Amanda Coetzer

Amanda Coetzer (born 22 October 1971 in Hoopstad) is a South African former professional tennis player. Coetzer finished in the WTA rankings top 20 for ten consecutive seasons (1992–2001), peaking at world No. 3. She reached three Grand Slam semifinals (Australian Open 1996 and 1997, French Open 1997) and one Grand Slam doubles final (US Open 1993). Coetzer earned a reputation for regularly beating players who were ranked higher than she. By virtue of scoring so many upset wins in spite of her five-foot-two (1.58m) stature, she gained the nickname: "The Little Assassin".[1]

Amanda Coetzer
Coetzer in 2003
Country (sports) South Africa
ResidenceHoopstad
Born (1971-10-22) 22 October 1971
Hoopstad, South Africa
Height1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Turned proJanuary 1988
RetiredJune 2004
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$5,594,821
Singles
Career record568–337
Career titles9 WTA
Highest rankingNo. 3 (3 November 1997)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenSF (1996, 1997)
French OpenSF (1997)
Wimbledon4R (1994)
US OpenQF (1994, 1996, 1998)
Doubles
Career record269–219
Career titles9 WTA
Highest rankingNo. 15 (27 September 1993)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenQF (2002)
French OpenSF (1993, 1994)
Wimbledon3R (1998, 2001)
US OpenF (1993)
Mixed doubles
Career record18–18
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open2R (1995, 2001)
French OpenQF (1994)
WimbledonQF (2000)
US Open2R (1992, 1993)
Team competitions
Fed CupQF (1995, 1996), Total 31 – 13
Hopman CupW (2000)

Personal life

Coetzer was born in Hoopstad, South Africa, to Nico and Suska Coetzer. She started playing tennis at the age of six. During her playing career she resided primarily in Hilton Head, South Carolina and was coached by Gavin Hopper and, later, Lori McNeil. She is married to the Hollywood film producer Arnon Milchan.[2] They have two children: Shimon (born 2009) and Olivia (born 2011).[3]

Career

Coetzer's breakthrough year was in 1992. She beat world No. 3, Gabriela Sabatini, in Boca Raton, and Jennifer Capriati at the Italian Open, entering into the top 20 in August.

In 1993, Coetzer won her first WTA Tour title in Melbourne, defeating Naoko Sawamatsu in the final, and reached the final of the US Open women's doubles with Inés Gorrochategui.

At the Canada Masters in 1995, Coetzer defeated three players ranked in the world's top 5 – Steffi Graf (No. 1), Jana Novotná (No. 4) and Mary Pierce (No. 5) – before finally losing to Monica Seles in the final. The defeat of Graf ended a 32-match winning-streak for the German. At the end of the year, Coetzer was awarded the WTA Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award (voted for by other players).

At the Australian Open in 1996, Coetzer became the first South African woman in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, where she lost in three sets to Anke Huber.

In 1997, Coetzer reached the Australian Open semifinals for the second consecutive year, defeating world No. 1, Steffi Graf, in the fourth round. She beat Graf for a second time that year at the German Open in May (inflicting Graf's worst-ever loss: 6–0, 6–1 in just 56 minutes), and then, in the quarterfinals of the French Open, she defeated Graf yet again to become one of only four to defeat her more than once in Grand Slam matches. Coetzer lost in the French Open semifinals to eventual champion Iva Majoli. She broke into the top 10 in June and top 5 in August, and in Leipzig Coetzer beat Martina Hingis, who by then had taken over the World No. 1 ranking. Coetzer won two singles titles that year – in Budapest and Luxembourg, reached 15 semifinals (or better) in total and was awarded the WTA Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award for a second time, the WTA Most Improved Player and WTA Diamond Aces awards.

Coetzer won the biggest title of her career in 1998, at the Charleston Open. She also beat Conchita Martinez on her way to a third quarter-finals showing at the US Open.

In 1999, Coetzer defeated world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport and world No. 4, Monica Seles, on her way to the final of Tokyo, thereby becoming the only player to ever defeat Graf, Hingis and Davenport while they were ranked No. 1.

Coetzer teamed-up with Wayne Ferreira to win the 2000 Hopman Cup for South Africa. She beat world No. 3, Venus Williams, in Hamburg and also reached the final of the German Open in Berlin.

In 2001, she qualified for her ninth consecutive Year-end championships, and finished her tenth consecutive season in the world's top 20.

