Elna Reinach

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexFemale
Full nameElna•Reinach
Used nameElna•Reinach
Born2 December 1968 in Pretoria, Gauteng (RSA)
NOC South Africa

Biography

Elna Reinach was a South African tennis player who played professionally from 1983 to 1995. Reinach achieved a career-best singles ranking of #26 in the world in February 1989, and a doubles ranking of #10 in the world in June 1990. Her career highlight was winning a Grand Slam mixed doubles title.

Reinach won her first of six ITF singles titles in December 1980 in Cape Town with a straight sets victory against her sister Monica. Between December 1984 and January 1988 Elna also won seven ITF doubles titles, with her sister partnering her in six of those. On the WTA Tour she won 10 doubles titles between August 1989 and February 1995. Reinach’s only WTA singles title came in February 1993 in Auckland, New Zealand, with a straight sets victory against Caroline Kuhlman.

At Grand Slams Reinach reached the mixed doubles final at the 1993 French Open with Danie Visser but lost to the Russian duo of Andrey Olkhovsky and Yevgeniya Manyukova. The following year she teamed with American Patrick Galbraith to win the title at the US Open with a straight sets victory against Todd Woodbridge and Jana Novotná. As a doubles player Reinach reached the semi-finals at the French Open (1988, 1990), Wimbledon (1989), and the US Open (1989). Reinach competed in the singles and doubles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals in the latter with Mariaan de Swardt.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1992 Summer Olympics Tennis RSA Elna Reinach
Singles, Women (Olympic) =33
Doubles, Women (Olympic) Mariaan de Swardt =5