The amateur years
Brazil · born São Paulo, 1939 · died 2018 · three times Wimbledon champion
All playersBack to the rankings
3
Wimbledon singles titles, 1959, 1960, 1964
5
Wimbledon doubles titles, 1958 to 1966
4
US Championships singles titles
43
Minutes to win the 1959 Wimbledon final
19
Major titles in singles, doubles and mixed
Born in São Paulo in 1939, Bueno learned the game at a club across the road from her home, with no formal coaching, and won Brazil's women's singles title at 15. In 1958 she won the Italian Championships and the Wimbledon doubles with Althea Gibson. She went on to win seven major singles titles, three at Wimbledon and four at the US Championships, and finished 1959 and 1960 as world No. 1; in 1960 she won all four major women's doubles titles. Illness kept her out for much of 1961, and arm and leg injuries limited her after 1968. She won the 1974 Japan Open, her only professional title, and retired in 1977. She entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978, later commentated for SporTV and died in São Paulo in 2018.
| Major singles titles | 7: Wimbledon (1959, 1960, 1964); US (1959, 1963, 1964, 1966) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 4: Wimbledon 1965, Wimbledon 1966, Australian 1965, US 1960 |
| Other grass singles titles | 7: Irish Championships 2 (1964, 1965); Welsh Championships 2 (1964, 1966); Eastbourne (1968); Northern Championships (1967); Victorian Championships (1959) |
| Major doubles titles | 10 doubles (Wimbledon 5, Australian 1, US 4) |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1958 with Althea Gibson; 1960 and 1963 with Darlene Hard; 1965 with Billie Jean Moffitt; 1966 with Nancy Richey. Lost the 1967 final with Richey |
| Wimbledon mixed | Finals lost: 1959 with Neale Fraser, 1960 with Bob Howe, 1967 with Ken Fletcher |
| Other grass doubles majors | Australian 1960 with Christine Truman; US 1960 and 1962 with Darlene Hard, 1966 with Nancy Richey, 1968 with Margaret Court |
| Finals to remember | Wimbledon 1959: beat Darlene Hard 6-4, 6-3 in 43 minutes. Wimbledon 1964: beat Margaret Smith 6-4, 7-9, 6-3. US 1963: beat Smith 7-5, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Women's doubles | with Althea Gibson |
| 1959 | Women's singles | |
| 1960 | Women's doubles | with Darlene Hard |
| 1960 | Women's singles | |
| 1963 | Women's doubles | with Darlene Hard |
| 1964 | Women's singles | |
| 1965 | Women's doubles | with Billie Jean King |
| 1966 | Women's doubles | with Nancy Richey |
| US Championships | ||
| 1959 | Women's singles | |
| 1960 | Women's doubles | with Darlene Hard |
| 1962 | Women's doubles | with Darlene Hard |
| 1963 | Women's singles | |
| 1964 | Women's singles | |
| 1966 | Women's doubles | with Nancy Richey |
| 1966 | Women's singles | |
| 1968 | Women's doubles US National Amateur Championships | with Margaret Court |
| 1968 | Women's doubles US Open | with Margaret Court |
| Welsh Championships | ||
| 1964 | Women's singles†| |
| 1966 | Women's singles†| |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1959 | Women's singles†| |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1960 | Women's doubles | with Christine Truman Janes |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1967 | Women's singles†| |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1968 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"No woman has hit so many beautiful and piercing volleys."
The person behind the player.
São Paulo 1959
After her first Wimbledon singles title Brazil gave her a ticker-tape parade through São Paulo, the country's president honoured her and the postal service put her on a stamp. The Associated Press named her its Female Athlete of the Year for 1959, the year she also won the US Championships.
Source: WikipediaFlorida 1957
In 1957, at 17, she travelled to Florida on her own to play the Orange Bowl, and won it. Her first trip to Europe followed in 1958, when she won the Italian Championships and then her first major title, the Wimbledon doubles with Althea Gibson.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameSão Paulo, 1950s
Largely self-taught, she studied a book of photographs of Bill Tilden's serve and copied the top players who came through São Paulo. A formal arrangement with the Australian coach Harry Hopman, and his hard training regime, ended within a week; she preferred the beach.
Source: Tennis AbstractWimbledon 1962
Back from injury, she raised her racquet on Centre Court and the crowd saw a pink lining and matching pink underwear beneath her white dress. The design was Ted Tinling's, and it broke no written rule. Wimbledon brought in a "predominantly white" requirement for the following year's Championships.
Source: OpenThe 1960s
Tinling, who had umpired Suzanne Lenglen in the 1920s, designed for her throughout the decade and often made her a new dress for each match. She said she once wore 21 of his designs at one tournament and kept hundreds of them at home. Tinling saw her as Lenglen's successor.
Source: Tennis AbstractWimbledon 1964
Margaret Smith had won all four of their meetings in 1962, three in deciding sets. In the 1964 Wimbledon final Bueno beat her 6-4, 7-9, 6-3, calling it "three sets against the best of the world". The two met 22 times, and Bueno said they brought out the best in each other.
Source: Tennis AbstractFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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