Linda Tuero

Linda Tuero
Country (sports) United States
Residence Sea Island, Georgia
Born (1950-10-21) October 21, 1950
Metairie, Louisiana, U.S.
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Turned pro 1972
Retired 1973 retired from WTA Pro tour
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career titles 4
Highest ranking No. 10 in the World (1972)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open QF (1971)
Wimbledon 3R (1971)
US Open 3R (1968, 1971)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open 3R (1969)
Wimbledon 2R (1972)
US Open QF (1969)

Linda Tuero (born October 21, 1950) is an American former amateur and professional tennis player. She won six U.S Junior Titles and three U.S. Women's Titles. She reached the quarter-finals of the French Open in 1971, and won the singles titles at the Italian Open in 1972. She represented the United States in the Wightman Cup and Federation Cup teams in 1972 and 1973 and served as the Federation Cup Captain in 1973. Tuero was ranked in the U.S. Top Ten Women Singles for four years and in 1972 was ranked No. 10 in the World.

Biography

Linda Tuero was born in Metairie, Louisiana. She started playing tennis at the age of 11 and was taught by the legendary tennis coach Emmett Pare from the very start and throughout her career. At age 13, she won the US National Girl's 14 Singles Championship and by the time she had graduated from high school, she had won six national titles: the 1964 US National Girl's 14 Singles Championship, the 1966 US National Girl's 16 Singles Championship, the 1966 US National Girl's 16 Doubles Championship, the 1967 US National Girl's 18 Clay Court Singles Championship, the 1968 US National Girl's 18 Clay Court Singles Championship, and the 1968 National Interscholastic Championship.[1][2][3]

Tuero was the first woman to be awarded an athletic scholarship to Tulane University, the first woman to play on a Tulane varsity team, and the first woman to win a varsity Green Wave letter.[4][5]

While a member of the Tulane tennis team, she played on the women's professional tennis circuit but kept her amateur status. During this time she won three more national titles: the 1969 US Amateur Championship,[6] 1970 US Amateur Championship[6] and the 1970 US Open Clay Court Championship. In 1971 she was runner-up in the US Open Clay Courts, losing to Billie Jean King in the finals. During 1971 she also reached the quarterfinals of the French Open.[7]

In 1971, while pursuing an active tennis career, she graduated Cum Laude from Tulane with a major in psychology.

In 1972, playing her first year as a professional, Linda won the Italian Open.[8] She also won the first International Tournament of Madrid (Madrid Open) and was a semifinalist in the US Open Clay Courts, Canadian Open, WTA German Open, and Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati Masters),[9] with losses to Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, and Margaret Smith Court. In 1973 she had a win over Martina Navratilova in the Fort Lauderdale Classic.

Tuero represented the US in the Wightman Cup and Federation Cup teams in 1972 and 1973, serving as the Federation Cup Captain in 1973[10]

Her top career world rankings included No 1 in Women-Under-21 and No 10 in World (Women). She has been inducted into the Halls of Fame of Tulane University,[11] Louisiana Tennis Tennis Hall of Fame,[12] and USTA Southern Tennis Hall of Fame.[13]

Personal life

In 1968 she graduated from St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie, Louisiana. In 1971, she graduated Cum Laude from Tulane with a major in psychology.[14]

In 1973, as an extra in The Exorcist, she met and in July 1975 married the author, William Peter Blatty, with whom she had two children.[15] She also appeared in another film, The Ninth Configuration, which he wrote. The marriage resulted in the birth of two children before their divorce. A second marriage gave Linda another child.

