Famous Biographies

Amanda Coetzer (koot-sur)

Residence: Hoopstad, South Africa; Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Birthdate: October 22, 1971

Birthplace: Hoopstad, South Africa

Height: 5′ 2″ (1.58 m)

Weight: 120 lbs. (54 kg)

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Status: Pro (January 1988)

COREL WTA TOUR singles titles: 6

COREL WTA TOUR doubles titles: 7

Grand Slam titles: 0

ITF Women’s Circuit singles titles: 4

1998 HIGHLIGHTS – SINGLES

WINNER: Hilton Head

SEMIFINALIST: Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Amelia Island

QUARTERFINALIST: US Open, Strasbourg, Boston, New Haven, Zurich, Philadelphia

FOURTH ROUND: Australian Open, Lipton,

THIRD ROUND: Indian Wells, German Open, Canadian Open

1998 HIGHLIGHTS – DOUBLES

FINALIST: Italian Open (w/Sanchez-Vicario)

SEMIFINALIST: Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (w/Huber), Rosmalen (w/Testud)

QUARTERFINALIST: Sydney (w/Huber), Zurich (w/Kournikova)

GRAND SLAM HISTORY – SINGLES

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS – SINGLES

WINNER(6): 1998 – Hilton Head; 1997 – Budapest, Luxembourg; 1994 – Prague; 1993 – Melbourne Open, Tokyo-Nichirei; 1988 – Futures/Haifa-ISR, Futures/Ramat Hasharon-ISR, Futures/Modena-ITA, Futures/Vaihingen-GER

FINALIST(7): 1997 – Leipzig; 1996 – Oklahoma City; 1995 – Canadian Open, Brighton; 1994 – Indian Wells; 1993 – Indian Wells; 1991 – Puerto Rico

SEMIFINALIST(16): 1998 – Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Amelia Island 1997 – Australian Open, Roland Garros, Amelia Island, Bol, German Open, Strasbourg, Stanford, San Diego, Atlanta, Filderstadt; 1996 – Australian Open; 1995 – Barcelona, Tokyo [Nichirei]

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS – DOUBLES

WINNER(7): 1997 – Budapest (w/Fusai); 1996 – Tokyo [Nichirei] (w/Pierce); 1995 – Amelia Island (w/Gorrochategui), German Open (w/Gorrochategui); 1994 – Prague (w/Wild); 1992 – Taranto (w/Gorrochategui), Puerto Rico (w/E. Reinach)

FINALIST(10): 1998 – Italian Open (w/Sanchez-Vicario) 1997 – Stanford (w/Pierce); 1995 – Tokyo [Nichirei] (w/Wild); 1994 – Amelia Island (w/Gorrochategui); 1993 – U.S. Open (w/Gorrochategui), Amelia Island (w/Gorrochategui), Tokyo-Nichirei (w/Wild), Oakland (w/Gorrochategui); 1992 – Austrian Open (w/Probst), Taipei w/Cam. MacGregor)

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: South African Fed Cup Team 1992-93, 1995-97. South African Olympic Team 1992, 1996

