The West Hants Club (often known simply as West Hants) is a sports and fitness club situated in Bournemouth, Dorset in the south of England. The club is primarily a tennis club but also incorporates a gym, swimming pool and squash and racquetball courts.
The club is also notable for having held the first 'open' event of tennis' Open Era, a tournament that admitted both amateurs and professionals to compete.[3] The Hardcourt Championships was one of 12 to be granted a privileged status as the host of professional tennis.[4]
West Hants hosted the men's tournaments at the Bournemouth International from 1996 to 1999, the only British event held on clay.[2] The tournament was won by Albert Costa in 1996 and Félix Mantilla in 1997 and 1998. Adrian Voinea emerged victorious in 1999 before the tournament relocated to Brighton and was staged on hard courts. Greg Rusedski was the most successful British player when he reached the semi-finals in 1997 losing to Carlos Moyá.[5]
References
^ abc"Club History". The West Hants Club. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
^Roberts, John (14 September 1997). "Rusedski runs out of gas". Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2010.