Central California Championships

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The Central California Championships was a men’s and women’s hard-court tennis tournament in California that ran from 1911 to 1972. It was played mainly in Stockton and Sacramento.

The event began at the Stockton Tennis Club, Stockton, from May 27–30, 1911. The first men’s champion was Maurice McLoughlin and the first women’s champion was Hazel Hotchkiss. In 1913 the tournament moved to Sacramento, where it stayed for the rest of its life, though it was held at other local sites at times. Toward the end it was also known as the Central California Open Championships.

The tournament’s organizing circuits changed over the years: it was part of the USNLTA Circuit from 1911 to 1923, then the ILTF World Circuit from 1924 to 1970. In 1971 and 1972 the men’s event appeared on the ILTF Grand Prix Circuit as the Central California Open National Hardcourt Championships. The event was discontinued in 1972 when the format changed from an individual competition to a team competition.

In all, the tournament had 53 editions and was played on outdoor hard courts.

Notable champions include Maurice McLoughlin (first winner), Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith among the men, and Hazel Hotchkiss, Helen Wills, and Rosie Casals among the women.