Elizma Nortje

Elizma Nortje

Country (sports)	South Africa   Namibia
Born	(1966-02-01) 1 February 1966 (age 59) Windhoek, South West Africa
Prize money	$22,480
Singles
Career record	44–99
Highest ranking	No. 447 (18 December 1989)
Doubles
Career record	67–83
Career titles	2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 280 (7 November 1994)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon	Q3 (1991)

Elizma Nortje (born 1 February 1966) is a Namibian tennis coach and former professional player. ^{[1] [2]} She is the most successful Namibian woman to have played professionally and was the first to be ranked on the WTA Tour. ^{[3] [4]}

Born in Windhoek in 1966, Nortje represented South Africa as a junior and early in her professional career, before Namibian independence. ^[5] She played collegiate tennis for United States International University in San Diego, competing in the NCAA Division I Championships. ^[6] In the early 1990s she made appearances in the doubles qualifying draws at Wimbledon and won two ITF doubles tournaments. ^[7]

Nortje served as president of the Namibian Tennis Association from 1996 to 1999 and was Namibia's team captain when the country made its Fed Cup debut in 2004. A certified ITF Level 3 coach, she is now the head tennis professional at the Van Der Meer Tennis Academy in South Carolina. ^[8]

ITF finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

Result	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	3 April 1994	Marsa, Malta	Clay	Caroline Schneider	6–7(2), 4–6

Doubles: 11 (2–9)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	28 April 1991	Bracknell, United Kingdom	Hard	Barbara Griffiths	Lynn Nabors Merete Balling-Stockmann	6–3, 6–2
Loss	1.	4 August 1991	Haifa, Israel	Hard	Janine Humphreys	Tessa Price Kirsten Dreyer	1–6, 0–6
Loss	2.	11 August 1991	Ramat HaSharon, Israel	Hard	Janine Humphreys	Ilana Berger Robyn Field	0–6, 1–6
Loss	3.	5 April 1992	Windhoek, Namibia	Hard	Louise Venter	Cindy Summers Nicole Simunic	6–3, 4–6, 3–6
Win	2.	12 April 1992	Gaborone, Botswana	Hard	Louise Venter	Liezel Horn Estelle Gevers	6–0, 6–7(2), 6–4
Loss	4.	19 July 1992	Frinton, United Kingdom	Grass	Robyn Mawdsley	Caroline Billingham Danielle Thomas	2–6, 6–4, 6–7
Loss	5.	6 February 1994	Tipton, United Kingdom	Hard	Paula Iversen	Alison Smith Sara Tse	6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Loss	6.	3 April 1994	Marsa, Malta	Clay	Ivana Havrlíková	Isabela Listowska Petra Winzenhöller	6–7(5), 3–6
Loss	7.	24 April 1994	Nottingham, United Kingdom	Hard	Caroline Stassen	Shannon Peters Nicole Oomens	5–7, 2–6
Loss	8.	30 October 1994	Negril, Jamaica	Hard	Ximena Rodríguez	Kim Grant Claire Sessions Bailey	2–6, 7–6(6), 3–6
Loss	9.	18 June 1995	Morelia, Mexico	Hard	Ximena Rodríguez	Tracey Hiete Renata Kolbovic	3–6, 5–7

References

1. "Pieters appointed tennis CEO". The Namibian . 24 November 2011.
2. "Tennis Talente". Allgemeine Zeitung . 14 February 2006.
3. "Bright opportunities for Namibian tennis". Republikein . 8 February 2006.^{[ dead link ]}
4. Maletsky, Christof (21 December 1994). "Swartz shocks Visser in two straight sets". The Namibian . p. 15.
5. Ihuhua, Corry (7 August 2007). "Nortje recognised by tennis body". The Namibian .
6. Cooper, Tony (19 April 1985). "USIU Looks to World's Courts : Like Its Campus, Gulls' Tennis Team Sports Decidedly Foreign Flair". Los Angeles Times .
7. "Jurgens jaag Wimbledon-droom". Republikein (in Afrikaans). 27 June 2005.^{[ dead link ]}
8. "Namibia: Third PTA Tennis Tourney Served". Namibia Economist . AllAfrica. 22 April 2016.

External links

• Elizma Nortje at the Women's Tennis Association
• Elizma Nortje at the Billie Jean King Cup (archived)
• Elizma Nortje at the International Tennis Federation