In 2000, Tuero enrolled in the Tulane Graduate School and in 2004 graduated with a master's degree in Anthropology, specializing in the field of paleoanthropology. In 2005 she was part of a Rutgers excavation in the Lake Turkana region of northern Kenya.[14] Her passions include golf, paleontology, and world travel. She makes frequent trips collecting fossils and enjoys identifying and scientifically cataloging her extensive collection.[14]

Tuero's second marriage was to William Paul.[14] She had another son during this marriage. She is now married to Dr. William Lindsley who is a former business consultant and former dean and professor at Boston College, Vanderbilt's Owen School of Management, and Belmont University's Graduate School of Business.[14]

Career finals

Singles (5 titles, 6 runners-up)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 7 July 1968 Tri-State Tournament, Cincinnati, USA Hard United States Tory Fretz 6–1, 6–2
Runner-up 2. 27 July 1969 U.S. Clay Court Open, Indianapolis, USA Clay France Gail Sherriff Chanfreau 2–6, 2–6
Winner 3. 3 August 1970 U.S. Clay Court Open, Indianapolis, USA Clay France Gail Sherriff Chanfreau 7–5, 6–1
Runner-up 4. 8 August 1971 Western Championships, Cincinnati, USA Hard United Kingdom Virginia Wade 3–6, 3–6
Runner-up 5. 15 August 1971 U.S. Clay Court Open, Indianapolis, USA Clay United States Billie Jean King 4–6, 5–7
Runner-up 6. 25 December 1971 Border Championships, East London, South Africa [16] Clay South Africa Ilana Kloss 3–6, 2–6
Winner 7. 1 January 1972 Eastern Province, Port Elizabeth, South Africa [16] Clay United States Sharon Walsh 6–1, 6–2
Runner-up 8. 8 January 1972 Cape Province, Cape Town, South Africa [16] Clay South Africa Patricia Pretorius 3–6, 4–6
Winner 9. 16 April 1972 Melia Trophy, Madrid, Spain Clay Czechoslovakia Alena Palmeova 6–3, 6–1
Winner 10. 1 May 1972 Italian Open, Rome, Italy Clay Soviet Union Olga Morozova 6–4, 6–3
Runner-up 11. 11 June 1972 German Open, Hamburg, Germany Clay West Germany Helga Masthoff 3–6, 6–3, 6–8

Career highlights

As an Amateur:

As a Professional:

Awards and Honors

Articles

References

  1. 1 2 "USTA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS—GIRLS". Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "USTA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS—GIRLS". Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 "USTA Yearbook - Junior USTA Interscholastic Championships". Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "A First At tulane". "The Southeast Missourian". 26 June 1968. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "Tradition". OnlyAtTulane. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "USTA ADULT & SENIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS—WOMEN". Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  7. 1 2 1971 French Open – Women's Singles
  8. ↑ Douglas Perry (May 12, 2015). "Rome Masters: Meet the woman who shocked the Italian Open, then faced Hollywood shocks". OregonLive.com.
  9. 1 2 Cincinnati Masters
  10. ↑ "USTA Yearbook - Fed Cup". Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Tulane Athletic Hall Of Fame". Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  12. 1 2 "Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame". Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  13. 1 2 "USTA Southern Tennis Hall of Fame". Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Billy Crawford (September 11, 2011). "Linda Tuero". Greater New Orleans Tennis.
  15. ↑ "An Angel Made Blatty Marry". The Journal. NY State Historic Newspapers. AP. July 22, 1975. p. 16.
  16. 1 2 3 John Barrett, ed. (1973). World of Tennis '73 : a BP and Commercial Union yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. pp. 328–329. ISBN 9780671216238.
  17. ↑ "USTA Yearbook - Top 10 U.S. Women's Rankings". Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  18. ↑ "Linda Tuero Captures Girls Tennis Crown". "Reading Eagle". 31 July 1966. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  19. ↑ Cowan, Walter G. (1983). New Orleans Yesterday and Today: A Guide to the City. LSU Press. 0-8071-2743-4.
  20. ↑ "The Right Set: A Tennis Anthology". 1 June 1999. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  21. ↑ "40 Years Ago In Tennis – Bud Collins Summarizes The Epic Year". "Tennis Grandstand". 31 July 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  22. ↑ "1973 US Wightman Cup team". Retrieved 20 March 2013.
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