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 her. 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
Residence	Hoopstad
Born	(1971-10-22) 22 October 1971 (age 51) Hoopstad, South Africa
Height	1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Turned pro	January 1988
Retired	June 2004
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$5,594,821
Singles
Career record	568–337
Career titles	9
Highest ranking	No. 3 (3 November 1997)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (1996, 1997)
French Open	SF (1997)
Wimbledon	4R (1994)
US Open	QF (1994, 1996, 1998)
Doubles
Career record	269–219
Career titles	9
Highest ranking	No. 15 (27 September 1993)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2002)
French Open	SF (1993, 1994)
Wimbledon	3R (1998, 2001)
US Open	F (1993)
Mixed doubles
Career record	18–18
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1995, 2001)
French Open	QF (1994)
Wimbledon	QF (2000)
US Open	2R (1992, 1993)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	QF (1995, 1996), record 31–13
Hopman Cup	W (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 career, she resided primarily in Hilton Head, South Carolina and was coached by Gavin Hopper, later by 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, she 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 Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award for a second time, the Most Improved Player and Diamond Aces awards (all WTA).

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 quarterfinals 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 number one.

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 tournament 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 runner–up

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1993	US Open	Hard	Inés Gorrochategui	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario   Helena Suková	6–4, 6–2

WTA career finals

Singles: 21 (9 titles, 12 runner-ups)

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	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)
Win	2.	Sep 1993	International Championships Tokyo	Hard	Kimiko Date	6–3, 6–2
Loss	3.	Febr 1994	Indian Wells Masters, U.S.	Hard	Steffi Graf	0–6, 4–6
Win	3.	May 1994	Prague Open, Czech Republic	Clay	Åsa Carlsson	6–1, 7–6^(14)
Loss	4.	Aug 1995	Canadian Open	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, U.S.	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, U.S.	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, U.S.	Hard (i)	Venus Williams	4–6, 0–6
Loss	10.	May 2000	German Open	Clay	Conchita Martínez	1–6, 2–6
Win	7.	May 2000	Belgian Open	Clay	Cristina Torrens Valero	4–6, 6–2, 6–3
Win	8.	Feb 2001	Mexican Open	Clay	Elena Dementieva	2–6, 6–1, 6–2
Loss	11.	Apr 2001	Amelia Island Championships, U.S.	Clay	Amélie Mauresmo	4–6, 5–7
Loss	12.	Feb 2003	Memphis Championships, U.S.	Clay	Lisa Raymond	3–6, 2–6
Win	9.	Feb 2003	Mexican Open	Clay	Mariana Díaz Oliva	7–5, 6–3

Doubles: 23 (9 titles, 14 runner-ups)

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	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	Apr 1992	Taranto Trophy, Italy	Clay	Inés Gorrochategui	Rachel McQuillan   Radka Zrubáková	4–6, 6–3, 7–6^(0)
Loss	1.	Jul 1992	Austrian Open	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	Hard	Elna Reinach	Gigi Fernández   Kathy Rinaldi	6–2, 4–6, 6–2
Loss	3.	Apr 1993	Amelia Island Championships, U.S.	Clay	Inés Gorrochategui	Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere   Leila Meskhi	6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Loss	4.	Aug 1993	US Open	Hard	Inés Gorrochategui	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario   Helena Suková	4–6, 2–6
Loss	5.	Sep 1993	Tokyo International Championships, Japan	Hard	Linda Wild	Lisa Raymond   Chanda Rubin	4–6, 1–6
Loss	6.	Nov 1993	San Jose Open, United States	Carpet (i)	Inés Gorrochategui	Patty Fendick   Meredith McGrath	2–6, 0–6
Loss	7.	Apr 1994	Amelia Island Championships, U.S.	Clay	Inés Gorrochategui	Larisa Neiland   Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	2–6, 7–6^(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, U.S.	Clay	Inés Gorrochategui	Nicole Arendt   Manon Bollegraf	6–2, 3–6, 6–2
Win	5.	May 1995	German Open	Clay	Inés Gorrochategui	Larisa Neiland   Gabriela Sabatini	4–6, 7–6^(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^(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	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	Virginia Ruano Pascual   Paola Suárez	6–7^(1), 4–6
Loss	10.	Feb 1999	U.S. Indoor Championships	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^(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)
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)
Win	9.	Sep 2001	Brasil Open	Hard	Lori McNeil	Nicole Arendt   Patricia Tarabini	6–7^(8), 6–2, 6–4

