Philadelphia Cricket Club

Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia · founded 1854

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States · Members club

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A substantial lawn tradition still in use

Primary driver: Grass-Tennis Culture & Experience

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The cradle of American women’s championship tennis.

Location: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Founded: 1854; at Chestnut Hill since 1883
Grass courts: 18, rotated through the season
On the grass: US women’s championships 1887 to 1920
Also: A founding member of the US national association, 1881
Guest play: Members only
Season: Members
Address: 415 West Willow Grove Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19118, United States

Why it is special

Founded in 1854 by former University of Pennsylvania cricketers, the club is often described as the oldest country club in the United States. In 1881 it was one of the founding members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association, the body that became the USTA.

In 1887 it staged the first US women’s national singles championship, and it kept the women’s championships for 34 years, until they moved to Forest Hills in 1921. For six years after the men’s singles had left for New York, the American women’s title was still decided on these Chestnut Hill lawns.

Today the club keeps eighteen grass courts, rotated through the summer so that each can recover, alongside clay and hard courts. It represents the Philadelphia strand of American grass, and the place where the women’s game in the United States first had a championship of its own.

Champions here, 1911 to 1920

Year	Women's singles
1911	Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
1912	Mary Browne
1913	Mary Browne
1914	Mary Browne
1915	Molla Mallory
1916	Molla Mallory
1917	Molla Mallory
1918	Molla Mallory
1919	Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
1920	Molla Mallory

The US women's championships were played at the club from 1887 to 1920. The table shows its last ten years there. Every champion on the roll: US Championships

About the club

A founding member of the American Lawn Tennis Association in 1881, Philadelphia Cricket Club maintains 21 grass courts and a full competitive programme: men’s teams, women’s interclub teams and a top-ranked junior programme. Membership is by invitation only. The club nevertheless opens its grounds to national events, hosting the Junior International ITF/USTA Grass Court Championship and the USPTA Grass Court Championships.

More grass tennis in Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Cricket Club is one of 22 clubs in the Grass Court Atlas for the United States. The nearest other grass court club listed is Philadelphia Cricket Club (0.0 km).

Official website: Philadelphia Cricket Club