New Zealand Championships

The New Zealand Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament founded in 1885 in Napier, New Zealand also known as the New Zealand National Lawn Tennis Championships or the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association Championships. The championships were organised by Tennis New Zealand, and played in various locations during its run that ended in 2020.

History
In December 1885, the first New Zealand Championships were held at Farndon Park, in the small town of Clive, near Napier. The championships were organised by the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association, which was formed in Napier.

The championships were held in numerous locations throughout the course of their history. In 1907 the edition of the tournament was valid as the Australasian Championships grand slam event. The championships were not held from 1915 to 1918 due to World War I and also from 1941 to 1944 during World War II.

In 1973 the event was sponsored by the oil company BP and was known as the BP New Zealand Championships for one edition only. The event continued to be held through till 2020 when it was discontinued. The tournament was played almost exclusively on grass courts from its inception until 1988 when it switched to hard courts.

The winners of the first gentlemen's singles title was Percival Fenwick, and the ladies singles was won by Sarah Lance. The final winner of the men's singles title was Finn Tearney and the women's singles was won by Paige Hourigan. The towns where the championships were held included Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hastings, Mount Eden, Miramar, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston, Timaru and Wellington. From 1983 the event was held permanently in Wellington.

Event names
The event was first known as the New Zealand National Lawn Tennis Championships or the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association Championships. It was later shortened to just New Zealand Championships and historically sometimes referred to as the New Zealand Senior Championships. In 1973 the tournament was sponsored by the oil company BP and was branded as the BP New Zealand Championships.