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

P#

DNQ

A

Z#

PO

G

S

B

NMS

NTI

P

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Tournament	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	SR	W–L	W%
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

Best Grand Slam results details

Australian Open 1996 Australian Open (16th Seed) Round Opponent Score 1R   Melanie Schnell 6–2, 6–2 2R   Sabine Hack 6–1, 6–1 3R   Rika Hiraki (Q) 6–3, 6–1 4R   Elena Likhovtseva 6–3, 6–3 QF   Martina Hingis 7–5, 4–6, 6–1 SF   Anke Huber (8) 6–4, 4–6, 2–6 1997 Australian Open (12th Seed) Round Opponent Score 1R   Anna Kournikova 6–2, 6–2 2R   Jana Kandarr 6–1, 7–6^(7–4) 3R   Magüi Serna (Q) 6–3, 6–2 4R   Steffi Graf (1) 6–2, 7–5 QF   Kimberly Po 6–4, 6–1 SF   Mary Pierce 5–7, 1–6

French Open 1997 French Open (11th Seed) Round Opponent Score 1R   Rita Grande 6–4, 6–0 2R   Amy Frazier 7–6^(7–5), 6–4 3R   Meike Babel 6–4, 6–2 4R   Conchita Martínez (7) 6–7^(4–7), 6–4, 6–3 QF   Steffi Graf (2) 6–1, 6–4 SF   Iva Majoli (9) 3–6, 6–4, 5–7

Wimbledon Championships 1994 Wimbledon (14th Seed) Round Opponent Score 1R   Elena Likhovtseva 6–4, 6–0 2R   Louise Field (Q) 6–4, 6–0 3R   Ginger Helgeson 6–0, 6–3 4R   Larisa Neiland 6–1, 3–6, 4–6

US Open 1994 US Open (11th Seed) Round Opponent Score 1R   Petra Ritter 6–1, 7–6 2R   Eugenia Maniokova 6–2, 6–0 3R   Mariaan de Swardt (Q) 6–1, 6–3 4R   Mana Endo 6–3, 6–0 QF   Steffi Graf (1) 0–6, 2–6 1996 US Open Round Opponent Score 1R   Anke Huber (6) 6–1, 2–6, 6–2 2R   Mariaan de Swardt 6–2, 7–5 3R   Irina Spîrlea 7–6, 7–5 4R   Lisa Raymond 6–4, 6–1 QF   Monica Seles (2) 0–6, 3–6 1998 US Open (13th Seed) Round Opponent Score 1R   Sandra Cacic 6–1, 7–6^(7–3) 2R   Raluca Sandu (Q) 6–0, 6–2 3R   Barbara Schett 3–6, 6–0, 6–3 4R   Conchita Martínez (7) 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 QF   Lindsay Davenport (2) 0–6, 4–6

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, U.S.	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, U.S.	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, U.S.	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, U.S.	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 Spîrlea	10	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet	2R	6–4, 2–6, 6–4	12
16.	Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario	4	Family Circle Cup, U.S.	Clay	3R	6–2, 5–7, 6–0	15
17.	Jana Novotna	4	Amelia Island, U.S.	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 Open, U.S.	Hard	Quarterfinal	1–6, 6–3, 6–1	5
22.	Martina Hingis	1	Leipzig Cup, 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, U.S.	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 Open, U.S.	Hard	3R	6–1, 4–2(ret)	9
2000
28.	Conchita Martinez	7	Key Biscayne, U.S.	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, U.S.	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, U.S.	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.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amanda Coetzer.

• Amanda Coetzer at the Women's Tennis Association  
• Amanda Coetzer at the International Tennis Federation  
• Amanda Coetzer at the Billie Jean King Cup  

Awards
Preceded by   Kimberly Po	Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award 1995	Succeeded by   Yayuk Basuki