Disciplines · Tennis Fact Sheet

Records show that tennis was being played in Malta late in the last century but it is probable that the sport was introduced by the British services in the early 1800’s. We know for a fact that the Marsa Sports Club and the Malta Union Club offered tennis facilities in the 1890’s.

Early this century many private two to four court sites were developed, with Sliema alone having six such facilities. These were rented to small groups of players by the half-day. These groups would spend their time playing tennis, having tea and being generally social. Children were encouraged to knock up between sets while parents rested. Regretfully, with the scarcity of land and the resulting building boom, almost all these tennis facilities were converted into blocks of flats.

Tennis began making its impact in Malta soon after the Second World War with a number of organizations forming tennis clubs. If was however, in 1966 that some enthusiasts determined to form an Association of tennis clubs. The first meeting was held at the Civil Service Sports Club on Monday 5th September 1966 with five sports clubs attending. It was at this meeting that a decision to form the Malta Lawn Tennis Association was taken and the Association was born.

It is interesting to note that, at the first Annual General Meeting was held on 10th October 1966, 11 clubs were present. Of these only two, the Malta Union Club and the United Services Sports Club, now the Marsa Sports and Country Club remain as ongoing clubs offering, among many other facilities, a number of tennis courts. The only other club still in existence, but with no premises is the Banks Sports Association who today only takes part in the annual Men’s Doubles League.

Notwithstanding the fact, that of the founder clubs, only two remain, the Association grew and prospered and today there are 20 member clubs. It is difficult to assess the number of tennis players on the island mainly because many players are members of more than one club. Also, the main clubs offer many other sporting facilities besides tennis. One can however assess that there must be at least 6,000 active tennis players. Of the four main clubs, the Marsa Sports and Country Club has 19 courts divided into 13 tarmaced courts, 4 greenset courts and 2 clay courts. The remaining three clubs, Tennis Club Kordin, Vittoriosa Lawn Tennis Club and Malta Union Club all have four hard courts. Most of the remaining clubs have two courts and few have one court.

The Malta Tennis Federation

It was at the January 1994 Annual General Meeting that unanimous decision to change the name of the Malta Lawn Tennis Association to the Malta Tennis Federation was passed. This, though cosmetic was felt necessary especially as there were no grass courts on the island.

The Malta Tennis Federation forms part of three larger Associations namely: The Malta Olympic Committee where we have been members since 1967; The European Tennis Association where we have been members since 1989; The International Tennis Federation where we have been members since 1985.

The Malta Tennis Federation is very active in all three organizations, attending annual general meetings and many other activities organized throughout the year. The culmination of our involvement was highlighted in 1996 when we hosted the ETA’s Annual General Meeting in Malta. It is also pertinent to mention that the previous President is also President of the Malta Olympic Committee and has also held the post of Treasurer of the European Tennis Association.

Further evidence of our participation is the long list of international activities, which Malta has hosted over the years.

International Tournaments

Malta has taken part in as many international tournaments as possible. Its first participation in the Davis Cup was in 1986 and we participated each year since then. Results are very mixed with heavy losses, very narrow losses and also some good wins resulting in promotion. Our first Fed Cup was also in 1986 and we have played each year since. We have been playing in the European Men’s Team Championships since 1990, and in the European Women’s Team Championship since 1992, with the exception of 1993.

The Tennis Federation has also competed in every edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe, achieving some very good results; in fact, on occasions, it headed Malta’s medal winning list. We have also taken part in the Mediterranean Games but, of course, the standard is too high for us to achieve positive results. Immediately it was formed, the Malta Tennis Federation organized the Malta Open Championships and these have taken place each year since 1966 with a full list of open and senior events. The MFT has a register of coaches with 30 people holding a level 1 certificate. The MFT has also held a number of ITF Officials courses in Malta and now has a number of registered ITF officials.

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