Joannette Kruger
Encyclopedia
Joannette Kruger is a former professional
tennis player from Johannesburg
, South Africa. Her career high ranking is No. 21 in the world, a ranking she achieved on May 4, 1998.
Kruger turned professional in 1989, but it was not until 1992 that she finally broke into the world's top 100. In 1995, she had her breakout season winning her first WTA Tour title in San Juan
where she beat Kyoko Nagatsuka in the final. She also recorded her first two top ten wins over Anke Huber
and Lindsay Davenport
.
After an injury-plagued 1996 season, she won her second career title in 1997 in Prague
, Czech Republic
by defeating Marion Maruska in the final. Other highlights included the quarterfinals of the Tier I in Rome, defeating Brenda Schultz-McCarthy
and Karina Habšudová
en-route, both top twenty players, and reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the US Open, beating Barbara Paulus
in the first round.
She continued her success in 1998, reaching her third WTA Tour final at Oklahoma City
, beating Serena Williams
in the quarterfinals but losing to her sister Venus Williams
in the final. At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells
, she upset Amanda Coetzer
for the first top five win of her career. On May 4, 1998, she reached her career high of No. 21.
At the Qatar Telecom German Open
in 2000, she achieved the biggest win of her career by taking down world number three Nathalie Tauziat
with the loss of just two games and then went on to make her first Tier I semifinal. The following year she reached her fourth WTA Tour final at the Wismalik International, beating Grand Slam champion Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
in semifinals before losing to Angelique Widjaja
. She also reached her first two doubles finals in this year, winning Sopot
with Francesca Schiavone
and finishing runner-up at Basel
with Marta Marrero
.
Kruger's last year on the Tour was in 2003, where she used a special ranking. She went 0–5 during this year with her last match being a 6–2, 6–1 loss to Jennifer Capriati
at the French Open.
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
tennis player from Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa. Her career high ranking is No. 21 in the world, a ranking she achieved on May 4, 1998.
Kruger turned professional in 1989, but it was not until 1992 that she finally broke into the world's top 100. In 1995, she had her breakout season winning her first WTA Tour title in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
where she beat Kyoko Nagatsuka in the final. She also recorded her first two top ten wins over Anke Huber
Anke Huber
Anke Huber is a German retired professional tennis player. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1996 Australian Open. Her career-high singles ranking was fourth, also in 1996.-Early life:...
and Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
.
After an injury-plagued 1996 season, she won her second career title in 1997 in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
by defeating Marion Maruska in the final. Other highlights included the quarterfinals of the Tier I in Rome, defeating Brenda Schultz-McCarthy
Brenda Schultz-McCarthy
Brenda Anne Marie Schultz-McCarthy is a Dutch tennis player. Primarily known for her maiden name Brenda Schultz, she married Sean McCarthy, a former American football player at University of Cincinnati, on 8 April 1995 and adopted his surname...
and Karina Habšudová
Karina Habšudová
Karina Habšudová is a former Slovak female professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as 10 in the world . Together with Karol Kučera she won the Hopman Cup in 1998....
en-route, both top twenty players, and reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the US Open, beating Barbara Paulus
Barbara Paulus
Barbara Paulus is a former professional top 10 female tennis player from Austria. She began playing on the WTA Tour in 1986 and retired in 2001. During her career she won a total of seven WTA tournaments...
in the first round.
She continued her success in 1998, reaching her third WTA Tour final at Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, beating Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the quarterfinals but losing to her sister Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
in the final. At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, she upset Amanda Coetzer
Amanda Coetzer
Amanda Coetzer is a former professional tennis player from South Africa.Coetzer turned professional in 1988 and retired in 2004...
for the first top five win of her career. On May 4, 1998, she reached her career high of No. 21.
At the Qatar Telecom German Open
Qatar Telecom German Open
The German Open, sponsored from 2006 through 2008 as the Qatar Telecom German Open, was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in Berlin, Germany. Held since 1896, it was one of the oldest tournaments for women...
in 2000, she achieved the biggest win of her career by taking down world number three Nathalie Tauziat
Nathalie Tauziat
Nathalie Tauziat is a former professional tennis player from France. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1998 Wimbledon Championships. Her career-high singles ranking was third in 2000....
with the loss of just two games and then went on to make her first Tier I semifinal. The following year she reached her fourth WTA Tour final at the Wismalik International, beating Grand Slam champion Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...
in semifinals before losing to Angelique Widjaja
Angelique Widjaja
Angelique Widjaja is a retired Chinese Indonesian professional tennis player. She won the Junior Championships at Wimbledon in 2001, defeating Dinara Safina. She reached a peak of No.55 in the Women's Tennis Association singles rankings in March 2003, and a peak of No.15 in the doubles rankings...
