The Memorial Drive Tennis club was established in 1914, under the name South Australian Lawn Tennis Club. About of land were leased to the club directly adjacent to the
Adelaide Oval and the
grass courts were opened in October 1921 by the
Governor of South Australia, Sir
Archibald Weigall.
Gerald Patterson won the first
South Australian Men's Singles Championship staged at the venue in 1922, the same year in which he also won
Wimbledon for the second time. The following year, a clubhouse and grandstand were erected at Memorial Drive, the northern grandstand being the former stand from
Adelaide Oval, which was dismantled and then reassembled. In 1938 a large permanent grandstand was erected on the northern side of the courts. Over the years many major events have been held on the grass courts including the
Davis Cup and
Australian Open Championships. In 1926 the Australian men's singles title was staged at the courts for the first time, won by
John Hawkes. Adelaide hosted a total of fourteen Australian championships until 1967, twelve of which were played at Memorial Drive. In 1938
American Donald Budge won the first leg of the first
Grand Slam in tennis at Memorial Drive by defeating
Australia's
John Bromwich. In January 1933 Australia played a tennis Test match against the United States. American champion
Ellsworth Vines made his only appearance in Adelaide and among the Australian representatives were
Harry Hopman,
Adrian Quist, and
John Bromwich. The following year, international matches featured the
English champion
Fred Perry. Adelaide's first exposure to professional tennis involved the
French dual Wimbledon champion
Henri Cochet in contests against local professionals in 1935. In 1958 and again in 1959
Pancho Gonzalez and
Lew Hoad appeared at Memorial Drive as part of
Jack Kramer's professional troupe. From 1974 until 2008 the
Adelaide International tournament was played at Memorial Drive, and between 2009 and 2019 the
World Tennis Challenge exhibition was played there. Memorial Drive last hosted the Australian Open in
1967, with
Roy Emerson winning the
Men's singles,
Nancy Richey Gunter the
Women's singles,
John Newcombe and
Tony Roche the
Men's doubles,
Lesley Turner Bowrey and
Judy Tegart Dalton winning the
Women's doubles, and Turner Bowrey and Owen Davidson the Mixed doubles.
2019–22 redevelopments In February 2019, the
South Australian Government announced funding of $10 million to construct a canopy-roof structure over Memorial Drive Park, to prepare the venue to host the new
Adelaide International, the first ATP sanctioned event in the city since the
Adelaide International in 2008 and the first ever WTA event. Additional minor redevelopments in the precinct allowed Memorial Drive to host the inaugural tournament in January 2020, held one week prior to the first Grand Slam of the year, the
Australian Open. Later that year the government announced $44 million would be spent on constructing two new permanent grandstands surrounding the main court, one replacing the northern grandstand and increasing the capacity of the centre to 6,500 patrons. Additional developments include upgrades to the centre's media and broadcast facilities, sports training and development spaces, and function spaces, and integrating the eastern facility with the
Adelaide Oval southern plaza. The redevelopment is due for completion in mid-2022. ==Concerts==