[2] In December 1886, the first New Zealand Championships were held at Farndon Park, in the small town of Clive, near Napier.

[3][4] The championships were organised by the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association, which was formed in Napier.

Although the majority of the winners of the event were from New Zealand, a number of players from overseas also won the title, including Grand Slam singles winners Bill Tilden,[6] Fred Perry,[6] Vivian McGrath[6] and John Bromwich.

[10] The towns where the championships were held included Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hastings, Mount Eden, Miramar, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston, Timaru and Wellington.

[26] From 1988 to 1992 the BP National Championships was a Grand Prix/ATP level event and from 1993-95 was part of the challenger circuit.