The legend of the Soviet and Estonian tennis, Toomas Leius died at the age of 83. He left a significant mark in the history of sports, becoming one of the brightest tennis players in the USSR and the coach who raised more than one generation of players.
Leius was born in Tallinn on August 28, 1941 and began to engage in tennis from 10 years old. At the age of 16, he became a master of sports of the USSR, and in 1959 the first of the Soviet athletes was won by the junior Wimbledon. For 16 years he was part of the ten best tennis players in the USSR, was the absolute champion of the country and the sports day of the peoples of the USSR. In 1969 he became the first Soviet tennis player to speak at the Australian Open.
His distinguishing feature was tactical literacy. The lack of physical training, Leius compensated for the ability to calculate the moves of the rivals, for which he received the nickname " In the 1960s, he was one of the most famous Soviet athletes, his contribution to the development of tennis was highly appreciated by colleagues.
Leius's personal life has developed dramatic. In 1972, he married the Dancer of the Tallinn Varier Ane, but their marriage quickly cracked. While Leius was at the tournaments, his wife led a reckless lifestyle, and soon she had an affair with director Yuri Sherling.
According to contemporaries, this was the last straw for a tennis player. On the night of May 12 to 13, 1974, he strangled his wife in their Tallinn apartment.
The court took into account the tragic circumstances, including the death of his 21-year-old daughter from his first marriage a few days before the incident, and appointed a minimum period of eight years. However, three years later, Leius was released at the request of the colony administration.
After liberation, Leius devoted himself to the coaching work.
In the 1980s, he headed the Georgian national team, and after the collapse of the USSR he worked in Estonia. Among his wards was Ani's margin, as well as the wife of Estonia President Tomas Hendrick Ilves. He also actively participated in veteran tournaments and worked as a tennis commentator.
In 2008, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the fight against the disease turned out to be difficult. Despite health problems, he remained in tennis until the last years of his life, passing his experience to the new generations of athletes.