US Open DNP Australian Open 2R (1965) Name Lea Pericoli | French Open 4R (1960, 1964) Role Tennis player Wimbledon 4R (1965, 1967, 1970) | |
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Born 22 March 1935 (age 89) Milan, Italy ( 1935-03-22 ) | ||
Lea pericoli a pulcheria devo tutto al tennis
Lea Pericoli (born 22 March 1935) is an Italian former tennis player and later television presenter and journalist from Milan. She reached the last sixteen of the French Open two times and the Wimbledon Championships three times, and is also famous for her choice of clothing.
Contents
- Lea pericoli a pulcheria devo tutto al tennis
- Io e il tennis lea pericoli 1a parte
- Family background
- Grand Slam
- Titles
- Fed Cup
- Italian championships
- Clothing
- Awards
- Sponsorship
- Television
- Journalist
- Author
- Singles performance timeline
- References
Io e il tennis lea pericoli 1a parte
Family background
Pericoli married L. Fontana in 1965.
Grand Slam
Pericoli reached the last sixteen of the French Championships singles in 1960 and 1964. She reached the fourth round of Wimbledon three times in 1965, 1967, and 1970.
Titles
Partnered by Helga Schultze, Pericoli won the doubles title at the 1974 WTA Swiss Open, defeating Kayoko Fukuoka and Michelle Rodriguez 6–2, 6–0 in the final.
Fed Cup
Pericoli made her Fed Cup debut for Italy in its inaugural year, 1963, and represented Italy in nine years of the competition, winning 8 of her 16 singles matches and 7 of her 14 doubles matches. Her last Fed Cup match was in 1975.
Italian championships
Together with Silvana Lazzarino, reached the final of the Italian Championships doubles six years consecutively from 1962 to 1967.
Clothing
In 1955, Pericoli played at the Wimbledon Championships wearing clothes designed by Ted Tinling. Her clothing generated so much interest in later years, that it was kept secret until her appearances on the court. In particular, her fur-lined clothing worn at the 1964 Wimbledon Championships caught the attention of observers.
In 2001, the Sunday Mirror quoted Pericoli as saying "I became famous because of my clothes, not my playing." and "I didn't make any money from tennis, but if I'd been born 30 years later I would have become terribly rich like Anna Kournikova".
Awards
Pericoli was awarded the Fed Cup Award of Excellence in 2007.
Sponsorship
Pericoli had a contract with Superga for modelling shoes.
Television
Pericoli was popular on Italian television in the 1970s, presenting the programs Paroliamo and Caccia al Tesoro in addition to commentating tennis.
Journalist
Pericoli was introduced to journalism by Indro Montanelli. She worked as a tennis and fashion journalist. She was a journalist for Il Giornale.
Author
Pericoli wrote the autobiographical book Maldafrica, which was published in Italian in 2009. ISBN 978-88-317-9889-1
Singles performance timeline
A = did not participate in the tournament.