Forrest ‘Woody’ Hunt IV, 36; Local Junior Tennis Great Played on ’91 Davis Cup Team

Forrest “Woody” Hunt IV, once a Los Angeles-area junior tennis great and member of the United States Davis Cup team in 1991, took his own life Dec. 21 in Palos Verdes. He was 36.

Hunt, who grew up in Torrance and attended South Torrance High School, was one of Southern California’s finest junior tennis players during the early and mid-1980s. Possessing an unyielding determination and a powerful backhand, Hunt was part of a generation of top Los Angeles-area tennis players that immediately preceded such local talents as Pete Sampras and Michael Chang.

In 1985, Hunt was a singles and doubles finalist at the United States Tennis Assn.’s junior national championships, held in Kalamazoo, Mich. That year he was ranked fifth nationally among singles players younger than 18.

Hunt went on to play at UC Berkeley, which he attended on full scholarship. At Cal, Hunt was a three-time All-American, leading his team to the college indoor national championships in 1989 during his senior year. While in college, Hunt made his debut on the professional tour, making it to the second round of the Transamerica Open in San Francisco.

Hunt’s pro tennis dreams never fully materialized; he struggled with a series of serious injuries and failed to achieve a ranking above 250 in the world. Nevertheless, he was selected in 1991 to join the U.S. Davis Cup team that went on to defeat Spain in Newport, R.I. Hunt was picked as a practice player for a team led by John McEnroe, largely because his style of play was similar to that favored by Spain’s top stars.

Hunt quit competing as a professional shortly after that Davis Cup match. He went on to work as a promotions manager for a tennis equipment company.

Over the last several years Hunt struggled with bipolar disorder and the effects of being struck by a car in 1996, an accident that nearly killed him and cost him the full use of his right arm, his family said.

Hunt is survived by his parents, Forrest Hunt III and Jo Ann Hunt of Torrance; his brother, Rodney Hunt, of Morrisville, Pa.; and his sister, Randy Lynn Wade, of Torrance.