Robbie Venter
Full name | Robert Eben Venter |
---|---|
Country (sports) | ![]() |
Born | Boksburg, Transvaal | 7 May 1960
Plays | Left-handed |
Singles | |
Career record | 7–19 |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 148 (2 January 1984) |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Wimbledon | 1R (1983) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 15–27 |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 82 (3 January 1983) |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
French Open | 2R (1983) |
Wimbledon | 1R (1983) |
Robert Eben "Robbie" Venter (born 7 May 1960) is a South African businessman and former professional tennis player.
Biography
Venter, who grew up in Boksburg, is the son of South African businessman Bill Venter.[1]
A left handed player, Venter was a semi-finalist at the Wimbledon Juniors in 1978 and moved to the United States that year to take up a tennis scholarship at UCLA.[1][2] He was a three-time All-American and captained the UCLA side which won the team title in the 1982 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships.[3][4] After that triumph he became a tour professional and with former UCLA teammate Blaine Willenborg he was runner-up in the doubles at the 1982 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, a tournament on the Grand Prix circuit held in Indianapolis.[5] His only singles appearance in the main draw of a grand slam tournament came at the 1983 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost in the first round to Rodney Harmon, in four sets.[6] During his tennis career he won six Challenger titles, three in singles and three in doubles.
Venter retired from tennis in 1985 and completed a MBA at UCLA before working at Bear Stearns for three years.[1] He returned to South Africa in 1990.[1]
In 2011 he replaced his father Bill as CEO of Altron.[1]
Grand Prix career finals
Doubles: 1 (0–1)
Outcome | No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1982 | Indianapolis, US | Clay | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
4–6, 5–7 |
Challenger titles
Singles: (3)
No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 1980 | Turin, Italy | Clay | ![]() |
6–2, 6–1 |
2. | 1983 | Solihull, Great Britain | Clay | ![]() |
6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
3. | 1983 | Lee-on-the-Solent, Great Britain | Clay | ![]() |
6–3, 6–1 |
Doubles: (3)
No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 1980 | Royan, France | Clay | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6–4, 6–4 |
2. | 1980 | Le Touquet, France | Clay | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
7–6, 4–6, 6–3 |
3. | 1981 | Reus, Spain | Clay | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
References
- ^ a b c d e Stones, Lesley (28 August 2012). "Acing the business world". ITWeb. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ "ITF Tennis – Juniors – Player Profile – Venter, Robbie (RSA)". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ "Bruin History" (PDF). UCLA Bruins. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ "UCLA wins tennis title". The Deseret News. 19 May 1982. p. 2D. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "Sport". The Pantagraph. Bloomington, Illinois. 9 August 1982. p. 15.
- ^ "Sports Results, Detail". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 22 June 1983. p. 42. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
External links
- Robbie Venter at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- {{ITF profile}} template using deprecated numeric ID.