Karla Pretorius[1] (née Mostert; born 12 March 1990) is a South African netball player, and has represented her country with the South Africa national netball team. She plays in the positions of Goal Defence (GD) and Wing Defence (WD).
International career - Team Bath and Sunshine Coast Lightning
Before joining the Sunshine Coast Lightning, Pretorius played for the UK based Team Bath[2] in the Netball Superleague alongside fellow Protea teammate Lenize Potgieter.[3] Pretorius currently plays for Sunshine Coast Lightning in the Australian Super Netball league, and has won back-to-back premierships with the club (in 2017 and 2018). In 2017 she won the MVP award for her performance in the Grand Final.[4][5] She then shared the club's Player of the Year award with teammate Stephanie Wood for their performance in the 2018 season.[6] She was named in the Super Netball team of the year 2018.[7][8] She is the first South African to feature in the Super Netball league. Unlike South Africa, in Australia netball is a professional sport, which means that Pretorius is being paid to do what she loves most.[9]
Pretorius and her husband, Werner Pretorius, married on 9 September 2017. On 13 December 2021, she announced her pregnancy and therefore had to withdraw from next year's competitions, promising to be back in 2023.[10]
Pretorius is the vice-captain of the South Africa national netball team.[12] Pretorius holds 77 senior South African caps, including appearances at the Commonwealth Games (2014 and 2018) and the Netball World Cup (2015). She participated in the 2011 World Netball Series, held in Liverpool, UK, the INF Netball World Cup 2015 held in Sydney, Australia, the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.[13] Pretorius confirmed her status as one of international netball's standout defenders with a series of tenacious performances at the 2015 Netball World Cup held in Sydney, Australia. She made the most intercepts of any player – 28 in total – as South Africa finished fifth overall in the tournament. She also played for the Spar Proteas U/21 side and having made her international debut for the Proteas in 2011. Pretorius was named the Player of the Tournament at the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup held in Liverpool, England.[14] South Africa finished fourth at the 2023 Netball World Cup after managing to beat Jamaica by 55 goals to 52.[15] The Proteas narrowly lost against world number 1 the Australian Diamonds during the semi-finals with 55 over 53 of South Africa.
Career at the University of the Free State and Free State Crinums
Karla completed her Bachelors in Dietetics at the University of the Free State and obtained her Masters in Dietetics at the institution early 2019.[20] She is currently reading towards a Diploma in Sports Management through the University of South Africa (UNISA). She worked as a community dietitian in Bloemfontein during 2015.[21] She was also named as Sportswoman of the Year by the University of the Free State in 2015. KovsieSport awarded Karla as UFS Sportswoman of the Year in 2016.[22][23] In 2017, Pretorius was named one of Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans.[24]
