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Amanda Coetzer

Amanda Coetzer is one of the finest tennis players with an international repute and recognition as the all time great professional. Amanda was born on 22 October, 1971 in the Hoopstad suburb at South Africa. As a player, she listed a height of five feet two inches with a weight of 119 pounds and played with a right-handed, two handed backhand style. She was inducted to the professional career in tennis in January 1988 and retired in June 2004.

Amanda became the number one seed in Prague in 1994 and did not drop a set en route to title. She reached Indian Wells final for second straight year and broke into number two seed Fernandez and number three seed Davenport before falling to world’s number one Graf. She also reached the semifinals of the US hardcourts and Schenectady, first Grand Slam quarterfinals at US Open and the fourth round at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Later, in 1995, Amanda scored three top 5 victories in a tournament for the first time at the Canadian Open. Coetzer also handed Graf her first loss of the year and ended her 32 match win-streak which marked her first over a reigning world number 1.

In 1996, Amanda appeared at the Australian Open and became the first South African woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal. She also reached the final at Oklahoma City and advanced to appear in the US Open first round. She compiled career-best season of 1997, breaking into top 5, reaching two Grand Slam semifinals and a career-high number 3 ranking position. She also became one of just four players to defeat Graf more than once in Grand Slam play since 1987. In 1998, she won the biggest title of her career at Hilton Head, her first tier I crown and seeded to number 4 position.

Amanda had to fight the battle single handedly and make her way through the championships. Her superior approach and dedication to the game made her stand out from the other players. Moreover, she was a player known for her mental toughness owing to which many of her famous matches went the distance.

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