It is with the greatest of sadness, that Tennis West writes to inform all clubs on the passing of Tennis West Life Member and Former President—Ms Andrea Mitchell. Andrea passed away last night, aged 64.
Renowned for her incredible work ethic and passion for tennis, Andrea first joined the Tennis West Board in 1988, and was a member of numerous committees during this time, including Chairperson of the Fundraising Committee, Tennis Development Committee and State Selectors Committee. She was also on the Davis Cup Committee in 1990 and 1991.
In 1991 she became Vice President of the Tennis West Board, under President Alan Hicks, and Chaired the organising committee of the historic 1995 Fed Cup Tie between Australia and the Slovak Republic. Upon Alan’s retirement in 1996, Andrea became the President of Tennis West, the first female President in the Association’s history. Andrea remained President of Tennis West for 12 years, and her stewardship was highly regarded.
In 2000, Andrea was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for her contribution to the sport.
Andrea resigned from the Board in 2008, and was made a much deserved Life Member of Tennis West in 2013.
A testament to her dedication and hard work for the sport, whilst on the Board of Tennis West, Andrea also served on the Tennis Australia Board from 1997-2007 and was a Director of the Hopman Cup. Historically, Andrea was the first women to attend a Tennis Australia Board Meeting in a representative capacity, and has paved the way since for many women in the State and National Bodies.
Outside of Tennis, Andrea worked as a physical education teacher for 15 years, before moving into a managerial position at the Department of Sport and Recreation. In 2008 Andrea successfully ran for the Liberal Party in the seat of Kingsley, a position she held until 2017. At the 2013 election she was made a Parliamentary Secretary, and was elevated to Minister for Child Protection and Mental Health from 2016-2017.
Former Tennis West President, Wayne Firns, who worked alongside Andrea for many years, was extremely saddened to hear of her sudden loss.
“Andrea dedicated a huge part of her life to tennis in many facets of the game including being a State Team Manager, long serving Tennis West Board Member, President and TA Board Member.”
“During her term as President she oversaw and was involved in major changes to the way the game was administered at all levels. Andrea was highly regarded by all, and her many tennis friends all over the world will be saddened by her loss”
Tennis West President Jan Truscott, credited Andrea as a trailblazer of our sport.
“Champions of tennis are always thought of as the players, but in this case, Andrea was a Champion administrator, working tirelessly behind the scenes to grow our sport, strengthen our major events, and develop our promising young players”
“The WA Tennis Community will be forever grateful for what Andrea has contributed to our sport. She was a pioneer for women, a hard-worker, and an incredible advocate for tennis. She will be sorely missed”
Tennis West would like to thank and pay tribute to Andrea and the incredible contribution she made to Tennis in WA, Australia, and Worldwide.
Rest in Peace Andrea.
For those wishing to attend Andrea’s Funeral, the service will be live streamed from 1.45pm on Thursday 9 April via the link below:
https://livestream.com/accounts/10040291/events/9078111
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