Bunny Bruning named 2024 Champion of Equality Honoree

Bunny Bruning of Adel, Iowa, will be receiving the Champion of Equality honoree recognition from the USTA. This honor will be presented at the 2024 US Open as part of the second annual Champions of Equality event, which celebrates the fight for equality.

Bruning grew up in California and was active on the WTA Tour during the 1970s and 1980s. She competed in the main draws of all four Grand Slam tournaments and was runner-up in the Wimbledon Plate in 1976.

Since leaving professional tennis in the '80s, Bruning has worked in Iowa as a tennis coach. She currently serves as tennis director of the Wakonda Club in Des Moines, where she has worked since 1983. There she’s helped develop the junior tennis program. As a USPTA-certified Master Professional, all of Bruning’s programs focus on developing the person, the athlete and then the tennis player.

Bruning is active in USTA Iowa, a former district president and has served for years as a schools trainer and volunteer. She is a USPTA Master Professional and spent more than 15 years on the USPTA Missouri Valley Division board, including serving as president of the USPTA Missouri Valley Division. She also held national office as a USPTA National Vice President from 2009–2011. Bruning continues to volunteer for many local organizations, including the Central Iowa Tennis Alliance that she founded in 1996.

Over the years she has worked with Special Olympians, inner-city youth, wheelchair players and team-oriented juniors. As a teaching pro, Bruning has selflessly given time, finances and encouragement so everyone she encountered found some success with tennis.

To read more about Bruning, click here.