Lea Pericoli, the Italian tennis player, has died at the age of 89. A lady on the court, queen on the court and master of elegance, she was one of the first women to talk about tennis in newspapers and on television after playing it at the highest levels. Federtenis expresses this. Remembering the story of the greatest Italian tennis champion of all time, with 27 titles in the national championships in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. In Grand Slam tournaments, he reached the round of 16 four times at Roland Garros (1955, 1960, 1964 and 1971) and three times on grass at Wimbledon (1965, 1967 and 1970). Number 1 in Italy for 14 years between 1959 and 1976, a record, and number 2 for four more times (1960, 1961, 1962 and 1973). He played 29 matches for the national team, with a record of eight wins in singles and six in doubles.
At the Italian International Games she was a semi-finalist in 1967, she reached the quarter-finals 4 times (1959, 1962, 1969 and 1971) and the round of 16 8 times (1953, 1955, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1972). She played five doubles finals alongside Silvana Lazzarino (from 1962 to 1965 and in 1967). Together with her, he founded the Italian team in London in 1963.
His life was an adventure, which began in Addis Ababa, where his father moved the family after the Ethiopian War. He is the one who gave her the first racket. A long love affair with tennis began, which continued in Kenya, where she was sent to study, and then around the world. At 17, while on holiday in Versilia where Paolo Bertolucci’s father was teaching, he realizes that his love can become something more and chooses tennis as a career. “Whoever tries to be a champion fights a constant war: it is a very educational sport that taught me a lot” he said. With the same spirit he defied prejudices, he faced two tumors and got rid of them: uterine carcinoma in 1973 and breast cancer in 2012. President Angelo Binaghi and the entire Italian tennis movement embrace his family with affection in this moment of great pain.
Pietraneli: “I never had a sister. We traveled the world, and not even a kiss”
“Lea was a sister to me. We traveled heaven and earth together, but not even a kiss.” Nicola Pietraneli’s voice breaks when she talks about Lea Pericoli, “life partner”. On the phone with ANSA he recalls the moments spent together, those wonderful years. It was the era of Italy’s economic boom, after the suffering of the Second World War: the Italian style that was popular all over the world with Ferrari and big cinema, Inter and Milan that won the European Cup. And then there were the two of them, Lea and Nicola, the golden Italian tennis couple. Beautiful, talented, successful and famous. Interpreters of a historic moment for the Bel Paese. It was no longer just about sport but about glamor and society. Pericoli and Pietraneli in those years showed many Italians the desire to dream: great trips, the most prestigious stages in the world. Almost the same age – Pietraneli was born two years earlier – they were often together on clay courts and in the exclusive clubs of that time.
“We traveled the seas and the mountains”, recalls the former champion who, when talking about Pericoli, is careful not to say the word death. “I don’t know how to describe this. I don’t know – he says -. I never had sisters or brothers. Lea was my sister and life partner.” “Words are not enough to describe what I feel – he tries to explain – The last time we saw each other was at the Finals in Turin last year. Then Lea closed in on herself a little”. The voice is broken with displeasure. “I am suffering – he says suddenly – because I will not even be able to go to the funeral”.
It worries Pietraneli, but he can’t do it. “I will be criticized, I know, but I hope people understand,” he insists. To ease the pain there are memories of the past that they saw together many times. “Well – he says, changing the subject immediately because when he was on the field he muffed a ball suddenly just after a deep run – Lea was his life partner”. And what a life. “We never claimed, which is no small feat for two strong characters like ours.” “I have a thousand stories. We traveled across seas and mountains and – he emphasizes in an uncertain way between pride and pride – there was not even a kiss between us”. A great friendship. “Lea was a beautiful woman, not only beautiful but of great class – concludes Pietraneli – I could talk about it for hours”. Nicola is keen to remember her “not only as an excellent sportswoman but above all as a beautiful person” in a world made of memories, intelligence and style of which Pericoli was and still is an excellent interpreter.
Bertolucci: “She created a way to be on the field, a great champion”
“She created a way to be on the court, she was a great champion and a nice lady.” So spoke former tennis player and TV commentator Paolo Bertolucci to Sky Sport. “We also played some matches together. She encouraged me in her role as a commentator. She told me ‘you have to talk about tennis and you shouldn’t be shy about this’. So we started with some competitions and she gave for me her thousand tips, she was a constant presence by my side.
Lea Pericoli in an archive image (Ansa Archive)
Memory of Novella Calligaris
Queen of the court and master of elegance, Lea Pericoli was one of the first women to talk about tennis in newspapers and on television after playing it at the highest levels. Olympic swimming medalist Novella Calligaris remembers her: “She was an older sister I could trust. Lea was a woman against all odds, but always with friends.”