So many things went wrong during the filming of The Exorcist that people began to believe that the movie was cursed. How bad was it? Among other things, the movie accelerated the end of a young woman’s professional tennis career.
Then again, it was also terrifying to play Chris Evert. That didn’t help, either.
The woman in question was “The Pixie from Dixie,” Linda Tuero. A classic baseliner, she once held up her end of a 326-stroke rally–on national television. She was the first woman to attend Tulane University on an athletic scholarship, even though there was no varsity women’s tennis team. She played on the men’s squad, and only when opposing coaches and players okayed it. The smart ones declined: Tuero won eight of nine matches.
She took the 1972 Italian Open with a straight-set victory over Olga Morozova, and she upset Nancy Richey when she was just 19 years old.
On a lark in early 1973, Tuero turned up for a filming in Washington, D.C. The Exorcist needed a tennis-playing extra, and she fit the bill. “They picked me right away,” she said, “because they could tell I wasn’t going to miss a ton of balls.”
She makes a brief appearance in the movie. More importantly, she met the screenwriter, William Peter Blatty. They became a couple, and Blatty was often seen in the stands at Tuero’s matches. The relationship reminded her that there was more to life than tennis, and her passion for the game began to falter.
Still, she had plenty left in her racket bag. A few weeks after Wimbledon, at the Marie O. Clark Memorial Tournament in Cleveland, Tuero won three matches to reach her first final in more than a year. It was a step in the right direction: Her semi-final victim, Frenchwoman Nathalie Fuchs, had beaten her a month earlier.
Unfortunately, the name that emerged from the other half of the draw inspired as much fear as anything Blatty could dream up. On July 29th, Tuero would take on Evert.
“The turning point of the match,” cracked one wire report, was the moment the ladies walked on court. Tuero was as tidy as ever. She didn’t make any errors; Chrissie just hit everything back for winners. The first game, on Tuero’s serve, set the tone. The reigning Wimbledon finalist won the first point with a cross-court forehand, the second with a cross-court backhand, and the next two with dropshot winners.
Evert was never one to drag things out. While Tuero twice made it to deuce, she never did win a game. The whole thing took only 40 minutes.
The Pixie from Dixie wasn’t quite ready to hang it up, but every encounter with Chrissie nudged her a little further in that direction. By the time The Exorcist hit theaters in November, the 22-year-old was done. “She had the same game as me,” Tuero said of her nemesis. “But she was better.”
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This post is part of my series about the 1973 season, Battles, Boycotts, and Breakouts. Keep up with the project by checking the TennisAbstract.com front page, which shows an up-to-date Table of Contents after I post each installment.
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