Bueno, Maria E.
Tennis
b. Oct. 11, 1939, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Because of her flair, her grace, and her costumes, Bueno contributed immeasurably to the popularity of women's tennis internationally during the 1960s.
She never took a formal lesson as a youngster, but learned by playing against boys and men starting when she was five. Bueno won the Brazilian women's championship at fourteen and began playing on the international tour three years later.
In 1959, she became the first South American player ever to win the Wimbledon singles championship and she also won the U. S. title that year. She was welcomed home to Sao Paulo with a parade and a twenty-one-gun salute.
Bueno repeated at Wimbledon in 1960, but the following year she was stricken with hepatitis and it took her a long time to regain her strength. However, she returned to win the U. S. singles title in 1963, 1964, and 1966, and the Wimbledon championship in 1964.
A hard server who liked to come to the net and volley, Bueno once said, "To me, tennis was more of an art than a sport." She enjoyed winning beautifully, and that included her tennis dresses, designed by Ted Tinling. In 1964, she astonished Wimbledon spectators by wearing a white dress with a shocking pink lining that showed whenever she served or made a typically acrobatic shot.
Bueno won the Wimbledon doubles in 1958, 1960, 1963, 1965, and 1966 and the U. S. doubles in 1960, 1962, and 1966. She retired from competition after winning the U. S. amateur doubles and U. S. open doubles championships in 1968, the first year of open competition.