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Cathie Sabin was appointed OBE in 2016 for her services to tennis
Tributes have been paid to Cathie Sabin, the first female president of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
The 73-year-old, from Much Wenlock in Shropshire was a former PE teacher and played county tennis before taking up the national role in 2013.
Tennis Shropshire said she had had cancer for some time and died at a hospice in Shrewsbury.
Judy Murray, the tennis coach and mother of Andy and Jamie, described her as “an absolute tennis gem”.
Writing on Twitter, she said Sabin was “incredibly warm, down to earth, [and a] special woman”.
Sabin was appointed OBE in the 2016 New Year Honours for her services to the sport.
Tennis Shropshire said its former president would be “sorely missed by all of us in tennis in Britain and beyond”.
She became LTA deputy president in 2011 before taking the top job two years later, the LTA said. It was during her time as president that Great Britain won the Davis Cup.
The LTA paid particular tribute to Sabin’s development of the sport at grassroots level.
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Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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