María Emilia Salerni
# María Emilia Salerni

María Emilia Salerni (born 14 May 1983), known as "Pitu Salerni", is a former professional tennis player from Argentina.

On 25 February 2008, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 65. On 23 September 2002, she peaked at No. 45 in the doubles rankings.

The two-time former junior Grand Slam champion, winning Wimbledon and US Open in 2000, as well as finishing runner-up at Roland Garros, was named the 2000 ITF Junior World Champion. Salerni dated Argentine tennis player Guillermo Cañas until 2007.

Salerni retired from professional tour in 2009 after a string of injuries.

## WTA career finals

### Singles: 1 (runner-up)

* Legend
* Tier I (0–0)
* Tier II (0–0)
* Tier III (0–0)
* Tier IV & V (0–1)

| Result | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Loss | Feb 2008 | Copa Colsanitas, Colombia | Clay | Nuria Llagostera Vives | 0–6, 4–6 |

### Doubles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Tier I (0–0)
* Tier II (0–1)
* Tier III (1–1)
* Tier IV & V (1–2)

| Result | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Loss | 29 July 2001 | Morocco Open | Clay | María José Martínez Sánchez | Lubomira Bacheva Åsa Svensson | 3–6, $7–6^{(7–4)},$ 1–6 |
| Loss | 14 April 2002 | Amelia Island Championships, U.S. | Clay | Åsa Svensson | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Daniela Hantuchová | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 13 September 2002 | Tournoi de Québec, Canada | Carpet (i) | Fabiola Zuluaga | Samantha Reeves Jessica Steck | 6–4, 3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 5 April 2003 | Morocco Open | Clay | Gisela Dulko | Henrieta Nagyová Elena Tatarkova | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 17 November 2004 | Tournoi de Québec, Canada | Hard (i) | Carly Gullickson | Els Callens Samantha Stosur | 7–5, 7–5 |
| Loss | 24 July 2005 | Cincinnati Open, U.S. | Hard | Květa Peschke | Laura Granville Abigail Spears | 6–3, 2–6, 4–6 |

## ITF finals

* Legend
* $100,000 tournaments
* $75,000 tournaments
* $50,000 tournaments
* $25,000 tournaments
* $10,000 tournaments

### Singles: 16 (12–4)

| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Winner | 1. | 26 September 1999 | ITF Asunción, Paraguay | Clay | Mariana Mesa | 3–6, 7–6, 7–5 |
| Winner | 2. | 3 October 1999 | ITF Montevideo, Uruguay | Clay | Eugenia Chialvo | 6–3, 6–0 |
| Winner | 3. | 10 October 1999 | ITF Santiago, Chile | Clay | Eugenia Chialvo | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Winner | 4. | 23 April 2000 | ITF San Severo, Italy | Clay | Vanesa Krauth | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Winner | 5. | 14 May 2000 | ITF Caserta, Italy | Clay | Lamia Essaadi | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Winner | 6. | 30 July 2000 | ITF Horb, Germany | Clay | Adriana Jerabek | 6–3, 2–6, 6–2 |
| Winner | 7. | 6 August 2000 | ITF Ettenheim, Germany | Clay | Martina Suchá | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1 February 2004 | ITF Waikoloa, United States | Hard | Melinda Czink | 6–7, 2–6 |
| Winner | 8. | 19 September 2004 | ITF Ashland, United States | Hard | Kelly McCain | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 3 October 2004 | ITF Troy, United States | Hard | Shenay Perry | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 9. | 12 February 2006 | Midland Classic, United States | Hard (i) | Vasilisa Bardina | 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 |
| Winner | 10. | 1 April 2007 | ITF La Palma, Spain | Hard | Georgie Gent | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 30 June 2007 | ITF Getxo, Spain | Hard | Nuria Llagostera Vives | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Winner | 11. | 8 July 2007 | ITF Cuneo, Italy | Clay | Sara Errani | 3–6, 6–1, 7–6 |
| Winner | 12. | 21 March 2009 | ITF Lima, Peru | Clay | Lucía Jara Lozano | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 15 June 2009 | Open Montpellier, France | Clay | Anaïs Laurendon | 3–6, 2–6 |

### Doubles: 18 (9–9)

| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Runner-up | 1. | 27 September 1999 | ITF Montevideo, Uruguay | Clay | Jorgelina Cravero | Melody Falcó Joelle Schad | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 4 October 1999 | ITF Santiago, Chile | Clay | Jorgelina Cravero | Natalia Gussoni Aliénor Tricerri | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 24 July 2000 | ITF Horb, Germany | Clay | Patrycja Bandurowska | Zuzana Hejdová Kristen van Elden | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 6 August 2000 | ITF Ettenheim, Germany | Hard | Mariana Díaz Oliva | Nadejda Ostrovskaya Anna Zaporozhanova | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 8 July 2001 | ITF Orbetello, Italy | Clay | Patricia Tarabini | Lubomira Bacheva Laurence Courtois | $7–6^{(5)},$ 3–6, 6–1 |
| Winner | 3. | 12 May 2003 | ITF Bromma, Sweden | Clay | Gisela Dulko | Melinda Czink Zsófia Gubacsi | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 4. | 8 June 2003 | ITF Galatina, Italy | Clay | Arantxa Parra Santonja | Bahia Mouhtassine Andreea Ehritt-Vanc | 6–0, $7–6^{(6)}$ |
| Runner-up | 4. | 7 September 2003 | ITF Fano, Italy | Clay | Gala León García | Conchita Martínez Granados Giulia Casoni | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 21 September 2003 | ITF Columbus, United States | Hard | Andreea Ehritt-Vanc | Teryn Ashley Ally Baker | 3–6, $7–6^{(4)},$ 2–6 |
| Winner | 5. | 18 September 2004 | ITF Ashland, United States | Hard | Sandra Klösel | Cory Ann Avants Kristen Schlukebir | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 26 September 2004 | ITF Albuquerque, United States | Hard | Stéphanie Dubois | Maureen Drake Carly Gullickson | 3–6, $6–7^{(6)}$ |
| Runner-up | 7. | 22 October 2005 | Open de Saint-Raphaël, France | Hard (i) | Meilen Tu | Lucie Hradecká Sandra Záhlavová | 6–4, 4–6, 5–7 |
| Winner | 6. | 31 January 2006 | ITF Rockford, United States | Hard | Maria Fernanda Alves | Michaela Paštiková Abigail Spears | 0–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 7. | 11 May 2007 | ITF Monzón, Spain | Hard | Estrella Cabeza Candela | Iryna Brémond Vesna Dolonc | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 8. | 30 June 2007 | ITF Getxo, Spain | Clay | Conchita Martínez Granados | Nuria Llagostera Vives Laura Pous Tió | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 8. | 16 March 2009 | ITF Lima, Peru | Clay | Lucía Jara Lozano | Carla Beltrami Tatiana Búa | $7–6^{(3)},$ 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 9. | 6 June 2009 | ITF Galatina, Italy | Clay | Beatriz García Vidagany | Elena Bovina Regina Kulikova | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 9. | 12 June 2009 | Open de Marseille, France | Clay | Tathiana Garbin | Elena Bovina Timea Bacsinszky | $6–7^{(4)},$ 6–3, [10–7] |

## Sources

* María Emilia Salerni at CBS SportsLine.
* (in Spanish) Official website.
* (in Spanish) RedArgentina, Deportes.