Coetzer retired in 2004. Overall, she won 18 WTA Tour titles, nine in singles and nine in doubles. Her final singles title was won in Acapulco in 2003, and her career prize-money earnings totalled $6 million.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner–up)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up1993US OpenHard Inés Gorrochategui Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Helena Suková		6–4, 6–2

WTA career finals

Singles: 21 (9 titles, 12 runner-ups)
Winner – Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Tier I (1–3)
Tier II (1–5)
Tier III, IV & V (7–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–6)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (6–3)
Carpet 1–3)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Oct 1991 Puerto Rico Open, San Juan Hard Julie Halard 5–7, 5–7
Win 1. Jan 1993 Melbourne Open, Australia Hard Naoko Sawamatsu 6–2, 6–3
Loss 2. Feb 1993 Indian Wells Masters, United States Hard Mary Joe Fernández 6–3, 1–6, 6–7(6–8)
Win 2. Sep 1993 International Championships Tokyo, Japan Hard Kimiko Date 6–3, 6–2
Loss 3. Febr 1994 Indian Wells Masters Hard Steffi Graf 0–6, 4–6
Win 3. May 1994 Prague Open, Czech Republic Clay Åsa Carlsson 6–1, 7–6(16–14)
Loss 4. Aug 1995 Canadian Open, Toronto Hard Monica Seles 0–6, 1–6
Loss 5. Oct 1995 Brighton International, England Carpet (i) Mary Joe Fernández 4–6, 5–7
Loss 6. Feb 1996 Oklahoma City Cup, United States Hard (i) Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 3–6, 2–6
Win 4. Apr 1997 Budapest Grand Prix, Hungary Clay Sabine Appelmans 6–1, 6–3
Loss 7. Sep 1997 Sparkassen Cup Leipzig, Germany Carpet (i) Jana Novotná 2–6, 6–4, 3–6
Win 5. Oct 1997 Luxembourg Open Carpet (i) Barbara Paulus 6–4, 3–6, 7–5
Win 6. Mar 1998 Family Circle Cup, United States Clay Irina Spîrlea 6–3, 6–4
Loss 8. Feb 1999 Pan Pacific Open, Japan Carpet (i) Martina Hingis 2–6, 1–6
Loss 9. Feb 1999 Oklahoma City Cup Hard (i) Venus Williams 4–6, 0–6
Loss 10. May 2000 German Open, Berlin Clay Conchita Martínez 1–6, 2–6
Win 7. May 2000 Belgian Open, Antwerp Clay Cristina Torrens Valero 4–6, 6–2, 6–3
Win 8. Feb 2001 Mexican Open, Acapulco Clay Elena Dementieva 2–6, 6–1, 6–2
Loss 11. Apr 2001 Amelia Island Championships, United States Clay Amélie Mauresmo 4–6, 5–7
Loss 12. Feb 2003 Memphis Championships, United States Clay Lisa Raymond 3–6, 2–6
Win 9. Feb 2003 Mexican Open, Acapulco Clay Mariana Díaz Oliva 7–5, 6–3

Doubles: 23 (9 titles, 14 runner-ups)
Winner – Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
Tier I (1–2)
Tier II (3–7)
Tier III, IV & V (5–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–6)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (5–7)
Carpet (0–1)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponent Score
Win 1. Apr 1992 Ilva Trophy, Taranto Clay Inés Gorrochategui Rachel McQuillan
Radka Zrubáková		 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–0)
Loss 1. Jul 1992 Austrian Open, Kitzbühel Clay Wiltrud Probst Alexia Dechaume
Florencia Labat		 3–6, 3–6
Loss 2. Sep 1992 Taipei Championship, Taiwan Hard Cammy MacGregor Jo-Anne Faull
Julie Richardson		 6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Win 2. Oct 1992 Puerto Rico Open, San Juan Hard Elna Reinach Gigi Fernández
Kathy Rinaldi		 6–2, 4–6, 6–2
Loss 3. Apr 1993 Amelia Island Championships, United States Clay Inés Gorrochategui Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere
Leila Meskhi		 6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Loss 4. Aug 1993 US Open, United States Hard Inés Gorrochategui Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Helena Suková		 4–6, 2–6
Loss 5. Sep 1993 Tokyo International Championships Hard Linda Wild Lisa Raymond
Chanda Rubin		 4–6, 1–6
Loss 6. Novr 1993 Bank of the West Classic, United States Carpet (i) Inés Gorrochategui Patty Fendick
Meredith McGrath		 2–6, 0–6
Loss 7. Apr 1994 Amelia Island Championships Clay Inés Gorrochategui Larisa Neiland
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario		 2–6, 7–6(8–6), 4–6
Win 3. May 1994 Prague Open, Czech Republic Clay Linda Wild Kristie Boogert
Laura Golarsa		 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Win 4. Apr 1995 Amelia Island Championships Clay Inés Gorrochategui Nicole Arendt
Manon Bollegraf		 6–2, 3–6, 6–2
Win 5. May 1995 German Open, Berlin Clay Inés Gorrochategui Larisa Neiland
Gabriela Sabatini		 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–2
Loss 8. Sep 1995 Tokyo International Championships Hard Linda Wild Lindsay Davenport
Mary Joe Fernández		 3–6, 2–6
Win 6. Sep 1996 Tokyo International Championships Hard Mary Pierce Park Sung-hee
Wang Shi-ting		 6–1, 7–6(7–5)
Win 7. Apr 1997 Budapest Grand Prix, Hungary Clay Alexandra Fusai Eva Martincová
Elena Wagner		 6–3, 6–1
Loss 9. May 1998 Italian Open, Rome Clay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Virginia Ruano Pascual
Paola Suárez		 6–7(1–7), 4–6
Loss 10. Feb 1999 U.S. Indoor Championships, Oklahoma City Hard (i) Jessica Steck Lisa Raymond
Rennae Stubbs		 3–6, 4–6
Loss 11. Apr 1999 Barclay Cup Hamburg, Germany Clay Jana Novotná Larisa Neiland
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario		 2–6, 1–6
Loss 12. Sep 1999 Tokyo Princess Cup, Japan Hard Jelena Dokic Conchita Martínez
Patricia Tarabini		 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 2–6
Loss 13. May 2000 German Open Clay Corina Morariu Conchita Martínez
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario		 6–3, 2–6, 6–7(7–9)
Win 8. Feb 2001 U.S. Indoor Championships Hard (i) Lori McNeil Janet Lee
Wynne Prakusya		 6–3, 2–6, 6–0
Loss 14. May 2001 Internationaux de Strasbourg, France Clay Lori McNeil Silvia Farina Elia
Iroda Tulyaganova		 1–6, 6–7(0–0)
Win 9. Sep 2001 Brasil Open, Bahia Hard Lori McNeil Nicole Arendt
Patricia Tarabini		 6–7(8–10), 6–2, 6–4

Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Tournament19881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004SRW–LW%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A A 1R 2R 3R SF SF 4R 4R 2R QF 4R 4R 2R 0 / 12 31–12 72%
French Open A 4R 1R 2R 3R 2R 4R 2R 4R SF 1R 1R 3R 3R 1R 1R A 0 / 15 23–15 61%
Wimbledon Q3 1R 2R 2R A 2R 4R 2R 2R 2R 2R 3R 2R 3R 2R 2R A 0 / 14 17–14 55%
US Open Q1 1R 1R 1R 3R 3R QF 1R QF 4R QF 1R 3R 1R 3R 3R A 0 / 15 25–15 63%
Win–Loss 0–0 3–3 1–3 2–3 4–2 4–4 11–4 4–4 13–4 14–4 8–4 5–4 6–4 8–4 6–4 6–4 1–1 0 / 56 96–56 63%
Year-end championship
Tour Championships A A A A A QF 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R QF 1R A A A 0 / 9 2–9 18%
Tier I tournaments
Tokyo Tier III Tier II A A A A QF SF F QF 2R 2R 1R A 0 / 7 10–7 59%
Boca Raton Tier II 2R SF Tier II Not Held 0 / 2 5–2 71%
Indian Wells NH T III Tier II 2R 3R 3R 2R A QF QF A 0 / 6 8–6 57%
Miami A 3R 2R 2R QF 4R 4R 4R 3R 2R 4R QF QF 4R 4R 2R A 0 / 15 26–15 63%
Charleston Tier II A 2R 3R QF 3R 3R 2R QF W 3R QF QF QF 3R A 1 / 13 28–12 70%
Berlin A 2R 1R 3R A A A 2R 2R SF 3R 1R F QF 1R A A 0 / 11 15–11 58%
Rome T IV T II 2R 2R SF 3R 2R 3R A 3R 2R 2R A A A 2R A 0 / 10 13–10 57%
San Diego T V T IV Tier III Tier II A 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Montreal / Toronto Tier II A A 3R 3R 3R F 3R QF 3R QF 2R 3R 3R 3R A 0 / 12 22–12 65%
Moscow NH Tier V Not Held Tier III A A A A A SF 1R A 0 / 2 3–2 60%
Zürich T IV T III Tier II A A A 1R 2R QF QF 2R 2R 2R 1R A 0 / 8 7–8 47%
Philadelphia Not Held Tier II QF 1R 1R Tier II Not Held Tier II 0 / 3 2–3 40%
Career statistics
Year-end ranking 157 63 76 67 17 15 18 19 14 4 17 11 12 19 21 25 286
  • A = did not participate in the tournament.
  • SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number played.

Wins over top 10 players
Season 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Total
Wins 2 3 2 4 2 9 2 3 4 1 1 34
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score Coetzer
Rank
1992
1. Gabriela Sabatini 3 Virginia Slims of Florida, USA Hard Quarterfinal 4–6, 6–1, 6–2 61
2. Jennifer Capriati 6 Italian Open Clay 3R 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 31
1993
3. Jennifer Capriati 6 Amelia Island, USA Hard 2R 6–2, 1–6, 6–4 15
4. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 2 Tokyo, Japan Hard Semifinal 6–3, 6–4 17
5. Mary-Joe Fernandez 6 WTA Tour Championships Carpet (i) 1R 6–3, 6–4 16
1994
6. Mary-Joe Fernandez 7 Evert Cup, USA Hard Quarterfinal 6–2, 2–6, 7–6(4) 16
7. Kimiko Date 6 French Open Clay 1R 6–2, 6–1 18
1995
8. Steffi Graf 1 Canadian Open Hard 2R 3–6, 6–2, 7–6(6) 27
9. Mary Pierce 5 Canadian Open Hard Quarterfinal 6–4, 5–7, 6–0 27
10. Jana Novotna 4 Canadian Open Hard Semifinal 6–4, 6–3 27
11. Magdalena Maleeva 8 Brighton, UK Carpet Semifinal 6–3, 6–3 23
1996
12. Chanda Rubin 10 Oklahoma City, USA Hard Semifinal 6–2, 2–6, 7–6(4) 17
13. Anke Huber 5 US Open Hard 1R 6–1, 2–6, 6–2 17
1997
14. Steffi Graf 1 Australian Open Hard 4R 6–2, 7–5 14
15. Irina Spirlea 10 Tokyo, Japan Carpet 2R 6–4, 2–6, 6–4 12
16. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 4 Family Circle Cup, USA Clay 3R 6–2, 5–7, 6–0 15
17. Jana Novotna 4 Amelia Island, USA Clay 3R 6–2, 1–6, 6–1 14
18. Steffi Graf 2 German Open Clay Quarterfinal 6–0, 6–1 10
19. Conchita Martinez 7 French Open Clay 4R 6(4)–7, 6–4, 6–3 11
20. Steffi Graf 2 French Open Clay Quarterfinals 6–1, 6–4 11
21. Jana Novotna 3 New Haven, USA Hard Quarterfinal 1–6, 6–3, 6–1 5
22. Martina Hingis 1 Leipzig, Germany Carpet Semifinal 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(3) 6
1998
23. Conchita Martinez 7 US Open Hard 4R 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 11
24. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 4 Philadelphia, USA Hard 2R 6–4, 6–1 15
1999
25. Lindsay Davenport 1 Tokyo, Japan Carpet Quarterfinal 2–6, 6–4, 6–3 15
26. Monica Seles 4 Tokyo, Japan Carpet Semifinal 6–4, 6–2 15
27. Mary Pierce 8 Miami, USA Hard 3R 6–1, 4–2(ret) 9
2000
28. Conchita Martinez 7 Key Biscayne, USA Hard 3R 6–1, 6–2 20
29. Venus Williams 3 Hamburg, Germany Clay Quarterfinal 6–3, 6–4 18
30. Julie Halard-Decugis 10 Hamburg, Germany Clay 3R 6–2, 6–2 16
31. Anke Huber 10 New Haven, USA Hard Quarterfinal 7–6(3), 6–1 14
2001
32. Elena Dementieva 10 Acapulco, Mexico Clay Final 2–6, 6–1, 6–2 11
2002
33. Jelena Dokic 5 Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) 3R 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–1 26
2003
34. Daniela Hantuchova 5 Indian Wells, USA Carpet (i) 3R 6–4, 6–4 19

References
  1. Cavannaugh, Jack (27 August 1998). "Coetzer Bounces Back With a Vengeance". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  2. "Women in Sport: The Little Assassin who chose the quiet life". The Citizen. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  3. "Former SA tennis star welcomes baby". News24. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
Awards
Preceded by
Kimberly Po		 Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award
1995		 Succeeded by
Yayuk Basuki
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