Tennis in Scotland

During the 20th century it was a minor sport, but has obtained some prominence due to the successes of Andy Murray and other Scots.

While tennis courts are not uncommon, the country's oceanic climate has made it historically quite hard for Scottish players to develop.

James IV of Scotland played tennis with the Spanish ambassador Pedro de Ayala at Stirling Castle on 10 April 1498.

[5] In the nineteenth century, tennis was a fairly exclusive sport, with high level participation being mainly by the upper classes.

He was born at 21 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh to Richard John Mahony, an Irish barrister and prominent landowner.

The Scottish sporting all-rounder Leslie Balfour-Melville also played tennis, but this is not as significant as his golf, cricket and rugby credentials.

Patrick Bowes-Lyon, a relative of the Queen Mother was Scottish tennis champion in 1885, 1886 and 1888, he won the doubles at Wimbledon alongside Herbert Wilberforce.

However, even in the 1970s, the quality of Scottish tennis was seen as low, even featuring in a Monty Python sketch as being "well known as the worst tennis-playing nation on Earth".

Collins and Gregory lost to Jack Crawford and Harry Hopman in the Australian final 6–1, 6–8, 4–6, 6–1, 6–3, but beat them in the 1930 Davis Cup.

The following year he had the best win of his career when he defeated number one seed Henri Cochet in the second round of the 1931 Wimbledon Championship, 6–2, 8–6, 0–6, 6–3.

Ukrainian-born Elena Baltacha, moved to Scotland as a small child, and is a four-time winner of the Aegon Award, she was also a long-term British number 1, a position she held intermittently from 2002 to 2012.

As of 2022, Andy has won three Grand Slam singles titles (Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016 and US Open in 2012) and is the only player to win two Olympic Gold medals (2012 and 2016).

[22] In addition to the frontrunners being crowned leaderboard champions, individuals occupying the top 12 spots on the men's and women's rankings also earn the chance to compete at the TS Open Tour Masters event in December.