Count Mikhail Sumarokov-Elston was a Russian nobleman and a renowned tennis player. He began playing tennis at a young age and became one of the best players in pre-revolutionary Russia, winning the national singles title five consecutive times from 1910 to 1914 and representing the Russian Empire at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, becoming one of the country’s first Olympic tennis competitors.

An acquaintance of Emperor Nicholas II, who was himself an avid tennis player (see lot 92), Mikhail played tennis with him on several occasions. In his diary from 1913, Nicholas II wrote: ‘Today, Count Sumarokov, a young student, played tennis – he is the best player in Russia. There is something to learn from him.’

Mikhail Sumarokov-Elston was the youngest son of Count Nikolai Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston (1861-1908) and the nephew of Count Felix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston, Prince Yusupov (1856-1928). Following the Revolution of 1917, Mikhail emigrated in 1919, residing briefly in Malta before settling in Nice, France. There, he won the South of France Championship three consecutive times from 1920 to 1922, notably defeating world indoor champion Henri Cochet. He turned professional in 1936, won three Russian émigré titles during the 1930s, and relocated to London in 1937, where he worked at an Anglo-Russian sports club until 1939.