Count Victor Eugen Felix Voß-Schönau (; 31 March 1868 – 9 August 1936) was a German

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and

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 in the late 19th century.

Biography

Count Victor Voss was born on the family estate at

Schorssow Schorssow is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...

in today Northeastern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to the Hungarian countess Elise Szapáry. At the beginning of the 1890s, he learned to play tennis with the help of an American coach, winning the German Championships three times in a row from 1894 to 1896, which were restricted to German and Austrian citizens at the time. In 1896, he was finalist at the

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

tournament which he lost to

Reginald Doherty Reginald "Reggie" or "R. F." Frank Doherty (14 October 1872 – 29 December 1910) was a British tennis player and the older brother of tennis player Laurence Doherty. He was known in the tennis world as "R.F." rather than "Reggie".

. In 1897 he hired a coach named Thomas Burke (father of Albert Burke) and began to play in tournaments at the

Riviera ''Riviera'' () is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form ''Riviera ligure'', then shortened in English. The two areas ...

. He reached the final at

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

in 1897 and

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

in 1898, but lost to Reginald and his brother

Laurence Doherty Hugh Laurence "Laurie" Doherty (8 October 1875 – 21 August 1919) was a British tennis player and the younger brother of tennis player Reginald Doherty. He was a six-time Grand Slam champion and a double Olympic Gold medalist at the 1900 Sum ...

, respectively. In 1899, Voss traveled to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in order to take part in tournaments there. At the Irish Open, he lost his second round match against

Frank Riseley Frank Lorymer Riseley (6 July 1877 – 6 February 1959) was a British tennis player. He was a three time Wimbledon singles finalist (1903, 1904, 1906), two time Wimbledon doubles champion (1902, 1906) and won ten career singles titles. Career R ...

in five sets. At Chiswick Park he lost against George Greville. He reached the final at Nice once again in this year, but lost to Laurence Doherty in three straight sets without winning a single game. Voss usually played at the tennis facilities at

Heiligendamm Heiligendamm () is a German seaside resort founded in 1793. It is the oldest seaside spa in continental Europe. Heiligendamm is part of the town Bad Doberan in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and historically belongs to Mecklenburg. The clus ...

, where he frequently met with Russian Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna and countess Clara von der Schulenburg. He used to wrap a wet towel around his forehead while playing, as he said it would prevent his glasses from fogging.

A. Wallis Myers Arthur Wallis Myers (24 July 1878 – 17 June 1939) was an English tennis correspondent, editor, author and player. He was one of the leading tennis journalists of the first half of the 20th century. Family life Myers was son of the Rev. John ...

wrote about Voss: "He has a good forehand ground stroke and volleys well, but his service, though hard, is easy to take, he smashes only moderately, and his ground stroke is poor." After losing to

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 ...

in the semifinals of the 1900 German Championships, Voss retired from playing tennis tournaments. He now focused on his two other hobbies, auto racing and

clay pigeon shooting Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting a firearm at special flying targets known as clay pigeons, or clay targets. The terminology commonly used by clay shooters often relates to time ...

. In 1911, he married a divorced Italian woman at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1928, he married Countess Clara von der Schulenburg at

Berlin-Grunewald Grunewald () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Famous for the homonymous forest, until 2001 administrative reform it was part of the former district of Wilmersdorf. Next to Licht ...

. Voss had two children, Paula and Hans-Alexander, with his first wife Francesca Ricci. He died reclusively in his house at Waren in 1936.

References

1860s births 1936 deaths German male tennis players Voss family {{Germany-tennis-bio-stub