The Canadian Open is in full swing in 2025, with the Masters and WTA 1000 events underway.
The tournament is one of the most prestigious on both circuits and is steeped in history, with the event one of the most historic in tennis.
Here, we look at the five oldest active tournaments across either the ATP and WTA Tour calendars.
5) Hamburg European Open – 1892
Despite going through multiple changes in its 133-year history, the Hamburg European Open has survived to become the fifth-oldest active tournament on the calendar.
Walter Bonne won the first edition of the event in 1892, and the tournament was originally held at the Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, before permanently switching to the Am Rothenbaum in 1924.
The men’s singles event was part of the Grand Prix circuit from 1971-90 and was a Masters 1000 tournament from 1990-2008, when it became an ATP 500 event.
A women’s singles event has been held intermittently since 1982, though it officially returned to the WTA Tour in 1925.
4) French Open – 1891
The oldest active clay-court event and one of the biggest titles up for grabs in the sport, the French Open is the fourth-oldest ongoing event in the sport.
The French Championships first launched at the Societé de Sport de l’Île de Puteaux in 1891, one of four venues used on rotation in the early decades of the tournament.
H. Briggs was the first man to lift the title, with Adine Masson lifting the first women’s title six years later in 1897.
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After being based at the Stade Français from 1925 to 1927, the event officially moved to the Stade Roland Garros in 1928, where it remains to date.
The centre court was renamed after Philippe Chatrier in 2001, though the site is still known as Roland Garros, while the event officially became a Grand Slam in 1925.
3) US Open – 1881
First held in August 1881, the US Open is the second-oldest of the Grand Slam events, and the third-oldest active tennis tournament on the calendar.
Originally known as the U.S. National Championships, the event was held in Newport from 1881-1914, after which the event was based at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills.
Richard Sears won the first seven editions of the men’s singles event from 1881-87, while Ellen Hansell won the inaugural women’s event in 1887.
The event remained on grass courts until 1974, when it briefly switched to clay before becoming the first hard-court Slam in 1978, following a move to the Flushing Meadows site that summer.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium, which opened in 1997, is the largest tennis stadium in the world.
2) Canadian Open – 1881
Older than three of the four Grand Slams, the Canadian Open is the second-oldest active tournament in tennis.
The event debuted at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club in July 1881, with Isidore F. Hellmuth becoming the first ever tournament champion, while Maude Delano-Osborne won the first women’s event in 1892.
Known as the Canadian National Championships until 1968, the event switched from clay to hard courts in 1979 and was solely contested at the Toronto National Tennis Centre until 1980.
From 1981 onwards, the event has been split between Montreal and Toronto, with the men’s and women’s events switching between the two cities in alternating years.
1) Wimbledon – 1877
Wimbledon is the most famous and iconic tournament in tennis and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it is also the oldest.
The Championships were first held in 1877, with Spencer Gore becoming the first man to triumph at the famed event.
A women’s singles event was held for the first time in 1884, with Maud Watson lifting the title, and then successfully defending her title the following year.
Until 1922, the reigning champion did not have to contest a match until the final, playing against whoever had won through to challenge them.
1922 was also the year in which the All England Club relocated to Church Road, where it remains to this day, with the centenary of Centre Court celebrated back in 2022.
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