Yolanda Ramírez Ochoa (born 1 March 1935) is a Mexican

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

player active in the 1950s and 1960s. She was twice a singles finalist and once a women's doubles champion and mixed doubles champion at the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...

Career

Ramírez was a singles finalist at the

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...

in 1960 and 1961. She lost the 1960 final to

Darlene Hard Darlene Ruth Hard (January 6, 1936 – December 2, 2021) was an American professional tennis player, known for her aggressive volleying ability and strong serves. She captured singles titles at the French Championships in 1960 and the U.S. Champ ...

and the 1961 final to

Ann Haydon Ann Shirley Jones, (née Adrianne Haydon on 17 October 1938, also known as Ann Haydon-Jones) is a British former table tennis and lawn tennis champion. She won eight Grand Slam tennis championships in her career: three in singles, three in wom ...

. She also was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 1959 and 1961, a quarterfinalist at the 1961 and 1963 U.S. Championships, a semifinalist at the 1962

Australian Championships The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...

, a semifinalist at the 1959 Italian Championships, and a finalist in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

in 1959. Ochoa won the German Championships in 1957 and was a finalist in 1961. Ramirez teamed with Rosie Reyes to win the women's doubles title at the 1958 French Championships and to reach the final at the 1957 and 1959 French Championships. She teamed with Billy Knight to win the mixed doubles title at the 1959 French Championships. With

Edda Buding Edda Buding (13 November 1936 – 15 July 2014) was a German tennis player of Romanian birth. She received the doubles gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics doubles demonstration event partnered with Helga Niessen Masthoff. Along with Yola Ramí ...

, she reached the women's doubles final at the 1961 U.S. Championships. She also won the women's doubles titles at the Italian Championships and in Monte Carlo, both in 1960. At the tournament in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, Ramirez won the singles title in 1956 and the doubles title (with Sara Mae Turber) in 1955. She was a doubles finalist in 1956. In 1959 she won the

South of France Championships The South of France Championships its original name or Championnats du Sud de la France also known as the Championships of the South of France and the Championship of Southern France was a tennis event held from 1895 through 1971 it was originall ...

in Nice, France. Ramírez won the singles titles at the 1960 Mexico National Championships and the 1961 Caribbean Lawn Tennis Championship. During her career, Ramírez had wins over

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's double ...

(in the second round of Wimbledon in 1961, which was King's first appearance at the tournament), Jones, and Christine Truman. According to Lance Tingay of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Ramírez was ranked in the world top 10 in 1957 and from 1959 through 1961, reaching a career high of world no. 6 in 1961. She married Alfonso Ochoa on 29 August 1962.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 runners-up)

Doubles (1 title, 3 runners-up)

Mixed doubles (1 title)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Yola 1935 births Living people Mexican female tennis players Sportspeople from Puebla Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Pan American Games medalists in tennis Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games silver medalists for Mexico Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Tennis players at the 1955 Pan American Games French Championships (tennis) champions Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in tennis Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Mexico Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games 20th-century Mexican women