Lucia Valerio (; 28 February 1905 – 26 September 1996) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

female tennis player This is a list of female tennis players who meet one or more of the following criteria: * Singles: **Officially ranked among the top 25 by the Women's Tennis Association (since 1975) **Ranked among the top 10 by an expert (e.g. A. Wallis Myers) ...

who was active from the late 1920s through 1940. Valerio's father taught her to play tennis on the court at their home. Before settling on tennis, she practiced fencing, horse riding, and skiing. Her favorite strokes were forehand passing shots and her cut service. From 1928 through 1938, she participated in seven

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

. Her best result in singles was the quarterfinals of the

1933 Wimbledon Championships The 1933 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 26 June until Saturday 8 July 1933. It was the 53rd ...

where she lost to second-seeded

Dorothy Round Dorothy Edith Round (13 July 1909 – 12 November 1982), was a British tennis player who was active from the late 1920s until 1950. She achieved her major successes in the 1930s. She won the singles title at Wimbledon in 1934 and 1937, and the ...

, the eventual runner-up. That same year, she partnered with

Madzy Rollin Couquerque Madzy Rollin Couquerque (14 April 1903 – 16 July 1994) was a Dutch female hockey- and tennis player who was active from the 1920s until the late 1950s. She won 40 national tennis titles and made 37 appearances in the Dutch national hockey team. ...

to reach the third round of the women's doubles competition. In the 1935 mixed doubles competition, she and partner Don Turnbull lost in the quarterfinals to the top-seeded pair of

Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling Hildegard "Hilde" Krahwinkel Sperling ( née Krahwinkel; 26 March 1908 – 7 March 1981) was a German tennis player who became a dual-citizen after marrying Dane Svend Sperling in December 1933. She won three consecutive singles titles at the F ...

and

Gottfried Von Cramm Gottfried Alexander Maximilian Walter Kurt Freiherr von Cramm (; 7 July 1909 – 8 November 1976) was a German tennis champion who won the French Open twice and reached the final of a Grand Slam on five other occasions. He was ranked number 2 in ...

. In 1930, Valerio played against

Phyllis Satterthwaite Phyllis Helen Satterthwaite (née Carr; 26 January 1886 – 20 January 1962) was a female tennis player from Great Britain who was active from the early 1910s until the late 1930s. Tennis career In 1911, she participated for the first time in t ...

in the final of the Bordighera Championship on the Italian Riviera. Satterthwaite was a baseline player with a game based on safety and keeping the ball in play. At match point, her determination not to make an error resulted in a rally lasting 450 strokes. Satterthwaite won that point and the match. At the French International Championships, she reached the quarterfinals in 1931, 1934 (losing to

Simonne Mathieu Simonne Mathieu ( Passemard; (Spelled "Simone" in many sources.) 31 January 1908 – 7 January 1980) was a female tennis player from France, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine who was active in the 1930s. During World War II, she creat ...

), and 1935. On her way to winning the 1935 title,

Cilly Aussem Cilly Aussem (; 4 January 1909 – 22 March 1963) was a German tennis player. She was the first German, male or female, to win the singles title at Wimbledon, which she did in 1931. She also won the women's single titles at the French Champion ...

defeated Valerio in straight sets. In 1931, Valerio won the singles title at the Italian Championships in Milan, defeating

Dorothy Andrus Dorothy Bourne Andrus Voorhees (June 14, 1908 – September 28, 1989) was an American female tennis player who ranked No. 10 among the U.S. amateurs in 1932. She was the granddaughter of New York Congressman John Emory Andrus. She twice reached ...

in the three-set final. She also won the mixed doubles title with Pat Hughes. She was the runner-up in singles at the inaugural 1930 Italian Championships and at the 1932, 1934, and 1935 editions. Valerio was part of the Italian team that toured India in 1932, and, during that trip, she won the singles title at the East and West of India Championships.

Tournament finals

Singles: 7 (2 titles, 5 runners-up)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valerio, Lucia Italian female tennis players 1905 births 1996 deaths Tennis players from Milan