Amanda Coetzer (born 22 October 1971) is a South African former professional tennis player. She was ranked as high as world No. 3 by the Women's Tennis Association, achieved in November 1997. Coetzer won nine WTA Tour titles in singles and nine in doubles, and reached three major singles semifinals (at the 1996 and 1997 Australian Opens and the 1997 French Open) and one major doubles final (at the 1993 US Open). 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 5'2" (1.58m) stature, she gained the nickname: "The Little Assassin".
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. As a photographer's model she appeared as a Sunshine Girl in the Canadian Sun newspaper chain. She is married to the Hollywood film producer Arnon Milchan. They have two children, Shimon (born 2009) and Olivia (born 2011).
In 1998, Coetzer was featured in All Star Tennis '99, a tennis video game released on PlayStation and Nintendo 64.
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 Martínez 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 first 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 ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 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) LegendGrand Slam tournaments (0–0)Tier I (1–3)Tier II (1–5)Tier III, IV & V (7–4)Finals by surfaceHard (2–6)Grass (0–0)Clay (6–3)Carpet (1–3) ResultW/LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Oct 1991 Puerto Rico Open Hard Julie Halard 5–7, 5–7Win 1–1 Jan 1993 Melbourne Open, Australia Hard Naoko Sawamatsu 6–2, 6–3 Loss 1–2 Feb 1993 Indian Wells Masters, United States Hard Mary Joe Fernández 6–3, 1–6, 6–7(6–8)Win 2–2 Sep 1993 International Championships Tokyo Hard Kimiko Date 6–3, 6–2 Loss 2–3 Feb 1994 Indian Wells Masters, U.S. Hard Steffi Graf 0–6, 4–6Win 3–3 May 1994 Prague Open, Czech Republic Clay Åsa Carlsson 6–1, 7–6(16–14) Loss 3–4 Aug 1995 Canadian Open Hard Monica Seles 0–6, 1–6Loss 3–5 Oct 1995 Brighton International, England Carpet (i) Mary Joe Fernández 4–6, 5–7Loss 3–6 Feb 1996 Oklahoma City Cup, U.S. Hard (i) Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 3–6, 2–6Win 4–6 Apr 1997 Budapest Grand Prix, Hungary Clay Sabine Appelmans 6–1, 6–3 Loss 4–7 Sep 1997 Sparkassen Cup Leipzig, Germany Carpet (i) Jana Novotná 2–6, 6–4, 3–6Win 5–7 Oct 1997 Luxembourg Open Carpet (i) Barbara Paulus 6–4, 3–6, 7–5 Win 6–7 Mar 1998 Family Circle Cup, U.S. Clay Irina Spîrlea 6–3, 6–4Loss 6–8 Feb 1999 Pan Pacific Open, Japan Carpet (i) Martina Hingis 2–6, 1–6Loss 6–9 Feb 1999 Oklahoma City Cup, U.S. Hard (i) Venus Williams 4–6, 0–6Loss 6–10 May 2000 German Open Clay Conchita Martínez 1–6, 2–6Win 7–10 May 2000 Belgian Open Clay Cristina Torrens Valero 4–6, 6–2, 6–3 Win 8–10 Feb 2001 Mexican Open Clay Elena Dementieva 2–6, 6–1, 6–2Loss 8–11 Apr 2001 Amelia Island Championships, U.S. Clay Amélie Mauresmo 4–6, 5–7Loss 8–12 Feb 2003 Memphis Championships, U.S. Clay Lisa Raymond 3–6, 2–6Win 9–12 Feb 2003 Mexican Open Clay Mariana Díaz Oliva 7–5, 6–3
Doubles: 23 (9 titles, 14 runner-ups) LegendGrand Slam tournaments (0–1)Tier I (1–2)Tier II (3–7)Tier III, IV & V (5–4)Finals by surfaceHard (4–6)Grass (0–0)Clay (5–7)Carpet (0–1) ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 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, 3–6Loss 2. Sep 1992 Taipei Championship, Taiwan Hard Cammy MacGregor Jo-Anne Faull Julie Richardson 6–3, 3–6, 2–6Win 2. Oct 1992 Puerto Rico Open Hard Elna Reinach Gigi Fernández Kathy Rinaldi 6–2, 4–6, 6–2Loss 3. Apr 1993 Amelia Island Championships, U.S. Clay Inés Gorrochategui Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere Leila Meskhi 6–3, 3–6, 4–6Loss 4. Aug 1993 US Open Hard Inés Gorrochategui Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková 4–6, 2–6Loss 5. Sep 1993 Tokyo International Championships, Japan Hard Linda Wild Lisa Raymond Chanda Rubin 4–6, 1–6Loss 6. Nov 1993 San Jose Open, United States Carpet (i) Inés