 Pericoli in 1974 | |
| Country (sports) |  Italy |
|---|---|
| Born | (1935-03-22)22 March 1935 Milan, Italy |
| Died | 4 October 2024(2024-10-04) (aged 89) Milan, Italy |
| Singles | |
| Career record | no value |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1965) |
| French Open | 4R (1955, 1960, 1964, 1971) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1965, 1967, 1970) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | no value |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (1965) |
| French Open | SF (1964) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1960) |
Lea Pericoli (22 March 1935 – 4 October 2024) was an Italian tennis player and later television presenter and journalist fromMilan.[1] She reached the last sixteen of the French Open twice and theWimbledon Championships three times, and is also famous for her choice of clothing.[2][3]
Pericoli reached the last sixteen of theFrench Championships singles in1960 and1964. She reached the fourth round of Wimbledon three times in1965,1967, and1970.
Pericoli won theBelgian open of 1955, after a win overChristiane Mercelis in the final, 6-3, 6-3.
Partnered byHelga Schultze, Pericoli won the doubles title at the 1974WTA Swiss Open, defeatingKayoko Fukuoka andMichelle Rodríguez in the final in straight sets.
Pericoli made herFed Cup debut forItaly 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.[4] Her last Fed Cup match was in 1975.
She partnered withSilvana Lazzarino to reach five women's doubles finals in six years (1962–65, 1967) at theItalian International Championships, with four of those coming in consecutive years.
In 1955, Pericoli played at theWimbledon Championships wearing clothes designed byTed Tinling.[5] 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 the1964 Wimbledon Championships caught the attention of observers.[2]
In 2001, theSunday 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 likeAnna Kournikova".[6]
Pericoli had a contract withSuperga for modelling shoes.[7]
Pericoli was popular on Italian television in the 1970s,[8] presenting the programsParoliamo andCaccia al Tesoro in addition to commentating tennis.
Pericoli was introduced to journalism byIndro Montanelli.[7] She worked as a tennis and fashion journalist.[9] She was a journalist forIl Giornale.[10]
Pericoli wrote the autobiographical bookMaldafrica, published in Italian in 2009.[11]ISBN 978-88-317-9889-1
She married Tito Fontana in 1964.[4] Pericoli died on 4 October 2024, at the age of 89.[12]
On 7 May 2015, in the presence of the President ofItalian National Olympic Committee (CONI),Giovanni Malagò, was inaugurated in theOlympic Park of theForo Italico inRome, alongViale delle Olimpiadi, theWalk of Fame of Italian sport, consisting of 100 tiles that chronologically report names of the most representative athletes in the history of Italian sport. On each tile is the honoree's name and sport and the symbol of CONI. One of these tiles is dedicated to Lea Pericoli.[13]
Pericoli was awarded the Fed Cup Award of Excellence in 2007.[4][14]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | Win–loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1–0 |
| French Open | 3R | A | 1R | 3R | A | 4R | 1R | 3R | A | 4R | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 11–10 |
| Wimbledon | 2R | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 4R | 2R | A | A | A | 2R | 15–14 |
| US Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0–0 |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
