{{Infobox tennis tournament | name =Orange Free State Championships | type = defunct | founded = {{start date and age|df=yes|1905}} | ended = {{end date and age|df=yes|1981}} | editions = | event name = | location = Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa | venue = Orange Free State Lawn Tennis Club | tour = ILTF Circuit | surface = Clay }} The '''Orange Free State Championships'''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robertson |first1=Max |title=The encyclopedia of tennis. |date=1974 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=London |isbn=0047960426 |pages=319–320 |chapter=South Africa}}</ref> was a men's and women's international tennis tournament established in 1905 as the '''Orange River Colony Tennis Championships'''<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Tennis in the Free State |url=http://freestatetennis.co.za/media/FSTennis/history/The_History_of_Tennis_in_the_Free_State.pdf |website=www.freestatetennis.co.za/ |publisher=Orange Free State Tennis Association (OFSTA) |access-date=8 March 2023 |location=Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa |page=5}}</ref> and was played on outdoor clay courts at the Orange Free State Lawn Tennis Club in Orange Free State, South Africa until 1981.

==History== The first Free State tournament on record was played at Ramblers in 1905<ref>(OFSTA)</ref> and was called the Orange River Colony Tennis Championships.<ref>(OFSTA)</ref> The championships were part of the Sugar Circuit (f.1962)<ref>Robertson (1974)</ref> of tennis tournaments from the 1960s to 1980s.<ref>Dewey, Glen (1980). THE LAST SUGAR TENNIS CIRCUIT END OF AN ERA By Glen Dewey (South African Sugar Association). The South African Sugar Journal. Vol 64. Mount Edgecombe, South Africa. p.10.</ref> In 1980 the tournament was ended due to the withdraw of sponsorship by South African Sugar Association.<ref>South African Sugar Journal (1980)</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=South African Sugar Industry |url=https://sasa.org.za/ |website=SASA |publisher=The South African Sugar Association|access-date=8 March 2023 |language=en-ZA}}</ref>

==Venues== The original six Bloemfontein courts were built behind the Government's buildings, known as the Bloemfontein Tennis club,<ref>(OFSTA)</ref> it later changed its name to the Orange Free State Lawn Tennis Club.<ref>(OFSTA)</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

{{Sugar Tennis Circuit}}

Category:Clay court tennis tournaments Category:Defunct tennis tournaments in South Africa