# 1878 men's tennis season

The 1878 men's tennis season was composed of the third annual pre-open era tour. It now incorporated 15 tournaments staged in Great Britain and Ireland the Wimbledon Championships was won by challenger Patrick Francis Hadow defeating the defending champion Spencer Gore.
It began in April in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales and ended in October in Bournemouth, Dorset, England.

## Summary

This early pre open era tour began in April 1878 with Teifiside Lawn Tennis Club Tournament on grass played at Newcastle Emlyn, Wales the club is still open today. In May a spring tennis tournament was held at the Bournemouth Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club on Dean Park Cricket Ground, Bournemouth, England the club held a second event in October this year.
In July the most important event of the year the 1878 Wimbledon Championships was won by the challenger Patrick Francis Hadow who beat Spencer Gore in the all comers final. In August the inaugural Scottish Championships was won by James Patten MacDougall. In September at the inaugural County Wicklow Championships the tournament was won by a Captain Hughes. In September at the South of Ireland Championships held Wicklow in Ireland, the Limerick Cup was won by Vere St. Leger Goold.

## Calendar

Notes 1: Challenge round: the final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921), in some tournaments not all.
Notes 2:Tournaments in italics were events that were staged only once that season
Key
* Important
* National
* Provincial/State/Regional
* County
* Local/other

### January to March

No events

### April

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 21 - 24 April. | Teifiside LTC Championship Teifiside Lawn Tennis Club Newcastle Emlyn, Wales Grass Singles - Doubles | Gwyn Saunders Davies ? | Dacre Tyler | | |

### May

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 21 - 24 May. | Bournemouth CLTC Spring Tournament Bournemouth CLTC Dean Park Cricket Ground Bournemouth, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Edmond Bennet Brackenbury 3 sets to 2 | Sir Hubert James Medlycott | | |

### July

| Date | Tournament | Winner | All comers' finalist | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist |
| July. | All Ireland Lawn Tennis Championships All Ireland Lawn Tennis Club Champion Ground Lansdowne, Dublin, Ireland. Grass Singles | ? | ? | | |
| 12 July | Championship of the Esher LTC Esher Lawn Tennis Club Esher, Surrey, England Grass Singles | Clement Edward Cottrell ? | ? | | |
| 9–19 July | Wimbledon Championship London, Great Britain Grass Singles | Patrick Francis Hadow 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 | Lestocq Robert Erskine | Herbert Lawford | Charles Gipps Hamilton Arthur Thomas Myers |
| 9–19 July | Wimbledon Championship London, Great Britain Grass Singles | Challenger round Spencer Gore 7–5, 6–1, 9–7 | | Herbert Lawford | Charles Gipps Hamilton Arthur Thomas Myers |
| 24 July. | Staffordshire County Cricket Club Lawn Tennis Tournament. Staffordshire County Cricket Ground Lichfield, Staffordshire, England Grass Singles | Jonas Henry William Gardner ? | | | |

### August

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 12–19 August | Scottish Championships Edinburgh, Great Britain Singles | James Patten MacDougall | | | |

### September

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 6 September. | Armagh Lawn Tennis Tournament Armagh Lawn Tennis Club Armagh, Ireland Grass Singles - Doubles | W.F. Templer ? | Robert Shaw Templer | | |
| 8–9 September | County Wicklow Championships Bromley, County Wicklow, Ireland Grass Singles | Henry Evelyn Tombe ? | Captain Hughes ? | Captain Hughes George Gordon Tombe | S. H. Butcher Augustine Lefroy George Gordon Tombe |
| 16–17 September | Waterford Tournament Waterford, Ireland Grass Singles | Vere St. Leger Goold ? | J. M. Brown | Henry Joseph Gallwey J. C. Roberts | Patrick Joseph Gallwey William Joseph Gallwey Pierce Barron-Newell |
| 23 September. | Newon Abbott Lawn Tennis Tournament Newton Abbot Archery and Lawn Tennis Club South Devon Cricket Club Ground Newton Abbot, Devon, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Rev. William Hughes ? | W. Sandilands | | |
| 26–30 September. | South of Ireland Championships Limerick Cricket Club Limerick, Ireland Grass Singles | Vere St. Leger Goold 8–6, 8–6 | William Henry Darby | William Henry Darby H H Eliott | Joseph Fritz James Heffernan Considine Robert Howden Kelly Charles Mounoir Sumner |
| 26–30 September. | South of Ireland Championships Limerick Cricket Club Limerick, Ireland Grass Singles | Heffernan Considine Helena Considine 6-3, 6-5, 6-2 | Robert Howden Kelly Miss Lumley | William Henry Darby H H Eliott | Joseph Fritz James Heffernan Considine Robert Howden Kelly Charles Mounoir Sumner |

### October

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| October. | Moy and Charlemont LTC Tournament Moy and Charlemont Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club Moy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland Singles | Robert Baron Templer ? | S. Phipson | Robert Baron Templer H. Ringwood | Archibald Alexander Hamilton H. Ringwood Robert Shaw Templer |
| 7–12 October | Dublin University Championships Dublin, Ireland Hard (Asphalt) Singles | James Jackson Sherrard ? | William Morgan Jellett | Henry James Daly ? William Morgan Jellett | Henry James Daly Richard Manders George Henry Shannon |
| 10 October. | Bournemouth CLTC Autumn Tournament Bournemouth CLTC Dean Park Cricket Ground Bournemouth, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Hubert James Medlycott ? | | | |

### November to December

No events

## List of tournament winners

Important tournament in bold
* Patrick Francis Hadow – Wimbledon-(1)
* W.F. Templer – Armagh-(1)
* Edmond Bennet Brackenbury – Bournemouth 1st-(1)
* Sir Hubert James Medlycott – Bournemouth 2nd-(1)
* Henry Evelyn Tombe – Bromley-(1)
* James Jackson Sherrard – Dublin-(1)
* James Patten MacDougall – Edinburgh-(1)
* Clement Edward Cottrell– Esher-(1)
* Jonas Henry William Gardner–Lichfield-(1)
* William Henry Darby – Limerick-(1)
* Robert Baron Templer –Moy-(1)
* Gwyn Saunders – Newcastle Emlyn-(1)
* Rev. William Hughes – Newton Abbott-(1)
* Vere St. Leger Goold – Waterford-(1)

## Rankings

Source: The Concise History of Tennis, 6th edition, 2016
Karoly Mazak World Rankings for 1878 :
| # | Player |
| 1 | Patrick Francis Hadow (ENG) |
| 2 | Spencer Gore (ENG) |
| 3 | William Marshall (GBR) |
| 4 | Lestocq Robert Erskine (SCO) |
| 5 | C.G. Hamilton (GBR) |