The 1887 men's tennis season was a world wide tennis calendar composed of 149 major, national, professional, regional, provincial, state, county, city and regular tournaments.
The season began in January in Napier, New Zealand, and ended in December in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Season summary Prior to the creation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the establishment of its world championship events in 1913 the Wimbledon Championships, the U.S. National Championships, the Irish Lawn Tennis Championships and the Northern Championships were considered by players and historians as the four most important tennis tournaments to win.
In the first big tournament of the year Ernest Renshaw wins a second Irish Lawn Tennis Championships title, in Dublin after a five-year break beating three-time defending champion Herbert Lawford in four sets. At the Wimbledon Championships Herbert Lawford avenges his Irish championships defeat by beating Ernest Renshaw for the title in five sets. At the Northern Championships in Liverpool, Harry Grove the defending champion defeats George Ernest Dixon Brown in five sets. In the United States Dick Sears wins a seventh consecutive US National Championship beating Henry Slocum in three sets.
In March in the United States the inaugural Southern California Championships is staged and in New Zealand the Auckland Tennis Championships are held for the first time. In April in England Ernest Lewis defeats Edward Lake Williams in three sets for his first British Covered Court Championships. In May in South Asia, Charles Edward De Fonblanque defeats Edward George Farquharson in the Ceylon Championships held on the clay courts in Nuwara Eliya.
In early June at the Scottish Championships held in Edinburgh, Harry Grove of England defeats two-time defending champion Patrick Bowes-Lyon in five sets. In late June at the Welsh Championships in Penarth Irish player Ernest Browne wins a second title after English player James Baldwin retired after two sets to love down. In July in North America at the Canadian National Championships held in Toronto, Canada Charles Smith Hyman wins a third title defeating Lawrence H. Baldwin in three sets. In August the Nottinghamshire Championships are staged for the first time in England; this event is known today as the Nottingham Open.
In October in the United States Philip Shelton Sears representing Harvard wins his first national Intercollegiate Championships at New Haven, Connecticut defeating G.G. Shaw jr in three sets.Paret, Jahial Parmly; Allen, J. P.; Alexander, Frederick B.; Hardy, Samuel [from old catalog (1918)]. Spalding's tennis annual. New York, NY, USA: New York, American sports publishing company. p. 140. In late December in Australasia at Christchurch, New Zealand, Percival Clennell Fenwick wins his second national New Zealand Championships defeating Richard Dacre Harman in five sets.
Season results 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.* Indicates challenger
Notes 2:Tournaments in italics were events that were staged only once that season
Key Important. National Provincial/State/Regional County Local
January DateTournamentWinnerFinalistSemi-finalist Quarter-finalist30 December 1886 – 2 January 1887.Napier OpenFarndon ParkNapier, New ZealandSurface?Singles – Doubles Percival Clennell Fenwick6–2 6–0 6–4 E.P. Hudson
February No events
March DateTournamentWinnerFinalistSemi-finalist Quarter-finalist1–3.St Augustine Lawn Tennis Club TournamentSt. Augustine, United StatesWood (i)Singles – Doubles Thomas S. Beckworth6–2 1–6 5–7 6–4 6–4 Albert Empie Wright 10–21.Auckland Tennis Championships, Auckland, New ZealandHard (outdoor)SinglesDoubles William Morrison 4–6, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2 Henry Andrew Morey 19–24.Yeomans, Henry, Patricia. (1987). Southern California Tennis Champions Centennial 1887–1987. p. 17.Southern California ChampionshipsCasa Blanca ClubRiverside, California, United StatesAsphaltSinglesDoubles William H. Young C. Trevelia
