Thomasine Doreen Sansoni (11 October 1911 – 22 June 1977) was a Sri Lankan

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player and national No. 1. She won a total of twenty eight career titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles from 1935 to 1946. Adaptable at competing on two natural surfaces she won titles on both

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

courts. She remains the most successful Sri Lankan female player.

Tennis career

Sansoni began her tennis career in 1931. In April 1933 she reached the semi-finals of the national championships played at the Hill Club in

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrativ ...

. She won her first singles at the

Ceylon Championships The Ceylon Championships later known as the Sri Lankan Championships (1972–76) was a men's and women's national tennis tournament held at the Hill Club Tennis Club, Nuwara Eliya British Ceylon now Sri Lanka from 1884 through 1976. History The C ...

in 1935. At the same event that year she earned the distinction of being the first female player to achieve the triple crown by winning both the doubles and mixed doubles. In 1936 she successfully defended her Ceylon Championships title and won the event a further five times, (1937-1940, 1946) her seven singles titles remain a national record she shares with British colonial player Mrs. G. D. H. (Tiny) Alston. In addition she won the Malayan Championships four straight times from 1936 to 1939. In December 1945 she won the singles title at the Bengal Championships in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, India defeating M. Nolan in straight sets. Her final title came at the All India Championships in January 1946 where she won the singles title, defeating Sarah Mody in three sets. Sansoni was also a successful doubles player, winning the Ceylon ladies doubles championships four times and the mixed doubles championship eight times, partnering with her cousin Hildon Sansoni. Her combined nineteen national titles remain a record. She won the Malayan Championships doubles title in 1936 and the mixed doubles title in 1938. She won the doubles title at the 1941 All India Championships in

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

, partnering with Indian player Khanum Haji.

Playing style

Personal life

Sansoni was born in

Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country and ...

into a prominent

Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

family. Her father was Waldo Sansoni, (1883-1966 ), OBE, a former

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

commanding the Ceylon Light Infantry regiment, who later became a district judge, and her mother was Thomasin Gertrude Harriet Schrader, (1889-1941) Sansoni had four siblings from her father's first marriage.

Career finals

Singles (15) titles (13) runner's up (2)

References

Sources

* Altendorf, D. V. "GENEALOGY OF THE FAMILY OF SANSONI OF CEYLON VOL 49" (PDF). thedutchburgherunion.org. Sri Lankan Dutch Burgher Union. 1959.

External links

University of Adelaide Sri Lanka papers ca. 1800-1999Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA)https://thuppahi.Dr. Michael Roberts/about
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sansoni, Doreen Sri Lankan female tennis players 1911 births Year of death missing People from Negombo Sri Lankan people of Italian descent Burgher people Sportspeople from Western Province, Sri Lanka