María Bueno

• Born: October 11, 1939
• Birthplace: São Paulo, Brazil
• Died: June 8, 2018
• Place of death: São Paulo, Brazil

Early Life

María Esther Audion Bueno was born on October 11, 1939, in São Paulo, Brazil. Bueno lived with her parents and her elder brother in an attractive downtown house that was opposite a large sports club. Her father, Pedro, played tennis as a hobby, and when she was six years old he presented her with a tennis racket. She loved the game immediately and spent every possible minute practicing at the sports club. She played against her father and her brother Pedrinho, who was also a tennis enthusiast. When she was twelve, she won a girls’ tennis tournament in São Paulo, as well as a swimming competition.

The Road to Excellence

From an early age, Bueno was determined to be the best. She studied the techniques of the great tennis players and particularly admired Bill Tilden, a famous tennis star from the 1920s. She tried to copy his service style from pictures she saw in books. She also attended tennis tournaments in her hometown and quietly learned from close observation of leading players in action. She never took formal tennis lessons or had a personal coach. In 1954, when she was only fourteen years old, she became the women’s tennis champion of Brazil. The following year, she represented her country at the Pan-American Games in Mexico City, Mexico. She won international tournaments in Venezuela and Argentina, and in 1957, she traveled to the United States, where she won the Orange Bowl junior championship in Miami, Florida. In spite of these early tennis successes, she did not neglect her education. Her father wanted her to become a teacher, and she attended college with that goal in mind. Having secured her teacher’s certificate, she taught in elementary school, but tennis was still her first love.

The Emerging Champion

In 1958, Bueno played in thirty-two tournaments, winning eighteen of them. Her victories included the Italian Championship in May, her first major title. With her partner, Althea Gibson, she also won the women’s doubles title at Wimbledon, England. Sportswriters and fans across the world, excited by her graceful and skillful game, began predicting that she would become the next great woman tennis player. The experts were proved right the next year, when her talents reached full bloom. In 1959, she won the two most coveted titles in the game. In July, she became the women’s singles champion at Wimbledon, defeating American Darlene Hard by the score of 6–4, 6–3. In September, she won the US National Championship by beating Christine Truman of Great Britain, 6–1, 6–4. She became a national hero in Brazil; a postage stamp was issued with her picture on it, and a statue of her was erected in São Paulo.

At this time, Bueno was playing consistently brilliant tennis. She had learned not to get upset when decisions went against her, and her all-around game had no weaknesses. She had a strong service, and her ground strokes were faultless. She was also a very exciting player to watch, in part because she brought a new daring to the women’s game. At a time when women’s matches tended to feature long rallies with each player remaining on or near the baseline, she was always ready to follow up her service by advancing toward the net. She then won points with devastating volleys sent out of the reach of her opponent. She was a great adventurer on the court and never put safety first. She went for spectacular shots that skimmed just above the tape and brought chalk up from the lines. The fans loved her. In 1960, she retained the women’s singles title at Wimbledon, beating the South African player Sandra Reynolds, 8–6, 6–0. In a surprise result, though, her old rival, Darlene Hard, defeated her in the final of the US National Championship.

Continuing the Story

With the entire world of tennis at her feet, Bueno was struck a devastating blow in May 1961, when she contracted hepatitis, a serious liver disease. She did not compete in any tennis tournaments until April of the following year. When she played at Wimbledon in June 1962, it was obvious that she had not fully recovered from her illness. The luster had gone from her game, and she was beaten in the semifinals by Vêra Suková, of Czechoslovakia.

The following year, Bueno was eliminated in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon by Billie Jean Moffitt (later King). Bueno's admirers wondered whether she would ever win a major tournament again. She did not give up, however, and in September 1963, she regained her form and swept to a 7–5, 6–4 victory over Australia’s Margaret Smith (later Court) in the final of the US Open. The brilliant Bueno was back, and at Wimbledon the following year she recaptured the singles title with another victory over Smith. The intense rivalry between Bueno and Smith was one of the main features of women’s tennis in the mid-1960s.

At the US Open at Forest Hills, New York, in September 1964, Bueno underlined her return to form by trouncing Carol Caldwell Graebner 6–1, 6–0—the most one-sided women’s final at Forest Hills for forty-eight years. In 1965, Smith won back the Wimbledon singles title, and Bueno also lost her US Open title to King. In 1966, however, she triumphed again, beating the American Nancy Richey to win her fourth US singles title. After this success, the ascendancy in women’s tennis passed decisively to Court and King. In 1968, Bueno's last major title came when she teamed with her former rival Court to win the US women’s doubles title for the fourth time. She retired from tennis in 1971. After retiring from competitive tennis and being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978, she became active with celebrity and charity tennis events.

In 1987, Bueno returned to play in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. As a doubles team with Evonne Goolagong, she lost to King and her partner Gabriela Sabatini. Later, she would continue to be connected to the sport by providing commentary for Brazilian television of events such as Wimbledon and the US Open. After having a court at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Rio de Janeiro named after her in 2015, she carried the torch during the relay for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the city.

After a battle with oral cancer, Bueno died in São Paulo on June 8, 2018, at the age of seventy-eight.

Summary

María Bueno was one of the all-time great women tennis players. She had grace, flair, and imagination. There was an artistry about her game that made her a joy to watch. She was often compared with many great players from an earlier time, such as the French star Suzanne Lenglen and American Alice Marble.

Bibliography

Collins, Bud. Total Tennis: The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia. Sport Media, 2003.

Evans, Richard. "Maria Bueno Obituary." The Guardian, 10 June 2018, www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jun/10/maria-bueno-obituary. Accessed 20 Nov. 2018.

Goldstein, Richard. "Maria Bueno, Brazilian Tennis Star Who Reigned Over 1960s, Dies at 78." The New York Times, 9 June 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/06/09/obituaries/maria-bueno-dead-tennis.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2018.

"Maria Bueno." International Tennis Hall of Fame, www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/maria-bueno. Accessed 20 Nov. 2018.

Wancke, Henry. “María Bueno: Still a Champion.” Forty-fiver, 2006.