Like all tournaments, the Birmingham classic has lived through changes and challenges including the increasing demands of the tour on competitors, the interruption of the pandemic and – regrettably, but only once – the cancellation of a final for rain. “She will”, the Mail went on to say, “always be welcome in Birmingham”, and twenty-four years later she was at the Club for an exhibition match marking the opening of the Ann Jones Court. There was a time – and not long ago at that – when the matrons of Edgbaston would have tut-tutted beside the greenward courts but in June they were cheering for Martina to win.” The eight-times Wimbledon champion brought to her rented city house an entourage that included her companion Mrs Judy Nelson, friend Bilie-Jean King and even Mike Tyson’s runaway wife, Robin Givens. “Martina Navratilova came to Birmingham and the Edgbaston Cup threw off its reputation as a modest potboiler for Wimbledon and became a significant event on the calendar. That year Channel Four gave TV viewers their first chance to see the Classic, a role later played by ITV and BT Sport, and attendances at the Club expanded when Ann Jones opened the new 2,500-seater centre court named in her honour in 2013.Įven the rather supercilious correspondent of local paper the Sandwell Evening Mail noted the increasing atmosphere of glamour around the Classic by 1989: Corporate sponsorship by a string of household business names saw the total prize money swell from £40,000 to over a million US dollars by the pandemic break, at which point it had been a WTA Premier tournament for five years.Ĭliff Richard brought a touch of celebrity to the Clubhouse watching the early events, and in 1986 the Maud Watson Trophy was awarded by 90-year-old former Wimbledon Champion Kitty Godfree, whose helicopter landed on the outer courts. Teenager Sharapova even had a trip to the cinema arranged for her. At first arrangements relied upon Edgbaston Priory members providing lodgings for players, driving them in taxis around the city and officiating at matches. Ball boys and girls were recruited from local schools. It is pretty cool".Unsurprisingly, the status and recognition of the tournament went from strength to strength. "All the official clocks and everything related to timing will have our branding on it. "It's the license to tell a very good story. "It has given me so many connections around the world. "I'm a tennis player and hugely into tennis," he said. Speaking to The Irish News, Mr Enoksen, who will travel to Stockholm this weekend, said it would be a "great week". The tournament, which runs from November 6 to November 14, will see high profile players including Andy Murray and world number four and Olympic winner Alexander Zverev take to the courts at the Royal Tennis Hall in Stockholm. Having spent the past eight years trying to build the brand, this weekend Enoksen Watch Company will become the official timekeeper at the Stockholm Open - just as Rolex is the official timekeeper at Wimbledon. In 2013 he moved to Belfast and later married and welcomed a daughter, now aged five. It was while he was in the north that he decided to quit IT and follow his dream of making watches. Living in England for a decade and working in IT, Mr Enoksen found himself in Northern Ireland for a project. A WATCH company based in south Belfast is to be the official timekeeper at Scandinavia’s biggest tennis tournament this weekend.Įnoksen Watch Company, which is located in Stranmillis and has customers in 60 countries, was founded by Danish man Hans Enoksen in 2018.
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