Guadelupe "Lupita" Novelo Osuna (born 5 May 1967) is a former professional tennis player from Mexico.

Lupita Novelo
Full nameGuadelupe Novelo Osuna
Country (sports) Mexico
Born (1967-05-05) 5 May 1967 (age 57)
Prize money$72,441
Singles
Career record77–56
Highest rankingNo. 250 (16 November 1992)
Doubles
Career record77–56
Highest rankingNo. 92 (11 October 1993)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1992, 1993)
French Open2R (1991)
Wimbledon3R (1992)
US Open2R (1993)

Biography

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Novelo comes from Ensenada in the Mexican state of Baja California, one of six children of Don Antonio and Ana María.[1]

Moving to the United States, she attended the University of Southern California (USC) for four years on a scholarship, then in the early 1990s competed on the WTA Tour as well as in representative matches for Mexico.[2]

She won three gold medals at the 1990 Central American and Caribbean Games and in the same year debuted for the Mexico Fed Cup team. Over three years she featured in a total of 14 Fed Cup ties. At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona she made it into the singles draw as a lucky loser, replacing Helen Kelesi who had become ill.[3] She lost in the first round to number one seed Steffi Graf.[4]

On the professional tour she was most successful in doubles, with a top ranking of 92 in the world. As a doubles player she featured in the main draw of all grand slam tournaments, with her best performance coming at the 1992 Wimbledon Championships, where she and Kristine Radford made the round of 16. She reached a career best singles ranking of 250 and had a win over Chanda Rubin at the 1992 European Open.[5]

Following a period of time coaching in the United States, Novelo returned to her hometown of Ensenada, where she runs the family business, a hotel called Las Rosas Hotel & Spa.[1]

ITF finals

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$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Doubles (8–6)

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Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 16 October 1989 Kuroshio, Japan Hard   Lynn Nabors   Ayako Hirose
  Miki Mizokuchi
7–6(5), 6–4
Loss 1. 30 October 1989 Saga, Japan Grass   Lynn Nabors   Ei Iida
  Naoko Sato
6–7(3), 6–4, 3–6
Loss 2. 6 November 1989 Matsuyama, Japan Hard   Lynn Nabors   Kim Il-soon
  Lee Jeong-myung
1–6, 4–6
Win 2. 21 May 1990 Aguascalientes, Mexico Hard   Jean Lozano   Suzanne Italiano
  Belkis Rodríguez
6–1, 6–1
Win 3. 3 June 1990 San Luis Potosí, Mexico Hard   Jean Lozano   Lucila Becerra
  Themis Zambrzycki
6–3, 4–6, 6–1
Loss 3. 2 July 1990 Mobile, United States Hard   Jean Lozano   Kim Il-soon
  Lee Jeong-myung
1–6, 0–6
Loss 4. 9 July 1990 Fayetteville, United States Hard   Jean Lozano   Kim Il-soon
  Lee Jeong-myung
6–4, 6–7(3), 3–6
Loss 5. 17 February 1991 Mildura, Australia Grass   Betsy Somerville   Kristine Kunce
  Clare Thompson
6–7, 2–6
Win 4. 25 February 1991 Canberra, Australia Grass   Betsy Somerville   Tracey Rodgers
  Alison Scott
7–5, 3–6, 6–4
Win 5. 4 March 1991 Broadmeadows, Australia Grass   Betsy Somerville   Kristine Kunce
  Clare Thompson
6–2, 7–5
Win 6. 21 October 1991 Ōita, Japan Hard   Kristine Kunce   Maria Ekstrand
  Sabine Lohmann
6–1, 7–5
Win 7. 30 September 1991 Saga, Japan Grass   Kristine Kunce   Tang Min
  Li Fang
5–7, 6–2, 7–5
Win 8. 4 November 1991 Chiba, Japan Hard   Kristine Kunce   Ayako Hirose
  Yone Kamio
6–4, 5–7, 6–4
Loss 6. 24 November 1991 Nuriootpa, Australia Hard   Terri O'Reilly   Jo-Anne Faull
  Rennae Stubbs
4–6, 5–7

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lupita Novelo Osuna - Las leyendas del tenis mexicano" (in Spanish). ricardosanchez.esy.es. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Lupita Novelo Joins City Tennis Staff as Resident Touring Pro". Coronado Eagle. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 21 September 1994. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Becker, Courier, Graf open Olympic tennis tourney". United Press International. 27 July 1992. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Becker Sweats Out Victory". Los Angeles Times. 29 July 1992. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. ^ "European Open". Akron Beacon Journal. Ancestry.com. 20 May 1992. p. 29. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
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