# 1877 men's tennis season

The 1877 men's tennis season was composed of 5 tournaments for the second edition pre-open era lawn tennis season. Before the birth of Open Era (tennis), most tournaments were reserved for amateur athletes. In 1874 British Major Walter Clopton Wingfield patented with the House of London Crafts the invention of a new game, which consisted of a shaped field hourglass, divided in the middle by a suspended net. The game was packaged in a box containing some balls, four paddles, the net components and the signs to mark the field. The game was based on the rules of the old real tennis and, at the suggestion of Arthur Balfour, was called lawn-tennis. The official date of birth of the court would be February 23, 1874. In 1877 all were amateur tournaments, among them was the first 1877 Wimbledon Championship, the inaugural event was held from 9 to 19 July and saw as the inaugural winner Spencer Gore. The tournament would remain for a period of 35 years the sole major tennis tournament in the world until the International Lawn Tennis Federation introduces its three World championship series events in 1913 that continue until 1923, when the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association (f. 1881) only agrees to join the ILTF on the basis of two compromises: the title 'World Championships' would be abolished and wording would be 'for ever in the English language'. Wimbledon would still retain its prestigious and historical status, and become one of the four Grand Slam tennis events from 1924.
Whilst Wimbledon was the most prominent event of this inaugural new sport season in Ireland two other tournaments were also staged, one taking place in Waterford and the other was University of Dublin Lawn Tennis Championships.

## 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/Regional/State
* County
* Regular

### January to June

No events

### July

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 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 ? | | | |
| 19 July | Wimbledon Championships All England Lawn Tennis Club Wimbledon, Middlesex, England Grass Singles | Spencer Gore 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 | William Marshall | Charles Gilbert Heathcote Bye | F.N. Langham Julian Marshall Lestocq Robert Erskine Bye |

### August

No events

### September

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 3 September | Waterford Annual Lawn Tennis Tournament Waterford, Ireland Grass Singles | Vere St. Leger Goold 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 | H. H. Elliott | Vere St. Leger Goold J. C. Roberts | H. H. Elliott John M. Brown Mr. Moore |

### October

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 8 October | Dublin University Championships Dublin, Ireland Hard (Asphalt) Singles | Richard Manders ? | George Henry Shannon | George Henry Shannon Charles Dubedat | Robert Edward Shaw |

### November to December

No events

## List of tournament winners

Important tournament in bold
* Spencer Gore–Wimbledon–(1)
* Richard Manders– Dublin–(1)
* Clement Edward Cottrell–Esher–(1)
* Vere St. Leger Goold–Waterford–(1)