Brief Historical Review of Murcia 1919 Tennis Club

The origin of Lawn Tennis in Murcia dates back to 1908.

The lack of clues and lack of support failed to stop its practice by the most faithful fans who in 1919 constituted the Murcia Tennis Club, providing it with 2 courts and changing rooms. Five years later, problems with the landlord forced to find a new site, which was generously offered by D. Luis Pardo, President of the Real Murcia Football Club. Two courts were built in the Stadium of the Condomina.

Despite the difficulties of the Spanish Civil War, the enthusiastic Murcia players kept alive the flame of the entity. After the contest took place on these tracks important exhibition games, being well remembered that played in January 1945 the Italian Romanoni and Barcelona Bartroli.

The growing interest and demand for facilities led D. José Vergés, president in 1946, to build a new headquarters with three tracks, El Portillo de San Antonio. In it came to delight the Murcian public a very young Manuel Santana. In 1959, the Club returns to move for the last time, to what is its current location, in the vicinity of the Old Prison of Murcia.

The expansion of the Club, as of that moment, no longer has brake: in 1965, two new tracks are built, the number of 500 members is reached and national and international competitions begin to be held.

The period of greatest growth and expansion of the Club takes place under the mandate of Antonio Páez Saura who extends the number of tracks to 16, inaugurates new changing rooms for men and women, an Olympic swimming pool, children’s areas, a restaurant with social lounge, meeting rooms boards and offices. Also in sports during this period comes to the Tennis Club Murcia Davis Cup in 1975, a tie in which Spain beat Denmark by a partial 5 to 0. In 1977 it was the turn of the Grand Prix where he won José Higueras to the British Buster Mottran, and in which took place the first television color broadcast of tennis in Spain.

In the years 1988 and 2000, Davis Cup returned to Murcia Tennis Club in historic qualifiers against Brazil and Italy that concluded with two important victories of Spain.

Throughout its history, the Club celebrates many other numerous championships: individual and team Spain, Galea Cup, Fed Cup, ATP and ITF Futures tournaments, but also veteran and minor tournaments, such as the European Championship sub14 (Cup del Sol) or tests of the Mutua Circuit Madrid Open sub15. For this 2019 it will organize for the first time an ATP Challenger tournament between the 8th and the 14th of April.

The Murcia Tennis Club 1919 has received the visit of great personalities of the sport, like D. Juan Antonio Samaranch, S.A.R. Infanta Doña Elena or Prince Alberto de Mónaco, on the occasion of the Youth Olympics. Also great tennis players, such as Borg, Santana, Herrera, Orantes, Nadal, Corretja, Ferrero, Almagro and many others. It is remembered in a special way, the exhibition and the clinic given by André Agassi and Pat Cash, by the hand of Nick Bolletieri.

Almost 100 years of history that intertwine with the history of the city itself. Great pages of sports glory have seen their clues. Great athletes have played here. Great personalities have visited us. And great people have gone through its governing bodies making the Club grow both in number of partners and in importance of its facilities. Nowadays it is a Club of great prestige at national level, being its male absolute team the current national champion of first category; The Higher Council of Sports granted the tray to Merit Sports, the Royal Spanish Federation raised him in 1994 to the Gold Club category and more recently, in 2015, was designated best Club of the year by the Professional Tennis Registry. It is a Club of which the city is proud and whose partners boast where they go.

As it is a resume of the entire history, and it is published entirely at https://issuu.com/rmct1919/docs/expofotografica_venglish_ctc_red2

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