City Tournament Archives: 1970-1999

Supporting and promoting tennis in the Ann Arbor area

ANN ARBOR AREA COMMUNITY TENNIS ASSOCIATION

The Ann Arbor City Tennis Tournament

In 1919, 24 players met in the first Ann Arbor City Tennis Tournament, a single-elimination competition held at West Park. The tournament became an annual event in 1927 (except for the period of 1942-1954).

The heyday of the tournament was in the mid-1970s when tennis was booming all over the country. The men's singles category had at least 128 players and the men's doubles had about 96 teams in the 1970s. In those days, play for singles, doubles, and mixed doubles began on one weekend, continued throughout the week, and finished the following weekend. Amazingly, many players competed in all 3 events.

According to former tournament director Gordon Boettcher, who also played 19 times between 1967-1995, huge crowds would come out to watch. In an article in the Ann Arbor News, he said, "I'd say there would be between 300 and 400 people watching. And (the crowd) would get bigger and bigger as the championship matches got closer. They'd go crazy!"

See the List of Winners & Finalists from 1919 to the present.

City Tournament Archives: 1970-1999