Giorgio Armani, touching obituary for Lea Pericoli

The words of Giorgio Armani

The day after Lea Pericoli’s death in the Corriere della Sera among the many obituaries dedicated to her è popped up also that of Giorgio Armani.

"When I think of the true elegance of those who play sports, è always Lea comes to mind: for the class she had on and off the field, and especially for the education and grace of her manners. We met many times and admired each other from afar, sharing the same values. His loss saddens me greatly", it reads.

Born in Milan, Italy, on March 22, 1935, Lea Pericoli spent her childhood in Addis Ababa, where her father Philip moved after the Ethiopian War and then, after World War II, there’s a further move to Asmara. Lea then studied in Nairobi, Kenya, until, at age 17, she returned to Italy.

Her career è was endless: è lasted until she was over 40 years old, and for 14, from 1959 to 1976, è she was number one in Italy. She won a whopping 27 national titles, 10 in singles, 11 in doubles and 6 in mixed doubles. She won 13 tournaments, the most important of which were in the Porro Lambertenghia Lesa Cup in 1960 and 1962, in Palermo in 1962 and in Monte Carlo in 1963.

At the Internazionali d’Italia, paired with Silvana Lazzarino, è reached the finals from 1962 to 1965 and in 1967, while in singles as her best result she reached the semifinals in 1967. In Grand Slam tournaments, on the other hand è landed four times in the round of 16 at Roland Garros (1955, 1960, 1964 and 1971) and three times on the grass of Wimbledon (1965, 1967 and 1970).