Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers

Dorothea Katherine Douglas - Lambert Chambers was an English Tennis player who made her debut in Wimbledon and who won seven ladies singles title in her entire tennis career. She was a doubles finalist during 1913, 1919 and 1920. She was also a mixed finalist in 1919. She was a member of the English team that participated in the Wightman Cup and was the captain of the team from 1924 – 1926.

Lambert Chambers was born Dorothea Katherine Douglass on September 3, 1878 in Ealing, United Kingdom. She debut professionally at the turn of the Century. Three years after that she won her first singles title in Wimbledon. In 1907, she married Robert Lambert Chambers, after that she was known by her married last name. The following year, she took home a gold medal in Singles Tennis during the 1908 summer Olympics held in London. She won two Wimbledons after giving birth to her first baby and two more after her second child.

She faced off against a much younger opponent – Suzanne Lenglen in a game that was considered to be one of the most exciting and one of the longest in tennis history. Her match against Lenglen was also an interesting one in the sense that it started to mark the difference between traditional tennis attire for women (worn by Lamber Chambers) and a news style for tennis clothing (worn by Lenglen). King George the 5th, Queen Mary and the Princess Royal, were in the audience during the match. After a long rally, Lambert Chambers eventually lost the game to Lenglen.

Lambert Chambers died on January 07, 1960 in Ealing. She entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981. Aside from actively playing, she also wrote a book entitled ‘Tennis for Ladies’.