# 1879 men's tennis season

The 1879 men's tennis season was composed of the fourth annual pre-open era tennis season and incorporated 26 tournaments. The 1879 Wimbledon Championships was won by John Hartley defending champion Patrick Francis Hadow, defending champion could not participate in the Challenge Round. This year saw the inaugural Irish Championships that in its early stages of development was considered as important that of the Wimbledon Championships the event was won by Vere St. Leger Goold who defeated in Charles David Barry in the final by Charles David Barry 8–6, 8–6. Important this year was the staging of six hard court tournaments some of which included the Dublin University Championships the East Gloucestershire Championships held in Cheltenham Great Britain, Nice Tennis Tournament in Nice, France and the first tournament to be held outside of Europe in Australia with the Victorian Championships.
The tour started in Nice, France in May and ended in Melbourne, Australia in December.

## 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 April

No events

### February

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 14 - 15 May. | Nice Tennis Tournament St. Philippe Rink Nice, France Hard Singles - Doubles | Henry Lyle Mulholland 6-3, 6-1 | Mr. Harrison | | |

### May

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 28 April - 2 May. | Earlsfort Terrace Tournament Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin, Ireland Asphalt | Vere Thomas Saint Leger Goold ? | J.C. Roberts | | |
| 14 - 15 May. | Bournemouth CLTC Spring Tournament Bournemouth CLTC Dean Park Cricket Ground Bournemouth, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Sir Hubert James Medlycott ? | ? | | |

### June

| Week | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 16 June | Irish Lawn Tennis Championships Dublin, Ireland Grass Singles | Vere St. Leger Goold 8–6, 8–6 | David Charles Barry | Henry Evelyn Toombe John Jameson Cairnes | F J Joyce J J Sherrard L McDonnell A Hodgson |
| 30 Jun -30 Jul | Grand National Lawn Tennis Tournament Hendon, London, Great Britain Grass Singles | Edgar Lubbock 6-1 6-0 8-6 | Lestocq Robert Erskine | | |

### July

| Date | Tournament | Winner | All comers' finalist | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist |
| 7–16 July | Wimbledon Championship London, Great Britain Grass Singles | John Hartley walkover | Vere St. Leger Goold | Vere St. Leger Goold Bye Cecil Francis Parr | Charles Gilbert Heathcote C D Barry G E Tabor |
| 7–16 July | Wimbledon Championship London, Great Britain Grass Singles | Challenge round Patrick Francis Hadow | | Vere St. Leger Goold Bye Cecil Francis Parr | Charles Gilbert Heathcote C D Barry G E Tabor |
| 14-15 July. | Staffordshire County Cricket Club Lawn Tennis Tournament. Lichfield, Great Britain Grass Singles | Henry W. J. Gardner 6-4 6-3 | E. W. Burnett | William Arthur Briscoe J.H. Lonsdale | N. Bailey J.C. Keene W.W. Jacks |
| 14-15 July | Essex County Cricket Club Tournament Knighton, Essex, Great Britain Grass Singles | Nalton Womersley 6-4 6-5 | Dale Womersley | | |

### August

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| August | Scottish Championships St Andrews, Great Britain Grass Singles | Leslie Balfour-Melville def | ? | | |
| 27 July- 2 August. | County Kildare Tournament Naas Military Barracks Naas, County Kildare, Ireland Grass - | Algernon Ambrose Michael Aylmer 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. | James G. Kennedy | | |
| 29 July - 2 August. | County Kildare Closed Tournament Naas Military Barracks Naas, County Kildare, Ireland Grass - | George Edward Devere Kennedy 6-4, 6-5 | H. Mitchell | | |
| 6 - 8 August. | County Galway LTC Tournament County Galway Lawn Tennis Club Lisbeg, County Galway, Ireland Grass - | W.G. Eyre ? | W. Peebles | | |
| 12 - 13 August. | Armagh Lawn Tennis Tournament Archery Lawn Tennis Club Armagh, Ireland Grass Singles - Doubles | F.L. Cope ? | Robert Shaw Templer | | |
| 15–16 August | Dorchester Kingston Park Tournament Kingston Park CLTC Kingston Park, Kingston Maurward House, Dorchester, Dorset, England Grass Singles | Montague Hankey 6-5 6-5 6-5 | Captain James J. Glascott | Captain James J. Glascott James H. Medlycott | Captain Bradford James C. Pipon |
| 22–25 August | 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 |

