Carrie Cunningham Explained

Carrie Cunningham
Birth Date:28 April 1972
Turnedpro:1987
Retired:1994
Careerprizemoney:$317,652
Singlesrecord:81–84
Singlestitles:0 WTA, 1 ITF
Highestsinglesranking:No. 38 (February 18, 1991)
Australianopenresult:3R (1991)
Frenchopenresult:3R (1991)
Wimbledonresult:2R (1989, 1990, 1991)
Usopenresult:4R (1992)
Usopenjuniorresult:W (1988)
Doublesrecord:21–44
Doublestitles:0
Highestdoublesranking:No. 56 (December 9, 1991)
Australianopendoublesresult:1R (1992)
Frenchopendoublesresult:1R (1991, 1992)
Usopendoublesresult:2R (1992)

Carrie Cunningham (born April 28, 1972) is an American surgeon and former professional tennis player who played on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Circuit from 1987 until 1994. She has served as president of the Association for Academic Surgery.

Career singles highlights

Cunningham's career highlights include a world ranking of 32 in 1991,[1] ending the year with a rank of 51 after reaching the third rounds of both the Australian and French Opens.[2] [3]

Her best Grand Slam performance was attaining the 4th round (round of 16) at the 1992 US Open, losing to eventual semi-finalist Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, 6–3, 7–5. She reached the second round in Wimbledon from 1989-1991. She also holds one Grand Slam Junior title - the US Junior Open Championship in 1988.[4] [5]

Doubles highlights

Cunningham was also on the doubles circuit, reaching one WTA final - the 1991 Tokyo International, with doubles partner Laura Gildemeister, losing 6–3, 6–3 to the team of Pam Shriver and Mary Joe Fernandez. She does hold a USTA Girls’ 18 National Championship doubles title, when she teamed with Andrea Farley to capture the 1988 crown on clay courts.[6] [7]

Court habits and influence

Cunningham had a habit of sometimes grunting during her play. In fact, former world #1 Monica Seles cites Cunningham for starting her own grunting habit, after Seles lost a finals match to Cunningham in 1986. Said Seles, "it has been part of me since I was 12 when I played Carrie Cunningham in one of the finals and I started doing that. Since then, it has been always with me each year at Wimbledon."[8] [9]

Earnings

Cunningham's career earnings on the professional tour totaled $318,541.

Post tennis career

Cunningham pursued a career in medicine and surgery. She is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and is an attending surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.[10] She graduated from University of Michigan and Harvard School of Public Health.[11]

As the President of the Association for Academic Surgery, Cunningham advocates for heightened awareness and enhanced mental health practices among physicians, aiming to address the concerning rates of mental health issues and suicides within the profession.[12] During her address at the Association's annual conference in 2023, she candidly shared her personal battle with depression and substance abuse as a poignant example of the need for such initiatives.[13]

Career finals

Doubles (0–1)

Winner – Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (0–0)
Tier II (0–1)
Tier III (0–0)
Tier IV (0–0)
Tier V (0–0)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)

External links

Notes and References

  1. Personal discussions with Dr. Cunningham. WTA rankings were in real-time but only posted every two weeks.
  2. Web site: WTA Player Profile Carrie Cunningham . June 3, 2009 . May 27, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170527134342/http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/Player/Info/0,,12781~1190,00.html . dead .
  3. http://tennis.quickfound.net/history/wta_top_20_1989-present.html WTA rankings 1989-2005
  4. [International Tennis Federation|US Junior Open Champions]
  5. http://www.itftennis.com/juniors/history/grandslams/USGS.asp ITF: US Junior Open Champions
  6. Web site: USTA site: USTA Girls' 18 National Championships . February 1, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090522125918/http://www.ustagirls.org/pastchampions.htm . May 22, 2009 . dead .
  7. http://www.rcofmemphis.com/girls18/champions.htm Racquet Club of Memphis site: USTA Girls' 18 National Clay Court Championships
  8. http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=14527 ASA Sports: Is it a natural part of your game?
  9. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEEDB1030F93AA25754C0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all New York Times: Tennis; Seles Reflects on Critical Shots
  10. http://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=18591 Carrie C. Lubitz, M.D. profile
  11. Web site: Carrie Lubitz, MD, MPH - Surgical Oncology . www.massgeneral.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191110160858/https://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/18591/carrie-lubitz . November 10, 2019.
  12. Web site: Frangou . Christina . US surgeons are killing themselves at an alarming rate. One decided to speak out . the Guardian . September 26, 2023 . September 26, 2023.
  13. Web site: 2023 AAS Presidential Address - Removing the Mask . YouTube . September 26, 2023.