Robbie Venter Explained

Robbie Venter
Fullname:Robert Eben Venter
Country Represented:South Africa
Birth Date:1960 5, df=yes
Birth Place:Boksburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Plays:Left-handed
Singlesrecord:7–19
Highestsinglesranking:No. 148 (2 January 1984)
Wimbledonresult:1R (1983)
Doublesrecord:15–27
Highestdoublesranking:No. 82 (3 January 1983)
Frenchopendoublesresult:2R (1983)
Wimbledondoublesresult:1R (1983)

Robert Eben Venter (7 May 1960 – 6 August 2024) was a South African businessman and professional tennis player.

Biography

A left handed player from Boksburg, Venter was the son of South African businessman Bill Venter.[1]

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 an 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]

Venter died on 6 August 2024, at the age of 64.[7] [8]

Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Challenger titles

Singles: (3)

width=20No.width=40Yearwidth=200Tournamentwidth=75Surfacewidth=200OpponentScore
1.1980Turin, ItalyClay6–2, 6–1
2.1983Solihull, Great BritainClay Broderick Dyke6–4, 3–6, 6–3
3.1983Lee-on-the-Solent, Great BritainClay Jeremy Bates6–3, 6–1

Doubles: (3)

width=20No.width=40Yearwidth=200Tournamentwidth=60Surfacewidth=160Partnerwidth=200OpponentsScore
1.1980Royan, FranceClay Dave Siegler Jan Gunnarsson
Stefan Svensson
6–4, 6–4
2.1980Le Touquet, FranceClay Dave Siegler Hans Simonsson
Tenny Svensson
7–6, 4–6, 6–3
3.1981Reus, SpainClay Egan Adams Junie Chatman
Bruce Derlin
6–7, 6–4, 6–4

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Acing the business world. Stones. Lesley. 28 August 2012. ITWeb. 1 December 2015.
  2. Web site: ITF Tennis – Juniors – Player Profile – Venter, Robbie (RSA). International Tennis Federation. 1 December 2015.
  3. Web site: Bruin History. UCLA Bruins. 1 December 2015.
  4. News: UCLA wins tennis title. 19 May 1982. The Deseret News. 2D. 30 November 2015.
  5. News: Sport. 9 August 1982. The Pantagraph. 15. Bloomington, Illinois.
  6. News: Sports Results, Detail. . . ACT . 22 June 1983 . 1 December 2015 . 42 . National Library of Australia.
  7. News: Former Altron CEO Robbie Venter has died . 7 August 2024 . MyBroadband . 7 August 2024.
  8. News: Gernetzky . Karl . Former Altron CEO and SA tech stalwart Robbie Venter dies . 7 August 2024 . News24 . 7 August 2024.