Elia Maria González-Álvarez y López-Chicheri, also known as Lilí de Álvarez (; 9 May 1905 – 8 July 1998), was a Spanish multi-sport competitor, an international tennis champion, an author, feminist and a journalist.

Life

She was born at the Hotel Flora in Rome, Italy, during a stay by her affluent Spanish parents."Cuando el fútbol no era el rey: Los deportes en el espacio público" Page 192 Carles Sirera Miralles 2011 "Un buen ejemplo de las múltiples contradicciones que esta dualidad podría haber generado es la controvertida biografía de la tenista, varias veces subcampeona en Wimbledon, Lilí Álvarez. Nacida en 1905 en Roma, su madre era la esposa .." She was raised in Switzerland and from an early age began competing in a variety of sports. At age eleven, she won her first ice skating competition, and then at age 16, she won the St. Moritz ice skating championship. She won her first tennis tournament at age fourteen. An all-around sportsperson, Álvarez was an alpine skier, equestrian, and an auto racer who won the Campeonato de Cataluña de Automovilismo at age 19.

Álvarez was a pioneer in women's tennis in Spain and was her country's most dominant player during the 1920s. Between 1926 and 1928, she reached three consecutive singles finals at Wimbledon. According to American Helen Wills Moody, who defeated Álvarez twice in Wimbledon singles finals, Álvarez' game was an "unusually daring one". She also competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

In 1929, Álvarez teamed up with the Dutch player Kea Bouman to win the women's doubles title at the French Championships. The following year, Álvarez won the singles title at the Italian Championships, an accomplishment that was not repeated by another female Spaniard for 63 years until Conchita Martínez won the Italian Open in 1993. Álvarez and Bill Tilden were the runners-up in the mixed doubles competition at the 1927 French Championships.

In 1927, Álvarez authored a book in English published in London under the title Modern Lawn Tennis.

In 1931, she shocked the staid tennis world by playing at Wimbledon in a divided tennis skirt specially made by designer Elsa Schiaparelli that was the forerunner of shorts (pictured).Béla Kehrling, ed. (24 June 1931). "Külföldi hírek [International news]" (in Hungarian) (PDF). Tennisz és Golf (Budapest, Hungary: Egyesült Kő-, Könyvnyomda. Könyv- és Lapkiadó Rt.) III (13): 253. Retrieved 15 December 2012. That year, Álvarez began reporting on the political events in Spain for the British newspaper the Daily Mail.

According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Álvarez was ranked in the world top 10 from 1926 through 1928 and in 1930 and 1931, reaching a career high of World No. 2 in those rankings in 1927 and 1928.

In 1934, Álvarez married Jean de Gaillard de la Valdène, the Count of Valdene,"Air et cosmos" 682–699 1977 "Le comte Jean de Gaillard de la Valdène, qui s'était distingué comme pilote durant la première guerre mondiale, est décédé à Lausanne dans sa 82" année "Mémorial aéronautique: qui était qui? p83 Marcel Catillon 1997 "de GAILLARD de LA VALDÈNE Jean. Né le 2 septembre 1895. Décédé le 26 août 1977. AS 1914–1918 avec 5 victoires aériennes homologuées. Affecté à l'escadrille Spa 95. Repose dans le cimetière de Bollène (Vaucluse). " a French aristocrat and diplomat, and from 1936 she played for three years on the international tennis circuit as "Countess Valdène". In 1939, she lost her only child and the couple soon separated. She returned home to Spain in 1941 where she continued to be active in sports and began writing on religious and feminist topics, publishing her book Plenitud (Fullness) in 1946. She actively supported the worldwide feminist movement and in 1951 gave a speech entitled "La batalla de la feminidad" at the Hispanic-American Feminist Congress. Over the years, she wrote several more books.

When asked in 1993 about modern Spanish tennis, Álvarez favored a combative and bold playing style rather than a defensive and thus negative conception and criticized the lack of fast courts in the country, claiming that no champions can be born on clay court. She was disappointed that Sergi Bruguera didn't take part in Wimbledon after winning Roland Garros and showed enthusiasm for Conchita Martínez's Wimbledon semifinals run, noting that while she had previously shown talent it was the first time she had shown a champion's disposition.Para Lilí Álvarez, "ha nacido una nueva estrella". Mundo Deportivo, 3 July 1993

Álvarez died in Madrid in 1998.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (3 runner-ups)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1926 Wimbledon Grass Kitty McKane Godfree 2–6, 6–4, 3–6Loss 1927 Wimbledon (2) Grass Helen Wills 2–6, 4–6Loss 1928 Wimbledon (3) Grass Helen Wills 2–6, 3–6

Doubles (1 title)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1929 French Championships Clay Kea Bouman Bobbie Heine Alida Neave 7–5, 6–3

Mixed doubles (1 runner-up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1927 French Championships Clay Bill Tilden Marguerite Broquedis Jean Borotra 4–6, 6–2, 2–6

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 Career SR Australian ChampionshipsAAAAAAAAAAAAA 0 / 0 French Championships1RAQFAA SF SF3RAA1R SF SF 0 / 8 WimbledonA F F F4R1R3RAAA2R4R4R 0 / 9 U.S. ChampionshipsAAAAAAAAAAAAA 0 / 0 SR0 / 10 / 10 / 20 / 10 / 10 / 20 / 20 / 10 / 00 / 00 / 20 / 20 / 2 0 / 17

See also Performance timelines for all female tennis players since 1978 who reached at least one Grand Slam final

Notes

References

External links