Linda Tuero (born October 21, 1950) is an American

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player and paleoanthropologist. 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 The Wightman Cup was an annual team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 (except during World War II) between teams from the United States and Great Britain. History U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate ...

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 Paré J. Emmett Paré (January 24, 1907 – October 1973), was an American tennis player in the early part of the 20th century and the tennis coach at Tulane University who played his college tennis at Georgetown University, and was one of the early s ...

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. Tuero was the first woman to be awarded an athletic scholarship to

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

, the first woman to play on a Tulane varsity team, and the first woman to win a varsity Green Wave letter. While a member of the

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

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, 1970 US Amateur Championship 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. In 1971, while pursuing an active tennis career, she graduated cum laude from

with a major in psychology. In 1972, playing her first year as a professional, Linda won the Italian Open. She also won the first International Tournament of Madrid (

Madrid Open There are three sporting events known as the Madrid Open: * Madrid Open (golf) The Madrid Open was an annual men's golf tournament which was held in and around the Spanish capital Madrid from 1968 to 2007, apart from a seven-year gap from 1994 to ...

) and was a semifinalist in the US Open Clay Courts, Canadian Open, WTA German Open, and Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati Masters), with losses to Chris Evert,

Evonne Goolagong Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (née Goolagong; born 31 July 1951) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Goolagong was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. At the age of 19, she won the French Open sing ...

, and

Margaret Smith Court Margaret Court ('' née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 m ...

. In 1973 she had a win over Martina Navratilova in the Fort Lauderdale Classic. Tuero represented the US in the

and Federation Cup teams in 1972 and 1973, serving as the Federation Cup Captain in 1973 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

, Louisiana Tennis Tennis Hall of Fame, and

USTA The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

Southern Tennis Hall of Fame.

Personal life

In 1968 she graduated from St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie, Louisiana. In 1971, she graduated cum laude from

with a major in psychology. In 1973, while working as an extra in ''The Exorcist'', she met the author,

William Peter Blatty William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel, ''The Exorcist'', and for his 1974 screenplay for the film adaptation of the same name. Blatty won ...

. They were married in July 1975 and had two children, restaurant entrepreneur Billy and photojournalist J.T. Blatty. She also appeared in another film, ''

The Ninth Configuration ''The Ninth Configuration'' (also known as ''Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane'') is a 1980 American psychological drama film written, produced, and directed by William Peter Blatty, in his directorial debut. The second installment in Blatty's "Fa ...

'', which he wrote. After her divorce from Blatty, she married William Paul. 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 University Owen School of Management, and Belmont University Graduate School of Business. In 2000, Tuero enrolled in the

Graduate School and in 2004 graduated with a master's degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

, specializing in the field of paleoanthropology. In 2005, she was part of a

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

excavation in the Lake Turkana region of northern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. Her passions include golf,

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, and world travel. She makes frequent trips collecting fossils and enjoys identifying and scientifically cataloging her extensive collection.

Career finals

Singles (5 titles, 6 runners-up)

Career highlights

As an Amateur: * Winner, 1964 US National Championships - Girl's 14 Singles * Winner, 1966 US National Championships - Girl's 16 Singles and Doubles * Winner, 1967 and 1968 US National Clay Court Singles Championships - Girl's 18 * Finalist, 1968 US Grass Court Women's Singles * Winner, 1968 National Interscholastic Championship * Finalist, 1968 US Open Clay Court Women's Singles (to

Nancy Richey Nancy Richey (born August 23, 1942) is an American former tennis player. Richey won two major singles titles (the 1967 Australian Championships and 1968 French Open) and four major women's doubles titles (the 1965 US Championships, 1966 Austral ...

) * Finalist, 1969 US Open Clay Court Women's Doubles * Winner, 1969 and 1970 US Amateur Championship * Finalist, 1969 US Amateur Mixed Doubles * Quarter-finalist, 1969 Western & Southern Open (to

Gail Chanfreau Gail Chanfreau (née Sherriff; born 3 April 1945), also known as Gail Lovera and Gail Benedetti, is a French former amateur and professional tennis player. Tennis career Chanfreau was born in Australia, but moved to France in 1968. Chanfreau ...

) * Semi-finalist, 1970 Canadian Open Women's Singles (to

Rosemary Casals Rosemary "Rosie" Casals (born September 16, 1948) is an American former professional tennis player. Casals earned her reputation as a rebel in the tennis world when she began competing in the early 1960s. During a tennis career that spanned mor ...

) * Semi-finalist, 1970 Western & Southern Open Wonmen's Singles (to

) * Winner, 1970 US Women's Amateur Singles * Finalist, 1970 Women's Collegiate Women's Singles As a Professional: * Finalist, 1971 US Open Clay Courts Women's Doubles * Quarter-finalist,

1971 French Open The 1971 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 24 May until 6 June. It was the 75th staging of the French Open, and the second Grand Sl ...

(to Marijke Schaar) * Quarter-finalist, 1971 Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati Masters) Women's Singles (to

) Cincinnati Masters * Semi-finalist, 1972 US Open Clay Court Women's Singles (to

) * Semi-finalist, 1972 Canadian Open Women's Singles (to

) * Semi-finalist, 1972 Western Open Women's Singles (to

Margaret Court Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 maj ...

) * Finalist, 1972 Nice Women's Singles * Semi-finalist, 1972 Eastern Grass Court Open Women's Singles * Finalist, 1972 Western Province South Africa Women's Singles * Winner, 1972

* Semi-finalist, 1972 Federation Cup (to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

) * Runner-up, 1972 Bonne Bell Cup against Australia * Semi-finalist, 1973 Fort Lauderdale (to Chris Evert) * Semi-finalist, 1973 Western (to

) * Semi-finalist, 1971 Baastad Open (to Benzer) * Finalist, 1973 Marie O. Clark (to Chris Evert) * Captain, 1973 Federation Cup * Winner, 1973 Wightman Cup * Finalist, 1973 Cleveland Heights Women's Singles * Semi-finalist, 1973 US Open Clay Courts Women's Singles (to Chris Evert)

Awards and honors

* Inducted into the USTA Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995 * Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame , Patrons Foundation * Ranked in Women's US Top 10 Women's four times (1968 : No. 8, 1969 : No. 10, 1971 : No. 8, 1972 : No. 7) * Inducted into Tulane Athletic Hall Of Fame (1969-1971) * Tulane Scholarship for Men's tennis Team * 1968 VFW Athlete of the Year New Orleans * 1969 VFW Athlete of the Year New Orleans * 1969 Louisiana Outstanding Athlete of the Year * 1970 VFW Athlete of the Year New Orleans

Articles

* Linda Tuero Captures Girls Tennis Crown * ONLY At Tulane "Tradition - Tulane Tennis Legend Linda Tuero" * A First At Tulane * New Orleans Yesterday and Today: A Guide to the City * The Right Set: A Tennis Anthology * 40 Years Ago In Tennis – Bud Collins Summarizes The Epic Year * 1973 US Wightman Cup Team

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuero, Linda 1950 births Living people American female tennis players Tennis people from Louisiana Tulane Green Wave women's tennis players People from Metairie, Louisiana Sportspeople from Savannah, Georgia Sportspeople from New Orleans