The ladies were by no means ignored during this period. The first Ladies’ Championship had taken place at the Lawn in 1883 and was won by Miss Bradshaw, but due to a lack of sufficient entries, the next championship was not held until 1891, when Miss Osborne of Sutton began a run of successes through 1894, defeating Mrs. Smith of Ottawa 3 times and then Mrs. Whitehead of Brantford at Ottawa.
The First Tournament of the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, the August 3, 1881 edition of the Toronto Globe reported the following: “Today at 2 o’clock the long promised Lawn Tennis Tournament, under the auspices of the Toronto Club, commences on the grounds, 148, Front Street. His honour the Lieutenant-Governor and Mrs. Robinson will be present, and will open the proceedings. This is the first tournament in the Dominion, and it is hoped it will be a success. The first match is for the All-Comers’ Championship, the prize for which is a very handsome silver cup.”
The Toronto Lawn Tennis Club was established in 1876, mainly through the exertions of Mr. T. S. Plumb, where the grounds at 147 Front Street were obtained.
In 1890, the Canadian Lawn Tennis Association was formed and naturally, since the Toronto Lawn was the prime mover behind the formation and organized its initial meeting for July 1, at the Queen’s Hotel in Toronto, the Toronto Lawn hosted an open tournament for the delegates, won by Mr. Martin of Montreal, to celebrate the occasion. The Association held it’s first championship on September 2, 1890 – and where else, but at the Toronto Lawn. The winner was Mr. Tanner of Buffalo, but needless to say, the Toronto Lawn was well represented. Among the players from the Lawn were R.W.P. Matthews and Scott Griffin.
Ads promoting the 1925 university matches between Oxford-Cambridge and McGill-Toronto at Toronto Lawn Tennis Club.
1911 was a critical year in the history of the Lawn, because it was that year that the club seems to have decided to act on a proposal, which must have been considered certainly in 1908 and goes back to thee Annual General Meeting in 1900, with the motion that permanent grounds should be obtained. This was an offer for the sale of certain portions of the Pricefield Estate.
The 19-year-old Wimbledon champion played at the 1974 Canadian Open Tennis championships losing only six games in four rounds.
The 1973 Canadian Championships tournament was memorable for the first appearance in Toronto of the young sensational Swedish teenager, Bjorn Borg. He beat Ken Rosewall in three sets, but lost in the quarter-finals to Manuel Orantes.
Arthur Ashe, the ace of United States Davis Cup team, fought a losing battle against Australia’s Ray Ruffles during Canadian Open tournament at Toronto Lawn Tennis Club.
The two-court bubble acquired in 1969 was replaced by a three-court bubble, in order to provide winter tennis for more members.