Rita Maria Pichardo (born 22 May 1970) is a Cuban former professional
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.
Pichardo, a five-time national champion, represented the
Cuba Federation Cup team in 1991 and 1992. She featured in a total of six ties, including a World Group second round matchup against Romania, where she lost her singles rubber in three sets to
Irina Spîrlea
Irina Spîrlea (born 26 March 1974) is a retired tennis player from Romania who turned professional in 1990. She won four singles and six doubles titles. Spîrlea reached her career-high ranking on the WTA Tour on 13 October 1997, when she becam ...
.
In 1993, while competing in satellite tournaments in Mexico, Pichardo made the decision to
defect
A defect is a physical, functional, or aesthetic attribute of a product or service that exhibits that the product or service failed to meet one of the desired specifications. Defect, defects or defected may also refer to:
Examples
* Angular defec ...
to the United States and with the help of friends crossed the border at Tijuana on a fake passport.
ITF finals
Singles: 4 (2–2)
Doubles: 9 (6–3)
References
External links
*
*
*
1970 births
Living people
Cuban female tennis players
Defecting sportspeople of Cuba
Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in tennis
Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Cuba
Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Cuba
Tennis players at the 1991 Pan American Games
Pan American Games competitors for Cuba
20th-century Cuban women
21st-century Cuban women
{{Cuba-tennis-bio-stub