The 1881 Men's tennis tour was composed of the fifth annual pre-open era tour now incorporated 42 tournaments staged in Australia, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland, and the United States. The 1881 Wimbledon Championships was won by William Renshaw. This year also saw the inaugural and important 1881 U.S. National Championships held at Newport Casino which Richard Sears won. This was also the year that the United States National Lawn Tennis Association, which is the world's first national tennis association, was founded. Renshaw then won two other big tournaments of the year, the Irish Lawn Tennis Championships and Princes Club Championships, whilst Richard Taswell Richardson won the prestigious Northern Championships.