Schalk van der Merwe

For the rugby union player, see Schalk van der Merwe (rugby union).

Schalk van der Merwe (16 April 1961 – 24 January 2016) was a professional tennis player from South Africa.

Schalk van der Merwe

Country (sports)	South Africa
Born	(1961-04-16)16 April 1961 Robertson, Cape Province
Died	24 January 2016(2016-01-24) (aged 54) Ireland
Plays	Right-handed
Singles
Career record	10–20
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 157 (3 January 1983)
Grand Slam singles results
Wimbledon	2R (1982)
US Open	3R (1982)
Doubles
Career record	23–32
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 81 (3 January 1983)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open	2R (1982)
Wimbledon	2R (1981, 1982)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	3R (1982)
US Open	1R (1982)

His best performance in a Grand Slam tournament was a third-round appearance at the 1982 US Open, where he had wins over Derek Tarr and Raúl Ramírez. In the second round of the 1982 Wimbledon Championships, van der Merwe lost a marathon match to Steve Denton, which had to be stopped due to darkness when the scores were level at 10–10 in the fifth set. Play resumed the following day, and Denton won 13–11.

Death

While in Ireland, where he was working as a medical doctor, van der Merwe was found dead in his car. The cause of death is still unknown, but he apparently suffered from high blood pressure in the time preceding his death.

Career finals

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 1982	Boston, United States	Clay	Freddie Sauer	Steve Meister Craig Wittus	2–6, 3–6

Challenger titles

Doubles: (1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
1.	1982	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Freddie Sauer	Tian Viljoen Danie Visser	6–2, 6–1

External links

• Schalk van der Merwe at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Schalk van der Merwe at the International Tennis Federation