April DateTournamentWinnerFinalistSemi-finalist Quarter-finalistApril. Bengal Lawn Tennis ChampionshipsCalcutta Cricket GroundCalcutta, Bengal, IndiaGrassSinglesDoubles Gilbert Mahon5–7, 8–7, 7–8, 8–6, 6–1 Mr. Heckle 9 – 12 April.Geelong Easter Handicap Tournament Geelong LTCGeelong, AustraliaHard AsphaltSingles – Doubles Ernest Raleigh6–2 6–0 6–4 John Stanley Barton Orr W.L. Hewitt J.W. Colville Beckett Weigall 21 – 23 April.British Covered Court ChampionshipsHyde Park LTC London, Great BritainWood (i)Singles – Doubles Ernest Wool Lewis6–2, 6–2, 6–1 Andrew George Ziffo Herbert Chipp Frank Still Anthony Sophocles Constantinidi Ernest George Meers William John Bush-Salmon George Nelson StenhouseChallenger Edward Lake Williams
May DateTournamentWinnerFinalistSemi-finalist Quarter-finalist1–3 May. Ceylon ChampionshipsNuwara Eliya Lawn Tennis ClubNuwara Eliya, CeylonClaySingles – Doubles Charles Edward De Fonblanque 6–4, 6–4, 6–2 Edward George Farquharson Henry Edwin Caldecott Thomas W. Gallwey P. Burrows John Melville Boustead J.C. Rogers 24 April- 5 May. Fitzwilliam Club ChampionshipsFitzwilliam LTC Dublin, Ireland Hard Willoughby Hamilton 6–3 6–4 6–0 Grainger Chaytor Ernest Henry Greene J.F. Hughes Tom Campion Ernest Edward Knox Henry A. Robinson Cameron Dean-ShuteChallenger J. T. Maxwell2–9 May.Dublin University ChampionshipsDublin IrelandHard Manliffe Goodbody2–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–0 Tom Campion Grainger Chaytor James Edgar Lefroy Stein Harold Mahony William Woodcock Goodbody Robert Edward Shaw John Thomas Waller 4–10 May. New South Wales ChampionshipsAssociation Cricket GroundMoore ParkSydney, AustraliaSingles – Doubles Charles William Cropper6–0, 6–0, 5–7, 8–6 Robert D. Fitzgerald Harold Stuart Fox Walter John Carre Riddell Charles Theophilius Metcalfe Edward Alworth Mitchell Merewether Haworth William Bartram Reginald Charles (Rex) Allen 19 – 20 May. West of Scotland ChampionshipsPollockshields ScotlandGrass John Galbraith Horn6–3, 8–6, 6–2 J.T.C. MacKinlay James Hill Conyers Alfred Aitken Thomson C.A. Gairdner George Kerr Henry Guy Nadin H.J. Younger 19 - 20 May.Western Counties ChampionshipPollockshields Athletic ClubPollockshields, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland GrassSingles - Doubles Herbert Bowes-Lyon 6-4 7-5 6-3 Archibald Thomson Walter William Chamberlain James Hill Conyers James Cleland Burns T. Leigh MacLachlan Edward Mortimer Shand Richard Millar Watson 27 May.Young America Cricket Club InvitationYoung America Cricket ClubStanton, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States GrassSingles – Doubles Howard Augustus Taylor6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 Robert Livingston Beeckman Clarence Munroe Clark Oliver Samuel Campbell 23 – 28 May. Fitzwilliam Purse Fitzwilliam LTCDublin, Ireland Grass Patrick Bowes-Lyon 8–6 8–6 6–3 Harry Grove Manliffe Francis Goodbody Cameron Dean-Shute Robert Cully Barton Tom Campion Edward Bernard Greene John Morgan Richards Francis 23 – 28 May.Irish Lawn Tennis ChampionshipsDublin, IrelandGrass Ernest Renshaw 7–5, 6–2, 9–7 Willoughby James Hamilton Arthur John de Courcy Wilson Harold Segerson Mahony Grainger Chaytor W. H. Clark Thomas Harrison Griffiths Herbert WilberforceChallenger Herbert Lawford 27 – 30 May.Marine and Field Club Tennis Tournament Marine and Field Club, Bath Beach, Brooklyn, New York City USHard Asphalt Grant Notman6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 5–6, 6–4 J.W. Raymond Carroll J. Post Jr. Oliver Samuel Campbell Starks Battersball
June