When a group of sporty city folk started a tennis club in a park in 1910 they had no idea how popular it would become.
After just three years, the Victoria Lawn Tennis Club, formed at Leicester's Victoria Park in the year of George V's coronation, was almost abolished.
But members battled to keep the club going and this year, they are holding monthly events to celebrate their centenary.
Judith Measom, 73, from Kibworth, is the club's oldest playing member and a regular at the club.
She said: "It's very exciting to have the 100-year celebrations.
"We've got an Italian evening, barbecues and tournaments.
"I joined the club in the 1980s and they're a grand crowd. Everyone is so lovely and they do so much for the youngsters as well.
"I take part in a few competitions and I come and play about two or three times a week."
The club will be opening its doors to the public on Saturday, May 15, for a day of free coaching. The day will also feature a balloon release and displays about the club's history.
When the club was founded, the annual subscription fees were two shillings and sixpence. These days, the subscription is £168 and the club has about 200 members. Its base, in Park Lane, Stoneygate, has five floodlit courts and a busy clubhouse which hosts weekly club nights, charity events, dinners and dances. The club runs men's, ladies', mixed and veterans' teams in the Leicestershire League.
Karen Doyle, who is co-ordinating the monthly centenary events, said: "In the past there were three occasions where the club almost folded – including one just a few years after it began. But the members always managed to pull through. When you think of all the people that have gone before us, it's an amazing thing. And that's why we're going to all this effort with barbecues, trips and everything.
"Every month this year we're holding an event to celebrate the centenary and we've also launched a book of the club's history and a cook book with contributions from our members.
"We're a very friendly club and I find it tremendous that we've been going for 100 years."
Plans for the future include a Sports Relief fund-raising tournament on Saturday 20 March, a strawberry and Champagne tournament in June and a trip to the National Tennis Centre, in Roehampton, in September.
For details, visit the website: www.victoriatennis.co.uk