History of the club
FORMATION OF A TENNIS CLUB - Largely due
to the initiative of Councillor James Brodie and Mr A. J. Pow, a well-attended
meeting was held in the Council Chambers, on Saturday, for the purpose
of considering the proposal for forming a lawn tennis club. After an exchange
of views, the proposal was agreed to, and the folowing were appointed
office-bearers of the new club :- President, Councilor James Brodie;
vice-president, J. Paris Steele; captain, Mr Ainslie Gracie;
secretary and treasurer, Mr H. J. Pow.
Extract from the Courier, 2nd April 1920
As we can see from the extract above, the club was formed in April, 1920. The following month, the Courier was reporting that " ... the membership fee was fixed at 15s. 6d. It was also reported that the membership had already reached the gratifying figure of sixty." At the time there were 3 courts, laid down with red ash, which had been constructed the previous year. By the end of 1920 the other 3 courts had been added. A pavilion was also constructed in 1920; this was rebuilt in 1938.
A lot of work was done on the courts between autumn 2005 and spring 2006. All 6 courts were relaid with an all-weather polymeric surface. In addition, floodlights were installed on two of the courts. These improvements make it possible to play tennis all year round.
The annual East Lothian Open Tennis Tournament began in 1920, when it was first run by the North Berwick Tennis Club in conjunction with the Royal Burgh of North Berwick Town Council. It has been run every year since then, except for an eight-year break, from 1940 until it was revived in 1948. In 1987, the tournament was nominated and chosen to receive the Scottish National Tennis Award for the "Tournament of the Year", an award that it won again in 2001.