sumant Misra	6–4, 1–6, 6–4
Western India & All India Hard Court Championships
1955	Ramanathan Krishnan	Jack Arkinstall	6–2, 0–6, 3–6, 6–1, 6–3
Western India Championships
1956	Ramanathan Krishnan (2)	Jack Arkinstall	5–7, 7–5, 6–0 ret.
1957	Jaroslav Drobný	Jack Arkinstall	6–4, 6–3, 6–3
1958	Ramanathan Krishnan (3)	Billy Knight	6–1, 6–2, 6–4
Western India & All India Hard Court Championships
1959	Ramanathan Krishnan (4)	Giuseppe Merlo	6–4, 6–3, 6–4
Western India Championships
1960	Ramanathan Krishnan (5)	Warren Woodcock	6–2, 6–3, 6–3
1962	Ramanathan Krishnan (6)	Billy Knight	8–6, 6–3, 6–1
1965	Shyam Minotra	Ravi Venkatesan	13–11, 9–7, 6-2
1966	Premjit Lall	Osamu Ishiguro	3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 8–6
1967	Jaidip Mukerjea	Bob Carmichael	5–7, 4–6, 6–2, 6–3 6-3
1968	Shiv Prakash Misra	Premjit Lall	1–6, 8–6, 9–7, 4–6, 6–3
↓ Open Era ↓
1969	Shyam Minotra	Mieczysław Rybarczyk	6-1, 7-5

Women's singles

(incomplete roll)

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
Western India Championships
1924	Lena McKenna	Mrs T.E. Cunningham	6–8, 6–3, 6–3
1925	Gladys Tedman Bayley	Meherbai Bhabha Tata	6–1, 1–6, 6–1
1926	Phyllis Howkins Covell	Annie Nepean Clayton	6-0, 6-0
1927	Phyllis Howkins Covell (2)	R. Wallis	6-4, 6-3
1928	Phyllis Howkins Covell (3)	G. Evans	6-4, 6-1
1929	Mrs M.P. McDougall	Olive Stebbing	7-5, 6-1
1930	Phyllis Howkins Covell (4)	Leila Row	6-2, 6-1
1931	Leila Row	Laura Woodbridge	6-0, 6-1
1932	Laura Woodbridge	Esther Bonjour	6-4, 6-4
1933	Lucia Valerio	Leila Row	6-4, 6-3
1934	Leila Row (2)	Esther Bonjour	6-2, 6-1
1935	Jenny Sandison	Leila Row	3–6, 6–2, 6–4
1936	Jenny Sandison Boland (2)	Hyacinth Harvey-Johnston	6-3, 6-3
1937	Leila Row (3)	Meher Dubash	6-1, 6-2
1938	Lolita Simon Foottit	Mrs E.H. Edney	6–3, 3–6, 6–4
1939	I.S. Hannay Williams	S. Emery	6-4, 6-0
1940	Leila Row (4)	Khanum Haji	6-2, 6-2
1941	Leila Row (5)	Khanum Haji	6-3, 6-3
1942	Khanum Haji	Leila Row	6–8, 6–2, 9–7
1943	Leila Row (6)	Laura Woodbridge	6-3, 6-4
1946	Leela Row Dayal (7)	Laura Woodbridge	6-2, 6-0
Western India & All India Hard Court Championships
1947	Leela Row Dayal (8)	Khanum Haji Singh	5–7, 6–2, 6–3
Western India Championships
1948	(Not held)
1949	Khanum Haji Singh (2)	Laura Woodbridge	6-4, 6-4
1950	Gem Hoahing	Leela Row Dayal	6-0, 6-1
1952	Shirley Fry	Doris Hart	2–6, 6–4, 6–2
1953	Leela Row Dayal (9)	Laura Woodbridge	6–3, 7–9, 6–3
1954	Urmila Thapar	Laura Woodbridge	6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Western India & All India Hard Court Championships
1955	Rita Davar	Bridget Zachariassen	6-3, 6-1
Western India Championships
1956	Totta Zehden	Inge Reh Vogle	6–3, 2–6, 6–4
Western India & All India Hard Court Championships
1957	Khanum Haji Singh (3)	Mrs Sarah Mody	6-2, 6-3
Western India Championships
1958	Bridget Zachariassen	Laura Woodbridge	6–4, 2–6, 8–6
1959	Mrs Sarah Mody	Leela Punjabi	2–6, 9–7, 10-8
1960	Mimi Arnold	Margaret Hellyer	6–8, 6–3, 6–2
1961	Margaret Hellyer	Dechu Appaiah	6-3, 6-4
1962	Pia Balling	Dechu Appaiah	6-1, 6-0
1965	Lakshmi Mahedevan	Leela Punjabi	6-2, 10-8
1966	Carol-Ann Prosen	Nirupama Vasant	6–3, 3–6, 6–4
1968	Nirupama Vasant	Rattan Thadani	6-2, 6-4
↓ Open Era ↓
1969	Nirupama Vasant (2)	Judith Dibar	8-6, 6-3
Western India Championships & Cricket Club of India Tournament
1970 (Feb)	Nirupama Vasant (3)	Irena Škulj	3–6, 6–0, 6–3
1970 (Dec)	Nirupama Vasant (4)	Kiran Peshawaria	6-2, 6-3
Western India Championships
1971	(Not held)
1972	Nirupama Vasant Mankad (5)	Marilyn Tesch	6-4, 6-1
1973	Udaya Kumar	Susan Das	6-2, 6-4
1974	Susan Das	Nirupama Vasant Mankad	6-2, 6-4
1975	Nirupama Vasant Mankad (6)	Udaya Kumar	6-1, 6-1
1976	Nirupama Vasant Mankad (7)	Lakshmi Mahedevan	6-1, 6-0
Western India Championships & Cricket Club of India Tournament
1977	Nirupama Vasant Mankad (8)	Amreeta Ahluwalia	6–4, 6–0
Western India Championships
1978	Amreeta Ahluwalia	Nirupama Vasant Mankad	5–7, 6–4, 8–6
1979	Nirupama Vasant Mankad (9)	Amreeta Ahluwalia	6-3, 6-2
1980	Nandini Rangaraja	Namratha Apparao	7-5, 6-0

Event names

Bombay Gymkhana Club Tournament (1888–1899)
Western India Tournament (1900–1911)
Western India Championships (1912–1980)

References

^ "The Illustrated Weekly of India". The Illustrated Weekly of India. 91. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press: 57. July 1970.
^ "Clark Triumphs in West India Net Play. Straight Clark of Los Angeles beat Vladislav Sckonecki exiled pole, in the men's singles final of the Western India Tennis Championships in Bombay". Long Beach Independent. Long Beach, California, United States: Newspaper Archives. 25 February 1952. p. 59.
^ "History". aitatennis. New Delhi, India: All India Tennis Association. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
^ Datta, Pratip Kumar (2001). "Women's Tennis in India". A Century of Indian Tennis. New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 79. ISBN 978-81-230-0783-0.
^ "Tournaments:Bombay – Western India Championships". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
^ "Players: Finn Bekkevold". www.itftennis.com. International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
^ "Khan-Iftikhar Ahmed: Overview | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 25 May 2023.