Carrie Cunningham (born April 28, 1972) is an American surgeon and former professional
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
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, ending the year with a rank of 51 after reaching the third rounds of both the Australian and French Opens.
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.
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.
Court habits and influence
Cunningham had a habit of sometimes
grunting during her play. In fact, former world #1
Monica Seles
Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a Serbian–American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
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."
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
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Massachusetts. She graduated from
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
and
Harvard School of Public Health.
[ ]
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.
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.
Career finals
Doubles (0–1)
References
External links
*
*
Link to physician profile at Massachusetts General Hospital website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Carrie
1972 births
Living people
US Open (tennis) junior champions
American female tennis players
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles
Tennis players from Michigan
University of Michigan alumni
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni
21st-century American women physicians
21st-century American physicians