### September

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 2 September. | Teifiside LTC Championship Teifiside Lawn Tennis Club Newcastle Emlyn, Wales Grass Singles - Doubles | Gwyn Saunders Davies ? | Frank Miles | | |
| 3–9 September | South of Ireland Championships Limerick, Ireland Grass Singles | Joseph Fritz James Heffernan Considine 6–4, 6–3 | Henry Evelyn Tombe | Joseph Fritz James Heffernan Considine T. J. Johnston | Major Richard de Ros Rose W. Ryan Charles R B Heaton-Armstrong |
| 3–9 September | South of Ireland Championships Limerick, Ireland Grass Singles | Henry Evelyn Tombe Mrs. R B Heaton-Armstrong 6-3, 6-5, 6-2 | Mr. Baker Miss Annie Rice | Joseph Fritz James Heffernan Considine T. J. Johnston | Major Richard de Ros Rose W. Ryan Charles R B Heaton-Armstrong |
| 2 - 5 September. | Yare LTC Tournament Yare Lawn Tennis Club Fritton, Great Yarmouth Surface ? Singles - Doubles | Percy Lucas ? | Julian Marshall | | |
| 23 September. | North of Ireland Championships Ormeau Cricket Ground Belfast, Northern Ireland Grass Singles - Doubles | Captain Short 6-5, 4-6, 6-3 | M. Short | | |

### October

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 30 September - 4 October. | Bournemouth CLTC Autumn Tournament Bournemouth CLTC Dean Park Cricket Ground Bournemouth, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Edmond Bennet Brackenbury ? | Sir Hubert James Medlycott | | |
| 7–11 October. | East Gloucestershire Championships Cheltenham, Great Britain Hard (Asphalt) Singles | William Renshaw 6-4 6-3 5-6 6-4 | Vere St. Leger Goold | William H J Gardner | E. W. Burnett E. Manning Mr. Arnold |
| 20–23 October. | Dublin University Championships Singles - Doubles | Henry James Daly ? | Ernest Edward Knox | Charles William O’Hara Mease Henry James Daly | Charles William O’Hara Mease Thomas Haines Abrahall G.H. Bailey |

### November

No events

### December

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 22–28 December | Victorian Championships Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Hard (Asphalt) Singles | A. F. Robinson 2-1 (sets) | H. M. Strachan | | E. McKenzie W. Officer ? | |

## Event staged date unknown

| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| ?. | Choceň Tournament Choceň, Bohemia Grass - | ? ? | ? | | |

## List of tournament winners

Note: Important tournaments in bold
* Vere St. Leger Goold—Irish Championships, Dublin (Earlsfort), Waterford—(3)
* Henry James Daley—Dublin—(1)
* A. F. Robinson—Melbourne—(1)
* Algernon Ambrose Michael Aylmer—Naas (1st)—(1)
* Captain Short—Belfast—(1)
* Dale Womersley—Knighton—(1)
* Edgar Lubbock—Hendon—(1)
* Edmond Bennet Brackenbury—Bournemouth(Oct)—(1)
* F.L. Cope—Armagh—(1)
* George Edward Devere Kennedy—Naas (2nd)—(1)
* Gwyn Saunders Davies—Newcastle Emlyn—(1)
* Henry W. J. Gardner—Stafford—(1)
* Henry Lyle Mulholland—Nice—(1)
* John Hartley—Wimbledon Championships—(1)
* Joseph F. J. H. Considine—Limerick—(1)
* Leslie Balfour-Melville—St Andrews—(1)
* Montague Hankey—Dorchester—(1)
* Percy Lucas—Great Yarmouth—(1)
* William Renshaw—Cheltenham—(1)
* Sir Hubert James Medlycott—Bournemouth (May)—(1)
* W.G. Eyre—Lisbeg—(1)

## Rankings

Source: The Concise History of Tennis
Karoly Mazak World Rankings for 1879 :
| # | Player |
| 1 | John Hartley (ENG) |
| 2 | Vere St. Leger Goold (Ireland) |
| 3 | Cecil Parr (GBR) |
| 4 | William Renshaw (ENG) |
| 5 | George Tabor (GBR) |
| 6 | Edgar Lubbock (GBR) |
| 7 | Lestocq Robert Erskine (SCO) |
| 8 | Herbert Lawford (SCO) |