Garnett Meldrum

Major Accomplishments

His involvement in tennis spanned six decades.

Founding member of the Ontario Lawn Tennis Association and a long-serving president of the Canadian Lawn Tennis Association.

Biography

Garnett Meldrum began his involvement in tennis in 1886. He was a founding member of the OLTA and attended the first OLTA meeting in Barrie in 1918. In 1919, the first Annual General Meeting was held.

Meldrum was the president of the CLTA from 1922-1933. He was an energetic man who single-handedly introduced and promoted tennis in an entrepreneurial fashion to thousands of Canadians. He organized cross-country tours with Canada’s top players and exhibition matches were held across the country, many in smaller communities. He was also instrumental in bringing foreign competitors to Canada for the first time. He somehow persuaded Japanese and Australian players to compete in the Canadian Championships adding immensely to the prestige of the event. He also moved the Championships around the country to promote them as genuinely representative of Canada.

He was a non-playing captain of Canada’s Davis Cup team in 1921, 1923, 1924 and 1925 and he was the manager of Canada’s Davis Cup team in 1913. He also refereed two Davis Cup ties.