QUICK FACTS

• Won the biggest title of her career at 1998 Hilton Head, her first Tier I-level crown; seeded fourth, became the lowest seed to win in the event’s 26-year history
• The week following her win at 1998 Hilton Head, reached the semifinals at Amelia Island, also a clay court tournament
• Named the Chase Player of the Month for April 1998; Chase Manhattan Bank donated $1,000 in her name to her “Learn Tennis, Love Tennis” program in the townships of South Africa
• Upset seventh seed Conchita Martinez to reach the quarterfinals of 1998 US Open, her first Grand Slam quarter-final in six Grand Slam
  tournaments
• Capped off her best year yet on the Tour in 1997 by becoming the first player to win three Tour awards in the same year: Most Improved Player, Diamond ACES, and Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship (also won sportsmanship award in 1995)
• Upset top seed and No. 1-ranked Steffi Graf in fourth round of 1997 Australian Open, becoming one of just nine players to defeat Graf in a Grand Slam tournament since Graf won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 1987 French Open; Coetzer’s victory halted Graf’s Grand Slam match winning streak at 45; Coetzer continued to semifinals
• Defeated Steffi Graf, ranked No. 2, for a second time in 1997 in Berlin, handing Graf her worst loss ever 6-0, 6-1 in 56 minutes in the quarterfinals
• Defeated Steffi Graf, ranked No. 2, for a third time in 1997, in the quarterfinals of the French Open, the second consecutive Grand Slam to oust Graf; became one of just four players to defeat Graf more than once in Grand Slam play since 1987 (Sanchez Vicario, Navratilova and Seles are the others); fell in the 1997 French Open semifinals to eventual champion Iva Majoli; world ranking moved up to a then-career high No. 7
• Joined an elite list as one of five players to defeat Steffi Graf three or more times in one calendar year (Evert, Navratilova, Sabatini, Sanchez Vicario)
• Ousted fourth-ranked Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the third round of 1997 Hilton Head, Coetzer’s home, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0
• Seeded 12th, upset top seed Jana Novotna and ninth seed Mary Joe Fernandez en route to a semifinal finish at 1997 Amelia Island
• Won her first singles title in three years and fourth overall at 1997 Budapest, defeating Sabine Appelmans in the final; also won the doubles title, the second time in her career to sweep both titles at an event (1994 Prague) After winning 1997 Budapest, cracked into the world’s Top 10 for the first time on April 28, 1997
• Won second title of 1997 at Luxembourg, and reached a then- career high world ranking of No. 4
• Handed world No. 1 Martina Hingis just her third loss in 69 matches in 1997 in the semifinals of Leipzig, becoming one of only two players to defeat both Steffi Graf and Hingis when each held the No. 1 ranking (the other is Davenport), and one of only three players to have defeated both Graf and Hingis at least twice (Pierce and Novotna are the others); is one of just seven players to beat both Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis; in the Leipzig final, lost to Jana Novotna in three sets
• Named the Chase Monthly Champion for April 1997 for having the most wins for the month; Chase Manhattan Bank donated $1,000 to Coetzer’s South African children’s tennis program “Learn Tennis, Love Tennis” in her name
• Traveled over 100,000 miles as the crow flies in 1997 – averaging 312 miles per day by the time she arrived at the CHASE Championships in New York
• Reached first-ever Grand Slam semifinal at 1996 Australian Open, becoming the second South African woman in the open era to reach the semis of a Grand Slam; seeded 16th, fell to No. 8 Anke Huber in three
  sets
• Unseeded, reached the 1996 U.S. Open quarterfinals; in first round ousted sixth seed Anke Huber, avenging loss to Huber in 1996 Australian Open semifinals
• At 1996 Oklahoma City, upset top seed and 10th-ranked Chanda Rubin in semifinals for first victory over Rubin in five matches; fell to 11th-ranked Brenda Schultz-McCarthy in final
• Collected 300th career singles win in professional tennis at 1996 Tokyo (Nichirei) with a first-round win over Kerry-Anne Guse
• At 1995 Toronto, enjoyed best tournament of career as she defeated three Top 5 players: co-No. 1 Steffi Graf, No. 4 Jana Novotna and No. 5 Mary Pierce; lost to co-No. 1 Monica Seles in final, Seles first tournament in 28 months; Coetzer handed Graf her first loss of the year and ended her 32-match winning streak; win over Graf marked Coetzer’s first over a No. 1 player; only player to play two No. 1-ranked players in same tournament
• Upset defending champion Mary Joe Fernandez and Lindsay Davenport en route to 1994 Indian Wells final for second consecutive year; lost to top-ranked Graf 6-0, 6-4
• Won singles and doubles titles at 1994 Prague; in singles, defeated Asa Carlsson 6-1, 7-6(16-14) in second-longest Open-era singles tie-break
• Has qualified six consecutive years 1993-98 for the season-ending Chase Championships as one of the best 16 players of the year
• Recipient of 1995 COREL WTA TOUR Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award; nominated for same award in 1993 and 1994; 1992 TENNIS Magazine Most Improved Female Player; nominated for 1992 COREL WTA TOUR Most Improved Player award
• Won first major-tour title at 1993 Melbourne Open by defeating Naoko Sawamatsu in final; second career title came at 1993 Tokyo-Nichirei by downing then-No. 2 ranked Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in semifinals and hometown favorite Kimiko Date in final
• Has other career wins over Gabriela Sabatini (1992 Boca Raton for first win over a Top 3 player), Martina Hingis and Jennifer Capriati
• Spokesperson for the COREL WTA TOUR’s F.I.R.S.T. Serve school program
• Coached by Nigel Sears since July 1998

PERSONAL

• Father, Nico, is a lawyer; mother, Suska, is a housewife; has three sisters: Isabel, whose husband, Gustav Fichardt, played at Wimbledon in 1988; Martelle finished medical school and is specializing in surgery; and younger sister, Nicola, is in high school
• Has a niece, Nieke, born in March 1995
• Hobbies include reading, shopping and studying bartending
• Favorite movie is The English Patient
• Favorite books My Traitor’s Heart, by Rian Malan, and Gifts of Unknown Things, by Lyle Watson
• Nicknamed “The Little Assassin” by the Australian press after her victory over No. 1 Steffi Graf at the 1997 Australian Open.

COREL WTA TOUR RANKINGS
(SEASON-ENDING, SINGLES)

1998-17 1997-4 1996-17 1995-19 1994-18 1993-15 1992-17 1991-67 1990-75 1989-63 1988-153 1987-442

Highest Singles Ranking
No. 3 (reached week of November 3 – November 9, 1997)

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