The first early edition of the Championship of Switzerland,[2] was played at the Grasshopper Club, Zurich, Switzerland under the auspices of the Swiss Lawn Tennis Association, the winner of the men's event was presented with a cup valued at 500 francs.
In 1977 the women's tournament was rebranded as the WTA Swiss Open until 1981 when that event was moved to Lugano.
Former notable winners of men's singles include; André Vacherot (1903), George Simond (1905), R. Norris Williams (1911), Gottfried von Cramm (1934–1935), Kho Sin-Kie (1938), Jaroslav Drobný (1946), Roy Emerson (1959–1961, 1966–1967), Rod Laver (1962), Nicola Pietrangeli (1963) and Rafael Osuna (1964).
In the women's singles event notable winners include; Charlotte Cooper Sterry (1902), Adine Masson (1904), Elsie Lane (1907), Germaine Régnier Golding (1921–1922, 1924), Lolette Payot (1931, 1933–1934), Louis Brough (1950), Christine Truman (1959), Maria Bueno (1960) and Margaret Smith (1962, 1964).
The Swiss International Championships were staged at the following locations throughout its run including Basel, Champéry, Geneva, Gstaad, Les Avants, Montreux, Lausanne, Lugano, Lucerne, Ragatz, St. Moritz, Zermatt, and Zurich from 1897 to 1967.