Renata Šašak-Ružir (born 14 June 1964) is a former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

n professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player.

Biography

Born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, Šašak debuted for the Yugoslavia Federation Cup team in 1979. One of her Federation Cup doubles teammates was

Mima Jaušovec Mima Jaušovec (; born 20 July 1956) is a retired Yugoslavian tennis player. She won the 1977 French Open singles championship. Early life Jaušovec was born in Maribor, in present-day Slovenia, when it was part of Yugoslavia. Career As a gir ...

, who Šašak teamed up with to win a gold medal at the

1979 Mediterranean Games The 1979 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the VIII Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Split 1979, were the 8th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Split, Yugoslavia, from 15 to 29 September 1979, where 2,408 athletes (2,00 ...

. She won a further gold medal four years in Casablanca at the

1983 Mediterranean Games The IX Mediterranean Games ( ar, ألعاب البحر الأبيض المتوسط 1983), commonly known as the 1983 Mediterranean Games, were the 9th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Casablanca, Morocco, from 3 to 17 September 1983 ...

, beating Laura Golarsa to win the women's singles. Šašak competed in the main draw of both the French Open and US Open during her career. Her best performance came at the 1983 French Open, where she made it to the second round, then took fifth seed Pam Shriver to a third set before being eliminated. She was awarded the Croatian Sportswoman of the Year award from

Sportske novosti ''Sportske novosti'' () is a Croatian daily sports newspaper based in Zagreb. It was established on 9 August 1945 as ''Ilustrirane fiskulturne novine'' weekly newspaper. Several months later, on 10 December 1945, its name got changed to ''Narodn ...

in 1983. At the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

in Los Angeles, Šašak represented Yugoslavia in the women's singles event, for what was then a demonstration sport. She fell in the second round, after beating third seed

Laura Arraya Laura Arraya (born 12 January 1964) is a retired Peruvian tennis player. She was also known by her married name Laura Gildemeister. Career At a young age, Argentine-born Arraya emigrated to Peru with her family and acquired Peruvian nationalit ...

. Šašak played Federation Cup tennis until 1987, in a total of 15 ties. This included Yugoslavia's run to the 1984 semi-finals, which they lost to eventual champions Czechoslovakia.

References

https://issuu.com/hrvatskiolimpijskiodbor/docs/hrvatska_i_sportasice_na_olimpijski/106

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sasak, Renata 1964 births Living people Yugoslav female tennis players Croatian female tennis players Olympic tennis players for Yugoslavia Tennis players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games medalists in tennis Competitors at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 1983 Mediterranean Games Tennis players from Zagreb Universiade medalists in tennis Universiade bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade