Perth, Australia, 6 April 2020 | tennis.com.au

The Tennis family is mourning the loss of Andrea Mitchell, a former Tennis Australia Director and Tennis West President.

A passionate tennis player and renowned for her incredible work ethic, Ms Mitchell joined the Tennis West Board in 1988. She took on the Vice President role in 1991, then became the first female President in the association’s history in 1996. She spent 12 years in the President role and was also a Director of the Hopman Cup.

Ms Mitchell later served on the Tennis Australia Board from 1997 to 2007. She was the first woman to attend a Tennis Australia Board meeting in a representative capacity, paving the way for other women to play a key role in the sport’s administration both at a state and national level.

Ms Mitchell, also a former Commissioner of the Australian Sports Commission, was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for her contribution to the sport in 2000 and received Tennis West life membership in 2013.

Outside of tennis, Ms Mitchell worked as a physical education teacher for 15 years and later at the Department of Sport and Recreation. In 2008, she successfully ran for the Liberal Party in the seat of Kingsley. She held the state-level seat until 2017, serving as Parliamentary Secretary and Minister for Child Protection and Mental Health during this time.

Tennis West President Jan Truscott said Ms Mitchell would be remembered as a trailblazer.

“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,” Truscott said.

“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.”

International Tennis Federation President David Haggerty described Ms Mitchell as ‘highly regarded by the tennis world’.

“Andrea was exceptionally astute, a force for good and a tireless advocate for tennis and women. She made a vast contribution in her different roles,” he said.

Ms Mitchell passed away on 3 April after battling a longtime heart condition. She was 64.