The early years
Great Britain · born Ealing, 1878 · died 1960 · seven times Wimbledon champion
All playersBack to the rankings
7
Wimbledon singles titles, 1903 to 1914
11
Wimbledon singles finals, 1903 to 1920
32-8
Wimbledon singles match record
6-0, 6-0
1911 final against Dora Boothby
44
Games in the 1919 final against Lenglen
Born Dorothea Douglass in Ealing on 3 September 1878, she grew up in the vicarage of St Matthew's Church there, began competing at 17 and joined Ealing Lawn Tennis Club in 1899. She first played Wimbledon in 1900 and won the singles seven times between 1903 and 1914, from eleven finals, a record for a British player. In 1907 she married Robert Lambert Chambers. She won the Olympic singles gold in London in 1908 and in 1910 published Lawn Tennis for Ladies. After 1921 she played singles only now and then, but she captained the British Wightman Cup team from 1924 to 1926 and played doubles at Wimbledon until 1927. She became a professional coach in 1928, died in Kensington in 1960 and entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.
| Major singles titles | 7: Wimbledon (1903, 1904, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 4: Wimbledon 1905, Wimbledon 1907, Wimbledon 1919, Wimbledon 1920 |
| Other grass singles titles | 21: Kent 7 (1901, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1913); Eastbourne 5 (1902, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1910); Northern Championships 5 (1904, 1906, 1911, 1914, 1919); Queen's 3 (1901, 1902, 1903); Olympic Games (outdoor, London) (1908) |
| Titles kept in a challenge round | 3: Wimbledon (1904, 1911, 1914). Scored as a final won, not a full draw (-12 points). |
| Titles without a Challenge Round | 1903 and 1913, when the holders Muriel Robb and Ethel Larcombe did not defend; she won the All-Comers' finals against Ethel Thomson 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and Winifred McNair 6-0, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon doubles and mixed | Doubles finals lost in 1913 with Charlotte Cooper Sterry and in 1919 and 1920 with Ethel Larcombe; mixed final lost in 1919 with Albert Prebble |
| Wightman Cup on grass | Captain from 1924 to 1926. At Forest Hills in 1925, aged 46, she won her singles and her doubles as Britain became the first visiting team to win the cup; she also reached the US Championships quarter-final that year |
| Finals to remember | 1906: beat May Sutton 6-3, 9-7 to regain the title. 1911: beat Dora Boothby 6-0, 6-0. 1919: lost to Suzanne Lenglen 8-10, 6-4, 7-9 after holding two match points at 6-5 in the third set |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | Women's singles | |
| 1904 | Women's singles | |
| 1906 | Women's singles | |
| 1910 | Women's singles | |
| 1911 | Women's singles | |
| 1913 | Women's singles | |
| 1914 | Women's singles | |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1901 | Women's singles†| |
| 1902 | Women's singles†| |
| 1904 | Women's singles†| |
| 1906 | Women's singles†| |
| 1910 | Women's singles†| |
| 1911 | Women's singles†| |
| 1913 | Women's singles†| |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1902 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| 1904 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| 1906 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| 1907 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| 1910 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1904 | Women's singles†| |
| 1906 | Women's singles†| |
| 1911 | Women's singles†| |
| 1914 | Women's singles†| |
| 1919 | Women's singles†| |
| Surrey Championships (Surbiton) | ||
| 1914 | Women's singles†| |
| 1920 | Women's singles†| |
| Olympic Games | ||
| 1908 | Women's singles†| |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"In match play remember that a game is never lost until it is won."
The person behind the player.
Ealing, 1887 to 1907
Her family moved in 1887 into the vicarage of St Matthew's Church, Ealing, and she lived there for twenty years, until her marriage. She began competing at 17 and joined Ealing Lawn Tennis Club in 1899. She also played hockey for Middlesex and badminton at championship level. English Heritage put a blue plaque on the house in 2005.
Source: English HeritageWimbledon 1911
A year after beating Dora Boothby 6-2, 6-2 in the Challenge Round, she met her there again and won 6-0, 6-0. It was the first major singles final won without the loss of a game. Steffi Graf repeated it at the 1988 French Open and Iga ÅšwiÄ…tek at Wimbledon in 2025.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1919
About 8,000 people, King George V and Queen Mary among them, crowded into a Centre Court built for 3,500 to see the holder face Suzanne Lenglen. Lambert Chambers wore an ankle-length Edwardian skirt and a shirt fastened at the neck and wrists, with corsets underneath. The demand for seats that day helped push the club towards a larger ground at Church Road.
Source: The New RepublicWimbledon 1920
A year after the epic, she came through the All-Comers' event to challenge Lenglen, now the holder. At 41 she became the oldest woman to reach a Wimbledon singles final. This time Lenglen won 6-3, 6-0, and Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan beat her and Ethel Larcombe in the doubles final.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameForest Hills 1925
As captain of the British Wightman Cup team she travelled to the West Side Tennis Club in August 1925 and, at 46, won both her singles and her doubles. Britain won the cup, the first time the visiting side had taken it. She stayed on for the US Championships and reached the quarter-finals.
Source: WikipediaLondon, 1910
Her book Lawn Tennis for Ladies set out strokes with photographs and gave firm views on dress: a plain gored skirt, not pleated, because above everything else a player needed free use of all her limbs. On practice she was blunt: "Practise, then, conscientiously, and with infinite patience; never mind who beats you." In 1928 she turned professional coach.
Source: Project GutenbergFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
Join freePage updated 3 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
