Ernest Wool Lewis (5 April 1867 – 19 April 1930) was a British amateur

lawn 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 cove ...

player who was active at the end of the 19th century.

Career

Ernest Lewis reached the final of the first

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

gentlemen's doubles competition held in 1884. Partnering E.L. Williams they lost the final to the famous tennis brothers

Ernest Renshaw Ernest James Renshaw (3 January 1861 – 2 September 1899) was a British tennis player who was active in the late 19th century. Together with his twin brother William Renshaw, Ernest won the men's doubles at Wimbledon five times. He also won t ...

and

William Renshaw William Charles Renshaw (3 January 1861 – 12 August 1904) was a British tennis player active during the late 19th century, who was ranked world No. 1. He won twelve Major titles during his career. A right-hander, he was known for his pow ...

in four sets. With partner

George Hillyard George Whiteside Hillyard (6 February 1864 – 24 March 1943) was a male tennis player from the United Kingdom. Under his supervision as secretary of the All England Club from 1907 to 1925, the Wimbledon Championships moved to its current site ...

he reached and lost the 1889 and 1890 gentlemen's doubles finals. In 1892 he won his first and only Wimbledon title when together with Harry S. Barlow they defeated another famous team of tennis brothers,

Herbert Baddeley Herbert Baddeley (11 January 1872 – 20 July 1931) was a British male tennis player and the younger of the Baddeley twins. Herbert reached the singles semi finals at Wimbledon three times. In 1894 he beat Harry S. Barlow before losing to Ern ...

and

Wilfred Baddeley Wilfred Baddeley (11 January 1872 – 24 January 1929) was a British male tennis player and the elder of the Baddeley twins. Career Wilfred, the better-known competitor, made his debut at Wimbledon in 1889 and he went on to win singles ti ...

, in four sets. In total Lewis would reach seven doubles finals at the

during his career (1884,1889, 1890, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895). In the gentlemen's singles competition at Wimbledon his best result was reaching the final of the all-comers tournament on four occasions ( 1886, 1888, 1892 and 1894). In 1886 Lawford beat

from 2 sets to 0 down in the quarter finals before losing the all comers final to

Herbert Lawford Herbert Fortescue Lawford (15 May 1851 – 20 April 1925) was a former world No. 1 tennis player from Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, ...

in five sets. In 1888 he lost the all comers final to Ernest Renshaw in four sets. In 1892 Lewis led 2 sets to 0 against

Joshua Pim Dr Joshua Pim FRCSI (20 May 1869 – 15 April 1942) was a medical doctor and Irish amateur tennis player. He won the Wimbledon men's singles title two years in a row, in 1893 and 1894, and was ranked British number one in both those years. H ...

in the all comers final but lost in five sets. In 1894 he won against

in the semifinal in a close five set match but was solidly defeated in the final by

, 0–6, 1–6, 0–6. Lewis won the singles title at the

Irish Championships Irish Open may refer to: *Irish Open (golf), a golf tournament on the European Tour **Irish Senior Open, a golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour **Ladies Irish Open, a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour * Irish Open (darts), annual ...

in 1890 after a close–fought battle in the challenge round against

Willoughby Hamilton Willoughby Hamilton (born as James Willoughby Hamilton; 9 December 1864 – 27 September 1943) was a co-world No. 1 Irish male tennis player, a footballer and international badminton player. Tennis career Hamilton played his first tournament ...

, 3–6, 3–6, 9–7, 6–4, 7–5. He defended his Irish title in 1891 in a straight sets victory over Irishman

. In 1892 he was victorious at the

London Championships London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

at the

Queens Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship re ...

, defeating Joshua Pim in the final. He won the singles title at the British Covered Court Championships seven times; in 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1895 and 1896. The first five titles were won when the tournament was played at its original location in

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

, the last two titles were won at the Queen's Club in London. He also won the

Middlesex Championships The Middlesex Championships. or Middlesex Lawn Tennis Championships and also known as the Middlesex Open Tennis Championships was a men's and women's grass court tennis founded at the Chiswick Park Lawn Tennis Club, Chiswick Park, Chiswick, Middles ...

at Chiswick Park four times consecutivley from 1887 to 1890, and fifth title again in 1892. His other career singles highlights include winning the Gore Court Championships at

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

in 1885, the South Saxons Tournament at St Leonards-on-Sea in 1889.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (4 runners-up)

Doubles (1 title, 6 runners-up)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Ernest 19th-century English people 19th-century male tennis players Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) 1867 births 1930 deaths Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles People from Hammersmith English male tennis players British male tennis players Tennis people from Greater London