Since its creation in 1899, Ernest Witty, first president of the then Barcelona Lawn Tennis Club, had in mind the idea of ??organizing an international tennis tournament, the first to be held in Spain. To achieve his goal, Witty designed a work plan.
Firstly, Ernesto Witty maintained contacts with the Lawn Tennis Association of London (LTA), currently the International Tennis Federation (ITF), to make the test official and appoint a referee, who was none other than Ph. Heineken, who ruled that the competition regulations would be developed under the rules of the LTA.
Once the competition was made official, a second step was to incorporate Barcelona civil society into the organization. The efforts were a complete success, setting up the Honor Commission of the tournament, Guillermo de Boladeres, Mayor of Barcelona, ??Manuel Delgado, Captain General of Catalonia, Carlos González, Civil Governor of Barcelona, ??the Consuls of Germany, England and the United States, and the presidents of the Círculo del Liceo and the Círculo Ecuestre.
Finally, Ernesto Witty brought together the citizen institutions that had already incorporated the sport of tennis into their activity, to unite them in the tasks of organizing the competition. These were the Salud Sport Club, the Polo Club of Barcelona, ??and the Sport-Verein Barcelona, ??the entity that the German colony had formed and whose courts were located on Mallorca Street, next to the Macaya Palace on Paseo de San Juan.
The German engineer Udo Steinberg, member of Barcelona LTC and Sport-Verein Barcelona, ??player of Fútbol Club Barcelona, ??and tennis editor at El Mundo Deportivo, was appointed head of the Executive Committee, teaming up with Ernesto Witty, Guillermo de Oliveras, Alfonso Macaya, Arthurs Leask and Herman Plass.
Among the first decisions adopted by the Committee were that, between October 18 and 25, the matches would be played in the best of three sets. It was also decided that the first round would be played on the Sport-Verein courts, and that the subsequent rounds would be played at the Barcelona Lawn Tennis Club facilities on Claris Street on the corner of Mallorca. It was decided that the balls used would be those from the F.H. Ayres from London, the same ones used in the Wimbledon tournament.
Likewise, the Executive Committee established that the Contest would have a total of five tests: Gentlemen’s Individuals, Gentlemen’s Pairs, Mixed Ladies and Gentlemen’s Pairs, Gentlemen’s Individuals with advantages and Gentlemen’s Pairs with advantages. The first two would distinguish the winners with the title of Champions of Barcelona.
Registration forms were sent to clubs throughout Spain and to the LTA, which specified that the price would range between 3 and 5 pesetas, depending on the number of events in which they wished to participate, and that the forms filled
They had to be sent to Ernesto Witty’s address at number 60 Paseo de Gracia. British, American, Swiss, German, Austrian and Spanish tennis players registered.
On October 25, 1903, the day that La Vanguardia moved its headquarters to the modernist building on Pelayo Street, the stands of the Barcelona LTC on Claris Street presented a formidable appearance. The most distinguished of the Catalan bourgeoisie gathered to watch the final matches, and the elegant dresses and hairstyles worn by the ladies and gentlemen who surrounded a box full of authorities stood out. The prizes and trophies for the winners were displayed throughout the week in the window of Camisería Comas, on the corner of Paseo de Gracia and Gran Vía.
Perhaps as an ‘act of justice’ for the terrible effort he put into launching the tournament, Ernest Witty was the great figure of the day, winning four of the five events. Ernest won the men’s singles and absolute doubles partnering with Arthur Leask, as well as the two events with advantages. It all stayed in the family, because the mixed doubles were won by the president of FC Barcelona, ??his brother Arthur Witty, and his wife.
Ernest Witty, who defeated the German Herman Plass in the individual final, received the fantastic trophy donated by Guillermo de Boladeres, mayor of Barcelona, ??and which appears in the showcases of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 as a donation to the entity after his departure to Great Britain in 1957. Herman Plass received his finalist prize from Baron de Güell.
At the end of the ‘great athletic festival’ as reported in different media in the city, the tournament ended with words from Federico Roberts, consul of Great Britain, and Guillermo de Oliveras. In the huddles between authorities and players, the only talk was about getting to work on the second edition of the test, and the convenience of creating an association of clubs. On March 24, 1904, promoted, of course, by Ernest Witty, the Barcelona Lawn Tennis Association, now the Catalan Federation, was born. Guillermo Oliveras was elected as its first president.
