Lucia Valerio

Lucia Valerio (Italian pronunciation: [luˈtʃiːa vaˈlɛːrjo]; 28 February 1905 – 26 September 1996) was an Italian female tennis player who was active from the late 1920s through 1940.

Lucia Valerio
Country (sports) Italy
Born(1905-02-28)28 February 1905
Milan, Italy
Died26 September 1996(1996-09-26) (aged 91)
Milan, Italy
Retired1940
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
French OpenQF (1931, 1934, 1935)
WimbledonQF (1933)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open3R (1932)
Wimbledon3R (1933)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open3R (1932, 1933, 1934)
WimbledonQF (1935)

Valerio's father taught her to play tennis on the court at their home. Before settling on tennis, she practiced fencing, horse riding, and skiing.[1] Her favorite strokes were forehand passing shots and her cut service.[2]

From 1928 through 1938, she participated in seven Wimbledon Championships.[3] Her best result in singles was the quarterfinals of the 1933 Wimbledon Championships where she lost to second-seeded Dorothy Round, the eventual runner-up.[4] That same year, she partnered with Madzy Rollin Couquerque to reach the third round of the women's doubles competition. In the 1935 mixed doubles competition, she and partner Don Turnbull lost in the quarterfinals to the top-seeded pair of Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling and Gottfried Von Cramm.

In 1930, Valerio played against Phyllis Satterthwaite in the final of the Bordighera tournament on the Italian Riviera. Satterthwaite was a baseline player with a game based on safety and keeping the ball in play. At match point, her determination not to make an error resulted in a rally lasting 450 strokes. Satterthwaite won that point and the match.[5]

At the French International Championships, she reached the quarterfinals in 1931, 1934 (losing to Simonne Mathieu), and 1935. On her way to winning the 1935 title, Cilly Aussem defeated Valerio in straight sets.[6]

In 1931, Valerio won the singles title at the Italian Championships in Milan, defeating Dorothy Andrus in the three-set final. She also won the mixed doubles title with Pat Hughes.[2] She was the runner-up in singles at the inaugural 1930 Italian Championships and at the 1932, 1934, and 1935 editions.

Valerio was part of the Italian team that toured India in 1932, and, during that trip, she won the singles title at the East and West of India Championships.[2]

Tournament finals

Singles: 7 (2 titles, 5 runners-up)
Result Year Tournament Opponent Score
Loss1930Italian Championships Lilí Álvarez6–3, 6–8, 0–6
Win1930Villa d'Este Championship [7][8] Ida Adamoff6–3, 6–4
Win1931Italian Championships Dorothy Andrus2–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss1931Swiss Championships Lolette Payot4–6, 7–5, 3–6
Loss1932Italian Championships Ida Adamoff4–6, 5–7
Loss1934Italian Championships Helen Jacobs3–6, 0–6
Loss1935Italian Championships Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling4–6, 1–6

References
  1. "C' era una volta Lucia la Signora del tennis". Corriere della Sera. 27 September 1996. p. 44.
  2. Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annual. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. 1935. p. 240.
  3. "Wimbledon players archive – Lucia Valerio" (PDF). All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  4. "Wimbledon draws archive – 1933 Ladies' Singles". All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
  5. Jon Henderson (27 March 2005). "Two thousand strokes - one point". The Guardian.
  6. Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). New York City: New Chapter Press. p. 393. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  7. "Mlle Ida Adamoff à la Ville' d'Este". Le Figaro. 1 October 1930. p. 8.
  8. Béla Kehrling, ed. (22 October 1930). "Külföldi hírek" [International news] (PDF). Tennisz és Golf (in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: Bethlen Gábor Irod. és Nyomdai R.T. II (19–20): 375.
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