. She also reached her first two doubles finals in this year, winning Sopot
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
with Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
and finishing runner-up at Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
with Marta Marrero
Marta Marrero
Marta Marrero Marrero is a former professional Spanish tennis player. She reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, won two WTA doubles titles, and also won a total of 12 ITF singles and doubles titles. Her highest singles rank on the WTA Tour was World Number 47, which she reached in 2004...
.
Kruger's last year on the Tour was in 2003, where she used a special ranking. She went 0–5 during this year with her last match being a 6–2, 6–1 loss to Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Marie Capriati is a former world number one ranked professional tennis player, and the winner of three women's singles championships in Grand Slam tournaments. Capriati made her professional debut in 1990 at the age of 14 when she reached the finals of the hard court tournament in Boca...
at the French Open.
Singles
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| WTA Championships (0) |
| Tier I (0) |
| Tier II (0) |
| Tier III (1) |
| Tier IV & V (1) |
| ITF Titles (4) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | May 20, 1990 |  BournemouthBournemouth Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth... |
Clay |  Anna Benzon |
7–6, 6–1 |
| 2. | May 17, 1992 | Bournemouth Bournemouth Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth... |
Hard |  Amy Van Buuren |
6–2, 6–2 |
| 3. | June 14, 1992 | Modena Modena Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.... |
Clay |  Alexandra FusaiAlexandra Fusai Alexandra Fusai is a former professional tennis player from France.Fusai turned professional in 1991. She was 1.76m tall and weighed about 60 kg in 1997. She played right-handed and lived in Nantes during her career... |
6–4, 6–3 |
| 4. | July 5, 1992 |  VaihingenVaihingen Vaihingen an der Enz is located on the western periphery of the middle Neckar region, between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, in southern Germany. Vaihingen is situated on the river Enz, and has a population of around 30,000. The city is within the administrative region of Stuttgart, and in the district... |
Clay |  Lubomira BachevaLubomira Bacheva Lubomira Bacheva is a retired professional tennis player from Bulgaria. She reached her career high ranking of No. 68 in the world on November 1, 1999.-Tennis career:As a junior, Bacheva won the European Championships in 1989 and 1991.... |
6–1, 6–0 |
| 5. | March 5, 1995 |  San JuanPuerto Rico Open (tennis) The Puerto Rico Open is a defunct tennis tournament. The first edition dates back to 1971 but only from 1986 to 1993 was the tournament played every year. It was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico and was played on outdoor hard courts. In 1988, when Tier categories were first introduced on the WTA Tour,... |
Hard |  Kyoko NagatsukaKyōko Nagatsuka Kyōko Nagatsuka is a retired Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of No. 28 in the world on August 14, 1995. In doubles, she reached as high as No. 31 on June 19, 1995.... |
7–65, 6–3 |
| 6. | July 20, 1997 |  PragueECM Prague Open The Strabag Prague Open is a tennis tournament held in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic . Held since 1992 but interrupted between 1999 and 2005, this WTA Tour event is a WTA International Tournaments and is played on outdoor clay courts... |
Clay |  Marion MaruskaMarion Maruska Marion Maruska is an Austrian female professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1992 and reached her career high singles ranking on October 6, 1997, when she became the No... |
6–1, 6–1 |
Doubles
| Legend (Doubles) |
|---|
| Tier I (0) |
| Tier II (0) |
| Tier III (1) |
| Tier IV (0) |
| Grand Slam Title (0) |
| WTA Championship (0) |
| # | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | July 29, 2001 |  SopotSopot Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000.... |
Clay | Francesca Schiavone Francesca Schiavone Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World... |
 Yulia BeygelzimerYulia Beygelzimer Yulia Beygelzimer is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine.Beygelzimer has competed for Ukraine both at the Olympics and the Fed Cup, finally reaching the Top 100, at number 83 in September 2006....  Anastasia Rodionova |
6–4, 6–0 |
Singles (2)
- 1998: Oklahoma City (lost to Venus WilliamsVenus WilliamsVenus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
) - 2001: Bali (lost to Angelique WidjajaAngelique WidjajaAngelique Widjaja is a retired Chinese Indonesian professional tennis player. She won the Junior Championships at Wimbledon in 2001, defeating Dinara Safina. She reached a peak of No.55 in the Women's Tennis Association singles rankings in March 2003, and a peak of No.15 in the doubles rankings...
)
Doubles (2)
- 1998: Bol (w/ LučićMirjana LucicMirjana Lučić is a Croatian professional tennis player. She enjoyed a promising career on the WTA Tour in the late 1990s, during which she set several "youngest-ever" records, won one Grand Slam women's doubles title at the Australian Open in 1998 when she was only 15 years old, partnering Martina...
) - 2001: Basel (w/ MarreroMarta MarreroMarta Marrero Marrero is a former professional Spanish tennis player. She reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, won two WTA doubles titles, and also won a total of 12 ITF singles and doubles titles. Her highest singles rank on the WTA Tour was World Number 47, which she reached in 2004...
)