# Dorothea Lambert Chambers

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, 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.
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.
She wrote Tennis for Ladies, 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 first player to win a Grand Slam singles final without losing a game. The only other female player to achieve this 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.
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, 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. In 1928 she turned to professional coaching.
Lambert Chambers was posthumously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981. She died in Kensington, London in 1960, aged 81.

## Grand Slam finals
### 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 | 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.

## Personal life

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