Dorothea Lambert Chambers

Dorothea Lambert Chambers (née Dorothea Katherine Douglass; 3 September 1878 – 7 January 1960)^[1] was a British tennis player. She won seven Wimbledon women's singles titles and a gold medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics.^[2]

Dorothea Lambert Chambers

Full name	Dorothea Katherine Douglass Lambert Chambers
Country (sports)	United Kingdom
Born	(1878-09-03)3 September 1878 Ealing, Middlesex, 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)
Medal record Olympic Games – Tennis 1908 London Singles

Tennis

In 1900, Douglass made her singles debut at Wimbledon, and after a bye in the first round, she lost her second-round match to Louisa Martin. She won her first of seven ladies' singles titles three years later. On 6 April 1907, she married Robert Lambert Chambers and became known by her married surname Lambert Chambers.^[3][4]

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.^[5]

She wrote Tennis for Ladies, published in 1910. The book contained photographs of tennis techniques and contained advice on attire and equipment.^{[citation needed]}

In 1911, Lambert Chambers won the women's final at Wimbledon against Dora Boothby 6–0, 6–0, the first player to win a Grand Slam singles final without losing a game.^[6] This feat was repeated by Steffi Graf when she defeated Natalia Zvereva in the 1988 French Open final^[7] and then repeated by Iga Swiatek in the 2025 Wimbledon women's singles final when she beat Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in 57 minutes. ^[8]

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.^[9]

Lambert Chambers only played sporadic singles after 1921 but continued to compete in doubles until 1927. She made the singles quarterfinals of the U.S. Championships in 1925,^[10] and from 1924 to 1926, she captained Britain's Wightman Cup team. In the 1925 Wightman Cup, she played, at the age of 46, a singles (against Eleanor Goss) and doubles match and won both.^[11][12] In 1928 she turned to professional coaching.

Lambert Chambers was posthumously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.^[13] She died in Kensington, London in 1960, aged 81.

Grand Slam finals

Dorothea Lambert Chambers in 1906

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

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponents	Score
Win *	1903	Wimbledon	Grass	Ethel Thomson	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win	1904	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Charlotte Cooper Sterry	6–0, 6–3
Loss	1905	Wimbledon	Grass	May Sutton	3–6, 4–6
Win	1906	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	May Sutton	6–3, 9–7
Loss	1907	Wimbledon	Grass	May Sutton	1–6, 4–6
Win	1910	Wimbledon (4)	Grass	Dora Boothby	6–2, 6–2
Win	1911	Wimbledon (5)	Grass	Dora Boothby	6–0, 6–0
Win **	1913	Wimbledon (6)	Grass	Winifred McNair	6–0, 6–4
Win	1914	Wimbledon (7)	Grass	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	7–5, 6–4
Loss	1919	Wimbledon	Grass	Suzanne Lenglen	8–10, 6–4, 7–9
Loss	1920	Wimbledon	Grass	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

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1913	Wimbledon	Grass	Charlotte Cooper Sterry	Dora Boothby Winifred McNair	6–4, 4–2, ret.
Loss	1919	Wimbledon	Grass	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	Suzanne Lenglen Elizabeth Ryan	6–4, 5–7, 3–6
Loss	1920	Wimbledon	Grass	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	Suzanne Lenglen Elizabeth Ryan	4–6, 0–6

Mixed doubles: 1 runner-up

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1919	Wimbledon	Grass	Albert Prebble	Elizabeth Ryan Randolph Lycett	0–6, 0–6

Career finals

Singles titles (64)

Notes: Incomplete list she reportedly won 81 singles titles.

