Rome, 4 October 2024 – The sad announcement was made by the Italian Tennis Federation: Lea Pericoli has died, 89 years old, the ‘lady’ of Italian tennis.

Master of elegance, on and off the pitch, was one of the first women to write about tennis in newspapers and on TV after having been a champion. Lea Pericoli’s sporting history is characterised from its class and style. She was the record-breaking champion of Italian tennis, with 27 titles to her name in the national championships in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

Lea Pericoli was born in Milan on March 22, 1935With racket in hand she fought in the Grand Slam tournaments reaching four times the round of 16 at Roland Garros (1955, 1960, 1964 and 1971) and three times on the grass of Wimbledon (1965, 1967 and 1970).

Elegance and skill: was number 14 in Italy for 1 years, between 1959 and 1976, an absolute record, but it is not enough because she was also number 2 four more times (1960, 1961, 1962 and 1973). She played 29 matches in the national team, with a record of eight victories in singles and six in doubles. At the Italian Internationals she was a semifinalist in 1967, she reached the quarterfinals four times (4, 1959, 1962 and 1969) and the eighth finals eight times (1971, 8, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1963, 1964 and 1965). Unforgettable are her doubles matches with Silvana Lazzarino as her partner who led the duo to play five finals (from 1970 to 1972 and in 1962).

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Lea Pericoli has died at 89. Considered the lady of Italian tennis, she was not only a champion on the court but also an icon of style and elegance. She was also one of the first women to talk about tennis in newspapers and on TV after playing it at the highest levels.

A life that seems to come out of a movie, she took her first racket in Addis Ababa, where her father had moved with his family following the Ethiopian War. From there, her great love for tennis, continued in Kenya, where she had been sent to study.

At just 17 years old, she realizes that she can ask more from tennis. On vacation in Versiglia, where Paolo Bertolucci’s father taught, she decides that her life will be on the tennis courts. Strong against prejudice, she has shown her character by facing and defeating two cancers: a uterine cancer in 1973 and a breast cancer in 2012.

The note from the Italian Tennis Federation reads: “President Angelo Binaghi and the entire Italian tennis movement embrace his family with affection in this moment of great pain.”

The pain of Nicola Pietrangeli: “She was a sister to me and a life companion. There are not enough words to describe what I feel”. Then he recalls: “The last time we saw each other was last year at the Finals in Turin. Then Lea had closed herself off a bit in itself. I suffer because I won’t even be able to go to the funeral. I will be criticized but I hope people understand.”