The elegance and gracefulness on the court, the lace dresses that she has instead of the long skirts, cause a scandal and forever change the style of the players, but above all an authentic passion for tennis that started when she is small and cultivated with tenacity until she. Lea Pericoli, 27 titles in the national championships, died at the age of 89 (he would have been 90 on March 22).
She was born in Milan, but spent her childhood in Addis Ababa where her entrepreneur father moved the family and built a tennis court in the home garden. Lea herself said in an interview some time ago, that she was patiently waiting for the “big boys” to finish playing to take over. When the joy of playing, over the years, becomes something else, no one stops her, she dedicates body and soul to the racket. At the time, there was no professionalism – no coaches, no team, no prizes – «every one of us paid for the trip to Wimbledon, I still remember the Atlantic Hotel with a pound a night to sleep, me and Silvana Lazzarino. . without a penny ». Just at Wimbledon, in ’55, Lea Pericoli wore culottes and a slip, designed by Ted Tinling: the next day all the newspapers talked about it. «My father made me stop playing for a while», Gianni Clerici had to write him a letter asking him that his daughter could express her personality and talent freely. Lea will do this by achieving successive successes: in the Grand Slam tournaments, she reaches the round of 16 four times at Roland Garros (1955, 1960, 1964 and 1971) and three times on English grass (1965, 1967 and 1970 ). ). Number 1 in Italy for 14 years (between 1959 and 1976), he won, among other things, in Bastad and Lesa, Crans Montana and Cairo, and was a finalist in many tournaments.
In 1973 she bravely faced uterine carcinoma, which made her illness public. And when Umberto Veronesi asked her «why do you tell everyone that you are sick?», she replied that “sickness is like a tennis match: when you are about to be beaten, the community praises you, encourages you. For me it was a liberating fact.” He will overcome that tumor and six months after the operation he will win the Italian championship again. She will be a testimony to the fight against cancer (which attacks again in 2012), with commitment and passion equal.
After hanging up his racket at the age of 40, tennis continues to be the center of his life, this time as a journalist and commentator, with the same mastery and elegance. He eagerly follows the Italian achievements and does not hide his weakness for Flavia Pennetta (“she is the daughter I wanted and didn’t have”). Nor is he tired of reminiscing about the times gone by, as in the book Once there was tennis. Dolce vita, win and win by Nicola Pietrangeli (Rizzoli 2007), a conversation with a lifelong friend. We will also never tire of remembering you, Lea.