Maria Bueno, the tennis ballerina, dies at 78

The winner of 19 Grand Slam titles died after suffering from mouth cancer

FILE In this July 4, 1959 file photo, Maria Bueno of Brazil holds up the trophy after winning the women's singles final in the All-England Lawn Tennis championships at Wimbledon. (AP Photo,File)

Maria Bueno, a Brazilian tennis great who won three Wimbledon singles titles and four at the US Open in the 1950s and 1960s, and helped usher in modern women's tennis, has died after battling mouth cancer. She was 78. 
Bueno was admitted to the Nove de Julho hospital in Sao Paulo on Tuesday and on Friday the hospital released a statement confirming her death. It declined to provide more details out of respect for her family. 
"A very sad day for sports. Brazil and the world lost a true tennis legend," tweeted the International Olympic Committee, one of several sports organisations and professional tennis players to praise Bueno's contribution. 
Nicknamed "The Tennis Ballerina" because of her graceful style, Bueno spent most of her career on the court before the professional era. She won 19 Grand Slam titles overall, seven in singles, 11 in doubles and one in mixed doubles, between 1959 and 1966. She also reached the singles final at both the Australian Open and the French Open.

Bueno was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978 and was more recently contributing regularly to Brazilian television at Wimbledon, the US Open and other major tennis events. 
Bueno won her first major at Wimbledon in 1959, when she was 19. In "Tennis Encyclopedia," Bud Collins described her at the time as "the incomparably balletic and flamboyant Bueno." 
"Volleying beautifully, playing with breathtaking boldness and panache, the lithe Brazilian became the first South American women to win the Wimbledon singles," Collins wrote. 
Adored in Brazil after winning the trophy, Bueno became one of the symbols of the country's change from mostly rural to urban and modern. 
Bueno was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1959, 1960, 1964 and 1966. She was the first non-American woman to win Wimbledon and the US Open in same season. 
Billie Jean King, who beat Bueno in the 1966 Wimbledon final and later helped start a women's professional tennis tour, said the Brazilian was one of the players that made tennis less of a men's game. 
"Maria was a big star who caught the interest of the fans at a time when the men took centre stage. She helped lay the groundwork for what was to come," King told Bueno's website in 2009. "She deserves to be recognized." 
Bueno said men were key to her game. 
"It was only because I trained with men that I developed my speed. People said I looked effortless, but that was from training with guys," said Bueno, who played without a coach. 
From 1957-67, a decade in which she was dominating on the tennis court, Bueno won 65 singles tournaments, 90 doubles titles and 15 in mixed doubles. She was runner-up in 45 other competitions. 
Injuries and illness shortened her career, including spending eight months in bed in 1961 because of hepatitis. 
Her last major title came in 1968 when she won the doubles title at the US Open alongside Margaret Court — one of her biggest rivals in singles. 
Bueno and Court faced each other in five major finals, with Bueno winning two of them. 
Bueno's career took a downturn as the Open era started in 1968 because of arm and leg injuries. But she returned to tennis years later and won her final tournament at the Japan Open in 1974.