Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers

Dorothea Lambert Chambers
Full name Dorothea Katherine Douglass Lambert Chambers
Country (sports)  United Kingdom
Born (1878-09-03)3 September 1878
Ealing, London, England
Died 7 January 1960(1960-01-07) (aged 81)
Kensington, London, England
Int. Tennis HoF 1981 (member page)
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
Wimbledon W (1903, 1904, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914)
US Open QF (1925)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon F (1913, 1919, 1920)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon F (1919)
Team competitions
Wightman Cup W (1925)

Dorothea Lambert Chambers (née Dorothea Katherine Douglass, 3 September 1878 – 7 January 1960) was a British tennis player. She won seven Wimbledon Women's Singles titles and a gold medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Tennis

In 1900 Douglass made her singles debut at Wimbledon and, after a bye in the first round, lost her second round match to Louisa Martin. Three years later, she won her first of seven ladies singles titles. On 6 April 1907 she married Robert Lambert Chambers and was thereafter known by her married surname Lambert Chambers.[1][2]

In 1908 she won the gold medal in the women's singles event at the 1908 Summer Olympics after a straight-sets victory in the final against compatriot Dora Boothby.[3]

She wrote Tennis for Ladies, which was published in 1910. The book contained photographs of tennis techniques and contained advice on attire and equipment.

In 1911 Lambert Chambers won the women's final at Wimbledon against Dora Boothby 6–0, 6–0. The only other female player who won a Grand Slam singles final without losing a game was Steffi Graf when she defeated Natalia Zvereva in the 1988 French Open final.

In 1919 Lambert Chambers played the longest Wimbledon final up to that time: 44 games against Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen. Lambert Chambers held two match points at 6–5 in the third set but eventually lost to Lenglen 8–10, 6–4, 7–9.[4]

Lambert Chambers only played sporadic singles after 1921 but continued to compete in doubles until 1927. She made the singles quarter-finals of the US Open in 1925[5] and, from 1924 to 1926, she captained Britain's Wightman Cup team. In the 1925 Wightman Cup edition she played, at the age of 46, a singles (against Eleanor Goss) and doubles match and won both.[6][7] In 1928 she turned to professional coaching.

Lambert Chambers was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.[8] She died in Kensington, London.


Grand Slam finals

Dorothea Lambert Chambers in 1906

Singles: 11 (7 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponents Score
Winner * 1903 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Ethel Thomson 4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner 1904 Wimbledon (2) Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Charlotte Cooper Sterry 6–0, 6–3
Runner-up 1905 Wimbledon Grass United States May Sutton 3–6, 4–6
Winner 1906 Wimbledon (3) Grass United States May Sutton 6–3, 9–7
Runner-up 1907 Wimbledon Grass United States May Sutton 1–6, 4–6
Winner 1910 Wimbledon (4) Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Dora Boothby 6–2, 6–2
Winner 1911 Wimbledon (5) Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Dora Boothby 6–0, 6–0
Winner ** 1913 Wimbledon (6) Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Winifred McNair 6–0, 6–4
Winner 1914 Wimbledon (7) Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Ethel Thomson Larcombe 7–5, 6–4
Runner-up 1919 Wimbledon Grass France Suzanne Lenglen 8–10, 6–4, 7–9
Runner-up 1920 Wimbledon Grass France Suzanne Lenglen 3–6, 0–6

* This was the all-comers final as Muriel Robb did not defend her 1902 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1903 by walkover.
** This was the all-comers final as Ethel Thomson Larcombe did not defend her 1912 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1913 by walkover.

Doubles: 3 runner-ups

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1913 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Charlotte Cooper Sterry United Kingdom Dora Boothby
United Kingdom Winifred McNair
6–4, 4–2, retired
Runner-up 1919 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Ethel Thomson Larcombe France Suzanne Lenglen
United States Elizabeth Ryan
6–4, 5–7, 3–6
Runner-up 1920 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Ethel Thomson Larcombe France Suzanne Lenglen
United States Elizabeth Ryan
4–6, 0–6

Mixed doubles: 1 runner-up

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1919 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Albertem Prebble United States Elizabeth Ryan
United Kingdom Randolph Lycett
0–6, 0–6

Badminton

In addition to playing tennis Lambert Chambers was one of the leading badminton players at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1903, 1904 and 1907 she was the runner-up at the singles event of the All England Badminton Championships.[9]

References

  1. Hartley, Cathy, ed. (2003). A Historical Dictionary of British Women (Rev. ed.). London [u.a.]: Europa Publications. p. 194. ISBN 978-1857432282.
  2. "Men and Matters". Dundee Courier (British Newspaper Archive). 8 April 1907. p. 8.
  3. "Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  4. "Ladies' Lawn Tennis.". The Sydney Morning Herald (National Library of Australia). 10 June 1911. p. 7.
  5. "Encyclopædia Britannica Biography". Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  6. "British Women in Tennis Victories". The Montreal Gazette. Aug 18, 1925.
  7. "Woman at Tennis". The Sydney Morning Herald. Aug 17, 1925.
  8. "Hall of Famers – Dorothea Douglass Chambers". www.tennisfame.com. International Tennis Hall of Fame.
  9. "Mrs Lambert Chambers". Badminton England.

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