Linda Tuero

Linda Tuero (born October 21, 1950 in Metairie, LA) was a standout American amateur and professional tennis player. She was the Girls 14 and Girls 16 Champion in the USTA National Hard Court Championships, and the Girls 18 Singles Champion at the USTA National Clay Court Championships in both 1967 and 1968. She also was the US Interscholastic Girls 18 Champion in 1968, the first year the event was held for girls. In 1969, she claimed championships in the National Junior Clay Courts and the U.S. Amateur Singles. She added the National Clay Courts title in 1970.

She was the first female to secure an athletic scholarship at Tulane University, and the only female to play on its male tennis team, and the first woman to win a varsity letter at Tulane.

Turning pro, she won at the Cincinnati in 1968, reached the quarter-finals of the French Open in 1971, and won the singles titles at the Italian Open in 1972. She successfully represented the United States Federation Cup team in 1972 and 1973. When she retired, she was ranked 10th in the world.

She had a brief part in the film, The Exorcist, where she met its writer, William Peter Blatty, whom she married on July 20, 1975. Blatty won an Academy Award for the screenplay. It was her first marriage and his third. Asked what moved him to wed, Blatty replied: "An angel made me do it." Tuero later had a small part in another film, The Ninth Configuration, which was both written and directed by Blatty. She has three children and lives in Savannah, Ga.

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