	Year	Tournament	Location	Surface	Opponent	Score
1	1901	North London Championships (Gipsy)	Stamford Hill	Grass	Ellen Thynne Evered	6-4, 9–7
2	1901	Essex Championships	Colchester	Grass	Agnes Morton	6-3, 6–3
3	1901	North of England Championships	Scarborough	Grass	Alice Simpson Pickering	4-6, 10–8, 6–1
4	1902	North London Championships (2)	Stamford Hill	Grass	Agnes Morton	4-6, 6–2, 8–6
5	1903	Derbyshire Championships	Buxton	Grass	Ethel Thomson	6-2, 6–1
6	1903	Wimbledon Championships	London	Grass	Muriel Robb	w.o.
7	1903	North London Championships (3)	Stamford Hill	Grass	Agnes Morton	6-3, 6–2
8	1904	Wimbledon Championships (2)	London	Grass	Charlotte Sterry	6–0, 6–3
9	1904	British Covered Court Championships	London	Wood (i)	Edith Austin	7–5, 6–4, 7–9, 6–2
10	1904	Derbyshire Championships (2)	Buxton	Grass	Ethel Thomson	6-2, 4–6, 6–3
11	1904	Sussex Championships	Brighton	Grass	Charlotte Sterry	6–3, 6–3
12	1904	South of England Championships	Eastbourne	Grass	Charlotte Sterry	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1
13	1905	The Homburg Cup	Bad Homburg	Clay	Toupie Lowther	6-3, 7–5
14	1905	London Covered Court Championships	London	Wood (i)	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	6–4, 6–2
15	1906	Wimbledon Championships (3)	London	Grass	May Sutton	6–3, 9–7
16	1906	Northern Championships	Liverpool	Grass	May Sutton	7–5, 6–2
17	1906	Kent Championships	Beckenham	Grass	Connie Wilson	6–3, 2-2
18	1906	East of England Championships	Felixstowe	Grass	Connie Wilson	14-14
19	1906	British Covered Court Championships (2)	London	Wood (i)	Hilda Lane	6–2, 6–0
20	1906	Berkshire Championships	Reading	Grass	Violet Pinckney	6-0, 6–1
21	1906	Middlesex Championships	Chiswick	Grass	Charlotte Sterry	6-1 6–0
22	1906	Baden Baden International	Baden-Baden	Clay	Toupie Lowther	6–4, 6–4
23	1906	The Homburg Cup (2)	Bad Homburg	Clay	Blanche Bingley Hillyard	6-4, 8–6
24	1906	South of England Championships (2)	Eastbourne	Grass	Agnes Morton	3–6, 6–3, 6–2
25	1907	Middlesex Championships (2)	Chiswick	Grass	Miss M.E. Brown	divided title
26	1907	Nice Championship	Nice	Clay	Toupie Lowther	6–4, 6–4
27	1907	Northumberland Championships	Newcastle-upon-Tyne	Grass	Charlotte Sterry	6-2, 6–3
28	1907	South of England Championships (3)	Eastbourne	Grass	Charlotte Sterry	4–6, 6–3, 7–5
29	1907	Berkshire Championships (2)	Reading	Grass	Violet Pinckney	6-1, 6–1
30	1908	British Covered Court Championships (3)	London	Wood (i)	Gwendoline Eastlake-Smith	6-3, 6–3
31	1908	Middlesex Championships (3)	Chiswick	Grass	Angela Greene	7-5, 6–4
32	1908	Olympic Games London ( outdoor singles)	London	Grass	Dora Boothby	6–1, 7–5
33	1908	Cannes Championships	Cannes	Clay	Melita Dillon	6-1, 6–4
34	1908	Berkshire Championships (3)	Reading	Grass	Violet Pinckney	6-1, 6–1
35	1908	Northumberland Championships (2)	Newcastle	Grass	Charlotte Sterry	6-1, 7–5
36	1910	Wimbledon Championships (4)	London	Grass	Dora Boothby	6-2, 6–2
37	1910	Kent Championships (2)	Beckenham	Grass	Dora Boothby	6-4, 6–3
38	1910	South of England Championships (4)	Eastbourne	Grass	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	7-5, 7–5
39	1910	British Covered Court Championships (4)	London	Wood (i)	Madeline O'Neill	6–4, 6–3
40	1910	Middlesex Championships (4)	Chiswick	Grass	Miss M. Messom	6-2, 6–2
41	1910	Berkshire Championships (4)	Reading	Grass	Violet Pinckney	6-1, 6–1
42	1910	Nottinghamshire Championships	Nottingham	Grass	Gwendoline Eastlake-Smith	6-3, 6–3
43	1910	East of England Championships (2)	Felixstowe	Grass	Miss M. Messom	6-0, 6–2
44	1911	Wimbledon Championships (5)	London	Grass	Dora Boothby	6-0, 6–0
45	1911	British Covered Court Championships (5)	London	Wood (i)	Helen Aitchison	6–3, 6–1
46	1911	Middlesex Championships (5)	Chiswick	Grass	Mabel Parton	6–3, 6–2
47	1911	Nottinghamshire Championships (2)	Nottingham	Grass	Edith Hannam	3-6, 8–6, 6–2
48	1911	Northern Championships (2)	Manchester	Grass	Mabel Parton	6–2, 6–2
49	1911	Kent Championships (3)	Beckenham	Grass	Mildred Coles	6-3, 7–5
50	1913	Wimbledon Championships (6)	London	Grass	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	w.o.
51	1913	British Covered Court Championships (6)	London	Wood (i)	Dorothy Holman	6–2, 6–3
52	1913	Middlesex Championships (6)	Chiswick	Grass	Dora Boothby	6-2, 6–3
53	1913	Kent Championships (4)	Beckenham	Grass	Phyllis Satterthwaite	6-4, 6–2
54	1914	Wimbledon Championships (7)	London	Grass	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	7-5, 6–4
55	1914	Monte Carlo Championships	Monte Carlo	Clay	Elizabeth Ryan	6-4, 6–1
56	1914	French Riviera Championships	Menton	Clay	Elizabeth Ryan	6–2, 6–1
57	1914	South of France Championships	Nice	Clay	Maud Stuart	6–2, 6–0
58	1914	Nice Country Club Tournament	Nice	Clay	Jessie Tripp	6-2, 6–0
59	1914	Surrey Grass Court Championships	Surbiton	Grass	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	6-3, 2–6, 6–4
60	1914	Middlesex Championships (7)	Chiswick	Grass	Aurea Edgington	w.o.
61	1914	Northern Championships (3)	Liverpool	Grass	Agnes Morton	6-1, 6–2
62	1919	British Covered Court Championships (7)	London	Wood (i)	Dorothy Holman	6-3, 6–3
63	1919	Northern Championships (4)	Manchester	Grass	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	6-1, 6–2
64	1920	Surrey Grass Court Championships (2)	Surbiton	Grass	Elizabeth Ryan	6-4, 6–2

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.^[14]

Personal life

She undertook war work during the First World War, first at Ealing Hospital and later at the Little Theatre.^[15] She married Robert Lambert Chambers, nephew of John Graham Chambers.