Toomas Leius obit

Toomas Leius, a former leading Estonian tennis player and coach, died last night at the age of 84 

He was not on the list.

Toomas Leius, a former leading Estonian tennis player and coach, died last night at the age of 84.

Toomas Leius, an Estonian tennis legend, started his career in 1951 under the guidance of Ewald Kre. His first major international success came in 1959, when he won the junior Wimbledon, beating Englishman Roger Taylor 6-3, 7-5 in the final. He became the first Soviet tennis player to win this prestigious tournament and became eligible to participate in the men's main draw.

Leius' career was filled with bright victories: bronze medals at the European Championships in 1970 and 1971, silver in doubles and the title of world champion among students in mixed doubles in 1970.

Until the last days of his life, Toomas Leius remained devoted to tennis — he commented on tournaments, and also shared his experience, teaching a new generation of players.

Leius was the boys' singles champion at the 1959 Wimbledon Championships. He won the Soviet Championships in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1968. He also won the Moscow International Indoor Championships five times from 1961 to 1963, 1965, 1969. Other good performances during his career include reaching the final of the 1964 Queen's Club Championships, which he lost to Roy Emerson, and taking Rod Laver to five sets at the 1969 Heineken Open. He was a gold medalist in the mixed doubles at the 1970 Summer Universiade in Turin, with Tiiu Parmas.

His best performance in the singles draw of a Grand Slam tournament came at the 1965 French Championships, where he made the quarter-finals. He was due to face South African player Cliff Drysdale in the quarter-final but the Soviet delegation made him forfeit the match, in protest against apartheid. Leius and Winnie Shaw were mixed doubles runners-up at the 1971 French Open.

He was a regular fixture in the Soviet Davis Cup team during the 1960s and appeared in a total of 20 ties, from which he managed 23 wins, 17 of them in singles.

On 13 May 1974, Toomas Leius strangled his wife Ene Leius (née Visnapuu) to death after finding her in bed with another man. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and was released after serving five years for good behavior.

He was born in Estonia.