Rene Simpson

Biography
Rene Simpson (born January 14, 1966 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada; died October 17, 2013 in Park Ridge, Illinois, United States) was a Canadian former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 70 on April 10, 1989 and a career-high WTA doubles ranking of No. 32 on August 21, 1995.

Simpson played NCAA tennis for Texas Christian University. In 1996, she reached the quarterfinals in doubles at the US Open with compatriot Sonya Jeyaseelan. She was a member of the Canadian Billie Jean King Cup team (then known as Fed Cup) from 1988 to 1998, coach from 1998 to 2000, and captain from 2001 to 2010. In 1988, she advanced to her first and only WTA singles final, losing to Mercedes Paz in Guarujá, Brazil. She has won three WTA doubles titles, in 1994 in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1995 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in 1995 in Zagreb, Croatia. She also reached the doubles final in Houston, United States in 1995. She retired in 1998. She was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011. Simpson died on October 17, 2013 at 47 after a yearlong battle with brain cancer.