{{Short description|South African tennis player and businessman (1960–2024)}} {{Infobox tennis biography | name = Robert Venter | image = | alt = | caption = | fullname = Robert Eben Venter | country_represented = South Africa | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1960|05|07}} | birth_place = Boksburg, Transvaal, South Africa | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2024|08|06|1960|05|07}} | death_place = | plays = Left-handed | careerprizemoney = | singlesrecord = 7–19 | singlestitles = | highestsinglesranking = No. 148 (2 January 1984) | currentsinglesranking = | AustralianOpenresult = | FrenchOpenresult = | Wimbledonresult = 1R (1983) | USOpenresult = | doublesrecord = 15–27 | doublestitles = | highestdoublesranking = No. 82 (3 January 1983) | currentdoublesranking = | AustralianOpenDoublesresult = | FrenchOpenDoublesresult = 2R (1983) | WimbledonDoublesresult = 1R (1983) | USOpenDoublesresult = }}{{Use South African English|date=November 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
'''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.<ref name="Stones">{{cite web|url=http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58026|title=Acing the business world|last=Stones|first=Lesley|date=28 August 2012|publisher=ITWeb|accessdate=1 December 2015}}</ref>
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.<ref name="Stones"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itftennis.com/juniors/players/player/profile.aspx?playerid=10002201|title=ITF Tennis – Juniors – Player Profile – Venter, Robbie (RSA)|publisher=International Tennis Federation|accessdate=1 December 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uclabruins.com/fls/30500/old_site/pdf/m-tennis/History_MTN.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=30500|title=Bruin History|publisher=UCLA Bruins|accessdate=1 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19820519&id=HUAjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W4MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3667,4896650&hl=en|title=UCLA wins tennis title|date=19 May 1982|work=The Deseret News|page=2D|accessdate=30 November 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sport|date=9 August 1982|work=The Pantagraph|page=15|location=Bloomington, Illinois}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131850730 |title=Sports Results, Detail. |newspaper=The Canberra Times |location=ACT |date=22 June 1983 |accessdate=1 December 2015 |page=42 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Stones"/> He returned to South Africa in 1990.<ref name="Stones"/>
In 2011 he replaced his father Bill as CEO of Altron.<ref name="Stones"/>
Venter died on 6 August 2024, at the age of 64.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Altron CEO Robbie Venter has died |url=https://mybroadband.co.za/news/business/554160-former-altron-ceo-robbie-venter-has-died.html |access-date=7 August 2024 |publisher=MyBroadband |date=7 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gernetzky |first1=Karl |title=Former Altron CEO and SA tech stalwart Robbie Venter dies |url=https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/former-altron-ceo-and-sa-tech-stalwart-robbie-venter-dies-20240807 |access-date=7 August 2024 |publisher=News24 |date=7 August 2024}}</ref>
==Grand Prix career finals== ===Doubles: 1 (0–1)=== {|class="sortable wikitable" !Result !style="width:30px" class="unsortable"|W/L !style="width:50px"|Date !style="width:130px"|Tournament !style="width:50px"|Surface !style="width:140px"|Partner !style="width:140px"|Opponents !style="width:75px" class=unsortable|Score |- |style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss |0–1 |Aug 1982 |Indianapolis, US |Clay |{{flagicon|USA}} Blaine Willenborg |{{flagicon|USA}} Sherwood Stewart<br />{{flagicon|USA}} Ferdi Taygan |4–6, 5–7 |}
==Challenger titles== ===Singles: (3)=== {|class="sortable wikitable" style=font-size:97% !width=20|No. !width=40|Year !width=200|Tournament !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent !style="width:110px" class=unsortable|Score |- |1. |1980 |Turin, Italy |Clay |{{flagicon|ESP}} Miguel Mir |6–2, 6–1 |- |2. |1983 |Solihull, Great Britain |Clay |{{flagicon|AUS}} Broderick Dyke |6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |- |3. |1983 |Lee-on-the-Solent, Great Britain |Clay |{{flagicon|GBR}} Jeremy Bates |6–3, 6–1 |}
===Doubles: (3)=== {|class="sortable wikitable" style=font-size:97% !width=20|No. !width=40|Year !width=200|Tournament !width=60|Surface !width=160|Partner !width=200|Opponents !style="width:110px" class=unsortable|Score |- |1. |1980 |Royan, France |Clay |{{flagicon|USA}} Dave Siegler |{{flagicon|SWE}} Jan Gunnarsson<br />{{flagicon|SWE}} Stefan Svensson |6–4, 6–4 |- |2. |1980 |Le Touquet, France |Clay |{{flagicon|USA}} Dave Siegler |{{flagicon|SWE}} Hans Simonsson<br />{{flagicon|SWE}} Tenny Svensson |7–6, 4–6, 6–3 |- |3. |1981 |Reus, Spain |Clay |{{flagicon|USA}} Egan Adams |{{flagicon|USA}} Junie Chatman<br />{{flagicon|NZL}} Bruce Derlin |6–7, 6–4, 6–4 |}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{ATP}} * {{ITF}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Venter, Robbie}} Category:1960 births Category:2024 deaths Category:South African male tennis players Category:UCLA Bruins men's tennis players Category:South African expatriate tennis players in the United States Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni Category:South African chief executives Category:20th-century South African sportsmen Category:Bear Stearns people Category:Sportspeople from Boksburg