Toomas Leius
 Leius in 1959 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country (sports) |  Soviet Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 28 August 1941 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 7 February 2025 (aged 83) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 3R (1969) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| French Open | QF (1965) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 3R (1960, 1963) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| US Open | 2R (1962) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | QF (1969) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | QF (1963) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 1R (1969) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| French Open | F (1971) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 3R (1967) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team competitions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Davis Cup | FEu (1967, 1969, 1970) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Toomas Leius (28 August 1941 – 7 February 2025) was an Estonian tennis player who competed for the Soviet Union.[2]
Career
[edit]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.[3] 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.[4]
Murder conviction and prison
[edit]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.[5][6]
Later life and death
[edit]Leius worked as a tennis coach after leaving prison and spent some time as captain of the Estonia Fed Cup team.[7]
Leius died on 7 February 2025, at the age of 83.[8]
Grand Slam finals
[edit]Mixed doubles: 1 (0–1)
[edit]| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1971 | French Open | Clay |  Winnie Shaw |
 Françoise Dürr Jean-Claude Barclay |
2–6, 4–6 |
Awards
[edit]- Estonian Sportspersonality of the year: 1961, 1963, 1965
References
[edit]- ↑ ATP World Tour: Toomas Leius
- ↑ ITF Tennis: Toomas Leius
- ↑ Tennis Archives: Toomas Karlovich Lejus
- ↑ Davis Cup: Tomas Leius
- ↑ Brown, Cameron (2005). Wimbledon Facts, Figures & Fun. AAPPL.
- ↑ Fyodorov, Gennady (23 September 1997). "Former Soviet Soccer Star Arrested for Killing Woman". The Moscow Times.
- ↑ Fed Cup - Tie details - 2000 - Estonia v Madagascar
- ↑ "Suri Eesti tenniselegend Toomas Leius". Delfi Sport. 8 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
External links
[edit]- Toomas Leius at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Toomas Leius at World Tennis
- Toomas Leius at the Davis Cup (archived)
- Toomas Leius at Wimbledon
- Toomas Leius at IMDb
- 1941 births
- 2025 deaths
- Estonian male tennis players
- Tennis players from Tallinn
- Soviet male tennis players
- Summer World University Games 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
- Tallinn University alumni
- FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Soviet Union
- FISU World University Games 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
- Sportspeople convicted of murder
- 20th-century Estonian sportsmen
- Violence against women in Estonia
- Perpetrators of uxoricide