ABOUT US
THE STORY OF TENNIS IN CYPRUS
The story essentially began with the creation of the Field Club in Nicosia, the first tennis club on the island, during British colonial rule of the island.
The Field Club was established in 1913 by Helen Jane Luxmore Jeffery, the wife of the Curator of Ancients Monuments in Cyprus, George H. E. Jeffery, at a time when the island was a British colony.
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​At first a piece of land was acquired in a field near the Ledra Palace hotel on which a tennis court was constructed, hence the name. At around 1920 more land was acquired it and a second court was built for the benefit of club members, the number of which was steadily growing. Several tournaments were also held at the time for both men and women. The club did not yet have a club house and everyone played with the same balls, which were kept in the homes of club members who lived nearby.
​As the first President of the club, Mrs Jeffery, with the help of Thalis Kababe as Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, undertook the management of the club. There was no committee and the President together with the Secretary/Treasurer had complete responsibility over its affairs. This arrangement lasted for about 30 years under various Presidents, who happened to be the wives of high-ranking British officials in the colonial government. Most times the President would appoint her successor before her departure.
Helen Jeffery died in December 1926. All fifty members contributed towards a memorial alabaster sculpture of her, which was placed in the St Paul’s Anglican Church in Nicosia, where it can still be seen today.
​In 1950 a non-profit organisation was set up with management of the club coming under an elected Board of Directors. This was also when it was decided to move the club to its current premises in the moat by the Venetian walls surrounding the old town of Nicosia.
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In 1952 four clay courts were built, the first such courts in Cyprus. As the Field Club did not yet have a club house, building one was to be its next task. Funds to do so were acquired through the sale of a number of plots of land that had been bought in Agious Omoliyites. Despite considerable objections raised by the Department of Antiquities, which considered the Moat as an ancient site where no interventions were allowed, the club house was completed and handed over to club members at an official ceremony on 3 October in 1954 at 12 pm at which almost all the members of the colonial government were present headed by His Excellency, the Governor, and Lady Armitage.
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The acquisition of its own club house sparked off considerable social activity at the Field Club, with dances, chess tournaments and other events being held there, all of which attracted more members including many women.​It was the Field Club that set the foundation for the development of tennis on the island and led the way in promoting and improving the quality of the sport. In the mid 1960s a British coach, Gordon Ramsden was hired. His presence was instrumental in the growth of the game. The results of his efforts appeared 6 to 7 years later as the level of tennis showed a marked improvement. Field Club players began to play tennis at an increasingly higher standard and took part in various local tournaments.
​Over the years the Field Club hosted a number of international competitions such as the Davis Cup, the Women΄s Circuit, national tournaments, international veterans tournaments, the Junior ITF Aphrodite Cup, amongst others. Participants included foreign players of a high standard as well as local players of the national team. Most of these players were from the Field Club with many having reached a high national ranking.
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Today the Field Club still has some of the best facilities on the island with 10 courts including a centre court with stands for hundreds of people and a club house surrounded by a verdant garden conducive to healthy exercise, relaxation and socialising.
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The Club is still a non-profit organisation today and its management is carried out by a 5 member Board of Directors elected for a two year term by a General Assembly. View our Board of Directors.
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Use of the courts is free to paying members while one court has also been made available to non-members for a fee.
Four of the courts are leased out to Coaches on an annual basis who offer private or group lessons to members and non-members alike.
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The club is a full member of the Cyprus Tennis Federation and hosts a number of international tournaments every year.