Keats Lester

{{short description|British tennis player}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox tennis biography

| name = Keats Lester

| fullname = Horace Keats Lester

| nickname =

| image =

| caption =

| country = {{flagicon|GBR}} Great Britain

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1904|8|4}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1946|6|16|1904|8|4}}

| death_place = London, England

| plays =

| turnedpro =

| retired = 1934

| FrenchOpenresult = 4R (1927)

| Wimbledonresult = 4R (1926, 1930)

| doublesrecord =

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| grandslamsdoublesresults =

| AustralianOpenDoublesresult =

| FrenchOpenDoublesresult =

| WimbledonDoublesresult = QF (1927, 1932)

| USOpenDoublesresult =

| OthertournamentsDoubles =

| MastersCupDoublesresult =

| OlympicsDoublesresult =

| Mixed = yes

| mixedtitles =

| mixedrecord =

| AustralianOpenMixedresult =

| FrenchOpenMixedresult =

| WimbledonMixedresult = 3R (1926, 1932)

| USOpenMixedresult =

}}

Horace Keats Lester (4 August 1904 – 16 June 1946) was a tennis player from England who competed for Great Britain.{{Cite web |url=http://itftennis.com/ProCircuit/players/player/profile.aspx?PlayerID=10003886 |title=ITF Pro Circuit Profile |access-date=4 July 2015 |archive-date=5 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705192056/http://www.itftennis.com/ProCircuit/players/player/profile.aspx?PlayerID=10003886 |url-status=live }} He was a pupil at The Leys School, Cambridge.

Career

Lester took part in the Wimbledon Championships every year from 1923 to 1934, for a total of 12 appearances.{{cite web |title=Player archive – Keats Lester |url=https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/draws_archive/player_profile/63953903-546d-4c9b-8709-7f1a016f8052.html |website=Wimbledon |publisher=AELTC}}

He represented Great Britain in the 1926 International Lawn Tennis Challenge. His only match was a dead rubber in Great Britain's Europe Zone semi-final win over Spain in Barcelona, which he lost in straight sets to Raimundo Morales-Marques.[http://www.daviscup.com/en/players/player/profile.aspx?playerid=10003886 Davis Cup Profile]

At the 1927 French Championships, Lester was the only seeded British player (12th). He was beaten in the fourth round by Patrick Spence, after having wins over Frenchman Alain Bernard, American Jimmy Van Alen and South African Jack Condon.

Death

Lester was killed on 16 June 1946, when he fell 100 feet from the roof of his block of flatsCanberra Times, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2687225 "Ex-Tennis Player Killed In Fall"], 18 June 1946, p. 2 in Chesham Place, Westminster."LESTER Horace Keats of 20 Chesham-place London S.W.1" in Wills and Administrations 1946 (England and Wales) (1947), p. 284 It was initially reported that he had been sleepwalking but an inquest in July ruled that Lester had committed suicide, while of "unsound mind".Daily News, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77821923 "Former Tennis Star Suicides"], 5 July 1946, p.17 He left an estate valued for probate at £24,551.

References