Maria Bueno

Maria Bueno was a professional tennis player from Brazil. She is a former World Number 1, a ranking she reached in 1959. She has a total of 19 Grand Slam titles and she has a Career Grand Slam in women’s doubles.

Player Profile

Maria Esther Andion Bueno was born on October 11, 1939, in São Paulo, Brazil. She died on June 18, 2018, in Sao Paulo. She stands 170 cm tall and she is right-handed with a one-handed backhand.

She began playing tennis when she was 6 years old, introduced to the sport by her father who was a keen tennis player. Her older brother Paulo Bueno also played tennis professionally.

Career

Despite the lack of formal training, she won her first tournament at the age of twelve and Brazil’s singles women’s championship when she was 14.

She joined the international circuit in 1958 and won her first Grand Slam title at the Women’s doubles in Wimbledon with partner Althea Gibson. Her first Grand Slam singles title came a year later, in Wimbledon after defeating Darlene Hard.

Her subsequent victory at the US championships earned her the world no. 1 spot in 1959 and the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year Award. These victories also made Bueno the first non-American woman to win both titles in the same year and boosted her popularity back home.

She won the singles title at Wimbledon three times and the Nationals titles four times. She also won 12 doubles championships with 6 different partners and made headlines when she captured the doubles Grand Slam in tennis in 1960.

Aside from her flair on the court, Bueno was also known for her style and fashion sense, and for her relationship with couturier Ted Tinling who styled most of her dresses.

Bueno was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978. She debuted as a TV commentator for SporTV, a Brazilian sports channel in 2006, and participated in the TV broadcasts of USTA’s Court of Champions induction of Martina Navrátilová and Don Budge.

In total, she won 7 singles Grand Slam titles, 11 women's doubles titles, and 1 mixed doubles title.

Career Record

Singles

• Career Titles: 63

• Highest Singles Ranking: 1 (1959)

Best Grand Slam Singles Performances

• Australian Open - F (1965)
• French Open - F (1964)
• Wimbledon - W (1959, 1960, 1964)
• US Open - W (1959, 1963, 1964, 1966)

Doubles

Best Grand Slam Doubles Performances

• Australian Open - W (1960)
• French Open - W (1960)
• Wimbledon - W (1958, 1960, 1963, 1965, 1966)
• US Open - W (1960, 1962, 1966, 1968)

Best Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Performances

• Australian Open - SF (1960)
• French Open - W (1960)
• Wimbledon - F (1959, 1960, 1967)
• US Open - F (1958, 1960)

People Ask

How many Grand Slams has Maria Bueno won?

>She has a total of 19. She has 7 Grand Slam singles titles, 11 women's doubles titles, and 1 mixed doubles title.

When did Maria Bueno become World Number 1?

>She was ranked World Number 1 in 1959.

When was Maria Bueno inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame?

>She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame class of 1978.