 Bueno in 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Maria Esther Andion Bueno | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Brazil | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1939-10-11)11 October 1939 São Paulo, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||
| Died | 8 June 2018(2018-06-08) (aged 78) São Paulo, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1950 | |||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1977 | |||||||||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | |||||||||||||||||
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1978(member page) | |||||||||||||||||
| Official website | www.mariabueno.org | |||||||||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career record | 652–168 (80%) | |||||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No.1 (1959) | |||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | F (1965) | |||||||||||||||||
| French Open | F (1964) | |||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | W (1959,1960,1964) | |||||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (1959,1963,1964,1966) | |||||||||||||||||
| Doubles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | W (1960) | |||||||||||||||||
| French Open | W (1960) | |||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | W (1958,1960,1963,1965,1966) | |||||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (1960, 1962, 1966, 1968) | |||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | SF (1960) | |||||||||||||||||
| French Open | W (1960) | |||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | F (1959, 1960, 1967) | |||||||||||||||||
| US Open | F (1958, 1960) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||
Maria Esther Andion Bueno (11 October 1939 – 8 June 2018), also known asMaria Bueno orMEB for short, was a Brazilian professionaltennis player. During her 11-year career in the 1950s and 1960s, she won 19major titles (seven in women's singles, 11 in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles), making her the most successful South American tennis player in history, and the only one to ever winWimbledon in singles.[1] Bueno was the year-end No. 1 female player in 1959 and 1960 and was known for her graceful style of play, that earned her the nickname "tennis ballerina", or "bailarina do tênis" in Portuguese”.[2]
In 1960, Bueno became the first woman to win theGrand Slam in doubles (all four majors in a year), three of them partneringDarlene Hard and one withChristine Truman.[3]
For 65 years, Bueno remained as the first and only Brazilian woman to have won a Grand Slam title, untilLuisa Stefani won the mixed doubles title alongside fellow BrazilianRafael Matos at theAustralian Open in 2023.[4]
Bueno was born inSão Paulo.[5] Her father, a businessman, was a keen club tennis player.[6] Her elder brother Pedro was also a tennis player.[6] She began playing tennis aged six[5][7] at the Clube de Regatas Tiete in São Paulo and, without having received any formal training, won her first tournament at age 12.[8] She was 15 when she won her country's women's singles championship.[9] She first went abroad in 1957 at age 17 and won the Orange Bowl juniors tournament in Florida, USA.[10][11]
Joining the international circuit in 1958, Bueno won the singles title at theItalian Championships.[a] The same year she gained the first of herGrand Slam titles, winning the women's doubles atWimbledon withAlthea Gibson.[13] The following year, Bueno won her first singles title at Wimbledon, defeatingDarlene Hard in the final.[14] She also won the singles title at theU.S. Championships after a straight-sets victory in the final againstChristine Truman, earning the World No. 1 ranking for 1959 and theAssociated Press Female Athlete of the Year award.[15] Bueno was the first non-North-American woman to win both Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships in the same calendar year. In her native Brazil, she returned as a national heroine, honored by the country's president and given a ticker-tape parade on the streets of São Paulo.[16]
According toLance Tingay of theDaily Telegraph and theDaily Mail andBud Collins, Bueno was ranked in the world top ten from 1958 through 1960 and from 1962 through 1968, reaching a career high of World No. 1 in those rankings in 1959 and 1960.[17] TheInternational Tennis Hall of Fame also lists her as the top ranked player in 1964 (after losing the final at the French Championships and winning both Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships) and 1966.
Bueno won the singles title at Wimbledon three times and at the U.S. Championships four times.[8] She was a singles finalist at theAustralian Championships and theFrench Championships, losing both finals toMargaret Smith. Bueno reached at least the quarterfinals in each of the first 26 Grand Slam singles tournaments she played.[9] This streak ended at Wimbledon in 1967 when she lost in the fourth round because of an arm injury.[citation needed]
As a doubles player, Bueno won twelve Grand Slam championships with six different partners. In 1960, she became the first woman to win the women's doubles title at all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same calendar year, partnered withChristine Truman at the Australian Championships and Hard at the French Championships, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Championships.[18]
Her playing career was affected by various arm and leg injuries.[7][9] She played only intermittently after 1968; her final tournament win was theJapan Open in 1974, her only professional win.[5][9] She retired from playing in 1977.[19]
Her playing style was described as bold and aggressive; she had a hardserve, was a strongvolleyer, and often came into the net.[9]Bud Collins described her as "incomparably balletic and flamboyant".[9] She did not use a coach,[7][9] and attributed her speed on the court to training with men.[7] The American playerBillie Jean King acknowledged her as an influence.[20] She was also known for her on-court style, wearing tennis dresses designed byTed Tinling.[7][9]
Bueno worked as a commentator forSporTV, a Brazilian cable television sports channel.[19]
Bueno died on 8 June 2018, aged 78, at a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, where she had been admitted for mouth cancer.[21][5] She was diagnosed in 2016 withvirulentMerkel-cell carcinoma, a rare and highly aggressiveskin cancer.[22] A minute's applause in honour of Bueno was held as a tribute before theWomen's Singles final at the 2018 French Open the day after her death.[23]
In 1959Correios do Brasil issued a postal stamp honouring her title at the Wimbledon Ladies Singles Championships.[9] That same year theAssociated Press voted herFemale Athlete of the Year.[21] In 1978, Bueno was inducted into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame inNewport, Rhode Island.[9]
Bueno was awarded the International Club's prestigiousJean Borotra Sportsmanship Award in 2003.
