Elizma Nortje

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]

Elizma Nortje
Country (sports) South Africa
 Namibia
Born (1966-02-01) 1 February 1966
Windhoek, South West Africa
Prize money$22,480
Singles
Career record44–99
Highest rankingNo. 447 (18 December 1989)
Doubles
Career record67–83
Career titles2 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 280 (7 November 1994)
Grand Slam doubles results
WimbledonQ3 (1991)

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 Germany 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 United Kingdom Barbara Griffiths United States Lynn Nabors
Denmark Merete Balling-Stockmann		 6–3, 6–2
Loss 1. 4 August 1991 Haifa, Israel Hard South Africa Janine Humphreys South Africa Tessa Price
United States Kirsten Dreyer		 1–6, 0–6
Loss 2. 11 August 1991 Ramat HaSharon, Israel Hard South Africa Janine Humphreys Israel Ilana Berger
South Africa Robyn Field		 0–6, 1–6
Loss 3. 5 April 1992 Windhoek, Namibia Hard South Africa Louise Venter South Africa Cindy Summers
South Africa Nicole Simunic		 6–3, 4–6, 3–6
Win 2. 12 April 1992 Gaborone, Botswana Hard South Africa Louise Venter South Africa Liezel Horn
South Africa Estelle Gevers		 6–0, 6–7(2), 6–4
Loss 4. 19 July 1992 Frinton, United Kingdom Grass Australia Robyn Mawdsley United Kingdom Caroline Billingham
Australia Danielle Thomas		 2–6, 6–4, 6–7
Loss 5. 6 February 1994 Tipton, United Kingdom Hard Zimbabwe Paula Iversen United Kingdom Alison Smith
United Kingdom Sara Tse		 6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 6. 3 April 1994 Marsa, Malta Clay Czech Republic Ivana Havrlíková Poland Isabela Listowska
Germany Petra Winzenhöller		 6–7(5), 3–6
Loss 7. 24 April 1994 Nottingham, United Kingdom Hard Netherlands Caroline Stassen Australia Shannon Peters
Australia Nicole Oomens		 5–7, 2–6
Loss 8. 30 October 1994 Negril, Jamaica Hard Colombia Ximena Rodríguez South Africa Kim Grant
United States Claire Sessions Bailey		 2–6, 7–6(6), 3–6
Loss 9. 18 June 1995 Morelia, Mexico Hard Colombia Ximena Rodríguez United States Tracey Hiete
Canada 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.
  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.
  8. "Namibia: Third PTA Tennis Tourney Served". Namibia Economist. AllAfrica. 22 April 2016.
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