Lea Pericoli

{{Short description|Italian tennis player and journalist (1935–2024)}}

{{Infobox tennis biography

| name = Lea Pericoli

| image = Lea Pericoli 1974.jpg

| caption = Pericoli in 1974

| country = {{ITA}}

| residence =

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1935|03|22}}

| birth_place = Milan, Italy

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2024|10|04|1935|03|22}}

| death_place = Milan, Italy

| height =

| weight =

| turnedpro =

| plays =

| careerprizemoney =

| singlesrecord =

| singlestitles =

| highestsinglesranking =

| AustralianOpenresult= 2R (1965)

| FrenchOpenresult= 4R (1955, 1960, 1964, 1971)

| Wimbledonresult= 4R (1965, 1967, 1970)

| AustralianOpenDoublesresult = 1R (1965)

| FrenchOpenDoublesresult = SF (1964)

| WimbledonDoublesresult = QF (1960)

}}

Lea Pericoli (22 March 1935 – 4 October 2024) was an Italian tennis player and later television presenter and journalist from Milan.{{Cite web | title =Vente Façonnable au profit de La Lega contro il Tumore | work =Italie – Article bilingue anglais / français | publisher =Podcast Journal | date =24 December 2009 | url =http://www.podcastjournal.net/Vente-Faconnable-au-profit-de-La-Lega-contro-il-Tumore_a3866.html | accessdate =15 October 2010 }} She reached the last sixteen of the French Open twice and the Wimbledon Championships three times, and is also famous for her choice of clothing.{{Cite web | title =Game, set and a flash; How the girls brought a new frill to Wimbledon. | work =The Free Library – The Mirror | publisher =Farlex; Gale, Cengage Learning | date =28 June 1999 | url =http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Game,+set+and+a+flash%3B+How+the+girls+brought+a+new+frill+to+Wimbledon-a060255079 | accessdate =15 October 2010 }}{{Cite book | last =Craik | first =Jennifer | title =Uniforms exposed: from conformity to transgression page xiv | publisher =Berg Publishers | year =2005 | isbn =9781859738047 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=jCqtnx19D20C&q=%22Lea+Pericoli%22+tennis&pg=PR14 | accessdate =15 October 2010 }}

Tennis

=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 Rodríguez in the final in straight sets.

=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 international championships=

She partnered with Silvana Lazzarino to reach five women's doubles finals in six years (1962–65, 1967) at the Italian International Championships, with four of those coming in consecutive years.

Clothing

In 1955, Pericoli played at the Wimbledon Championships wearing clothes designed by Ted Tinling.{{Cite web | title =Tinling's Tutus For Tennis | work = SI.com | publisher =Turner – SI Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network | date =11 July 1955 | url =http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1129924/index.htm | archive-url =https://archive.today/20121203045646/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1129924/index.htm | url-status =dead | archive-date =3 December 2012 | accessdate =15 October 2010 }} 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".{{cite web|last=Crawford |first=Sue |title=Centre caught; Mink Skirts to Purple Knickers .. The Girls Who |work=Sunday Mirror|date=1 June 2001 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20010610/ai_n14528799 |accessdate=15 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628193051/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20010610/ai_n14528799/ |archivedate=28 June 2009 }}

Other activities

Pericoli had a contract with Superga for modelling shoes.{{Cite web | title =Lea Pericoli, simbolo vincente dell'Italia. Eleganza e simpatia anche fuori dal tennis. Il ritratto di una vera campionessa. Lea Pericoli, Italian national symbol. Whose elegance and popularity transcended tennis. The epitome of a true champion. | work =Article from Cino Marchese | publisher =Servizi Vincenti | date =17 April 2008 | url =http://www.blogquotidiani.net/tennis/?p=1769 | accessdate =15 October 2010 }}

Pericoli was popular on Italian television in the 1970s,{{Cite web | title =Italian Television in the 1970s | work =TV | publisher =Life in Italy | date =13 September 2010 | url =http://www.lifeinitaly.com/tv/italian-television-70 | accessdate =15 October 2010 }} presenting the programs Paroliamo and Caccia al Tesoro in addition to commentating tennis.

Pericoli was introduced to journalism by Indro Montanelli. She worked as a tennis and fashion journalist.{{Cite web | title =Gambill Snared by Armani | work =ATP Insider | publisher =Rediff | date =1 February 2002 | url =http://www.rediff.com/sports/2002/feb/01atp.htm | accessdate =15 October 2010 }} She was a journalist for Il Giornale.{{Cite web | last =Lessona | first =Logan Bentley | title =And Now......Here's Gianni! | work =Fashion & Design Newsletter | publisher =Made*In*Italy*On*Line | date =10 October 1997 | url =http://www.made-in-italy.com/fashion/newsletters/news6/oc97re10.htm | accessdate =15 October 2010 | url-status =dead | archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20101126124502/http://made-in-italy.com/fashion/newsletters/news6/oc97re10.htm | archivedate =26 November 2010 }}

Pericoli wrote the autobiographical book Maldafrica, published in Italian in 2009.{{Cite web | title =Maldafrica | work =Book review | publisher =Liberweb | url =http://www.liberonweb.com/asp/libro.asp?ISBN=8831798898 | accessdate =15 October 2010 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{ISBN|978-88-317-9889-1}}

Personal life and death

She married Tito Fontana in 1964.{{Cite web | title =Lea Pericoli of Italy to be Honored With the 2007 Fed Cup Award of Excellence | work =News | publisher =RacquetSportsIndustry | date =17 September 2007 | url =http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/news/2007/09/lea_pericoli_of_italy_to_be_ho.html | accessdate =15 October 2010 | url-status =dead | archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20110715143607/http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/news/2007/09/lea_pericoli_of_italy_to_be_ho.html | archivedate =15 July 2011 }} Pericoli died on 4 October 2024, at the age of 89.{{cite news |title=Tennis Italiano In Lutto, Morta Lea Pericoli |url=https://www.fitp.it/Federazione/News/Attivita-nazionale/lea-pericoli-lutto-tennis-italiano |access-date=4 October 2024 |publisher=FITP |date=4 October 2024}}

Awards

On 7 May 2015, in the presence of the President of Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Giovanni Malagò, was inaugurated in the Olympic Park of the Foro Italico in Rome, along Viale delle Olimpiadi, the Walk 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.coni.it/it/component/content/article.html?id=9832:inaugurata-la-walk-of-fame|title=Inaugurata la Walk of Fame: 100 targhe per celebrare le leggende dello sport italiano|publisher=coni.it|language=italian|accessdate=11 October 2018}}

Pericoli was awarded the Fed Cup Award of Excellence in 2007.{{Cite web | title =Italy's Lea Pericoli receives Fed Cup Award of Excellence | work =FedCup official site | publisher =ITF | date =16 September 2007 | url =http://www.fedcup.com/news/newsarticle.asp?articleid=11207 | accessdate =15 October 2010 | url-status =dead | archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20080211134725/http://www.fedcup.com/news/newsarticle.asp?articleid=11207 | archivedate =11 February 2008 }}