Tennis in Edinburgh and the Lothians: Here are 24 pictures of play on courts in and around the Capital from the 1950s and 1960s

By David Hepburn

Writer-at-large

Published 27th Jun 2022, 16:46 GMT

With Wimbledon getting underway we thought we’d have a look at tennis in Edinburgh and the Lothians over 50 years ago.

Edinburgh alone is currently home to 24 tennis venues, meaning there are 152 courts for Capital resident’s to enjoy, including many that are open to the general public.

It’s always been a sport that it popular with residents of the city, and the former Grass Court Championship at the Craiglockhart Tennis Centre has hosted tennis icons such as Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe over the years.

The venue is still the most prominent centre of tennis in Edinburgh, with programmes available to allow all ages and abilities to pick up the sport and develop their skills.

And there’s more good news for the sport – with the Oriam Tennis Centre set to create a six-court indoor tennis training facility in Riccarton by the end of this year.

Here are 24 pictures to take you back to tennis in the 1950s and 1960s.

Edinburgh's Meadows: These pictures from the 1950s and 1960s show the fascinating past of the popular park

. Line up

The East Mixed Doubles Tennis Team at Craiglockhart in May 1959 (left-right) O L Balfour, Miss B D Paterson, Mrs R C H Boothman, JJ Carmichael, Mrs Anne Todd and G R Chisholm. Photo: Unknown

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. Star players

The tennis stars turning out for the Scottish Championships at Craiglockhart in July 1965. (Back row, left-right) Graeme Notman, Ralph Skea, Mike Abbott, Norman Thompson, David Abbott, D.Scott, Kirsten Mathers, D.F. McLaren and Jim Wood. (Front row) Mike Sanderson and Derek Braid. Photo: Unknown