Edda Buding

Edda Buding was born in Romania, belonging to the ethnic group of the Banat Swabians. After World War II, she and her family were displaced to Germany, from which they emigrated to Argentina in 1948. The Argentine President Juan Peron hired her father as state tennis coach and personally promoted Edda Buding and her sister, Ilse. In 1953 Edda became Argentine tennis champion. In the mid-50s she and her brother Ingo, who also took part in the Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968 (playing the mixed doubles with his sister as well as other events), came back to Germany. Ingo was also a two-time junior singles champion at the French Championships.

Edda Buding’s greatest achievements include winning the German Open in women’s singles in 1959, playing in the Federation Cup final in 1966 and several German championships. She had three runner-up finishes in Grand Slam doubles finals, at the 1957 French, 1961 Wimbledon, and the 1961 US Championships. In 1958 she was chosen by her colleagues as “prettiest girl in tennis” and in 1964 she was honored with the “Silver Laurel Leaf”, the highest sports award in Germany.