Gorrochategui Patty Fendick Meredith McGrath 2–6, 0–6Loss 7. Apr 1994 Amelia Island Championships, U.S. Clay Inés Gorrochategui Larisa Neiland Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 2–6, 7–6(6), 4–6Win 3. May 1994 Prague Open, Czech Republic Clay Linda Wild Kristie Boogert Laura Golarsa 6–4, 3–6, 6–2Win 4. Apr 1995 Amelia Island Championships, U.S. Clay Inés Gorrochategui Nicole Arendt Manon Bollegraf 6–2, 3–6, 6–2Win 5. May 1995 German Open Clay Inés Gorrochategui Larisa Neiland Gabriela Sabatini 4–6, 7–6(3), 6–2Loss 8. Sep 1995 Tokyo International Championships Hard Linda Wild Lindsay Davenport Mary Joe Fernández 3–6, 2–6Win 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, 6–1Loss 9. May 1998 Italian Open Clay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez 6–7(1), 4–6Loss 10. Feb 1999 U.S. Indoor Championships Hard (i) Jessica Steck Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs 3–6, 4–6Loss 11. Apr 1999 Barclay Cup Hamburg, Germany Clay Jana Novotná Larisa Neiland Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 2–6, 1–6Loss 12. Sep 1999 Tokyo Princess Cup, Japan Hard Jelena Dokic Conchita Martínez Patricia Tarabini 7–6(5), 4–6, 2–6Loss 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, 6–0Loss 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
Tournament19881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004SRW–LW%Grand Slam tournaments Australian OpenAAAAA1R2R3RSFSF4R4R2RQF4R4R2R0 / 1231–12 French OpenA4R1R2R3R2R4R2R4RSF1R1R3R3R1R1RA0 / 1523–15 WimbledonQ31R2R2RA2R4R2R2R2R2R3R2R3R2R2RA0 / 1417–14 US OpenQ11R1R1R3R3RQF1RQF4RQF1R3R1R3R3RA0 / 1525–15Win–loss0–03–31–32–34–24–411–44–413–414–48–45–46–48–46–46–41–10 / 5696–56Year-end championshipTour ChampionshipsAAAAAQF1R1R1R1R1R1RQF1RAAA0 / 92–9Tier I tournamentsTokyoTier IIITier IIAAAAQFSFFQF2R2R1RA0 / 710–7Boca RatonTier II2RSFTier IINot Held0 / 25–2Indian WellsNHT IIITier II2R3R3R2RAQFQFA0 / 68–6MiamiA3R2R2RQF4R4R4R3R2R4RQFQF4R4R2RA0 / 1526–15CharlestonTier IIA2R3RQF3R3R2RQFW3RQFQFQF3RA1 / 1328–12BerlinA2R1R3RAAA2R2RSF3R1RFQF1RAA0 / 1115–11RomeT IVT II2R2RSF3R2R3RA3R2R2RAAA2RA0 / 1013–10San DiegoT VT IVTier IIITier IIA0 / 00–00%Montreal / TorontoTier IIAA3R3R3RF3RQF3RQF2R3R3R3RA0 / 1222–12MoscowNHTier VNot HeldTier IIIAAAAASF1RA0 / 23–2ZürichT IVT IIITier IIAAA1R2RQFQF2R2R2R1RA0 / 87–8PhiladelphiaNot HeldTier IIQF1R1RTier IINot HeldTier II0 / 32–3Career statisticsYear-end ranking15763766717151819144171112192125286
Best Grand Slam results details
Australian Open1996 Australian Open (16th Seed)RoundOpponentScore1R Melanie Schnell6–2, 6–22R Sabine Hack6–1, 6–13R Rika Hiraki (Q)6–3, 6–14R Elena Likhovtseva6–3, 6–3QF Martina Hingis7–5, 4–6, 6–1SF Anke Huber (8)6–4, 4–6, 2–61997 Australian Open (12th Seed)RoundOpponentScore1R Anna Kournikova6–2, 6–22R Jana Kandarr6–1, 7–6(7–4)3R Magüi Serna (Q)6–3, 6–24R Steffi Graf (1)6–2, 7–5QF Kimberly Po6–4, 6–1SF Mary Pierce5–7, 1–6
French Open1997 French Open (11th Seed)RoundOpponentScore1R Rita Grande6–4, 6–02R Amy Frazier7–6(7–5), 6–43R Meike Babel6–4, 6–24R Conchita Martínez (7)6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6–3QF Steffi Graf (2)6–1, 6–4SF Iva Majoli (9)3–6, 6–4, 5–7
Wimbledon Championships1994 Wimbledon (14th Seed)RoundOpponentScore1R Elena Likhovtseva6–4, 6–02R Louise Field (Q)6–4, 6–03R Ginger Helgeson6–0, 6–34R Larisa Neiland6–1, 3–6, 4–6
US Open1994 US Open (11th Seed)RoundOpponentScore1R Petra Ritter6–1, 7–62R Eugenia Maniokova 6–2, 6–03R Mariaan de Swardt (Q)6–1, 6–34R Mana Endo6–3, 6–0QF Steffi Graf (1)0–6, 2–61996 US OpenRoundOpponentScore1R Anke Huber (6)6–1, 2–6, 6–22R Mariaan de Swardt6–2, 7–53R Irina Spîrlea7–6, 7–54R Lisa Raymond6–4, 6–1QF Monica Seles (2)0–6, 3–61998 US Open (13th Seed)RoundOpponentScore1R Sandra Cacic6–1, 7–6(7–3)2R Raluca Sandu (Q)6–0, 6–23R Barbara Schett3–6, 6–0, 6–34R Conchita Martínez (7)6–4, 4–6, 6–2QF 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 1 134