Miami: S. Williams vs Diyas
Serena Williams takes on Zarina Diyas in the third round of the Miami Open.
Serena Williams takes on Zarina Diyas in the third round of the Miami Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Angie Cunningham, the WTA’s former Vice President of Player Relations and On-Site Operations, has passed away after a long battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
A staunch campaigner in raising awareness of the disease, Angie died at her Melbourne home on Tuesday, surrounded by family.
As a teenager Angie was a leading junior player, going on to work at the WTA for eight years before moving back to Australia with husband Pat to raise their two children, Maggie and Sophie. In 2012, she was diagnosed with MND, but even as her condition deteriorated she continued the fight.
Not only fight the disease, for which there is no known cause, or effective treatment, but also to raise funds and awareness for other sufferers.
Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Rennae Stubbs, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt were among those who rallied behind the cause, many of whom took to social media to mourn the passing of an inspirational figure in the tennis community.
My courageous friend Angie Cunningham lost her fight with MND last night. I miss u we will fight on @pattweetingham pic.twitter.com/7NmI7sjbVe
— rennae stubbs (@rennaestubbs) October 5, 2016
Motor Neurone Disease is a group of neurological diseases that affects the voluntary muscles in the body, which control activities like speaking, walking, swallowing and general movement. It progresses over time, causing debilitating disability and eventually death. The life expectancy is two to three years.
There is no known cause for the disease, although many sufferers are athletes. In the US the disease is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, after the famous baseball player who died from it.
An interview with Madison Keys after her third round win at the Miami Open
Angelique Kerber had a second shot of the day on Wednesday at the China Open.
Madison Keys takes on Roberta Vinci in the third round of the Miami Open.
An interview with Zhang Shuai after her win in the round of 16 at the China Open.
Agnieszka Radwanska had Thursday’s shot of the day at the China Open.
Dominika Cibulkova, the reigning WTA Tour Finals champion, is gearing up for Doha and Dubai as she looks for her first tournament win of 2017.
The Slovak’s unprecedented success last year, in which she won tournaments in Katowice, Eastbourne and Linz before taking the title at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, saw her rise to No.5 in the World Rankings. Now, she goes to the Qatar Total Open as the third seed in a star-studded field.
“This is my highest ranking,” the 27-year-old told Gulf Today. “You can feel the expectation and the pressure. This is something I’m trying to deal with.”
Cibulkova is among the favourites to win in Doha and is confident she knows how to handle the heat. “I have my rituals,” she said. “What I do during the match, I just want to focus on tennis, on the tactics. You put away the wrong thoughts you have on the court, like, I should win, or, I don’t want to lose.”
Doha has not traditionally been a happy hunting ground for the 2014 Australian Open finalist. Her best result came in her first visit in 2008, when she reached the quarterfinals before being beaten in three sets by Agnieszka Radwanska.
However the first Slovak to reach a Grand Slam final has broken into the top 10 of the WTA Rankings for the first time and is confident the weight of expectation for her to improve her record will not prove a burden. “You just put it away,” she said, “and you focus on the right things.”
Angelique Kerber takes on Timea Babos in the fourth round of the Miami Open.