Joan Shumack’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren gathered for her induction into the Tennis ACT Walk of Fame. Photos: Tennis ACT.
From 1930s champions to today’s rising stars, Tennis ACT brought generations together at its annual awards night, inducting two female trailblazers from pioneering Canberra region families into the Walk of Fame while celebrating players, coaches, clubs and volunteers shaping the sport’s future.
Joan Shumack (later Le Nevez) and Norma Crawley (née Southwell), whose local roots date back to the 1850s, were recognised for their outstanding contributions to tennis across different eras.
For Joan’s family, the honour was the culmination of a journey that began with an unexpected online discovery.
In 2010, while searching online, Joan’s granddaughter, Veronica Le Nevez came across a digitised newspaper clipping that read: “Joan Shumack retained the women’s singles championship when she easily defeated Mrs O’Sullivan. Some excellent matches were seen at the Manuka courts”.
The find opened a window into Joan’s pre-marriage tennis career, about which the family knew very little.
Joan’s daughter, Coralie Le Nevez described the discovery as a “microcosm of a previous era”.
More than 300 digitised articles about Joan’s matches helped Coralie write a family history booklet detailing her mother’s early accomplishments and the considerable promise she showed as a young player. Joan’s tennis career ended in 1941 when, at age 20, she married and moved away from Canberra.
During her prime, Joan dominated female tennis in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Between 1935 and 1940, she won six consecutive FCT Resident Singles Championships and took home the F.A. Piggin Cup — a record unequalled in the women’s competition.
She also claimed three FCT Open Singles Titles (1936 – 1938) and at age 16, completed a clean sweep at the 1936 Resident Championships by winning the Junior Girls’, Ladies’ Singles, and Ladies’ Doubles titles.
Walk of Fame Committee Chair Colin Adrian highlighted her legacy during the ceremony, calling Joan “the premier ladies’ singles player before the war”.
“Most of Joan’s tennis days took place before my time, when she was a teenager. She didn’t talk about it much, and she didn’t enjoy going to the local club for a friendly hit with the ladies — she was too competitive,” she said.
“It was lovely to see her honoured. Though she liked winning matches, Joan didn’t particularly like the spotlight. But I think she would have been really pleased that Tennis ACT took the time to research those players, learn what it was like at that time, and put the Walk of Fame together.”
Shumack’s fellow Walk of Fame inductee, Queanbeyan tennis stalwart Norma Crawley, contributed to the sport for more than six decades.
Born in 1924, Crawley bridged the traditional rivalry between Canberra and Queanbeyan, representing both communities throughout her career. She became a dominant post-war figure and was part of the first ACT women’s team to win both a national title and a national doubles championship.
Adrian described Crawley as a true matriarch of Canberra and Queanbeyan tennis.
“Over a 60-year career at local, regional and national level she was an inspiration for aspiring female tennis players, young and old,” he said.
Alongside celebrating two women who helped shape tennis in the Canberra region, the evening also recognised the sport’s current stars.
The annual Tennis ACT Awards celebrate excellence across the sport, and honour the individuals and clubs that contribute to the growth, strength and spirit of tennis in the territory.
Among this year’s highlights, Ashleigh Simes was named ACT Player of the Year for the third consecutive year, while Celeste Rubiano and Tommy Camus earned Junior Athlete of the Year honours.
Ashleigh, who began playing at age four and won her first International Tennis Federation title in April, has set her sights on breaking into the world’s top 800 this year, with the ultimate goal of competing in the Australian Open.
“It’s so special to have the hard work I’ve been putting in recognised this way,” she said. “I love competing; I think it would be hard to excel in this sport if you didn’t. But the thing I love most about tennis is the people I get to meet and the community built around the sport.”
The 2026 Tennis ACT Award Winners were:
- ACT Player of the Year – Ashleigh Simes
- Junior Athlete of the Year (Female) – Celeste Rubiano
- Junior Athlete of the Year (Male) – Tommy Camus
- Most Outstanding Club or Venue – Belconnen Tennis Club
- Volunteer Achievement Award – Graeme Barnes
- Most Outstanding School – Good Shepherd Primary School
- Excellence in Officiating – Shannon Ng
- Most Outstanding Inclusion Initiative – Pink Tennis
- Most Outstanding 30+ Tennis Master – Ros Balodis
- ACT Adult Club Player of the Year – Glenn Snellgrove
- ACT Junior Club Player of the Year – Oliver Begg
- Coaching Excellence (Club) – Frank Calabria
- Coaching Excellence (Development) – Gonzalo Lopez Cervino
- Coaching Excellence (Performance) – Nathan Price
- Most Outstanding Athlete with a Disability – Matthew Leggett.
The Tennis ACT Walk of Fame 2026 Inductees were:
- Joan Shumack (later Le Nevez)
- Norma Crawley (nee Southwell).
The Tennis ACT Walk of Fame is located at the entrance of the redeveloped Canberra Tennis Centre. The landmark honours those whose exceptional contributions have brought recognition and esteem to themselves and to tennis in the ACT.
