The European Open was a real tennis tournament held annually at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, England. It was a ranking point tournament for the purposes of qualifying for the Real Tennis World Championship.[1]
| European Open | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Event name | European Open |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Abolished | 2015 |
| Editions | 13 |
| Location | London United Kingdom |
| Venue | Lord's Cricket Ground |
| Category | IRTPA |
| Draw | 8S |
| Current champions (2015) | |
| Singles |  Robert Fahey |
The event was first established in 1995 as an invitational tournament in Bordeaux, with the first edition won by Lauchlan Deuchar. It continued to be hosted on an irregular basis at Fontainebleau and Paris in 1996 and 1998 before moving to the United Kingdom in 2003 at Prested Hall. In 2005, the event became an Open and moved to its permanent venue at the Lord's Cricket Ground.[2] Since the event became an Open, it has only been won by Robert Fahey and Camden Riviere, both of whom would be World Champions during their career. Notable matches included the 2008 final, the first match that Riviere would win against Fahey in their careers across all competitions[3] and the 2013 final, with Riviere overcoming Fahey in 5 sets and three and a half hours.[4] The event has not been held since 2015 due to a lack of sponsorship.
Past finals
edit| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invitational era | |||
| 1996 | Lachlan Deuchar |
 Mike Gooding |
|
| 1996 | Mike Gooding |
Chris Bray |
|
| 1997 | Not held | ||
| 1998 | Nick Wood |
Chris Bray |
|
| 1999–2002 | Not held | ||
| 2003 | Robert Fahey |
Chris Bray |
6/0 6/2 6/1 |
| 2004 | Not held | ||
| Open era | |||
| 2005 | Robert Fahey |
Nick Wood |
6/4 6/5 6/2 |
| 2006 | Robert Fahey |
Steve Virgona |
6/3 6/3 6/0 |
| 2007 | Robert Fahey |
Ruaraidh Gunn |
5/6 6/2 6/1 6/1 |
| 2008 |  Camden Riviere |
Robert Fahey |
6/3 6/2 6/2 |
| 2009 | Robert Fahey |
Camden Riviere |
6/3 6/3 4/6 1/2 |
| 2010 | Not held | ||
| 2011 | Robert Fahey |
Bryn Sayers |
3/6 6/3 6/0 6/5 |
| 2012 | Camden Riviere |
Bryn Sayers |
6/1 6/1 6/2 |
| 2013 | Camden Riviere |
Robert Fahey |
6/4 5/6 3/6 6/2 6/3 |
| 2014 | Not held | ||
| 2015 | Robert Fahey |
Chris Chapman |
6/0 6/5 6/3 |
References
edit- ^ "Tournaments with ranking points". International Real Tennis Professionals Association. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "European Open Singles Championship" (PDF). Tennis and Rackets Association. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "Riviere Wins European Open". United States Court Tennis Association. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "Camden Riviere retains the European Open title". Tennis and Rackets Association. Retrieved 6 October 2024.