1974-2006

Formation

BWTA was formed in June 1974 during the Beckenham Grass Court Championships and its first Committee Meeting was held on 12 June in a Cricket Pavilion. Sue Mappin was the first chairperson. 

A group of women tennis players decided to make an impression in the male dominated British tennis scene.  British women, Ann Jones, Virginia Wade, Sue Barker, had at that time been successful (and outshone their male counterparts) on the international scene, yet there was a male National Team Manager, and the international ladies felt that they wanted their views heard.

In 1974 there were no official rankings and selection to tournaments and seeding positions were often unfair and not made on merit.  In its early days BWTA ran the ranking system for British players which was later taken over by the LTA and became the ratings system.

The original annual list of all the events and tournaments in the UK was set up and managed by BWTA.

The membership grew from 50 in 1974 to over 1400 in 2000.

25^th Anniversary

BWTA celebrated its first twenty-five years in style on Saturday 29 May 1999. Members were invited to apply for all or any of the events, which were a Silver Mixed Doubles Tournament, a visit to the Wimbledon Museum and the Anniversary Dinner attended by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester at The All England Club.

Sponsorships

BWTA is indebted for the support it received from the LTA and from among others, Bernard & Sheila Warren and Wardray Premise Ltd.

The matchplay programme

Crawley Warren supported BWTA’s junior programme from the mid eighties, with one-day events throughout the Country for girls in various age-groups from 9 & Under to 15 & under, and a Masters event for all the one-day winners held annually at Bisham Abbey.

BWTA was delighted that Bernard and Sheila Warren personally continued the sponsorship to support one and two day matchplay tournaments for all ages. In 2001, 300 matches were played in this series; in 2002 this number rose to 416 matches; and in 2003 over 350 matches were played.

The Matchplay programme was adapted to accommodate the new LTA ranking and rating system.

Events for 15-25 year olds

BWTA saw the need to keep girls playing after junior days and was indebted to the generous sponsorship from Bob Wardley, son of former BWTA Vice-President, Kay Wardley.  Two 2-day events for young ladies between 15 and 25 were well supported by players who no longer had  the wide choice of events that were available to juniors.

Tate & Lyle

The remarkable 26 year long tennis partnership between Tate & Lyle and BWTA came to an end in October 2001. Over this period Tate & Lyle sponsored some twenty or so one-day ladies doubles tournaments each year thereby annually giving more than 1,700 ladies of club standard the opportunity to compete in a fun and sociable atmosphere. The winners of each event qualified for the Masters which was staged annually at The All England Club Wimbledon along with a singles event for national and international standard players. 
See "An appreciation of Tate & Lyle" including Roll of Honour.

A comprehensive Tournament Programme

BWTA annually organised tournaments throughout England and Wales for women and girls of all standards.

BWTA Championship

Held at The All England Club, Wimbledon, this weekend tournament was one of the Association's annual highlights.  Events include a ladies singles, together with the masters events of the Ladies Doubles and Veterans Circuits.

Ladies Doubles and Veterans

BWTA continued to run the series of one-day Ladies Doubles events and a programme of one-day veterans events with Masters events for the winners of each of the one-day events at the All England Club, Wimbledon and in 2006 at the Bucks Indoor Tennis Centre in High Wycombe.

Christmas Tournament

One of the popular highlights of the BWTA year was the annual Christmas Tournament held at The Queen’s Club in December when international ladies joined juniors to make up a tournament for all standards and ages. The Ladies Christmas Singles Event became part of the LTA British Tour from 2002-2005.  The junior events were for girls 16 & under, 14 & under and 10 & under.  
See Ladies Christmas Singles winners. 

Tennis Parties

In June 2002 BWTA organised Jubilee Tennis Parties for girls 13 & under at 23 venues throughout England and Wales with just under 270 girls with little or no previous experience taking part in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.  The success of these parties inspired organisers to continue the format.  In 2003 the parties became known as Spring Parties and over 500 girls took part.  Some of the party-goers are now taking part in tournaments.  The success of the parties continued and new venues were added to the party calendar.

BWTA Challenge

The BWTA Challenge, four 2-way sixteen draw tournaments plus a Masters, for girls 17 & under ran for seven years but was dropped in 2005 from the BWTA calendar due to increased events run by the LTA for girls in this age group.

BWTA Day at the DFS Classic

Each year since 2002  BWTA organised for its members and their guests to spend a VIP day at the Ladies DFS Classic Event at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham.

BWTA Day at the Red Letter Day at Nottingham

In 2006 BWTA members and guests spent a VIP day at the ATP event in Nottingham.

LTA Affiliation

BWTA was affiliated to the Lawn Tennis Association and was represented on the LTA Council by Sue Livingston.

BWTA Committee

The BWTA Committees over the years, headed by President Sue Livingston, comprised a huge wealth of tennis experience drawn from many parts of the UK.

BWTA Members have been privileged to play an important role at The All England Club during The Championships handling the accreditation of players and their entourages.

The End

 BWTA ceased to operate after the completion of the 2006 Calendar of events.