Amanda Coetzer
Amanda Coetzer is a South African former professional tennis player. Coetzer finished in the WTA-tour top 20 for ten consecutive seasons, peaking at world number 3. She reached three Grand Slam semi-finals and one Grand Slam doubles final. 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 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 6. 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. They have two children:- Shimon and Olivia.Career
Coetzer's breakthrough year was in 1992. She beat world number 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 Canadian Open in 1995, Coetzer defeated three players ranked in the world's top 5 – Steffi Graf, Jana Novotná and Mary Pierce – 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.
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 semi-finals for the second consecutive year, defeating world no. 1 Graf in the fourth round. She beat Graf for a second time that year at the German Open in May, and then, in the quarter-finals 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 semi-finals 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 semi-finals 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 number 1 Lindsay Davenport and world number 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 number 3 Venus Williams in Hamburg and also reached the final of the German Open in Berlin.
In 2001, she qualified for her ninth consecutive WTA 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 $5,594,821.
Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 1 (1 runner–up)
WTA career finals
Singles: 21 (9–12)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 1. | Oct 1991 | San Juan | Hard |  Julie Halard | 5–7, 5–7 |
| Win | 1. | Jan 1993 | :fr:Tournoi de Melbourne|Melbourne | Hard |  Naoko Sawamatsu | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2. | Feb 1993 | Indian Wells | Hard |  Mary Joe Fernández | 6–3, 1–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 2. | Sep 1993 | Tokyo | Hard | Kimiko Date | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3. | Febr 1994 | Indian Wells | Hard |  Steffi Graf | 0–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3. | May 1994 | Prague | Clay |  Åsa Carlsson | 6–1, 7–6 |
| Loss | 4. | Aug 1995 | Toronto | Hard | Monica Seles | 0–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 5. | Oct 1995 | Brighton | Carpet | Mary Joe Fernández | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 6. | Feb 1996 | Oklahoma City | Hard |  Brenda Schultz-McCarthy | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 4. | Apr 1997 | Budapest | Clay |  Sabine Appelmans | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 7. | Sep 1997 | Leipzig | Carpet |  Jana Novotná | 2–6, 6–4, 3–6 |
| Win | 5. | Oct 1997 | Luxembourg | Carpet |  Barbara Paulus | 6–4, 3–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 6. | Mar 1998 | Hilton Head | Clay |  Irina Spîrlea | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 8. | Feb 1999 | Tokyo | Carpet |  Martina Hingis | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 9. | Feb 1999 | Oklahoma City | Hard | Venus Williams | 4–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 10. | May 2000 | Berlin | Clay |  Conchita Martínez | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 7. | May 2000 | Antwerp | Clay | Cristina Torrens Valero | 4–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 8. | Feb 2001 | Acapulco | Clay |  Elena Dementieva | 2–6, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 11. | Apr 2001 | Amelia Island | Clay | Amélie Mauresmo | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 12. | Feb 2003 | Memphis | Clay | Lisa Raymond | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 9. | Feb 2003 | Acapulco | Clay |  Mariana Díaz Oliva | 7–5, 6–3 |
Doubles: 23 (9–14)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1. | Apr 1992 | Taranto | Clay | Inés Gorrochategui |  Rachel McQuillan  Radka Zrubáková | 4–6, 6–3, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1. | Jul 1992 | Kitzbühel | Clay |  Wiltrud Probst | Alexia Dechaume Florencia Labat | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2. | Sep 1992 | Taipei | Hard | Cammy MacGregor | :fr:Jo-Anne Faull|Jo-Anne Faull  Julie Richardson | 6–3, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2. | Oct 1992 | San Juan | Hard |  Elna Reinach | Gigi Fernández Kathy Rinaldi | 6–2, 4–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3. | Apr 1993 | Amelia Island | 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 | Hard | Linda Wild | Lisa Raymond Chanda Rubin | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 6. | Novr 1993 | Oakland | Carpet | Inés Gorrochategui | Patty Fendick Meredith McGrath | 2–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 7. | Apr 1994 | Amelia Island | Clay | Inés Gorrochategui |  Larisa Neiland Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 2–6, 7–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3. | May 1994 | Prague | Clay | Linda Wild | Kristie Boogert  Laura Golarsa | 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 4. | Apr 1995 | Amelia Island | Clay | Inés Gorrochategui | Nicole Arendt Manon Bollegraf | 6–2, 3–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 5. | May 1995 | Berlin | Clay | Inés Gorrochategui | Larisa Neiland Gabriela Sabatini | 4–6, 7–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 8. | Sep 1995 | Tokyo | Hard | Linda Wild | Lindsay Davenport Mary Joe Fernández | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 6. | Sep 1996 | Tokyo | Hard | Mary Pierce |  Park Sung-hee  Wang Shi-ting | 6–1, 7–6 |
| Win | 7. | Apr 1997 | Budapest | Clay | Alexandra Fusai | Eva Martincová Elena Wagner | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Loss | 9. | May 1998 | Rome | Clay | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 10. | Feb 1999 | Oklahoma City | Hard |  Jessica Steck | Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 11. | Apr 1999 | Hamburg | Clay | Jana Novotná | Larisa Neiland Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 12. | Sep 1999 | Tokyo | Hard | Jelena Dokic | Conchita Martínez Patricia Tarabini | 7–6, 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 13. | May 2000 | Berlin | Clay | Corina Morariu | Conchita Martínez Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 6–3, 2–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 8. | Feb 2001 | Oklahoma City | Hard | Lori McNeil | Janet Lee  Wynne Prakusya | 6–3, 2–6, 6–0 |
| Loss | 14. | May 2001 | Strasbourg | Clay | Lori McNeil | Silvia Farina Elia  Iroda Tulyaganova | 1–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 9. | Sep 2001 | Bahia | Hard | Lori McNeil | Nicole Arendt Patricia Tarabini | 6–7, 6–2, 6–4 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
- 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