Toomas Leius (born 28 August 1941) is a former tennis player from Estonia who competed for the Soviet Union.ITF Tennis: Toomas Leius
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Career

Leius was the boys' singles champion at the

1959 Wimbledon Championships The 1959 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 22 June until Saturday 4 July 1959. It was the 73rd ...

. He won the Soviet Championships in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1968. 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 Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years befor ...

to five sets at the

1969 Heineken Open The 1969 New Zealand Open (also known as the 1969 Benson & Hedges Open for sponsorship reasons) was the first New Zealand Open to be staged as an open tournament (allowing amateurs and professionals to play together). It was a joint men's and wome ...

. He was a gold medalist in the mixed doubles at the

1970 Summer Universiade The 1970 Summer Universiade, also known as the VI Summer Universiade, took place in Turin, Italy. After the city of Lisbon, Portugal failed to host the 1969 Summer Universiade, the games were assigned to Turin to be held next year. Sports at t ...

in Turin, with

Tiiu Parmas Tiiu Parmas (18 December 1943 – 23 August 2011) was an Estonian tennis player. She competed under her maiden name Tiiu Kivi, until her marriage to coach Jaak Parmas in 1969. Born in Tallinn, Parmas was the Soviet national champion in 1968 and m ...

. His best performance in the singles draw of a Grand Slam tournament came at the

1965 French Championships The 1965 French Championships (now known as the French Open) was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 17 May until 29 May. It was the 69th staging of th ...

, where he made the quarter-finals.Tennis Archives: Toomas Karlovich Lejus
/ref> 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 Winifred Mason Shaw (later Mrs. Wooldridge) (18 January 1947 – 30 March 1992) was a professional tennis player from Scotland whose career ran from the mid-1960s until the early 70s. In 2002, she posthumously was inducted into the Scottish S ...

were mixed doubles runners-up at the

1971 French Open The 1971 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 24 May until 6 June. It was the 75th staging of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam ...

. He was a regular fixture in the Soviet

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

team during the 1960s and appeared in a total of 20 ties, from which he managed 23 wins, 17 of them in singles.Davis Cup: Tomas Leius
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Murder conviction and prison

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.

Coaching

Leius worked as a tennis coach after leaving prison and spent some time as captain of the

Estonia Fed Cup team The Estonia Billie Jean King Cup team represents Estonia in the Billie Jean King Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Estonian Tennis Association. Estonia has competed in Fed Cup since 1992. In 2022, Estonia competes in the 2022 Bil ...

.Fed Cup - Tie details - 2000 - Estonia v Madagascar
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Grand Slam finals

Mixed doubles: 1 (0–1)

Awards

* Estonian Sportspersonality of the year: 1961, 1963, 1965

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leius, Toomas 1941 births Living people Estonian male tennis players Sportspeople from Tallinn Soviet male tennis players Universiade medalists in tennis Estonian people convicted of murder Murder in Estonia Soviet people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Estonia People convicted of murder by the Soviet Union Uxoricides Tallinn University alumni Universiade gold medalists for the Soviet Union Universiade silver medalists for the Soviet Union Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Wimbledon junior champions Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade