Esther Vergeer; gold medal winner
Esther Vergeer's challenge
“I want to get everything out of life that’s in it”
Esther Vergeer has been the undisputed number 1 in the world wheelchair tennis rankings. She won gold medals for the Netherlands at the Paralympics in Sydney, Athens and Beijing, and won more tournaments and Grand Slams all over the world than any disabled tennis player ever. Reaching the top was the ultimate challenge. Having achieved that, she is now considering a future without pro sports. A talk about pushing back frontiers, making dreams come true, and getting everything out of life.
In 1988, at the age of six, Esther Vergeer was admitted to hospital with severe headaches. Medical examination showed an accumulation of fluid in her brain, which was removed surgically. The following year, the same happened twice, but it was not until 1990 that doctors discovered that Esther suffered from a serious blood vessel defect around her spinal cord. The operation that followed, changed her life forever. The blood vessel defect was repaired, but she would never be able to use her legs fully again. This was the beginning of a long rehabilitation process, which would evolve in an impressive sport career.
The smile came back. “Sports were very important during rehabilitation,” says Esther. “I quickly realised that I could do much more in a wheelchair than I had ever thought. I tried everything in those days. From volleyball (sitting) to table tennis and from basketball to wheelchair tennis. My mother still says that it was the sports that brought the smile back on my face. Sporting was really my thing, and in particular basketball and tennis were great. During my rehabilitation, the foundation was laid for my later sport career.”
European Wheelchair Basket Ball Champion. “What many people do not know, is that the national wheelchair basketball team that I was part of, became European Champion in 1997. In those days, I still combined basketball and tennis. But that became too much and I had to make a choice. I chose tennis because I felt that I could reach the absolute top in that sport. Strange really, because I was never very pushy at school, a simple ‘pass’ was enough. But if you find something you’re really good at, a fire is lit. I wanted to get the best out of myself.”
Gold medal in Sydney. In numerous matches and tournaments both at home and abroad, Esther’s star soon rose in worldwide wheelchair tennis. In 1998, she won the US Open, climbing from 15th to 2nd position. “Reaching and adjusting targets was something I did all the time then. When you climb the ranking so quickly, it’s natural to want to become number 1. I did in 1999.
Taking part in the Paralympics in Sydney was my next goal. Or rather, I wanted to win them! I had only one goal: GOLD! Achieving that was really incredible.”
Winning Wimbledon. During the next few years, Esther lived in ‘a tunnel’, as she describes it. “Professional athletes are very much focussed on themselves. Practising six times a week, travelling around the world to play matches, minding your diet, no glass of rosé with friends, and living only for one goal: to become and stay the best. But when you have won everything there is to win, you reach a turning point. I am 27 years old now, I have won gold medals in three different Paralympics, I have won all Grand Slams, and I have been number 1 for years now. In fact, there is only one challenge left, which is to win the title at Wimbledon. This year, the women’s double is on the programme for the first time in London. I definitely want to grab that title, together with Korie Homan.”
Outdoor favourite. Looking at Esther’s ambitions and achievements, it is easy to make the link with Descol. “Wanting to be the best is a daily challenge. I have heard that Descol is also in the process of developing outdoor sports floors. I am certainly interested in that. Outdoor tennis is my favourite. In that respect, Wimbledon will be a double challenge. Balls hardly bounce on grass. It is true that in wheelchair tennis the ball can bounce twice before you hit it, but is that enough on the sacred grass of Wimbledon?”
Esther Vergeer Foundation. For more than 10 years, tennis was a full-time job for Esther. But at the same time, she was also doing her study of Management, Economics and Law, she fulfilled several ambassadorships, including for Ronald McDonald Only Friends and she was also the tournament director of the first ABN AMRO Wheelchair Tennis Tournament. But her own Esther Vergeer Foundation is also taking up more and more of her time. “I want to help as many disabled children as possible to come into contact with sports. I also think it’s important for regular and disabled sportsmen and sportswomen to mix, to discover how many things are still possible even if you’re disabled. That will definitely be something I can see myself doing after my career in top sports. Working with people, telling my story, and encouraging disabled children to do sports.”
For more information about Esther and her activities, please visit www.esthervergeer.nl