The Seniors World Team Championships for the women's 50 age category is named "Maria Esther Bueno Cup" by theInternational Tennis Federation (ITF) in her honour.[24] In 2015 the centre court of theOlympic Tennis Centre in Rio de Janeiro was named after her.[25]
In October 2018, Maria Esther Bueno received the Medal of Sporting Merit from the Chamber of Councilors of São Paulo, according to the Resolution 03/2014. The award is instituted within the scope of the Municipality of São Paulo, to be awarded annually to the entity or citizen of São Paulo in recognition of the relevance of services rendered in favor of sport in the Municipality of São Paulo, or that, in any case, have contributed to the aggrandizement of the sport or significantly encourage its practice, whether through personal goals achieved or activity with society.[26]
Bueno won 19 and Loss 16 of her Grand Slam finals.[27][28] This represents a success rate of 54%.
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | 1959 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Darlene Hard | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Won | 1959 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  Christine Truman | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Won | 1960 | Wimbledon(2) | Grass |  Sandra Reynolds | 8–6, 6–0 |
| Loss | 1960 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Darlene Hard | 4–6, 12–10, 4–6 |
| Won | 1963 | U.S. Championships(2) | Grass |  Margaret Court | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1964 | French Championships | Clay | Margaret Court | 7–5, 1–6, 2–6 |
| Won | 1964 | Wimbledon(3) | Grass | Margaret Court | 6–4, 7–9, 6–3 |
| Won | 1964 | U.S. Championships(3) | Grass | Carole Caldwell Graebner | 6–1, 6–0 |
| Loss | 1965 | Australian Championships | Grass | Margaret Court | 7–5, 4–6, 2–5, ret. |
| Loss | 1965 | Wimbledon | Grass | Margaret Court | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 1966 | Wimbledon | Grass | Billie Jean King | 3–6, 6–3, 1–6 |
| Won | 1966 | U.S. Championships(4) | Grass | Nancy Richey | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | 1958 | Wimbledon | Grass | Althea Gibson | Margaret Osborne duPontMargaret Varner | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Loss | 1958 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Althea Gibson | Jeanne ArthDarlene Hard | 6–2, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1959 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Sally Moore | Jeanne Arth Darlene Hard | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Won | 1960 | Australian Championships | Grass | Christine Truman | Lorraine Coghlan RobinsonMargaret Court | 6–2, 5–7, 6–2 |
| Won | 1960 | French Championships | Clay | Darlene Hard | Ann Haydon-JonesPatricia Ward Hales | 6–2, 7–5 |
| Won | 1960 | Wimbledon(2) | Grass | Darlene Hard | Sandra ReynoldsRenée Schuurman | 6–4, 6–0 |
| Won | 1960 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Darlene Hard | Ann Haydon-JonesDeidre Catt | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Loss | 1961 | French Championships | Clay | Darlene Hard | Sandra ReynoldsRenée Schuurman | walkover |
| Won | 1962 | U.S. Championships(2) | Grass | Darlene Hard | Billie Jean MoffittKaren Hantze Susman | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Won | 1963 | Wimbledon(3) | Grass | Darlene Hard | Margaret CourtRobyn Ebbern | 8–6, 9–7 |
| Loss | 1963 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Darlene Hard | Margaret Court Robyn Ebbern | 6–4, 8–10, 3–6 |
| Won | 1965 | Wimbledon(4) | Grass | Billie Jean Moffitt |  Françoise DürrJanine Lieffrig | 6–2, 7–5 |
| Won | 1966 | Wimbledon(5) | Grass | Nancy Richey | Margaret CourtJudy Tegart | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Won | 1966 | U.S. Championships(3) | Grass | Nancy Richey | Billie Jean KingRosemary Casals | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1967 | Wimbledon | Grass | Nancy Richey | Rosemary Casals Billie Jean King | 11–9, 4–6, 2–6 |
| Won | 1968 | US Open(4) | Grass | Margaret Court | Billie Jean King Rosemary Casals | 4–6, 9–7, 8–6 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1958 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Alex Olmedo | Margaret Osborne duPontNeale Fraser | 3–6, 6–3, 7–9 |
| Loss | 1959 | Wimbledon | Grass | Neale Fraser | Darlene HardRod Laver | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Won | 1960 | French Championships | Clay | Bob Howe | Ann Haydon-JonesRoy Emerson | 1–6, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1960 | Wimbledon | Grass | Bob Howe | Darlene Hard Rod Laver | 11–13, 6–3, 6–8 |
| Loss | 1960 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  Antonio Palafox | Margaret Osborne duPont Neale Fraser | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1965 | French Championships | Clay | John Newcombe | Margaret CourtKen Fletcher | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1967 | Wimbledon | Grass | Ken Fletcher | Billie Jean KingOwen Davidson | 6–3, 2–6, 13–15 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969–1975 | 1976 | 1977 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | A | A | A | QF | A | A | A | A | F | A | A | A | A | A | A / A | 0 / 2 |
| France | 1R | SF | QF | SF | QF | A | A | F | SF | SF | QF | QF | A | 1R | A | 0 / 11 |
| Wimbledon | A | QF | W | W | A | SF | QF | W | F | F | 4R | QF | A | 4R | 3R | 3 / 12 |
| United States | A | QF | W | F | A | SF | W | W | SF | W | 2R | SF | A | 3R | 2R | 4 / 12 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 2 / 3 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 1 / 2 | 2 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 1 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 7 / 37 |
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
