Angie Kate Cunningham (2 February 1973 – 4 October 2016) was a professional tennis player from Australia. She competed during her career under her maiden name Angie Woolcock.

Angie Cunningham
Full nameAngie Kate Cunningham
nee Woolcock
Country (sports) Australia
Born(1973-02-02)2 February 1973
Launceston, Australia
Died4 October 2016(2016-10-04) (aged 43)
Melbourne, Australia
Prize money$67,087
Singles
Career titles3 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 318 (17 April 1995)
Doubles
Career titles7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 111 (10 May 1993)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1993)
French Open2R (1992)
Wimbledon1R (1991, 1993)
US Open1R (1993)

Biography

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Tennis career

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Cunningham was born in Launceston. Cunningham won the Pardey Shield tennis title at the age of 13, which made her the youngest winner of the prestigious Tasmanian schools competition. She moved to Melbourne soon after to pursue a career in tennis and was accepted into the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.[1]

Cunningham was runner-up in three junior Grand Slam doubles finals, twice at the Australian Open and once at Wimbledon. She partnered with Nicole Pratt to make the final of the 1989 Australian Open. She was a finalist again, in 1991, with Joanne Limmer. Cunningham beat Limmer to win her first ITF tournament in Woking, England, later in 1991. Cunningham eventually partnered with Limmer in order to reach the girls' doubles final at Wimbledon.[2] Cunningham reached a highest junior doubles ranking of number two in the world.[3]

She competed primarily in doubles as a professional tennis player. Her best performance on the WTA Tour was a semifinal appearance, partnering Jo-Anne Faull at the Malaysian Women's Open in 1993. Her career best doubles ranking was 111 in 1993. She competed in the women's doubles main draws at the four grand slam tournaments that year. She won two ITF singles titles: at Lee on Solent, and in Ballarat, in 1994[4][5]

Cunningham retired from tennis in 1996. She studied for a business degree at La Trobe University after her tennis career. She started to work for the Women's Tennis Association in 2000, and she was based in London. Her roles during her ten year career at the WTA included being the Vice President of Player Relations and On-Site Operations.[6]

Personal life and illness

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Cunningham was the middle of three children born to Bill and Susie Woolcock. Her father ran the local real estate company, Woolcock Partners, for 40 years, before it was bought by her elder brother Sam in 2013. She had a husband Pat and two daughters.[1]

She was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2012.[1] She died on 4 October 2016 at her home in Melbourne, at the age of 43. Her death occurred three and a half years after the death of Australian tennis player Brad Drewett, and a year before the death of another former Australian player Peter Doohan. Each man died from motor neurone disease.[7]

Honours

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She posthumously received the President's Spirit of Tennis Award for her efforts to raise awareness of MND, at the 2016 Newcombe Medal awards ceremony.[3]

The trophy for the Hobart International is named the Angie Cunningham Trophy in her honour.[6][8]

ITF finals

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$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles (3–3)

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Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 19 May 1991 ITF Bournemouth, United Kingdom Hard   Joanne Limmer 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Loss 1. 27 April 1992 ITF Sheffield, United Kingdom Hard   Svetlana Parkhomenko 3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win 2. 13 March 1994 ITF Warrnambool, Australia Hard   Jane Taylor w/o
Loss 2. 20 March 1994 ITF Canberra, Australia Grass   Tang Min 3–6, 0–6
Win 3. 2 May 1994 ITF Lee-on-the-Solent, United Kingdom Clay   Christina Zachariadou 6–3, 6–4
Loss 3. 26 March 1995 ITF Bendigo, Australia Hard   Jane Taylor 0–6, 4–6

Doubles (7–6)

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Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 5 March 1990 ITF Newcastle, Australia Grass   Kirrily Sharpe   Yuko Hosoki
  Ayako Hirose
3–6, 7–5, 6–4
Loss 1. 30 September 1990 ITF Kuroshio, Japan Clay   Catherine Barclay   Naoko Kinoshita
  Emiko Takahashi
4–6, 6–4, 2–6
Loss 2. 14 October 1990 ITF Matsuyama, Japan Clay   Catherine Barclay   Kerry-Anne Guse
  Kristine Kunce
7–6, 3–6, ret.
Win 2. 19 May 1991 ITF Bournemouth, United Kingdom Hard   Joanne Limmer   Joannette Kruger
  Cindy Summers
6–0, 6–2
Loss 3. 8 July 1991 ITF Erlangen, Germany Clay   Louise Stacey   Viktoria Milvidskaia
  Maja Živec-Škulj
4–6, 4–6
Win 3. 15 July 1991 ITF Darmstadt, Germany Clay   Louise Stacey   Martina Pawlik
  Lisa Seemann
6–1, 6–2
Win 4. 3 February 1992 ITF Jakarta, Indonesia Clay   Nicole Pratt   Ruxandra Dragomir
  Irina Spîrlea
6–1, 6–0
Loss 4. 13 April 1992 ITF Salerno, Italy Hard   Kirrily Sharpe   Linda Ferrando
  Silvia Farina Elia
1–6, 4–6
Loss 5. 6 July 1992 ITF Erlangen, Germany Clay   Caroline Schneider   Chen Li-Ling
  Miki Yokobori
4–6, 2–6
Win 5. 23 November 1992 ITF Nuriootpa, Australia Hard   Kerry-Anne Guse   Magdalena Feistel
  Kirrily Sharpe
4–6, 7–6, 6–2
Win 6. 20 December 1992 ITF Brisbane, Australia Grass   Justine Hodder   Kerry-Anne Guse
  Kristine Kunce
6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Win 7. 20 March 1994 ITF Canberra, Australia Grass   Kate McDonald   Atsuko Shintani
  Haruko Shigekawa
6–2, 6–2
Loss 6. 4 September 1995 ITF Spoleto, Italy Clay   Karen Nugent   Cristina Salvi
  Elena Savoldi
6–1, 6–7, 2–6

References

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  1. ^ a b c Baker, Mark (23 October 2016). "Angie leaves a legacy of love and laughter". The Examiner. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  2. ^ "ITF Tennis - Juniors - Player Profile - Woolcock, Angie (AUS)". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b Trollope, Matt (28 November 2016). "Angie Cunningham honoured with President's Spirit of Tennis Award". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Woolcock's title". The Canberra Times. Australia. 10 May 1994. p. 21. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Hong Kong improver wins". The Canberra Times. Australia. 21 March 1994. p. 19. Retrieved 19 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ a b Slatter, Sean (15 January 2018). "Angie Cunningham trophy awarded for the first time in Hobart". The Examiner. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  7. ^ Te Koha, Nui (23 November 2017). "Jimmy Barnes will put on a concert to help Neale Daniher's fight against motor neurone disease". Herald Sun. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  8. ^ Livaudais, Stephanie (6 January 2018). "Hobart unveils new trophy to honor late Tasmanian favorite". WTA Tennis. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
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